Introduction to the Book of Revelation
[ Bible Probe ]Posted by Bible Probe on July 06, 2005 at 17:09:45:
The Apostle John is the author of the Book of Revelation. He wrote it when he was about 92 years old, while a prisoner of Rome on the remote desert penal colony of Patmos, an island in the Aegean Sea.
Patmos was a quarry mine for the Roman Empire, and was home to many political and religious prisoners or slaves. John, the beloved apostle of Jesus, was being held as a prisoner of Rome on this island for his incessant preaching about Jesus. Rome believed that banishing the old man John to the remote and forsaken island of Patmos, that his voice would be quieted. John was aged in years, and close to the end of his life, probably sent to Patmos in the year 95 by the Roman emperor Domitian, who was reportedly angry at the fact that John was not killed when he was dipped in boiling oil. Since John was a contemporary of Jesus, John would have been by that time, well over 90 years old - making him very likely the only apostle to survive to such an old age. The rest of Jesus apostles and disciples were martyred decades earlier. It was as if God supernaturally preserved John to bare record of The Revelation!
John's love for Jesus was so strong, that he continued to defy the Roman magistrate's order to no longer proclaim Jesus as Messiah, Savior and Lord; even while a prisoner. On Patmos, John was thrown in with violent criminals, but simply won many of the criminals to faith in Jesus.
It was on Patmos that John wrote down in a scroll all that "he saw and heard". John's sworn testimony about how he received the messages is given in the first chapter.
According to Greek Orthodox Tradition John's vision came to him on a Sunday after saying Mass and preaching the Gospel. Saint John, to escape the heat of the day, remained in the cave where he said Mass. It was here that one day the Lord came to Saint John in a vision. When Saint John awoke, he dictated his revelation to his scribe.
"The unveiling of hidden things concerning Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants, even the hidden things which must soon take place; and He sent his personal Angel to communicate it to His servant John, who bore careful witness to everything he saw--that is, about the Word of God and the testimony concerning Jesus Christ. Blessed is the one who reads the words of this PROPHECY, and blessed are those who here it and take heart what is written in it, because the time is near" (Revelation 1:1-3 HLL)
Because of the extraordinary vision and prophecy revealed to John many of the descr1ptions appear vague and somewhat confusing to many! John was commanded to write about the things to which he was an eye witness! It must be remembered that John was writing down what he was seeing and His 1st Century understanding was probably not compatible and adequate to describe things that he saw and now exist in the 21st century. We have found it very helpful to pray to God for understanding before reading Revelation.
Put yourself in John's place for a moment. You are miraculously transported from the primitive, non-technical age of the 1st century into the 21st century. You witness the most horrific war of all times, fought with machines completely beyond your comprehension. John is trying to describe things such as:
-supersonic jet aircraft
-modern helicopters
-battle tanks
-ICBM's
-biological and chemical weapons
-aircraft carriers
-laser weapons
-space stations and satellites
Some of the above is taken from the excellent book by Hal Lindsey, entitled "Apocalypse Code"
I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lamp stands, and among the lamp stands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing In a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: Do not be afraid. I am the first and the last. I am the living one; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.
Revelation 1 :12-18
The Greek word for Revelation is apokalupsis which literally means, "unveiling" or " to remove from covering", or to “open and unloose (unseal) the detail”. Old Testament Prophet Daniel was informed to “seal up” the prophecy concerning these things until “the time of the end”. The book of Revelation however unseals that epic volume, and is in fact the unveiling of Jesus Christ. It is the unveiling of Jesus Christ because only he is worthy to open, or unveil, and remove the covering from the previously sealed book of prophecy. The book unveils his relationship to the church throughout the long drama of the Church Age, his judgments of this world, and the nations of the world, and it conveys to the present world things that shall come to pass in the near future. The purpose of the Revelation is also to reveal to Christ's watchful servants, all the details concerning the things that must shortly take place, in the interim leading directly to our Lord's grand return to the world stage. He will return as a conquering King, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, which is the exact reversal of his first advent when he came as a meek, humble sacrificial Lamb, a lamb slain even before the very foundation of the world.
- Bible Probe Please Check Out (url) - Darryl 07/07/05
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