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Revelation 1:1-8 “Christ Revealed” The rapture

Tribulation Battle of Armageddon 2nd coming of Jesus Millennium – 1000 year reign Judgments… Satan cast into lake of fire God creates a new heaven and new earth 1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things

which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His

servant John, 2 who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus

Christ, to all things that he saw. 3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the

words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time

is near.4 John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace

from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who

are before His throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn

from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and

washed us from our sins in His own blood, 6 and has made us kings[b] and priests

to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

7 Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who

pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so,

Amen.8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord,

“who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” So these first eight verses of the book introduce the exclamation point at the end of the sentence that is the

Bible.

1 The Revelation (Unveiling) of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His

servants (doulos: yielded bond slaves) —things which must shortly take place. It speaks

| 2 P a g e of things that will happen in the future - at least future from the time of its writing.

Right out of the gate we are given the most important truth about the Book of Revelation. This book does show us the Antichrist, it does show us God's

judgment, it does show us , it does show us Mystery Babylon in vivid detail. But most of all, it is the Revelation of Jesus Christ to us. If we catch everything else, but miss Jesus in the book, we have missed the Book of Revelation.

And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John, Notice, Jesus “sent and signified” the message. The word “signified” means “to give a sign or signal”. When John received this prophecy he was a prisoner of Rome, and to avoid censorship, his book was encoded with signs or symbols.

Also, The signs are also necessary because there is tremendous power in symbolic language. It is one thing to call someone or something "evil" or "bad." But it is far more vivid to describe the image of a woman drunk with the blood of the saints (Revelation 17:6).

But look at what 1:1 claims about itself: “The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him …” This book comes from God himself. And God didn’t give it to just anyone – he gave it to Jesus, who gave it to his angel, who revealed it to the beloved disciple, the Apostle John. Do you see from this chain of people how important this book is? What I’m getting at is this: imagine visiting England and receiving a gift from the Queen. That would be pretty special, right? Let this dignified series of people involved in the production of this gift provoke your appreciation for the Bible.

2 who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all

things that he saw. 3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this

prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; John calls the Revelation

a “prophecy” –or a foretelling of future events. Many people believe that only fanatics want to dig deep into this book. But really, it is a book for anyone who wants to be blessed.

Guzik says, “He who reads is in the singular. It speaks of one person who reads. Those who hear is in the plural. It speaks of many people hearing. The idea is probably from custom of the early church, where attention was given to the public reading of Scripture, which would often be explained. In our modern

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way of speaking, John might say "Blessed is the pastor who teaches Revelation, and blessed is the congregation who hears it." But most of all,

pastor or congregation, as John ends verse 3… and keep those things which

are written in it;

I Really like what one man said, “How good must John’s experience of Christianity be for him to declare this blessing! In spite of persecution, in spite of the ways that Christianity will not advance people in Roman culture, in spite of the fact that Christianity could cost you your life, you’re blessed if you hear and keep the faith revealed in this book. John must think there is a life after this life in which the rewards for those who belong to Jesus will be superior to all the pleasures of sin in the present world. Is your experience of Christianity like John’s?” Remember persecution was off the charts… what we experience is nothing like that of John’s day. Nonetheless we experience the world’s intolerance of true Christians. Even if these mild forms of persecution have not resulted in exile or physical violence, our culture communicates to us that our ideas about religion will not be tolerated. Strange how intolerant the champions of tolerance can be! In the height of early persecution of the Christians possible 130AD a brother in Christ wrote to Diognetus about Christians:

They love everyone, and by everyone they are persecuted. They are unknown, yet they are condemned; they are put to death, yet they are brought to life. They are poor, yet they make many rich; they are in need of everything, yet they abound in everything. They are dishonored, yet they are glorified in their dishonor; they are slandered, yet they are vindicated. They are cursed, yet they bless; they are insulted, yet they offer respect. When they do goo, they are punished as evildoers; when they are punished, they rejoice as though brought to life … and so Christians when punished daily increase more and more. (Diognetus 5:11-16; 6:9b).

