Coronation: The Beginning of the End

Transcript

JRNT 500
Coronation: An Exposition of the Revelation of Jesus Christ, Part One
Revelation 1:1-3
February 2, 2025
Jesse Randolph

I don’t think I’ll ever forget my first encounter with the book of Revelation. I was still in my law practicing days, a new convert, and I was about to take a two-and-a-half hour flight from Orange County, California to Portland, Oregon for a client matter. And I had this singular goal as I boarded that flight. I had heard about this book of the Bible called the Book of Revelation. And having never read through it before, I was determined to give it a shot. To read it on that flight from beginning to end, in one sitting, from takeoff to touchdown. And so as I boarded the plane and sat in my seat by the window, and I brought my hard-bound NKJV MacArthur Study Bible, with my freshly installed side tabs (Still have them. Still look at this bible with some fondness.) I started reading. Now, in retrospect, I’ve sometimes wondered what that person next to me, in the middle seat thought they were getting into, as they saw me crack this beast open and put on top of the tray table. Especially when we were 30,000 feet in the air and all I am reading about is the end. But I read on. And I read the book of Revelation on that late afternoon flight, all 22 chapters of it, all 404 verses of it, and from Revelation 1:1 to Revelation 22:20, on that plane ride.

Now here’s what still stands out to me from that afternoon. As the plane started its descent into Portland, and as I read those words at the end of the book of Revelation, “Yes, I am coming quickly,” Revelation 22:20, I remember thinking to myself, “That wasn’t all that complicated.” Having read all 404 verses I do remember, just on a plane first time reading, thinking that wasn’t all that bad. Now I can say with a clear conscience, I didn’t say that with the thought of some sense of intellectual arrogance or pride. I really just was in awe that this book which had been presented to me by others as this scary, impossible to understand, and insurmountable book, could actually be read and understood through a plain reading of what we see on the printed pages of Scripture.

In that spirit not too long ago I came across this quote from Donald Gray Barnhouse, which I think neatly summarizes what I was experiencing on that plane ride as I read through Revelation. He writes, “There is an opinion that has been circulated widely from pulpit and pew that this book is too vague, too obscure, too complex to be understood by any ordinary mind. The devil likes to have people believe this. There are men, even men who have been ordained as supposed interpreters of God’s Word, who say that it is not a book to be preached, that it contains too much symbolism which cannot be understood in our day. Others say that it is a book reserved only for the most profound students and the deepest thinkers. Such an attitude is a contradiction of the very name of the book. Revelation is not a puzzle or an enigma. This book is not called the hiding or the mystery of Jesus Christ, but the revelation of Jesus Christ.” Barnhouse was right. The book of Revelation was not given to us by God to tie us in knots, nor was it meant to be a puzzle or an enigma. Rather, by definition, it is the unveiling, the revealing, the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Well, back to my story about that first read through the book of Revelation on that plane. As we launch into this new Sunday evening series through Revelation, it really is going to be my goal to preach it the way I read it on the plane that afternoon, with simplicity and with clarity. Sure, there are all sorts of fascinating rabbit trails we could go down and sure, there are all sorts of contested and debated subjects which stem from this book. But in keeping with what I said at the end of this morning’s sermon in Luke, my goal is to keep our collective finger on the pulse of the big idea of the book, which is pointing us to the reality of the One who bought us and paid for us with his blood, is “coming quickly.” He is coming soon. Now, I won’t go quite as fast as John MacArthur did one winter evening in 1982, where he preached through the entire book of Revelation in one service in a sermon titled “A Jet Tour Through Revelation.” But I will say that this series may go a bit faster than what you are anticipating. It may go faster than what you have gotten used to from me. The Luke series would be a case in point. I do intend to keep us moving at a rather rapid clip.

Now, why the book of Revelation? And why now? Well, first, though we live in a particular point in history, the reality is, we are eternal creatures. God has, as Soloman said in Ecclesiastes 3:11, set eternity in our hearts. And the 70, 80, or 90 years we live on this planet, are going to end up being a faint blip on the radar of eternity. God has much grander plans and designs which go far beyond this narrow sliver of our experience and these bodies on this earth. And as eternal creatures, there is great value in exploring what God has designed for the future. So it’s important to see what that plan is.

