Revelation 1:1-3: "The Apocalypse of Jesus Christ"

Revelation 1:1  The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: 

Revelation 1:2  Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw. 

Revelation 1:3  Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand. 

The Revelation of Jesus Christ

This is the key to the book to me. From what I understand about the Hebrew (and I'm no Hebrew scholar, but I've read some stuff about it in commentaries), the grammar could go either way here to say the revelation which comes from Jesus Christ or the revealing of Jesus Christ.  I prefer the latter construction because that's just what this book is.  If you go to it only for a revelation of end-time events, I think you're missing the chief beauty of this book.  Speaking of which, we should talk about what the word "apocalypse" means.

G602 ἀποκάλυψις apokalupsis ap-ok-al'-oop-sis

From G601; disclosure: - appearing, coming, lighten, manifestation, be revealed, revelation. Total KJV occurrences: 18

We get our word "apocalypse" from the Greek word translated as "Revelation".  But when you think of an apocalypse what do you think of?  Typically we think of the end of the world or cataclysmic events (due to the nature of the things described in Revelation).  However, when we realize that an apocalypse is simply an unveiling or revealing, and that this book is a revealing or uncovering or unveiling of Jesus Christ...we get a different understanding.  And this first chapter in particular unveils Jesus Christ in some magnificent, earth-shattering ways.

I have a friend, Antonio, who has a way of looking at the New Testament as a picture of the Tabernacle.  The four gospels are the foursquare altar where the sacrifice for atonement of Jesus is made.  The book of Acts is the laver of washing, where the church is born and receives the cleansing power of that sacrifice to be identified with Him, (through the preaching of the word, belief, repentance, baptism, and the infilling of the Holy Ghost.)  The church, the tabernacle/temple is established.  The epistles are like entering into the Holy Place, where there is light and understanding and revelation, teaching which provides nourishment like bread, and worship of God and prayers like sweet incense rising to His throne.  But then we get to the veil.  And when we push past that Vail, past the flesh, we get to see the glory of God, and Jesus unveiled in His glory, as He is.  This is truly a powerful book, and chapter 1 is beautifully book-ended by chapters 19-22 in their depictions of Jesus.  We'll see more of that as we explore Revelation, particularly these first several verses in the introduction.

Which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; ...... for the time is at hand. 

A big issue that comes up when interpreting Revelation is the time period the book is describing.  And yet, for all the wrangling of the preterist, historicist, futurist, and idealist viewpoints, this book has had meaning for Christians from the time it was written till today, and that is a fact we should consider carefully.  The question we must think carefully about is: what kind of meaning did God intend this book to have for His Church?  And there are some extreme viewpoints I think we should avoid.  Was this book written for the first century context in which John wrote it?  Certainly!  I believe these were seven literal churches that needed these specific messages.  And yet the cry goes out, "whoever has ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches."  The extreme error we must avoid is assuming all the events have already happened and therefore these prophecies do not apply to us.  Similarly, a viewpoint that puts these things entirely in the future might feel similarly.  But Jesus says the blessing in reading and hearing and keeping these words is emphasized by the fact that "the time is at hand."  Only for those first century readers?  I think not.  Is Philippians 4:5 only for first century readers when Paul says, "Let your moderation be known unto all men; the Lord is at hand."?  I believe the entire church age over the last 2,000 years comprises "the last days".  We are the people Paul described as those "upon whom the end of the world has come".  Revelation is for US.  We are living in the time that Jesus brought about in enacting the New Covenant, and as such these are the last days.  Let's not make the mistake of the mocking scoffers in 2nd Peter chapter 3.  I like the quote from Aslan when Lucy presses him on what he means by "soon" in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Aslan responds, "Child, to me, all times are soon."  We musn't blow off the timeless message of Revelation by trying to tie down events to a particular time in human history.  Yes, it was for them in the past, and yes, this is for them in the future.  But it's also for us.  And isn't that just how the One who Was and Is and Is to Come would deliver a message?

And he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw. 

John sees his role here as a witness and a mediator.  Which is exactly what we are! Even if we haven't seen a miraculous vision, we can bare record of the Word of God, of the testimony of Jesus, and of the things we have seen God do in our own lives.  Like Peter and John said to the Sanhedrin in Acts 4:20, we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.  This threefold testimony of being familiar enough with God's Word to use it as evidence, with who Jesus is in the gospels and in our lives, and of our own experience is how we become God's witnesses in this world, as He intended Israel to be in Isaiah 43:10.

Revelation 1:3  Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: 

As I mentioned in my last post, there is a blessing to those who read and hear the words of this prophecy, but there's one more catch.  Blessed are those who KEEP those things which are written therein.  That means that this is a book to be obeyed, whose principles must be remembered and guarded, and that we should keep present in our minds and hearts.  I have felt convicted that I have largely neglected teaching out of Revelation because I'm afraid of being drawn into controversy and uncertainty.  But I feel very strongly now that this book is for us, now, today, and for all of God's people in all times.  This book is crucial to know, and there is an inherent blessing in reading and listening to these words.  I hope in the upcoming blog posts you will also be blessed!