The Book of Revelation gives us much more than information for prophetic speculation.

It gives us things to keep. If we understand the Book of Revelation, it will change the

way we live.

3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and

| 4 P a g e keep those things which are written in it;

for the time is near. Walvoord says, “The idea is not that the event may occur soon,

but that when it does, it will be sudden." 4 John, to the seven churches which are in

Asia: Grace to you and peace Walvoord again,

from Him who is and who was and who is to come, It is never enough to just say that God is, or to just say that He was, or to just say that He is to come. As Lord over eternity, He rules the past, the present, and the future. and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne,

The seven Spirits who are before His throne speaks to the perfection and completion of the Holy Spirit. John uses an Old Testament description of the Holy Spirit. The idea of the seven Spirits quotes from the Old Testament. Isaiah 11:2 describes 7 aspects of the Holy Spirit: The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the Lord. It isn't that there are 7 different spirits of God, rather the Spirit of the LORD has these characteristics, and He has them all in fullness and perfection.

5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness,

faithful witness: This speaks to Jesus' utter reliability and faithfulness to His Father and to His people, even unto death. The ancient Greek word translated witness is also the word for a martyr.

When Jesus rose, he rose in a glorified body. Revelation 20:4 indicates that those who are faithful unto death like he was will be raised from the dead like he was.

He was also “the firstborn over all creation.” Both the later Gnostics, and today’s Jehovah’s Witnesses use this verse to infer that Jesus was a created being, and not truly divine. Paul’s intent was just the opposite! The biblical term “firstborn” refers not so much to birth order, but to status and preeminence. First in rank and honor. In no way does the title firstborn indicate that Jesus is less than God. In fact, the ancient Rabbis called Yahweh Himself “Firstborn of the World” (Rabbi Bechai, cited in Lightfoot). Ancient rabbis used firstborn as a Messianic title. Psalm 89:27 Also I will make him My firstborn, The highest of the kings of the earth.

| 5 P a g e In Exodus 4:22 Jacob was called the “firstborn” even though he was younger than Esau. Biblically, “firstborn” is a title of authority and privilege. “The firstborn over all creation” doesn’t make Jesus part of creation. It makes Him it’s CEO.

So when Paul called Jesus “the firstborn over all creation.” He meant that highest honor belongs to Him. Christ is completely supreme in creation

Continuing in verse 5… and the ruler over the kings of the earth. Reminder that no

earthly King is more powerful than Jesus…

The Ancient Roman Historian Suetonius writes of the emperor Domitian (A.D. 51-96), “after making free with the wives of many men, he went so far as to marry Domitia Longina, who was the wife of Aelius Lamia. Suetonius also relates that when his brother Titus “was seized with a dangerous illness,” Domitian “ordered that he be left for dead, before he had actually drawn his last breath.” When Cornelia, the chief vestal virgin, was guilty of having a lover, Domitian had her “buried alive; and her lovers were beaten to death with rods.” Domitian “slew Aelius Lamia for joking remarks, which were reflections on him, it is true, but made long before and harmless.” He seduced his niece, who was married, and eventually “became the cause of her death by compelling her to get rid of a child of his by abortion.” Domitian was a moral catastrophe of a man, and he was also physically unimpressive. There is an account of him vigorously scratching a festered wart on his forehead and drawing blood. He is described as being “sensitive about his baldness” and as having “a protruding belly, and spindling legs.” I kind of picture Danny Devito… This weak and wicked Caesar insisted on being addressed as “Lord and God” (Dominus et deus). And we thought Trump and Hillary were bad? So John says Jesus is “the ruler over the kings of the earth.” However powerful Domitian or any other ruler might be, they all answer to Jesus. He will call them to account. Jesus is the King.

To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own Finishing verse 5…

blood, “To him who loves us” “and has freed us from our sins by his blood.” As Hughes says, Jesus died that death so that His people could be reconciled to God and live. Jesus’ death was a , . The word points to the fact

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that he paid the penalty. The word means he died in place of his people as their substitute. The word means that his death reconciled men to God.