I also think that it’s important that I preach through Revelation because it is such a polarizing book and in my judgment, unnecessarily so. Some will say that the book is so confusing and mysterious, that we should shy away from it entirely. While others, frankly, obsess over it in an unbalanced and concerning way. Charles Ryrie captured this phenomenon well, when he noted, “Generally speaking there are two extreme attitudes toward Revelation. Some say the book cannot be understood, and therefore should not be studied, taught or preached. Differences of interpretation, they point out, have divided Christians, and therefore the book should not be interpreted. Others consider themselves so sure of every detail of the book that they set dates and propose highly fanciful interpretations. To them Revelation seems the only book in the Bible worth studying.” Well, Revelation should not be ignored, nor should it be the only book we study. There’s a middle way, a mediating way, which involves studying this book faithfully and going through it expositionally, while appreciating that God has revealed Himself in profound ways in the other books of the Bible, all 65 of them in fact, as well.

Now, I’ve titled this new Revelation series “Coronation: An Exposition of the Revelation of Jesus Christ.” And I’ve done so not because I believe that Jesus is reigning on David’s throne today, or that he’s somehow reigning spiritually in our hearts today. I’ve done so because what the entire book of Revelation points to and builds up to is the Lord Jesus’ one-day return to this earth and His rule and reign upon this earth, as what He began at His first coming is brought to completion at His second coming. We remember that He entered into Jerusalem on a donkey. But we also know He will one day break through the clouds riding on a white horse. And He will be wearing a garment, and on His thigh a name will be written, and that name, Revelation 19:16, will be “King of Kings and Lord of Lords.” What a glorious day that is going to be, when Jesus the Messiah, Jesus the Savior, Jesus the Lord, returns as Jesus the King at His coronation. That’s where much of the book of Revelation points. To the coming coronation day of Jesus the King, a day that is “coming quickly” as He returns to this earth to rule and reign.

Now to give you a bit of a roadmap in terms of where we’re going with this series, both long-term and short-term. Long-term, I’m planning to get us through the first three chapters of Revelation by the middle of May. And then the plan is to take our customary break for the 10-week “Summer in the Systematics” series where we will study the Holy Spirit, “Pneumatology”. And then we will pick up, Lord willing, Revelation 4 in the fall. Short-term, meaning, tonight, this message is actually going to feel like two messages. Because in the first part of the message we are going to go through a broader survey of the book of Revelation as a whole, and then in the second half of our time, we’ll actually get into the first three verses of the text.

Let’s get into the first part of the message, the theology lecture part of it, where we’ll work through some basic background information about the Book of Revelation. And we are going to cover matters of genre, theme, authorship, interpretation, date, and structure. This won’t be the only time we mention these things. We’ll keep coming back to these as we make our way through the series. But I’d like to at least cover some of these basics tonight.

Let’s start with the question of GENRE. In the Bible, we have several literary genres represented among its sixty-six books. We have letters. We have historical records. We have narrative. We have poetry. We have wisdom literature and we have prophecy. So where does Revelation fit in? Well, Revelation does contain some strands of different genres represented in it like the letters to the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3. It does have some apocalyptic features, especially with the overall bright outlook it portrays especially when we get to the end of the book. Ultimately, the book of Revelation is prophetic. It’s a work of prophecy. And I arrive at that conclusion not from reading liberal commentators or listening to podcasts from armchair theologians. I get that, rather, from the text itself. Revelation 1:3. “Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy and keep the things which are written in it, for the time is near.” Or if you go over to the very last chapter of the book, Revelation 22:7, we are going to see that word “prophecy” pop up again. These are the words of Jesus himself, “And behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.” And then look down the page at Revelation 22:18,19. Jesus says, “I bear witness to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book.” So we are just going to stick with what the Word says about itself, the book of Revelation is a book of prophecy.

Indeed, the word “revelation,” “apocalupsis” in Greek, means to remove the cover, to take off the veil. It exposes into view. It reveals and uncovers that which was previously covered up or unseen. In the Bible we have past revelation. For instance, when we read historical works like Judges or Acts, we are uncovering the veil from the past truths that were previously there when we read those works. But we also have prophetic revelation as we do here in the book of Revelation, which takes the lid off of future events. This enables us to see ahead of time, down the timeline by giving us a window into what will happen in the days to come. So the book of Revelation, in terms of its genre, is prophetic.

What about the THEME? What is the central theme of the book of Revelation? Well, back to Revelation 1:1, the very first verse of this book, the theme is found right there. It’s “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His slaves the things which must soon happen.” Jesus Christ is the central theme of the book of Revelation. He is the most important key to understanding the book. He is, as we are going to see, in a sense the author of Revelation. It’s His revelation. At the same time He is also the subject of it, as we’ll see a bit later.

Now, as we work our way through this book, I guarantee you there will be the temptation to take our focus off this truth, that Jesus Christ is the theme of this book. As visions are experienced, and seals are broken, and as trumpets blow, and as bowls are poured out, and as we learn about beasts and harlots and witnesses, there will be that temptation to take our eyes off of the risen, ascended, and glorified Lord. But fight the urge and resist that temptation. Keep your focus as we work our way through this on the main theme of this book, which is Jesus Christ. The One who came, the One who died, the One who rose, the One who ascended, and the One who is coming as it says here, soon. So that’s genre and theme.

