Revelation 1:1-3
There is something that God wants to make known - a revelation from God.
This revelation concerns things that must soon take place, as we will see in chapters 4+5, the fulfilment of the purposes of God.
This revelationis given by God to Jesus Christ, God has chosen to make known the fulfilment of his purposes through Jesus Christ, and him alone.
It is Jesus Christ who engages the service of the angel who is sent to John and discloses this revelation to John.
John is not properly the author of this text. The author is God, the revelation is his to make known. John then serves in the role of recorded, he writes down what he is shown and what he hears. The principal objection to this John being the author of the Fourth Gospel is the marked difference in the style of the Greek. However, given strong thematic links and the united testimony of the early church we should not hesitate to think of this John as the same John we know from other New Testament texts.
Seven times in this book a blessing is pronounced: see also 14:13; 16:15; 19:9; 20:6; 22:7, 14. Seven is the perfect number, the number of completion and so these seven blessings together describe the perfect blessing. One who is blessed knows the favour of God, and is one who reads this book so that others may hear and learn of this revelation. But also one who keeps what is written, obeys, submits to, allows the words to change them and their life. This is the blessed life.
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1 comment:
Thanks, Gordon. You do take on the difficult books - Judges and now Revelation. They are relevant to our generation and require our attention.
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Here are my notes on Revelation 1.
This is ‘the revelation of Jesus Christ’ (1). It comes from Him and it speaks of Him. Christ ‘loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood’ (5). We rejoice in Him. Christ is ‘coming with the clouds’ (7). We must get ready for Him. ‘The revelation of Jesus Christ’ calls for our response. It is not ‘for information only’. We are to ‘pay attention to what is written in it’. We are to ‘take it to heart’. We are to ‘do what it says’ (3). Christ reveals Himself to us. Is it for our benefit only? Is it just to make us ‘feel good’? No! We are to share with others what the Lord is teaching us. Christ said to John, ‘Write what you see’ (19). Don’t keep it to yourself. Share Christ. Tell others about Him. Tell them what the Lord has done for you. Speak His words of love: ‘Come...and learn from Me’ (Matthew 11:28-30).
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