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Pastor Scott L. Harris
Grace Bible Church, NY
January 19, 2025
John’s Salutation & Commission
Revelation 1:4-11
Introduction
I trust that last two sermons introducing our study of the Apocalypse have been helpful to you. While some of that was a bit on the academic side, the issues covered are critical to a proper understanding and response to this book that promises a blessing to those who hear or read and will heed its message.
Authorship and interpretation have been attacked since the early third century when Dionysius suggested it was written by a different John who was not the apostle and advocating the allegorical and mystical interpretive methods he had learned form Origen. But the overwhelming evidence both external and internal is that John the apostle was the penman. ◘The actual author as explained in verses 1-2 is God the Father who gave the revelation to Jesus Christ who communicated it through an angel to God’s slave John who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ all that he saw. Or as stated in the instructions given to John verse 19, he wrote down the things he had seen, the things which are, and the things which will take place after these things. (See: Introduction to the Apocalypse, Part 1)
◘Literal interpretation of this book and of scripture in general dominated the church until the late fourth / early fifth century. In the fourth century the socio-political position of the church in the Roman Empire radically changed from being persecuted to tolerated to being its official religion. The influence of Augustine in the early fifth century shifted the interpretive method to be more accepting of allegory. The allegorical method eventually became the standard hermeneutic of the Roman Catholic Church. The chiliastic understanding of Revelation was replaced with a spiritualization of the thousand year reign of Christ. Though Revelation 20 states a time period of one thousand years six times, a thousand no longer meant a thousand and neither could anything else in the chapter be understood according to the normal meaning of the words and grammar. Allegory, mysticism and spiritualization of Scripture has resulted in a plethora of interpretations of Revelation among amillennial theologians who deny any actual physical reign of Christ in a kingdom on earth, they allow postmillennial theologians to substitute the reign of Christ for a minimization of evil and dominance of the church for an unknown length of time before Jesus returns to judge and bring in eternity, and those methods also affect premillennial theologians who do believe Jesus will reign on the earth for a thousand years, but end up with a mix of interpretations for the rest of the book. (See: Introduction to the Apocalypse, Part 2)
◘We interpret the Scriptures literally using the grammatical-historical method which seeks to understand what is being communicated by God according to the meaning of the words and grammar used in their historical setting. Application is then made after the historical meaning is understood. This method includes recognizing literary genre such as historical narrative, poetry, wisdom sayings, teaching (didactic), prophecy, etc., as well as types of speech such as quotations, paraphrases, metaphor and symbolism. The book of Revelation contains a lot of symbolism, but symbolism is not allegory. Symbols have established meaning while allegory is only limited by the imagination of the interpreter.
◘As pointed out previously in verse 3, there is a blessing given to those who will read and heed this book of prophecy. While there is much in it that is absolutely terrifying, knowledge and wisdom begin with the fear of the Lord (Proverbs 1:7; 9:10). Fear is motivation for the sinner to repent, believe, receive and be saved. It is also motivation for the Christian to separate from the world and pursue greater holiness in preparation for the Lord’s return. The book is also a great encouragement to Christians because it assures us of Jesus’ promises to be with Him forever and the glories of heaven. ◘That these “things must soon take place” (vs. 1) and “the time is near,” both references to the imminency of His return, increases the urgency of heeding the prophecy.
Last week we began to look at John’s salutation in verses 4-5. We will finish that today as well as the doxology he breaks into in verses 5-6 and theme of the book in verses 7-8. John’s commission to write in verses 9-20 also contain a description of glory of the resurrected Jesus Christ who is coming again.
◘John’s Salutation – Revelation 1:4-5
As I pointed out last week, John identifies himself as the one who writing the letter and he is specifically writing it to seven churches in Roman province of Asia which is in what is now western Turkey. The specific churches will be identified in verse 11. It is from those churches that this revelation will be sent out to all of God’s “slaves,” true Christians who have been bought with Jesus’ blood and therefore belong to God, for whom the revelation is meant (vs. 1).
◘John gives a greeting common among Christians to one another. It is a wish for grace, God’s unmerited favor, to be upon them along with experiencing the resulting peace, a tranquility that exist in all circumstances because of being in a right standing and relationship with God. John then identifies the threefold source of this greeting. ◘ 1) “From Him who is and who was and who is to come,” which in this case is a reference to God the Father who is eternal and is coming to fulfill the prophecies in the letter.◘ 2) “The seven Spirits who are before His throne,” which we saw last week is identified by the usage of this same description in Revelation 3:1; 4:5 & 5:6 and its connection to Zechariah 4:1-10 as the Holy Spirit. ◘3) “Jesus Christ” which John further identifies as “the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.” We pick up our study today with the significance of each of these titles. Each of them find their source in Psalm 89 which itself is a commentary on the covenant God made with David described in 2 Samuel 7:8-16.