Now let’s consider the matter of AUTHORSHIP. Who wrote the book of Revelation? Of course, on one level, we know the answer right away is God. 2 Timothy 3:16 says, that “all Scripture,” that would include the book of Revelation, “is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness.” Revelation then is not only a book of prophecy, it’s a divinely-given book of prophecy. The God who has declared the beginning from the end, has given us this book. But as He did so with other books of the Bible, God gave us this book through a man, through a human author. And who was that man? Well, again we start with what the text tells us. The author here identifies himself as John. He’s mentioned in verse 1. Something was sent through the angel to His slave John. We will get into that text in a moment here.

But then look at Revelation 1:4: “John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace.” Now look down the page at 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.” Or if you turn to the end of the book, in Revelation 22:8, we see these words: “I, John, am the one who was hearing and seeing these things.” Now, that he would identify himself in such a simple, single named way, John tells us that whoever this was, this man named John was well-known. He was so well-known that he didn’t need to give any other description of himself to indicate which John he was. And that narrows the funnel of our likely pool of candidates down quite a bit, to three likely options. John the Baptist, John Mark, or John the Apostle. The answer to which of those 3 Johns this John is, ultimately boils down to what we see in Revelation 1:9, where he says, “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.”

So a key identity marker to figure out which John penned the book of Revelation is that he was imprisoned on this island called Patmos. Patmos was a small rocky island in the Mediterranean Sea which, during the days of the Roman Empire, was a place where prisoners were banished. It was a penal colony, sort of like Alcatraz outside of San Fransico many years ago. So who checks this box of having been exiled on the island of Patmos? Well, only one of those Johns does, John the Apostle. See, there is strong historical evidence that John the Apostle was imprisoned on Patmos at the very time the book of Revelation was written. For instance, Clement of Alexandria, who lived in the late 100s not too long after this book was written, testified to John the Apostle returning from the island of Patmos. Eusebius, the early church historian not only confirmed that John the Apostle returned from the island of Patmos but attached a date to his return, saying John returned from Patmos immediately following the death of the Emperor Domitian, which we know occurred in 96 A.D. Irenaeus, another early church figure testified to the fact that John lived in Ephesus after returning from Patmos.

So what we have here, putting together the internal biblical evidence and coupling that with the ancient historical evidence, the case is strong for the John who wrote Revelation was John the Apostle. And that is testified to over and over in the early historical record. You have men like Justin Martyr, Clement of Alexandria, Hippolytus, and Origen. These are all men writing in the 100s and 200s, testifying that the John mentioned in Revelation was John the Apostle. The son of Zebedee. The one whom Jesus loved. The one who wrote the Gospel of John and the three Johannine Epistles, which are 1 John, 2 John, and 3 John. Not some other John, but John the Apostle.

So the book of Revelation is prophetic in nature. Its theme is Jesus Christ and we just looked at the fact that its human author is John the Apostle. Now we want to consider the matter of INTERPRETATION. How are we to interpret this book? Over the centuries, a number of different interpretive suggestions have been offered for reading and understanding the book of Revelation. I’m going to walk us briefly through four different views that have been offered and I will land on the fourth one which is the correct one. So we will end with the right one.

Let’s start with the Preterist view. According to this view Revelation is a book that is, of necessity, limited to its first century context. So the Preterist would say that Revelation is a first century document that only concerns the first century. And the events that it speaks of were all fulfilled and took place in the first century, specifically, around the years 66-70 A.D. during the years of warring in Judea, which culminated in the destruction of the Jerusalem temple. According to this Preterist view, the human author of Revelation had no design to speak of future things. Rather, he was describing events that were unfolded before him, and his entire goal was to encourage Christians to remain faithful in the midst of the intense persecution they were facing. So that’s the Preterist view.

A second view is the Historicist view. Like the Preterist view, as the name indicates, is focused on history. But according to the Historicist view, it allows for the book of Revelation to go outside of the first century. It doesn’t limit the events of Revelation to the first century. Rather it allows for the events of Revelation to track with the later developments in church history. For instance, there were certain medieval and Reformation theologians who adopted this Historicist view. And what they would do was they would point to the book of Revelation as highlighting the events they were living through in their day, the 1300s, 1400s and 1500s. What they saw in Revelation was John detailing events which would happen in the Church Age but not beyond. And what you’ll see from this Historicist camp is that they were creatures of their time. They interpreted the book of Revelation through the lens of whatever is happening around them in the world. And in the Reformation Era, what was the big issue? It was authority. Does authority rest in God’s Word or does authority rest with the pope in Rome? Well, no surprise, those reformers saw that the authority rested with the Word of God and what they did reading Revelation through the historical lens of their day, is they saw the Roman Catholic Church and the pope all over the book of Revelation! So they read it historically. The obvious problem with the Historicist approach though is that what God has given us in the book of Revelation ultimately begins serving as the handmaiden of history. So our understanding of Revelation ends up being bound to however historical events unfold. Which is oddly contradictory to the Reformation idea of “sola scriptura”.

