v. In our modern pictures of Jesus, we like to think of Him as He was, not Jesus as He is. We prefer to see and know Jesus after the flesh. But Paul said, Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer (2 Corinthians 5:16). 3. (17-18) John’s reaction and Jesus’ assurance. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death. a. I am the Alpha and the Omega : In many translations, and in “Red-Letter” editions, these words are in red. This shows that the translators believed that these were the words of Jesus. John was finished with his introduction, and now Jesus introduced Himself. After all, it is His revelation ( the Revelation of Jesus Christ, Revelation 1:1), so it isn’t strange that He introduces it. iii. “This was not only an emblem of in antiquity, but it was evidence of his glory; for the whiteness of splendour of his head and hair doubtless proceeded from the rays of light and glory which encircled his head, and darted from it in all directions.” (Clarke) one who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will never again leave it. Upon him I will write the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God (the new Jerusalem that comes down out of heaven from My God), and My new name.

i. Some suggest that it was because they are arranged in a roughly circular pattern. Others think it was because these were postal districts in the Roman province of Asia. Many believe seven churches were chosen because in the Bible, the number seven often represents completeness, and these letters – and all of the Book of Revelation – are written to the complete church, not only these seven churches . Seiss writes, “The churches of all time are comprehended in seven,” and quotes many modern and ancient commentators that agree with this perspective. v. Some scholars believe that John wrote and loosed us from our sins. There is only one letter different between the words washed and loosed in the ancient Greek language. Both words show up in ancient manuscripts, so it’s hard to say which one John wrote. Nevertheless, both are true – we are both washed and loosed from our sins . seven horns and seven eyes ( 5:6), seven trumpets ( 8:2), seven thunders ( 10:3), seven signs ( 12:1,3; 13:13-14; 15:1; 16:14; 19:20), seven crowns ( 12:3), c. From the seven Spirits who are before His throne : John brought a greeting from God the Holy Spirit, who is described with this title. The seven Spirits who are before His throne speaks to the perfection and completion of the Holy Spirit. John used an Old Testament description of the Holy Spirit.

usage For revolution

The infamous seven-headed Beast that rises from the sea demanding to be worshipped symbolises Rome. By John's time seven emperors had ruled over Rome and Rome was known as the city of seven hills. g. Who bore witness to the word of God : In this prologue, we see John knew this book was Holy Scripture, the word of God . We sometimes wonder if the apostlic authors of the New Testament knew they wrote Holy Scripture. At least in this case, John knew. i. “His face was like the disk of the sun in the brightest summer’s day, when there were no clouds to abate the splendour of his rays.” (Clarke) i. Because they neglect the book Revelation, many people miss this blessing. For example, the Anglican Church virtually omits Revelation in its regular schedule of readings for both public worship and private devotions. This is a typical attitude towards the Book of Revelation. Many people believe that only fanatics want to dig deep into this book, but really, it is a book for anyone who wants to be blessed .

I looked, and I heard the voices of many angels and living creatures and elders encircling the throne, and their number was myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands.

Academics believe that the development of this Imperial Cult made John angry and the Book of Revelation is a polemic against it and a warning to the Christians not to engage with it. ii. The signs are also necessary because there is tremendous power in symbolic language. It is one thing to call someone or something evil or bad, but it is far more vivid to describe the image of a woman drunk with the blood of the saints (Revelation 17:6). e. He had in His right hand seven stars : The seven stars speak of the leaders or representatives of the seven churches mentioned in Revelation 1:11 (Revelation 1:20). The stars are securely in the hand of Jesus. Since seven is the number of completion, we can say that “He’s got the whole church in His hands.” e. He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John : This describes how the message is delivered in the Book of Revelation. It is a book of signs: the angel sign -ified this message to John. It is a book that communicates in signs. c. And has made us kings and priests to His God and Father : This is status Jesus gives to those whom He loved in His work on the cross and who are washed… in His own blood . It would have been enough just to love them and cleanse them. But He goes far beyond, and makes us kings and priests to His God and Father . This is more than Adam ever was. Even in the innocence of Eden we never read of Adam among the kings and priests of God. This is worth praising Jesus about.

i. If Jesus is both the Beginning and the End , then He also has authority over everything in-between. This means that Jesus has a plan for history, and He directs the path of human events toward His designed fulfillment. Our lives are not given over to blind fate, to random meaninglessness, or to endless cycles with no resolution. Instead, Jesus Christ who is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End directs all of human history and even our individual lives. f. Out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword : This is a heavy sword (the ancient Greek word rhomphaia), used to kill and destroy. Sometimes the New Testament speaks of a smaller, more tactical sword known in the ancient Greek language as the machaira. Hebrews 4:12 uses the term for this smaller, more precise sword. I have this against you: You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess. By her teaching she misleads My servants to be sexually immoral and to eat food sacrificed to idols. iii. Jesus is the one who has the keys of Hades and of Death . Some imagine that the devil is somehow the “lord of Hell.” Some imagine that the devil has authority or power to determine life or death. Clearly, they are wrong, for only Jesus holds the keys of Hades and of Death . We can trust that Jesus never lets the devil borrow the keys . 4. (19-20) Another command to write and an explanation. i. If we understand our own deep sinfulness, this seems almost too good to be true. We can stand clean before God – clean from the deepest of stains. No wonder the same Apostle John also wrote, If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).e. Send it to the seven churches which are in Asia : John was commanded to write to seven churches in seven cities. Each of these churches is in the region of the Roman province of Asia . But these were not the only cities with churches in this region. For example, there was a church in the city of Colosse (to which the Apostle Paul wrote the letter of Colossians), but the city of Colosse isn’t included in this list of seven churches . Why were these specific seven churches chosen? iii. The use of firstborn does not mean that Jesus had a birth date and is therefore a created being, and not God. The ancient Rabbis called Yahweh Himself “Firstborn of the World” (Rabbi Bechai cited in Lightfoot’s commentary on Colossians). Rabbis also used firstborn as a Messianic title. “God said, ‘As I made Jacob a first-born (Exodus 4:22), so also will I make king Messiah a first-born’ (Psalm 89:27).” (R. Nathan in Shemoth Rabba, cited by Lightfoot in his commentary on Colossians)

Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.you have kept My command to persevere, I will also keep you from the hour of testing that is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. i. First, we believe that the Book of Revelation must mean something. This is a book that Jesus gave to show His servants something. It isn’t a book of meaningless nonsense. It has a promise of blessing, not a promise of confusion. I saw a scroll in the right hand of the One seated on the throne. It had writing on both sides and was sealed with seven seals. John was telling first century Christians to galvanise themselves against compromising with Rome, and that their faithfulness would be rewarded. The origin and influence of Revelation