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Pastor Scott L. Harris
Grace Bible Church, NY
January 5, 2025
◘Introduction to The Apocalypse
Revelation 1:1-3
Preliminary Thoughts
This morning we begin our study of the Revelation of Jesus Christ given to John when he was exiled to Patmos. ◘ This book is also commonly referred to as The Apocalypse, a Middle English word tracing through Anglo-French to the Greek word ajpokavluyiV / apokalypsis meaning “to uncover” and hence to reveal. This book uncovers / reveals what will happen in the future. I will be interchangeably referring to it as either the Apocalypse or Revelation throughout this sermon. ◘ Though there are commentaries published that are that are fairly brief such as T. F. Glasson’s in The Cambridge Bible Commentary series which is only 125 pages or Warren W. Wiersbe’s 156 page book, Be Victorious, which was written to cover the entire book in thirteen lessons as an elective for a Sunday School quarter, this study will not be short. The Apocalypse is simply too complex for me to treat it adequately in such a short time frame.
◘This series will also not be an academic treatise trying to cover and weigh out the pros and cons of the various views and interpretations of the text within the book. First, that is far too complex. For example, the Exegetical Digest compiled by Dr. Robert Thomas of Talbot and The Master’s Seminary did seek to do just that, and in the two volumes he did publish with a total of 718 pages he only covered the first seven chapters. He had fifteen chapters to go! Second, and more importantly, sermons are not meant to be academic lectures. The academic work a pastor does is only for the purpose of making sure he has an accurate understanding of the text of the scriptures so that he can be confident in explaining its truths and encouraging the congregation to live according to them. Third, much of the ink spilt in putting forth various views can be quickly ignored by simply pointing to the underlying fallacies from which they arose which eliminates the need to argue through every point and sub-point.
◘This series will strive to avoid the speculations that so often are part of both preaching and lectures on prophetic scriptures. I grew up in churches in which it was common to have a yearly prophecy conference and most of those included a lot of speculation though often not stated as speculation. A book of this nature is the 1970 best seller by Hal Lindsey, The Late Great Planet Earth. While there are valid and interesting points made in the book, there is also a lot of citations of news events as evidence for the author’s views. It reads very differently fifty-four years after it was written. Gog is still Gog, but the Soviet Union no longer exists, and the European Common Market is far beyond 10 countries. I will make sure that any comments I make of a speculative nature will be clearly stated as such.
◘What will I be doing in this series? At present I have put together a preaching outline that will cover the Apocalypse in 39 sermons, but I could shorten or lengthen that a little as I get into the details of the text. Considering the special topics and guest speakers that we will have this year, we will do well to complete this sermon series in 2025. My intention is to go into enough detail of the text so that the message of the book is clearly understood without bogging down into details that pull interpretations into speculations that may undercut the validity of this exposition as history unfolds should the Lord continue to tarry for years to come.
◘I must be forthright in letting you know that my own negative reaction to the speculative prophecy conferences of my youth have made me hesitant to preach through Revelation and until a few years ago I had not intended to do so. However, after completing the seven year series on the Life of Christ in 2019 and then seeing the chaos the world descended into in 2020 I began to see that I needed to prepare Christians for the persecution that was rising and will be present prior to the tribulation period.
◘Donald Trump’s win of the presidency may give Christians in the United States a little more breathing room overall for the next four years, but that will not protect Christians in other nations nor will it change the active actions in “blue states” such as New York and California that attack the values of Christians and seek to make them second class citizens or drive them out of the state if possible. For example, in California you cannot be a foster parent unless you agree in advance to support a foster child’s chosen gender identity or sexual orientation before that may even be an issue. Even neutrality is not an option. Here in New York, as of January 1, our Statement of Faith and Bylaws are now in conflict with the very poorly written and contradictory non-discrimination amendment to the New York State Constitution. It will take years of court cases to establish precedent of what it means as activists bring law suits against moral people who recognize biological reality and will not yield to immoral fantasy and sexual fiction. Persecution of Christians will continue and unless the Lord brings a revival our depraved society will continue to degrade even if at a slower pace.