◘The faithful witness. The heart of the Davidic Covenant is God’s promise that David would have a descendant that would inherit David’s throne forever which Psalm 89 gives in greater detail with verses 36-37 describing David’s “throne as the sun before Me. It shall be established forever like the moon, And the witness in the sky is faithful.” Jesus was always a faithful witness speaking only at the Father’s initiative and command of what He would say and teach (John 8:31; 12:49-50).
◘The firstborn of the dead goes back to Psalm 89:27 declaring Him to be the “first born,” the one who is pre-imminent, but here also tied to Jesus’ resurrection. Almost the exact same title is given to Jesus in Col. 1:18 – “the first born from out of the dead.” 1 Corinthians 15:23 states Jesus is “the first-fruits” of the resurrection from the dead.
◘The ruler of the kings of the earth also comes from Psalm 89:27 in which He is “the highest of the kings of the earth.” Revelation 19:16 states that upon His return He will have written on His robe and thigh, “king of kings, and lord of lords.”
◘John’s Doxology – Revelation 1:5-6
After identifying Jesus in this manner, John breaks into a doxology – a praise to God. “To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood — 6 and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father — to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.”
There are several things I want to point out in this doxology that are very encouraging to us as Christians. ◘First, the beginning phrase is an obvious reference to Jesus since He, as described in 1 Peter 1:18-19, redeemed us from our futile way of life with His own precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless. It is the payment of the redemption price by Jesus’ death on the cross that released us from our bondage to sin. As Romans 5:8 declares, it is Christ’s death for us while we were yet sinners that demonstrates God’s love for us. That is a past event in history that proves for all time and forever God’s love extended to man to bring about the means of forgiveness and restoration to God of those who will believe in Him. ◘Here in Revelation 1:5 John uses the present, active, participle for the verb love which stresses that God’s love for those He has redeemed remains current and active. It is not just something in the past. It is something that is in the present too!
◘Second, John includes Jesus making Christians into a kingdom who are priests to God as a reason for praise. This matches what is stated in 1 Peter 2:9-10 that Christians are those that have received mercy to be the people of God who are “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” Priests serve two primary functions – Leading in the worship of God and mediating between God and man. Stating that we are a “kingdom of priests” instead of a “royal priesthood” places an emphasis on the messianic rule and kingdom which is a focal point of Revelation with chapter 20 expressly stating the saints future participation in Christ’s earthly kingdom (20:4; cf. 5:10; 11:15).
◘Third, this marvelous description of Jesus’ identity and blessings to Christians cause John to exclaim that to Jesus belongs “the glory and the dominion forever and ever, Amen.” Glory here refers to honor, reverence, and exultation that belong to God, and might or dominion refers to the power to rule or control. Both of these belong to God the Father and to Jesus because He is God the Son, the second person of the triune Godhead who has the same attributes and prerogatives forever. ◘John uses the Hebrew idiom here, age to age, (forever and ever), to express this continuing in the future for perpetuity. John then concludes the doxology by pronouncing the Amen, the affirmation of the author that what has been written is true. This is Jesus’ identity and what He has accomplished and He is worthy of the doxology.
◘The Theme of the Book – Revelation 1:7-8
The theme of this revelation given by God is in verses 7-8. 7 Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen. 8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
This is the first prophecy in the book and it sets the theme of it. Special attention is called to it by the opening “Behold!” which begins this short oracle. A declaration about Christ is made in verse 7 and the Lord God directly affirms it in verse 8. ◘The promised coming of Jesus Christ is the underlying topic of the whole revelation in three stages. These are the things that happen prior to His coming, these are the things which happen when He comes, and these are the things that happen after He comes. ◘His coming in the clouds looks back to the prophecy in Daniel 7:13 (“and behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming”) and upon which Jesus expands in Matthew 24:30 (“And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory) which is the basis of the statement here in verse 7. Jesus made this same prophecy in Matthew 26:64 as a warning to the Sanhedrin – “you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.” This matches the promise in Acts 1:9-11 of what the angel said to the disciples at Jesus’ ascension from the Mount of Olives into the clouds that Jesus would return in the same way from heaven. ◘There is also an emphasis on the imminency of His return for this is a present tense, “is coming,” instead of a future tense “will come.”
