Countdown to the end . . . #10
Vol. 4, No. 24 – June 16, 2019
The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must shortly take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John, who bore witness to the Word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. –Revelation 1:1-2
The title, Revelation (apocalypse/apokalupsis), means to unveil, uncover, or to make clear. The Book makes plain that which God intends His child to know. It is not a book intended for the non-believer; however, it contains warnings that the non-believer must hear. God expects every child born-again of Him to make the truth of Scripture known to every non-believer (2 Corinthians 5:17-21).
A natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised [discerned]. – 1 Corinthians 2:14
Further, a Spirit-born man/woman does not always accept the things of the Spirit of God because spiritual growth is not a focus of the “busy” person tied to the world system; only partaking of worship and gathering of the church when nothing else is pressing.
God intends for us to know about the end times, and our future appears in The Revelation (yet not exclusively). The Second Coming of Christ, the establishment of the Eternal Kingdom, the new Heaven, the new Earth, the Judgments, the Rapture, The Great Tribulation, the final outcome for Satan and his ilk, and the punishments and rewards – with a great line of grace, mercy, and justice that flows through the writing.
The Revelation is also a Book of Glorification of Jesus Christ, received after His ascension from the earth. Revelation contains more references to angels than any other of the 66 books of the Bible does; there is great angelic conflict included in the writing.
Jesus is glorified; He sends us as His ambassadors (ones who say the same thing as the One sending them) to carry out the will of the Father. Every believer represents Christ on earth; Christ represents us before the Father, at the right hand of the Father.
Revelation is a divine disclosure, not just future; it contains much truth about our present world’s condition and the condition of humankind. If a believer is not moved to share the Gospel through reading of the Book of Revelation, that believer is suffering from a greatly hardened heart, self-focused such that there is not an urgent care for the lost of this world. .
A believer cannot easily miss the beginning of verse 3, “Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it, for the time is near.”
Also, the words, to show, in verse 1 means to make known that which is valuable to the hearers (especially to the believers).
Every believer should be reading God’s Word. You can easily read the Bible in over a year with spending just 15 minutes a day. It is good to read the Bible through each year; a choice of different version, one that is reliable, helps with your understanding. There are many excellent translations available (KJV, NKJV, NASV, NLT [yes, it is a translation], ESV, NIV [1984], and CSB; God does not specify in His Word which one you must use (however, some professors, churches, and preachers tend to specify which is the only “reliable version;” in general it is an appeal to preferences).
“The things” most often represent the promises of the OT and the NT. This word usage appears not less than 45 times in Revelation.
Shortly is a word that we fill with presuppositional meanings. We seldom have the understanding that eternity is in play here. “Shortly” is relative to eternity; it is understood as quick in our nature of patience (or impatience).
His angel is used as a reference to a special agent. The usage is specific, and closely associated to the OT/NT description of the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 11:2; Revelation 7:2-3).
It is a reasonable understanding that John writes the information as received through the Holy Spirit (from and through Jesus, from and through the Father). The Greek word for “communicated” is properly translated signify. Signify is closely related to sign, or miracle. As such, the unveiling is properly a miraculous vision that John is enabled to see, hear, and experience.
I invite you to join with me on an exploration of the communication takes place in the Book of the Revelation over the many weeks remaining in 2019 (and perhaps flowing into 2020).
Behold, Jesus is coming soon to take you home to Heaven; His words are faithful and true (Revelation 22:6).
Life Application Questions
In what ways is it possible to be a Christian and yet walk in darkness in relation to the endtimes? Are we being complacent or are we willing to examine ourselves in the light of His Word of Truth? It is your choice!