◘I also realized in the last few years that it would be good to leave behind some understandable teaching for those that will enter into the tribulation period. They will need help to understand what God has already said in advance about what they will go through. They will need strong warning about falling for and following the deceptions of the Anti-Christ, and they will need direction in how to follow God in the midst of extreme tribulation.
◘I have spent the last few years preaching through books and prophetic Scripture passages that give the necessary prophetic background in order to properly understand the prophecies of Revelation. They included a study of 1 Thessalonians, Habakkuk, 2 Thessalonians, the Trusting God series and especially Daniel, Zechariah & the Eschatology Series. If you were not here for those sermons or have not studied those books previously, I strongly suggest you go to the links in our website to read or listen to them. The major reason for poor and even fallacious teaching about the book of Revelation is that it is interpreted apart from the many prior eschatological prophesies. You cannot properly understand the Apocalypse apart from first having a good understanding of Daniel, Zechariah and the Olivet Discourse in the eschatology series. Jamming interpretations of Revelation into previously decided theological systems only causes distortion. A one inch diameter rod will not fit into a two centimeter square box. Theological understanding needs to arise from the Scriptural text, not the Scriptural text being forced into the theology. That is why the system of hermeneutics used is so important. A wrong approach to interpreting the Scriptures will result in wrong interpretations.
◘I also want to let you know that despite my reluctance toward detailed study of end times prophecies – eschatology – various challenges have forced me to do so many times over the decades so that I am very confident of the position and interpretations I will be making in this sermon series. Due to the inherent theological conflicts that arise from different systems of Biblical interpretation, there will be a limit to how closely I can work with those who interpret Scriptures with a method other than the historical-grammatical one. Throughout this series I will point out the major interpretive differences caused by other systems and why interpreting the text according to its grammar in its historical context is superior. ◘Even so, I am a true fundamentalist and treat Christians holding other views on eschatology as brothers and sisters and extend grace to them as long as they also hold to the fundamentals of the faith including the doctrine of Jesus’ physical return from heaven to earth. Those who reject the clearly stated promises of Jesus to physically return to earth from heaven have a different Jesus (John 14:3; Matthew 16:27, 24:30; 25:31; 26:64; Acts 1:11; 1 Corinthians 11:26; Philippians 3:20; 1 Thess. 1:10; Rev. 1:7). We are not to be accepting of those who teach heresy and doctrines contrary to Christ regardless of their claims to be fellow Christians (2 John 10; Gal. 1:8-9; Titus 3:10; Romans 16:17; 1 Tim. 6:3-5). Those reaching other conclusions about the timing and order of eschatological events will be happy when the interpretations based on the historical-grammatical method prove to be true.
◘A final reason for me to preach through the Apocalypse is the statement made in Revelation 1:3, “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.” Seeing that chapters 2 & 3 contain warnings to the seven churches in Asia and rest of the book details what will take place in the future, I take the warning to heed what is written the same way I do 2 Peter 3:14. After introducing the Day of the Lord coming unexpectedly like a thief and then jumping to its ultimate conclusion with the destruction of the present heavens and earth and creation of new ones, Peter states this, 14 “Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless.” The study of eschatology should result in sinners repenting and the saved pursing greater holiness. That will the quest as we study this book of Revelation which promises a blessing to those who read and heed it.
Let’s now consider the authorship, date, purpose and outline.
◘Authorship – Revelation 1:1-2
The authorship of this book is stated in verses 1-2. ◘It is a bit complicated but actually follows a similar pattern to all other holy Scriptures for the Bible is a work of God using men and is not the religious musings of men. ◘Those who do not like the message of a particular book in the Bible will always challenge its authorship to remove or diminish its authority by making it the work of mere men. It has been no different when it comes to the Apocalypse.