◘Contrary to the many false prophets that Jesus has returned in a secret, hidden, mystical or spiritual manner, everyone will know when Jesus returns for every eye will see Him. There is nothing hidden in that. ◘This will include “those who pierced Him” which refers to both the Jews and Romans that brought about Jesus’ execution. While it was the spear of a Roman soldier that physically pierced Jesus side, He was being crucified at the insistence of the Jewish religious leaders. While the individuals who actually did this died a long, long time ago, (and most before John would have written), the statement here refers to a subclass of all people that will see Jesus return that would be in agreement with them in putting Jesus to death. This particular prophecy goes back to the earlier prophecies in Zechariah 12:10 and Isaiah 53:5.
The quote that “all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him” also goes back to the prophecy of Zechariah 12:10 though expanded to include every subgroup of humans and not just those that pierced Him for the suffering that Christ’s return will bring upon the wicked will be worldwide in scope. ◘ The mourning here is not that of a repentance in recognition of the sins they have done, but better translated as in Young’s Literal as “wailing” in keeping with the description in Zechariah 12:10 of them “weeping bitterly,” and in keeping with the actual meaning of the word used which is “to cut.” That would refer to the practice of pagans that would cut themselves as part of their mourning rituals at funerals which included violent and persistent outcries alternating with laments. This would also describe the blasphemous responses of the wicked in the rest of Revelation to God’s chastening (Rev. 16:9,11). Jesus’ return brings no comfort to those who continue in their rebellion against Him.
◘The response to the statement in verse 7 is an emphatic “Yes! Amen!” It is absolutely certain that Jesus will come as stated with the resulting effects. This prophecy is then verified by the speaker in verse 8 who identifies Himself with four titles. “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” ◘The harmony and equality of God the Father and God the Son throughout Revelation is seen in that each of these titles can be applied to either one. But that would be expected since Colossians 2:9 states of Jesus Christ that “in Him all the fullness of Deity dwells bodily,” and Hebrews 1:3 state He “is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature.”
◘Jesus uses the covenant name God gave to Moses in Exodus 3:14 of “I am” of Himself in John 8:58. ◘The title “Alpha and Omega,” an expression which stands for totality, along with the equivalents of “the first and the last,” and “the beginning and end” is used of Jesus in Revelation 22:13, but the equivalent statements are also made of God the Father (Isaiah 41:3; 43:10; 44:6; 48:12). ◘The title of “the Almighty” is used nine times in Revelation. In 21:22 it is used of the Lord God and distinguished from the Lamb, but in 15:3 it is a title included in the song of the Lamb. ◘This same title, “who is and who was and who is to come,” is used in reference to the Father in Revelation 1:4 and 4:8, but Jesus is also eternal for He was (John 1:1) and is (Rev. 1:5) and is coming (Rev. 1:7). There is no doubt about the equality of the Father and the Son.
◘Many commentators conclude that Jesus is the one speaking in verse 8 since He is the subject of verse 7, however, the Lord God speaking in verse 8 is doing so to attest to the truth of what is said in verse 7. That fits better as something done by God the Father for three reasons. ◘ First, the title Lord God is used consistently throughout the Hebrew Scriptures to refer to God the Father, the first person of the Triune Godhead, and there is no definitive passage in which that title is used of God the Son, the second person of the Triune Godhead. Second, the Father attested to the Son and His ministry at both His baptism (Matt. 3:16-17) and His transfiguration (Matt. 17:2-5). ◘ Third, in keeping with Old Testament law, in John 5 Jesus recognized that bearing witness of Himself would not have legal standing, so He pointed to the witness borne about Him by John the Baptist, His works, God the Father and the Scriptures. It is the absolute surety of the witness of God the Father that confirms the truth of verse 7.
◘John’s Commission – Revelation 1:9-11
In verses 9-11 John is given his commission of what he was to do. 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 testimony of Jesus. 10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet, 11 saying, “Write in a book what you see, and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.”
◘He begins with a humble identification of himself as the brother of those to whom he is writing. He sees no need to try to impress others with his actual position as an apostle. He does not do so in any of his other writings. He is simply going to bear witness to what God had revealed to him. He also identifies with those to whom he is writing as a “fellow partaker,” someone who shares in communion with them “the tribulation, the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus.” He understood what they were going through and why because he was going through the same thing. Those who were part of Jesus’ church, His present spiritual kingdom on earth (John 18:36) were suffering persecution and were patiently enduring it by their trust in Jesus just as he was also doing.
