Revelation 1 commentary



     

        1: The Revelation apokalypsis [1] [of] Jesus Christ that THE GOD[2] is causing to come forth He shows [to] his servants Amos 3:7, Isaiah 42:9 what must come to pass in a speedy manner[3] and he sent to make it known[4] by his messenger[5] to his bondsman John 
 

Quick Take on Verse One:

The Revelation in an unveiling. It is things made clear. It is not a cryptic book, but rather the unsealing of things that were previously hidden from understanding

 For detailed study of each verse, see end-notes

 
2: Who testified the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ and all things that he saw 
 

Quick Take on Verse Two:

John saw these things. This is a vision, not a dream

 
3: Blessed are they that read and they that hear the words of this prophecy and hold fast to the things which are described in it For the [pre-appointed] Daniel 8:19, Acts 1:7 season is near[6]  
 
 
 
4: John to the Seven[7] Called-Out [8] who are in Asia Grace be to you and peace from HIM WHO IS [alive] and WHO WAS [dead] and WHO IS TO COME [coming again] and from the Seven Spirits which are before his throne[9] 5: Indeed from Jesus Christ [the] FAITHFUL WITNESS [the] FIRST BEGOTTEN FROM THE DEAD and THE PRINCE OF THE KINGS OF THE EARTH Unto him who loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood[10] 6: And has made us kings and priests [11] unto God and his Father [12] To him be glory and dominion eons of eons Amen 7: Behold he comes with clouds[13] and every eye shall see him and they also which pierced him and all families of the earth shall wail because of him[14] Even so Amen 8: I am ALPHA AND OMEGA THE BEGINNING AND THE ENDING [15] saith the Lord WHO IS and WHO WAS and WHO IS TO COME THE ALMIGHTY[16] 9: I John who also am your brother and companion in tribulation and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ was in the isle that is called Patmos for the Word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ 10: I was in THE DAY [of the] LORD by the Spirit[17] and heard behind me a great voice as of a trumpet 11: Saying I am ALPHA AND OMEGA THE FIRST AND THE LAST and what you see write into scrolls and send it unto the seven Called-Out which are in Asia[18] Acts 16:6, 19:10 & 27, 20:4  to Ephesus [located in Turkey close to Selcuk] and to Smyrna [city of Izmir located in Turkey] and to Pergamos [ruins located in Turkey] and unto Thyatira [city of Akhisar in Turkey] and to Sardis [town of Sart in Turkey] and to Philadelphia [was a city of Lydia located in Turkey] and to Laodicea [city of Denizli in Turkey] 12: And I turned to see the voice that spake with me And being turned I saw seven golden lampstands 13: And in the midst of the seven lampstands one like unto the SON OF MAN clothed with a garment down to the foot and fastened towards the chest was a golden belt 14: His head and his hairs were white like wool as white as snow and his eyes were as a blaze of fire 15: And his feet like brilliant copper as in burner having been fired scrTR and his voice as the sound of many waters 16: And he had in his right hand seven stars and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword and his countenance was as the sun shines in its strength 17: And when I saw him I fell at his feet as dead And he laid his right hand upon me saying to me Fear not I [Jesus] am THE FIRST AND THE LAST 18: I am HE THAT LIVES AND WAS DEAD and behold I am alive for evermore Amen and have the keys of hadēs and of death 19: Write the things which you have seen and the things which are and the things which shall come to pass [and] follow after Revelation 4:1 20: [This is] the mystery of the seven stars which you saw in my right hand and the seven golden lampstands The seven stars are the messengers[19] of the seven Called-Out and the seven lampstands that you saw are the seven Called-Out Matthew 5:13-16, All seven are located in what is now modern-day Turkey


[1] The Greek word, apokalypsis [from which the English word, apocalypse, is derived], carries a very different connotation from that which most English speaking peoples connect with it. Apokalypsis, means the revealing, the unveiling, things made clear, used of events by which things [or states or persons] that were previously withdrawn from view are now made visible to all. The actual definition of the word, apokalypsis, (as opposed to popular notions) should lay to rest the idea that The Revelation is meant to be a cryptic book impossible to understand. It is meant to be understood. And to underscore this, a blessing is promised to those who take the time to read (and take to heart) the words of the prophecy contained in Apokalypsis