◘Dionysius, third century Bishop of Alexandria who died about 247, was a godly Christian to be commended in many areas including his insistence on correct doctrine. However, he did have his own theological preferences and ◘ as a disciple of Origen he picked up his bent toward allegorical and typological interpretation. Dionysius did not like the teaching of a thousand year kingdom of Christ on earth which is included in Revelation 20. A doctrine now known as Millennialism (from the Latin meaning 1,000) but then known as Chiliasm (from the Greek meaning 1,000). For that reason he actively campaigned against Revelation. Ned Bernard Stonehouse in his book, The Apocalypse in the Ancient Church, wrote, “There can be no doubt that Dionysius was first of all interested in destroying the influence of this work” in reference to the Apocalypse. He did so in two ways. First, by fighting against a literal, chiliasitic interpretation and pushing for an allegorical one. Second, by questioning the authorship of the book in a way that challenges its authority while not utterly rejecting its inclusion in the canon of Scripture.
◘Dionysius suggested that because he heard that there were two tombs at Ephesus said to be John’s, and that John was a common name at that time, then the John that wrote Revelation was different from the John the apostle. His conclusion was despite his evidence being hearsay and the logic of his argument being irrelevant to the authorship of the Apocalypse. ◘He went on to argue that the internal evidence in the book was against it being the apostle John because his gospel account and epistles differ from Revelation in: A) Identifying himself by name. B) General construction. C) Vocabulary used. D) Grammatical style. I will answer each of his objections in a little bit, but first I want to continue with some of the history on this subject.
◘Dionysius greatly influenced Eusebius (~260-340), early fourth century church historian and Bishop of Caesarea, who made the same arguments against apostolic authorship of the Apocalypse and labeled its author as “John the Elder” in order to make the distinction. He was aggressive in his view even calling Papias (60-130) who had heard the apostle John preach and knew John’s disciple, Polycarp, a man of very little intelligence because of his writings advocating a future millennial kingdom of Christ. ◘It was Athanasius (~295-373), Bishop of Alexandria, and his arguments for the historical position of the church regarding the Apocalypse as written by John the Apostle that kept the early church from succumbing to the criticism of Dionysius and Eusebius that would have kept it out of the canon of Scripture. ◘The early church generally held to a literal interpretation of Revelation which includes a chiliastic view such as that of Justin Martyr (~100-165) and Irenaeus (d. 195).
◘T.F. Glasson, who does not hold to the apostolic authorship of Revelation, in his commentary, The Revelation of John, points out that it was Augustine (354-430), Bishop of Hippo, that brought the allegorical view of Revelation to dominance. By this time not only was the church no longer under persecution in the Roman Empire due to the edict of toleration in 311 and the edict of Milan in 313, but Christianity had become the official religion of the empire under Theodosius I (379-395). ◘An allegorical interpretation seemed to fit better the political reality of an ascendant church with Satan being bound and Jesus ruling spiritually / mystically. Glasson exposes the reason for the dominance of allegorical interpretation in stating, “This explanation by Augustine, while not an accurate interpretation of Rev. 20, brought John’s conception of the reign of Christ into line with the rest of the New Testament.” In other words, the interpretation is not according to what the Scripture text states, but it is what is desired to be believed. Allegorical interpretation of Revelation is still the method used in Roman Catholicism, the Eastern Orthodox churches, and most main-line denominations of protestant churches though they will vary a lot in the specifics as would be expected of allegory and other forms of mystical interpretation.
◘Others that have been proposed as the author of the Apocalypse include: A) John the Prophet by R. H. Charles (A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Revelation of St. John) who gives a more sophisticated version of Dionysius’ arguments. This is an unknown John who is given a title to distinguish him from the apostle named John, but there is no more evidence for him than there is for John the Elder. B) John Mark. Dionysius mentions him, but there is no historical or linguistic connection. C) John as an intentional pseudonym is advocated by some liberal commentators as would be expected since as unbelievers they are long on criticism and short on evidence, and a writer using a pseudonym is not identifiable.
◘Who wrote the Apocalypse? What does the text say? Look at Revelation 1:1-2. Using the more literal Legacy Standard Bible, 1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His slaves the things which must soon happen; and He indicated this by sending it through His angel to His slave John, 2 who bore witness to the word of God and to the witness of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw.