◘Suffering for the testimony of Christ in your life began with the birth of the church. In Acts 3 Peter and John heal a lame man and Peter’s sermon to those that had witnessed it resulted in them being arrested. They were threatened and released, but arrested again soon after in Acts 5 and this time were flogged. The response of the apostles was “rejoicing that they were considered worthy to suffer shame for [Christ’s] name” (vs. 41). It remained that way with severe persecution recorded in Acts 8 causing the church to scatter throughout Judea, into Samaria and to the utter most parts of the world. Paul referred to persecution as the “fellowship of His suffering” (Phil. 3:10). It was so normal that Paul states in Acts 14:22 that “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.” That does not mean that entrance into God’s kingdom is gained by suffering, but rather that those seeking to enter God’s kingdom can expect to suffer. Jesus spoke of this in the Beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:10-12). The only means of entering the kingdom of heaven is repentance from sin and self to believe in the person and work of the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.
◘At the time John wrote this the Roman Emperor Domitian was nearing the end of his reign in which his early moderate support of the Imperial Cult had given way to an inflating ego and allusions and claims of deity including demands to be addresses as “Lord and God.” He became so domineering and tyrannical that a conspiracy which included his wife was formed to murder him which they did in ad 96. The imperial cult was very strong in Asia with Ephesus having a temple dedicated to Domitian. Since Christians would refuse to participate in sacrifices to any pagan god, much less the Emperor, they were considered disrespectful and treasonous. Depending on how the local ruler reacted to that, it could become difficult for Christians who remained true to the faith. Eusebius described Domitian as cruel and unjust putting to death “no small number of well-born and notable men at Rome, and having without cause exiled and confiscated the property of a great many other illustrious men.” Eusebius pointed out that Domitian had “stirred up a persecution against us.”
◘John states in verse 9 that he was “on the island called Patmos.” This is a small, barren, volcanic island of about 13 square miles in the Icarian Sea off the cost of modern Turkey. It is about 22 miles south-southwest of Samos and about 40 miles west of the coastal city of Miletus. It is shaped sort of like a sea-horse with its head facing the coast. It was in the 14th year of Domitian’s reign (~ad 94-95) that he exiled John to this island where even though he was very aged by then, according to Victorinus (4th Century), he was “condemned to the labour of the mines.” John states specifically that it was “because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.” This was the tribulation he was undergoing because he was a faithful follower and proclaimer of Jesus Christ.
◘In verse 10 John states that he “was in the Spirit,” or more literally, “I came to be in the Spirit.” This is a reference to an ecstatic state. It may have been similar to what Peter experienced in Acts 10:10 and Paul in Acts 22:17 in which they received revelation from God in dreams, except John experiences this while wide awake. It may have been more like Ezekiel’s experiences when the Spirit of God entered him and lifted him up (Ezek. 2:2; 3:12, 14, 24). Whatever the specifics of what he experienced, John’s statement is clear that the Spirit of God was at work and he was not in a normal state.
◘John also states that this occurred on “the Lord’s day.” Some try to equate this with the eschatological “day of the Lord” such as in 1 Thessalonians 5:2; 2 Thessalonians 2:2 or 2 Peter 3:10, but this a different grammatical construction using an adjective instead of a genitive noun. It is “the Lord’s Day” and not “the Day of the Lord.” Perhaps more importantly, John is making a statement about the timing of what he experienced just as he did about his location and spiritual state. Jumping to being in the future Day of the Lord (time travel?) contradicts the passage’s context in which Jesus is present with John and He has him write to currently existing churches as we will see in verses 11-20.
◘What then is “the Lord’s Day?” This same phrase appears in Christian writings of that same time period in the same general area (the Didache and writings of Ignatius) as a reference to the first day of the week in honor of the Lord’s resurrection on that day. That would be our Sunday. ◘Acts 20:7 and 1 Corinthians 16:2 indicate that the practice of churches gathering on the first day of the week was already widespread. Contemporary usage of the phrase, the Lord’s day, indicates that those in the seven churches receiving this letter would have understood it that way.