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[2] Most references to “God” in the New Testament are to Jehovah [YHWH]—the Godhead Acts 17:29, Romans 1:20, Colossians 2:9. Jesus is God.
[3] “But beloved be not ignorant of this one thing that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day” 2 Peter 3:8. Another way to look at this verse, is that when the events revealed to John begin to happen, It will be suddenly and things will move very fast. This is confirmed by Jesus in Matthew 24:14-22.
[4] The Revelation contains four types of language: 1.) Literal. John’s descriptions of what he sees in Heaven are to be taken literally, as should some [if not all] of the spiritual phenomena he describes 2.) Figurative. This language is defined within the context of passage 3.) Symbolic. All symbols in The Revelation are unlocked and defined somewhere within the volume of scriptures) 4.) First-Century Descriptive, which should generally be taken as literal. John saw things not yet invented in the first century and thus described these things as best he knew how, using only the vocabulary and terms which were available to him in the first century (e.g., how would someone in the 1960’s have described a cell phone or a drone?).
[5] This was not an angel John conversed with. Revelation 22:8-9, shows the messenger to be one of John’s brethren the prophets. The messenger was a fellow human who must have already passed on, perhaps even a martyr. It is not spiritism [which scripture forbids] when God is the one who initiates the contact between mortals and those no longer in mortal bodies. And we must remember, this was all seen in a vision.
[6] Some might relate this “brief space of time” to the Young Earth/Old Earth controversy. But whether the time-span leading up to the beginning of the Latter Days [which began 2000 years ago on the Day of Pentecost Acts 2:16-17a] is only thousands of years as opposed to billions of years, God’s infinite view of what is “near” is very different from what our finite view of “near at hand” might be.
[7] Throughout the Bible, the number seven is seen as the number of completion, perfection, the totality of something (we see this regarding the seven spirits before the Throne of God in verse :4). In the Revelation, we see messages addressed to seven specific assemblies in Asia, even so, it has been understood by scholars of every age [and every denominational persuasion or lack thereof] that the messages in Revelation 1-3,  are two-fold: 1.) They are intended for those they are specifically addressed to and 2.) also for the entire Body of Christ throughout all ages.
[8] The English word “church” is translated from the Greek compound word ek-klesia. Ek, is a root word meaning out or from and klesia comes from the root word, kaleō meaning to call or invite. Every individual who has been Born-Again, is called/invited out of darkness/death and translated into light/life. The Children of Light—collectively—compose the Called-Out [assembly] of The Redeemed, also called the Body of Christ Ephesians 1:22-23
[9] Isaiah 11:2, “And the spirit of the LORD[1] shall rest upon him the spirit of wisdom[2] and understanding[3] the spirit of counsel[4] and might[5] the spirit of knowledge[6] and of the fear of the LORD[7]” 

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[10] Acts 20:28 [TR] confirms that the ALMIGHTY purchased HIS  Church with HIS OWN BLOOD. Jesus is God
[11] Complementarianism claims husbands will present wives to Christ at the Judgement and that husbands will answer for the behavior of wives at the judgement, and that wives who were submissive to husbands will not be held responsible to God for their sins if in the process of sinning they were obeying their husbands (this doctrine turns husbands into mediators when the Bible says there is only one mediator between God and humanity). If complementarian theology is correct, then the doctrine of the Priesthood of all believers is false and only male believers will be priests and kings before God. The problem with this, is that even complementarian theology [as a general rule] teaches that the priesthood of believers includes all believers regardless of sex. So which is it? Because we can not have it both ways.
[12] Verses 6-8 reveal not only that Jesus is Almighty God, but these verses also reveal the GODHEAD, which is a tri-unity [as opposed to a tri-ad]. The one who is the ALMIGHTY is the same one WHO WAS DEAD AND IS ALIVE AND IS COMING AGAIN. Jesus is God. Can we fully comprehend the Being that is our God, and the fact that he reveals himself in three distinct persons—one of which (the Holy Spirit) is always referred to in the Hebrew scriptures in the feminine form—RuWacH EloHYiM? In the Greek, the Holy Spirit is never referred to as “He.” The neutral word “autos” is always used when referencing the Holy Spirit. The Godhead is a triune being—not a human.
“Hear O Israel The Lord our God is ONE God.” Jesus is God. Jesus is Jehovah. And since Jehovah [YHWH] is ONE, there is no hierarchy within Godhead. It is interesting to note that those who teach gender-based hierarchy, subordinate the one member of the Godhead who is a physical male to another member of the Godhead who is portrayed as male, while the one member of the Godhead who is consistently portrayed as female is not subordinated to the male member Jesus. This is a contradiction that no one can explain. The reason that it is unexplainable, is because there is no hierarchy within the Godhead and efforts to produce one always result in unexplainable contradictions. 
[13] Both Daniel and Jesus, establish that this verse speaks to the 2nd Coming and not the Rapture  Daniel 7:13, Matthew  24:30, 26:64, Mark 14:62.