Contrary to the views and arguments against the person identified as His slave John being the apostle John, the author of this book is not human. ◘The actual author is God the Father who gave a revelation about things that were to soon take place to Jesus Christ, God the Son, who in turn sent and communicated it through His angel to His slave John who was to testify about what he heard and saw to the rest of God’s slaves. John also concludes in Revelation 22:8 with a declaration that he was a witness to what he heard and saw. ◘John is simply the man who recorded what he witnessed, and that is parallel to what the apostle was in both his gospel account and first epistle though in those it was the Holy Spirit working through him to write down exactly what God wanted concerning things of the past and present instead of receiving and recording direct prophetic revelation concerning the future.
The gospel of John begins with a declaration about the identity of Jesus and that He had come to bring grace and truth and explain the Father to the people. John 20:20-31 is John’s declaration that there was much more he could have written but he wrote what he did so that “you may believe that Jesus it the Christ and believing you may have life in His name.” He concludes the gospel account with the declaration in John 21:24, “This is the disciple who is bearing witness to these things and wrote these things, and we know that his witness is true.”
1 John begins with his declaration that he and others were first hand witness of Jesus’ life and message to the world. 1 John 1:1–4, 1 “What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we beheld and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life— 2 and the life was manifested, and we have seen and bear witness and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was manifested to us— 3 what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you may also have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. 4 And these things we are writing, so that our joy may be made complete.” He concludes with a testimony that it is because God has given understanding that you can know Him.
◘The accusation of Dionysius that the vocabulary between Revelation, the gospel and epistles is too different turns out to be false. Of the nineteen terms or expressions he lists, twelve do occur in Revelation, some with frequency. Three of the remaining seven terms do not occur in the gospel account and one does not occur in 1 John. The cognate of one of the remaining three words is used which leaves only two terms unused in Revelation that are used in the other writings. This accusation is both false and a non-argument anyway. While it might be expected that an author would use the same or similar vocabulary when writing on the same subject, that would not be expected when writing on a different subject, and the Apocalypse is a different subject and type of literature than the gospel or epistles.
◘Related to this is the difference in very poor grammar used in Revelation compared to the gospel or epistles. Actually, 1 John also contains some very poor grammar. It would not be expected that grammatical style would remain consistent by the same author writing on different subjects in different circumstances using different literary forms. 2 & 3 John are personal letters. 1 John is a teaching letter sent to warn against and correct an early form of gnostic heresy that was rising. The gospel according to John is a selective historical narrative designed to both augment the three earlier written synoptic gospels with his eye witness accounts and to convince the reader that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God, and that by believing they might have eternal life in His name. Those were all composed carefully with resources at hand that might have even included a scribe. Revelation is written while John is in exile without resources and “in the Spirit” (1:10) putting down what he is told and trying to describe things both disturbing and far beyond anything he has ever experienced before.
Apostolic authorship is important for any New Testament writing, but it is of special importance to Revelation since its message is disturbing and there were those that wanted to eliminate or at least reduce its authority from early on. ◘The wrangling brought about by Dionysius and the internal evidence of vocabulary, grammatical style and such has become normative for theological liberals as they apply their literary theories to prove they are fools. Careful analysis of their literary theories usually proves they do not hold water – such as those used to advocate the priority of Mark in the gospel accounts. ◘The same theories can be used to prove either Matthew or Luke as the priority account. Presupposing that God has not and does not communicate to man in any clear and therefore authoritative manner, the challenge to either the claimed or traditionally accepted authorship is an early step in the effort to reject the message of a text of Scripture. The real rejection is to God being the author of Scripture.
As stated in verses 1-2, this book is a revelation from God the Father that He gave to His son, Jesus Christ, to show to His slaves about the things that were to happen in a short time. Jesus fulfilled this by sending an angel that communicated it to John His slave. John in turn testified to what he was told, the witness of Jesus and all that he saw. Verse 3 states that prophecies were written down so that those who would read or hear them and heed them would be blessed.