◘That practice of the Lord’s day being the first day of the week, Sunday, has continued to the present time especially in western cultures, though in many places the normal day of the church gathering to worship may be Friday or Saturday. Let me quickly add here that Paul makes it clear in Romans 14:5-6; Galatians 4:10 and Colossians 2:16-17 that the particular day you choose to worship the Lord is actually a matter of your own preference and that we are not to judge others if they have a different preference. Frankly, there is also a pragmatic aspect to what day the church usually gathers related to the normal day off from work in that country or society. In the West it is Sunday. In Muslim controlled lands it is Friday. Among the Jews, it is Saturday.
◘John states the location, Patmos, his state of being, in the Spirit, and the timing, the Lord’s day, and then hearing “behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet.” John will hear quite a few more loud voices as he receives this revelation. Most often this will be an angel or angels, but also a mix of different beings (5:11-12), the martyrs (6:9-10), an eagle (8:13), the multitude in heaven (19:1), and unidentified voices from heaven (12:10), the temple (16:1) and the throne (21:3). ◘ The voice here is identified in the next section of the passage and it will be the Lord Jesus Christ as we will see next week when we look at His glorious appearance. Jesus will speak to John in this same manner in 4:1. That he heard the voice like of a trumpet signifies both its loudness and clarity. It certainly got John’s attention.
◘Verse 11 – the voice told John to “Write in a book what you see, and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.” John was to write down what he would see in the vision he would be given and send it to these seven churches. Each of these churches are in the Roman province of Asia where John had been ministering. ◘Proceeding to each of these cities in the order given would make a loop going clockwise on “a great circular road that tied together the most populous, wealthy, and influential part of the Asian province” (Thomas, pg 93-94). Each of these cities was a communication hub to the surrounding areas. This would make each church an important point from which the book would be distributed as intended by the statement in verse one that the revelation was to be shown to all God’s slaves.
◘The content of the specific letters to each individual church recorded in chapters 2 and 3 revealed the spiritual condition of each church that varied from the others. It would appear that because the messages to each individual church would also be eventually distributed to all Christians, then the encouragement and warning given in them would be applicable to any church that might be in a similar spiritual condition. We will examine each of these particular churches as we study the individual message to each one.
◘The idea that the message to each of these churches represent some time period whether fulfilled prior to the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem in ad 70 (Preterist), periods in church history past (either traditional or continuous historic), or are general representation of the battle between good and evil (timeless-symbolic or idealist) are all interpretive speculation that contradict the context of Scripture passage. ◘John has identified himself as a particular person writing from a particular place when he was there for particular reasons which places this at a particular time in history, and what he experiences take place while in a particular state of being on a particular day and he receives from a particular person a command to write a particular book to particular churches located in seven particular cities. While John uses some symbolic language and metaphor, he is not giving any kind of mystical allegory. ◘What John will write will fulfill its specific purpose of being prophecy of what is come that will bless those who heed it. That will include sinners who are caused to fear the Lord so that they repent and believe, or saints that are motivated to pursue greater holiness and persevere in present circumstances knowing our Lord’s promises are true. Heaven will be our home.
Next week we will look glorious appearance of Jesus which John describes in verses 12-20 before starting to examine the particular message to each of the particular churches.
Sermon Notes: January 19, 2025
John’s Salutation & Commission, Revelation 1:4-11
Review
The actual author of Revelation is ________________________➔ Jesus Christ ➔ Angel ➔ John
____________interpretation prevailed until Augustine in 5th century. It revived due to the Reformation
Scripture is God’s revelation to man to be understood as He intended – that requires a ________hermeneutic
Revelation is a ______________that will bring a blessing to those that read and heed it
These “things must soon take place” & “the time is near” refer to __________& increases urgency to heed
John’s Salutation – Revelation 1:4-5
John gives a common greeting among Christians wishing God’s ________ and __________to the recipients
“From Him who is and who was and who is to come” is God __________
“The seven Spirits who are before His throne” is God ______________(cf. Rev. 3:1; 4:5; 5:6; Zech. 4:1-10)
“Jesus Christ” is ____________. The three additional titles arise from Psalm 89
The faithful witness – Ps 89:36-37. Jesus was a faithful witness to what the _______said (Jn 8:31; 12:49-50)
The firstborn of the dead – Ps. 89:27. Jesus is ____________of those resurrected (Col. 1:18; 1 Cor. 15:23)
The ruler of the kings of the earth – Ps. 89:27. Jesus _______as “King of kings, and Lord of lords” (Rev. 19)
John’s Doxology – Revelation 1:5-6
Jesus paid the price of __________________from our sins with His own precious blood (1 Peter 1:18-19)
God’s love is not just in the past, it is in the present too and remains _____________and active
Christians as priests (1 Peter 2:9-10) lead in _____________and mediate between God & man
Glory refers to honor, reverence, exultation that belong to God. Dominion = ___________to rule / control
Forever & ever (age to age) = continuing in the future for __________. Amen = pronouncement it is all true
The Theme of the Book – Revelation 1:7-8
The promised return of Jesus underlies ____the Apocalypse: What happens before, during & after His return
Jesus returns with the ____________: Daniel 7:13; Matthew 24:30; 26:64; Acts 1:9-11
His coming is ______________- present tense “is coming” instead of future tense “will come”
Nothing hidden / secretive about Jesus’ return – _________________will see Him
“Those who pierced Him” – cf. Zech. 12:10 & Isaiah 53:5. Those who would have _________to Jesus’ death
Not the mourning of repentance, but of __________, violent outcries alternating with laments – Zech. 12:10
John gives an emphatic “Yes! Amen” – This absolutely __________. The speaker of vs. 8 also verifies it.