Jesus loves me this I know! Karl Barth often regarded as the greatest Protestant theologian of the twentieth century. at the age of 76 He was lecturing at Rockefeller Chapel on the campus of the University of Chicago. After his lecture, during the Q & A time, a student asked Barth if he could summarize his whole life’s work in theology in a sentence. Barth said “Yes, I can. In the words of a song I learned at my mother’s knee: ‘Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” 6 and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, “...kings and priests”: This designation will prove of paramount importance in Chapters 4 & 5! to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Whether we do it or not He still has it… We have the honor of choosing to give Him what He already has… glory and dominion 7 Behold, He is coming with clouds, “Behold, he is coming with the clouds,” picks up the Old Testament’s indications of a conquering Messiah by quoting Daniel 7:13. Daniel 7 portrays the Messiah’s receiving an everlasting kingdom, and this was the accepted messianic expectation in Jesus’ day. When Jesus comes, He will be surrounded by clouds. This will be true literally, because when Jesus left this earth, He was taken up into a cloud, and God said that He would return in the same manner (Acts 1:9-11). It will also be true figuratively, because multitudes believers are called clouds in a figurative manner (Hebrews 12:1). Clouds are commonly associated with God's presence and glory (Exodus 13:21-22, 16:10, 19:9, and 24:15-18), relating to the Shekinah Glory of God!

This is a command to look - to check it out. John moves from praising Jesus to describing His return. He wants us to behold the coming of Jesus. Jesus said that we should watch and wait for His coming (Matthew 24:42). It is something to keep before the eye of our mind, to behold. and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him.

Zechariah 12:10 “And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants

of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me

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whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only

son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.

“pierced him” This refers to His Second Coming, not the Rapture. If Christ will be coming to the earth at that time, there is no point in being caught up in the air. The Rapture has already taken place by this point.

Verse 7 continues… And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him.

Even so, Amen. Amen: Yes, So be it! To His faithfulness! You can be sure that he will come. And you can be sure that if you are his enemy, you will wail. Repent and believe on the Lord Christ! No matter how successful the enemies of God may seem in the short term, the book of Revelation shows how things really are.

8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who

is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Jesus speaks in 1:8, "I am the Alpha and the Omega.” Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters in the Greek alphabet. Jesus is saying that He is life’s A to Z. Life begins and ends with Him. He’s our source and our purpose! All of life originates and culminates in our Lord Jesus.

If Jesus both the Beginning and the End, then He also has authority over everything in-between. This means that Jesus does have a plan for history, and He directs the path of human events toward His designed fulfillment. Our lives are not given over to blind fate, to random meaninglessness, or to endless cycles with no resolution. Instead, Jesus Christ who is the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End directs all of human history and even our individual lives. Domitian, by worldly standards, had everything, and he sought to keep his life and make himself god. But he lost everything, betrayed even by his wife and friends. Jesus, by worldly standards, had nothing and lost everything when he laid down his life for his friends (John 15:13). Paradoxically, he gained everything, vindicated by his Father, who raised him from the dead by the power of the Spirit and gave him the name that is above every name (Philippians 2:9).

To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own Finishing verse 5…

| 8 P a g e blood, Notice the order: first loved, then washed. It wasn't that God washed us out of some sense of duty, and then loved us because were then clean. He loved us while we were dirty, but then He washed us. What a beautiful title for Jesus! Him who loved us! It looks back to the cross. Every believer should be secure in God's love, not based on their present circumstances (which may be difficult), but based on the ultimate demonstration of love at the cross. This is worth praising Jesus about! Revelation 1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His

servants—things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His

angel to His servant John, 2 who bore witness to the word of God, and to the

testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw. 3 Blessed is he who reads and

those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are

written in it; for the time is near.4 John, to the seven churches which are in Asia:

Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and

from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, the

faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the

earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, 6 and

has made us kings[b] and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and

dominion forever and ever. Amen. 7 Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every

eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will

mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the

Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come,

the Almighty.”