◘Though not all Scriptures have as many steps in getting to man, all Scriptures come from God as stated in 2 Timothy 3:16. They are God breathed. Sometimes they come directly from Him as signified by the 419 times the statement “Thus says the Lord” occurs. Hebrews 1:1 states that God “spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways.” That includes dreams, visions, messages through angels and direct statements. 2 Peter 1:21 states that “no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.” The Holy Spirit moved upon men to write down exactly what God wanted even while those men expressed themselves in their own unique styles. ◘Hebrews 1:2 states that “in these last days [He] has spoken to us in His Son.” The Gospels record the direct teachings of Jesus and the epistles expand upon those teachings. ◘The Apocalypse is God’s revelation given to Jesus who uses an angel to transmit the message to John, though we will also find throughout Revelation that Jesus also speaks to John directly. The author is ultimately God the Father and John is the one that wrote it down. That fact means that claiming this book was written by someone other than the apostle John is a fools errand because the authority of its message comes from God and not John.
◘The external evidence for John the apostle being the one who wrote down the revelation is overwhelming beginning with the testimony of the early church which according to Robert L. Thomas in his commentary is “earlier, clearer, more definite, and more positive for Revelation than for the traditional authorship of any other NT book. Testimony of the earliest Fathers is unanimous in favor of apostolic authorship . . .”.
◘The internal evidence is also overwhelming. When it comes to vocabulary, there are a host of words that either only show up in the writings of John such as referring to Christ as “the Word,” or are frequent with John and rare with any other author (See Revelation 1-7: An Exegetical Commentary, Robert L. Thomas, pages 11-13). The similarities in syntax (pages 13-15), style (pages 15-16) and concepts (pages 16-17) also bolster the traditional view of the John in Revelation being the apostle. ◘None of this ignores the differences between the Apocalypse and the rest of John’s writings, but it certainly offsets the claims against it. Differences in the writing of the same author are to be expected when there are differences in purpose and the state of mind of the author as in the Apocalypse compared to John’s other writings as already mentioned.
◘Date & Place of Writing
The place of writing is declared directly in Revelation 1:9, “I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance which are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the witness of Jesus.” Patmos is small volcanic island of about 13 square miles in the Icarian Sea off the cost of modern Turkey, about 22 miles south-southwest of Samos.
◘The traditional date of writing is A.D. 95-96 based on the statements of early church Fathers. Irenaeus (~A.D.175-195) states that the apostle John lived in Ephesus after returning from Patmos until the reign of Trajan (A.D.. 98 – 117). Clement of Alexandria (~A.D.155-220) refers to John returning from the Isle of Patmos and Eusebius dates this as immediately following the death of Domitian which occurred in A.D. 96. All of this fits well with the traditional date of John moving to the Roman province of Asia just before or at the beginning of the Jewish revolt in Judea which started in 66. John became established in Ephesus and it is from there he wrote his gospel account ~A.D. 85-90 and epistles (A.D. 90-95). ◘Suggested earlier dates are based on trying to cram the Apocalypse into a pre-supposed theological system which rejects the traditional witnesses to the date in favor of specious interpretations of the book.
◘Purpose
The purpose of the Apocalypse is stated in 1:1-3 as we have already read. ◘It is a revelation from God the Father to Jesus Christ to show God’s slaves what was to soon take place. Jesus communicated this through an angel to John who wrote down the prophetic things he heard and saw ◘which would bring a blessing to those who would read or hear the prophecy and heed it. ◘The purpose of the book is a prophetic warning about the future wrath and judgment of God. Those who heed the warning are blessed because it is a motivation to pursue holiness and eschew evil. This purpose is emphasized in the conclusions in Revelation 22:14–15, 14 “Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the authority to the tree of life and may enter by the gates into the city. 15 Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the sexually immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying.” The horrific things written in the book should be motivations to heed the warnings, but tragically, there are many that are motivated instead to either deny the validity of the book or change its plain presentation into something mystical and therefore more tolerable.