God the Father & God the Son are _______ in all attributes – Jesus’ manifests the Father (Col. 2:9; Heb. 1:3)
Jesus uses the covenant name of God, “_________,” (Exod 3:14) of Himself in John 8:58
Alpha & Omega / first & last / beginning & end are used of _____(Rev. 22:13) and the Father (Isa. 41:3; etc)
The Almighty is used of the Lord God distinguished from the lamb (Rev. 21:22) & of the _______Rev. 15:3
“Who is & who was & who is to come” is used for the Father (Rev. 1:4; 4:8), but Jesus is also __________
Jesus is the subject of vs. 7, but in vs. 8 it is the Lord God that __________to the truth of vs. 7
No passage definitively uses “Lord God” for the Son; The ________attests to the Son (Mt. 3:16-17; 17:2-5)
OT law requires witness to be borne by someone other than self (John 5). The _______assures truth of vs. 7
John’s Commission – Revelation 1:9-11
John humbly identifies himself as “____________” & “fellow partaker” with those also suffering for Jesus
Suffering is ________for the disciples of Christ (Acts 3, 5, etc.) in the “fellowship of suffering” (Phil. 3:10)
Emperor ________became an ego-maniac & caused a lot of people to suffering including faithful Christians
John was exiled to __________, a small, barren volcanic island off the coast of modern Turkey, about ad 95
John was “in the Spirit” – an __________state which would have been similar to Ezekiel (2:2; 3:12, 14, 24)
This occurred on “the Lord’s Day” – _______ the “Day of the Lord” – which would not fit this context
“The Lord’s Day” was used at that time & area to refer to the _______________of the week, our Sunday
Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:2 – the practice of some churches meeting on the ___________of the week began early
Rom. 14:5-6; Gal. 4:10; Col. 2:16-17 – meeting for worship is according to __________- it varies worldwide
John hears a loud voice like a trumpet – he will hear after this _________loud voices from different beings
This is the voice of __________- who is described in verses 12-20
John is told to write a book and send it to ______particular churches located in the Roman province of Asia
These cities are located on the road that makes a ____that ties together this area of Asia – each is a mail hub
The specific letter to each church would be shared with all – indicating _____________to similar churches
Allegorical interpretation of these churches representing time periods of any kinds is __________to the text
Everything is ______________: person, place, time, reason, state of being, day, command, book, churches
John is not writing mystical allegory – he writes to bless those who read & heed this ______________
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 John and Jesus are mentioned. Talk with your parents about the importance of the titles and characteristics given about Jesus.
THINK ABOUT IT!
Questions to consider in discussing the sermon with others. Who is the author of Revelation? What is significant about John’s salutation (vs. 4-5)? What is the significance of the three titles given to Jesus in vs. 5?
What is a doxology? What does John give God glory for in verses 5-6? What are the primary functions of a priest? How is the coming of Christ the theme for the whole book? What other verses associate Jesus’ return with clouds? How can claims of Jesus returning spiritually or secretly be exposed as flagrant lies? In what manner will those on earth mourn at Jesus’ return? Who are “those who pierced Him” that will see Him? How do the Scriptures show the co-equality of God the Father and God the Son? Who is the speaker in vs. 8? Explain What is the significance of John’s self identification in verse 9? Why was John on Patmos? Why was this a tribulation for him? What does it mean he was “in the Sprit”? What is “the Lord’s day”? Explain. What was the connection between the seven churches listed? Can allegory be used to legitimately interpret Revelation 1-3? Why or why not?
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