[14] This is a reference to Zechariah 12:9-12, which gives details on Isaiah’s prophecy in 66:5-9 that in one day, a nation (the Jewish nation) would be born [again].
[15] The word ELOHIYM, in Genesis 1:1 is followed by the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet, and remain untranslated in virtually every Bible. A possible rendering of Genesis 1:1 is, “In the beginning ELOHIYM אֱלֹהִים the FIRST LAST אֵת created…”
[16] Verses 4-5, 8-9, 12, and 17, leave no question that Jesus is Jehovah. The Alpha and Omega--the Almighty—is the same one who “was” (died), “is” (now lives again), and “is to come” (coming again). 
[17] THE LORD’S DAY is not the same as the Sabbath. The Sabbath is the 7th Day of the Week (and includes Holy Days which may or may not fall on the 7th day). However, Larkin suggests that John is not, here, referring to any set day of the week but rather was projected into the time of end—into The Day of the Lord Isaiah 2:10-21, 13:6-17, Joel 2:15-20. Notwithstanding, THE LORD’S DAY is observed by Christians on the 1st Day of the Week. The Feast of the LORD, First Fruits (which prophetically foretold the Resurrection of Christ), always falls on the 1st Day of the week, which is the day Jesus rose from the dead. The earliest Christians began immediately gathering on the first day of the week because that, and because they likely recognized what the very first FIRST FRUITS after the crucifixion represented. This does not mean that they forsook the Sabbath, because most were Jews, but all were not. Luke the Beloved Physician who gave us the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts, was not a Jew. Paul’s addressed the matter of dietary laws and the Sabbath to the believers in Rome in his letter to them: Romans 14 One esteems one day above another another esteems every day alike Let every one be fully persuaded in their own minds They that regard the day regard it to the Lord and they that regard not the day to the Lord they do not regard it They that eat, eat to the Lord for they give God thanks and they that eat not to the Lord they eat not and give God thanks…whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.” 
[18] All of the called-out [assemblies] mentioned in Revelation chapter one were/are located in what is now, modern-day Turkey.
[19] The messengers of the seven Called-out [assemblies] are not Heavenly beings (angels). Jesus is not giving a vision and instructing a man to write what he sees and send the message to angels. Indeed, how could that even be possible for John? That leaves only one other option. The stars that Jesus is holding in his hand—the seven messengers of the Called-out [assemblies]—are human messengers. It is interesting that Jesus did not specify what ministry gift or church office these messengers might hold. The ministry gifts given to equip the Body of Christ to grow in Christ, win souls, and make disciples include apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. It is presumptuous to assume that it is pastors who are the messengers represented by the stars held in Jesus’ hand. They could be. But why not the apostles, prophets, or evangelists? Not a single word of scripture attests to the claims of some that these ministry gifts passed away with the early Church, and these are all defined as messengers. Whereas strictly defined, pastors are shepherds—not messengers. We propose that it is the false perception of priest-craft and mediatorship that has become so deeply rooted within the Christian psyche, that God’s people are led astray in ascribing almost supreme leadership privileges to pastors. This myopic error has the effect of replacing the work, leading, and calling of the Holy Spirit in dictating—largely through pastors—what God has or has not called his people to do.  The ministry of the Holy Spirit through the Gifts of the Spirit and the priesthood of believers is systematically being choked out of many churches through a deliberate hierarchical bottle-neck where everything is required to flow through the office of pastor, to the neglect and dismissal of every other gift and calling within congregations.


       

  Additional commentary pending for this chapter

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