The often made claim that the Apocalypse does not fit with the rest of the New Testament as I pointed out in my earlier quote from Glasson only shows that people want a God who fits their own desires instead of the One who has revealed Himself in the Scriptures. ◘They ignore the plain meaning of the text and reinterpret it to fit a caricature of what they want God to be instead of what He actually is. They like Jesus the Suffering Servant that will not quarrel, cry out, break off a battered reed or put out a smoldering wick (Matthew 12:18-20). They do not like Jesus the victorious king that will return suddenly and unexpectedly bringing judgment on the unprepared, the unfaithful and the accursed goats as we saw in Matthew 25 this past December. As I pointed out when preaching through Matthew 24, Revelation is the detail of what Jesus outlined in the Olivet Discourse. ◘Revelation fits perfectly with the warnings of God’s coming wrath and judgment made by the Hebrew prophets, Jesus and the Apostles. Jesus, the gentle lamb of God (John 1:29) returns as the lion of Judah (Rev. 5:5). Denial or allegorical interpretation of Revelation to soften its message will not change that fact. That results in those doing so not heeding the message and losing the blessing they could have had. They also may place themselves in grave danger of receiving the curses of it (Rev. 22:18-19).
Next week I will continue with some additional introductory material concerning prophecy, theological systems, hermeneutical principles and the structure of Revelation before we then get into John’s prologue and explanation of the vision he had on Patmos in chapter 1.
◘A Brief Outline
In closing this morning I do want to leave you with a simple outline for Revelation. I will provide an extensive one next week.
I. Prologue (Rev. 1)
II. Letters to the Seven Churches (Rev. 2-3)
III. The Scene in Heaven (Rev. 4-5)
IV. Tribulation (Rev. 6-18)
A. The Seven Seal Judgments (Rev. 6:1-8:1)
B. The Seven Trumpet Judgments (Rev. 8:2-11:19)
C. The Seven Bowl Judgments (Rev. 12:1-18:24)
V. The Second Coming (Rev. 19)
VI. The Millennium & Judgment (Rev. 20)
VII. The Eternal State (Rev. 21:1-22:5)
VIII. Epilogue (Rev. 22:6-21)
Sermon Notes: January 5, 2025
Introduction to The Apocalypse – Revelation 1:1-3
Preliminary Thoughts
Revelation traces to the Greek word ajpokavluyiV / apokalypsis meaning “to ________” and hence to reveal
This will not be __________study for the book is too complex for that
This will not be an academic _________. That would be too complex and that is not the purpose of sermons
I will strive to avoid the pitfalls of _____________ that are often a part of sermons on prophecy
The goal is to be detailed enough to make Revelation ______________without bogging down in the debates
Hesitancy to preach through Revelation changed in 2020 as the need to prepare for ____________increased
A political reprieve in the USA does not mean ___________of persecution in other nations – or “blue” states
Those who will go through the Tribulation will need something to _______them understand it and seek God
The sermon series since 2020 have been preparing the ______________for understanding Revelation
I have been forced to study eschatology in _________many times and am very confident in my position
Charity is given to those with opposing views provided they believe in Christ’s promised __________return
There is a ___________in studying Revelation and heeding its warnings (2 Peter 3:14)
Authorship – Revelation 1:1-2
The Bible is a work of God __________ _______and not the religious musing of men
Those who do not like a Biblical message challenge its authorship to remove or diminish its _____________
Dionysisus (d. 247), third century Bishop of Alexandria was generally good, but he rejected ____________
A disciple of Origen, he advocated allegorical interpretation & _____________the authorship of Revelation
His external arguments against apostolic authorship were __________and logically unrelated to authorship
His _________arguments were picked up by others and became a model for challenging Biblical authorship
Dionysius greatly influenced _________(~260-340), early 4th century church historian & Bishop of Caesarea
Athanasius (~295-373), argued for the historical position which kept Revelation in the __________
The early church generally held to literal interpretation & the ____________view (Justin Martyr, Irenaeus)
Augustine (354-430), Bishop of Hippo, brought the __________view of Revelation to dominance
Augustine’s interpretation ____ ____accurate, but fit better the then political reality of an ascendant church
Other suggested authors: John the Elder; John the Prophet; John Mark; John as an intentional pseudonym
Who wrote the Apocalypse? Rev. 1:1-3. _____the Father ➔ Jesus Christ ➔ an angel ➔ Jesus’ slave John
John recorded what he _________- paralleling an emphasis on being a witness in John 21:24 & 1 John 1:1-4
Dionysius’ claim of there being too many differences in vocabulary turns out to be _________
Revelation is written in different _____________& literary form – and 1 John also has poor grammar
The literary theories used by liberals to attack authorship usually prove to be ______when carefully analyzed
The same theories of literary analysis can “prove” the __________of Mark, Luke or Matthew in the gospels
Whether direct or by many steps, all Scripture is ______________(2 Tim. 3:16), produced by the Holy Spirit Heb. 1:2 – God has spoken by His _______: the gospels record Jesus’ teaching, the epistles expand on them
God’ revelation to Jesus for His slaves is transmitted both through an angel or directly to ________to record
The external evidence for John the apostle being the witness to Revelation is _____________
The internal evidence of ____________in vocabulary, syntax, style & concepts is also overwhelming
Similarities in writing offset the differences which are expected due to __________purpose & circumstances
Date & Place of Writing – Revelation 1:9
Revelation 1:9 – the place is ________, a small island in the Icarian Sea 22 miles south-southwest of Samos
The traditional date is A.D.95-96 based on the statements of Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria and Eusebius
Suggested earlier dates are based on trying to cram the Apocalypse into a pre-supposed theology
Purpose – Revelation 1:1-3; 22:14-15
A) Rev. 1:1 – to _______ God’s slaves the things which must soon happen
B) Rev. 1:3; 22:14 – to _______ those who read, hear and heed the things written in the prophecy
C) Rev. 22:15 – Give a prophetic _______ about the future wrath and judgment of God
Ignoring or reinterpreting Scripture to fit a __________of God you want does not change Him or reality
The Apocalypse fits perfectly the warnings of God’s wrath & judgment by the prophets, _______& apostles
Outline
I. Prologue (Rev. 1)
II. Letters to the Seven Churches (Rev. 2-3)
III. The Scene in Heaven (Rev. 4-5)
IV. Tribulation (Rev. 6-18)
A. The Seven Seal Judgments (Rev. 6:1-8:1)
B. The Seven Trumpet Judgments (Rev. 8:2-11:19)
C. The Seven Bowl Judgments (Rev. 12:1-18:24)
V. The Second Coming (Rev. 19)
VI. The Millennium & Judgment (Rev. 20)
VII. The Eternal State (Rev. 21:1-22:5)
VIII. Epilogue (Rev. 22:6-21)
KIDS KORNER
Parents, you are responsible to apply God’s Word to your children’s lives. Here is some help. Young Children – draw a picture about something you hear during the sermon. Explain your picture(s) to your parents at lunch. Older Children – Do one or more of the following: 1) Write down all the verses mentioned in the sermon and look them up later. 2) Count how man times the word “Apocalypse” or “Revelation” is used. Talk with your parents about the importance of recognizing the origin of Scripture in God and heeding what it says.
THINK ABOUT IT!
Questions to consider in discussing the sermon with others. Why are there so much variation in the interpretation of the Apocalypse? Why did Dionysisus and Eusebius challenge the apostolic authorship of Revelation? Why do liberals challenge the authorship of all Biblical books? Who is the author of Scripture? How did allegorical / mystical interpretation of the Apocalypse become dominant over literal interpretation? What is the evidence that John the Apostle is the witness to the prophecies of Revelation? Why are their literary differences between Revelation and John’s gospel & epistles? When and where was John when he was given the Apocalypse? How can reading, hearing and heeding its prophecies bring a blessing?
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