A third view is the Idealist view. According to this view, the book of Revelation is basically poetic, symbolic, and spiritual in nature. According to this view Revelation isn’t predicting prophetically any specific future events. Rather, what the book is doing is setting forth certain timeless truths concerning the battle between good and evil. It reads Revelation through Star Wars-like lenses of a cosmic battle between light and darkness. That’s the Idealist view.

Well, the fourth view, and the correct one, the one I’ll be unapologetically leaning into as I take us through this book, is the Futuristic view. According to this view, with the exception of chapters 1-3, what we see in the book of Revelation describes the future. Seals, trumpets, and bowls, the future. Beasts and the Antichrist, the future. The Millennial reign and the Eternal State, the future. I agree with these words from Robert Thomas, former professor at The Master’s Seminary, and a fellow Futurist. He says, “The futurist approach to the book is the only one that grants sufficient recognition to the prophetic style of the book and a normal hermeneutical pattern of interpretation based on that style. It views the book as focusing on the last periods of world history and outlining the various events and their relationships to one another. This is the view that best accords with the principle of literal interpretation.” Dr. Thomas is right. Think about it this way. If you were stranded on a desert island and you dug up a copy of the book of Revelation in the sand and you had nothing else to read and no one else around you to tell you how to read it, how would you read the book? You would read it literally! You would read it exactly as it is written. You would read it futuristically.

How did I read the book of Revelation for the first time on that flight from Orange County to Portland? I read it literally. I didn’t read it as some sort of skeptic who was looking for a first-century document limited to its own historical time period? I wasn’t reading it to find some transcendent spiritual principle like the timeless battle between good and evil? No. As a new believer that didn’t have any comments to look at or outside voices to influence me, I read it literally and futuristically. It’s only when we start reading extra-biblical works by guys with PhDs and other impressive credentials, as they gin up new theories, rooted in allegorical interpretation, anti-supernaturalism and a desire to be published and say something new, that we start drifting away from the natural, futuristic reading of Revelation. Resist the urge. Trust your textbook. Stick to the Word. And as you do so, it’ll be clear to you that the book of Revelation is futuristic in its orientation.

Now, a related topic to the interpretation of Revelation is the DATING of the book. When was Revelation written? There are two major views out there on the dating of Revelation. One view, held largely by the Preterist group, who thinks everything was fulfilled in the first century, they give an early date to Revelation. They would say that the book was written close in time to the reign of the Emperor Nero who reigned from 54-68 A.D. before the destruction of the Jerusalem temple in 70 A.D. Now, the Preterists hold to this view because they have to, because their position hinges on the view that the prophecies mentioned in Revelation have already been carried out culminating in the destruction of the Jerusalem temple in 70 A.D. The Preterists have to date the book before that date, or else their whole system falls apart.

The other view, held largely by the Futurist group, gives the book a later date toward the end of the reign of the Emperor Domitian, who reigned from 81-96 A.D. We’ll get into this in further detail as we work through specific passages in the book of Revelation, because dating is really important to figure out the right interpretation. But as we survey the book tonight, I’ll just say for now, that the internal evidence in Revelation, specifically what the book testifies to within itself, in terms of the type of persecution that the Christians of this time were facing, fits best with the later reign of Domitian. The Emperor Nero was, no doubt, brutal toward Christians. He was the one that lit up Christians in his garden to light up the walkway. But the Emperor Domitian demonstrated a unique obsession with lording his power over early Christians. It was Domitian, for instance, who issued an edict that he be worshiped as a god, and there is clear historical evidence that when the Christians of this era refused to obey Domitian’s law, they faced mass persecution, which led to things like imprisonment, exile, and death. The book of Revelation was written in the midst of Domitian’s reign of terror.

When John said in Revelation 1:9, he was “on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the witness of Jesus,” he is speaking in the context of Domitian’s reign. When the church at Smyrna was told, in Revelation 2:10, “do not fear what you are about to suffer,” that is in the context of Domitian’s reign. When the church at Pergamum was told, in Revelation 2:13, “I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is,” that’s in the context of Domitian’s reign. When the church at Philadelphia was told, in Revelation 3:10, “Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing,” that’s in the context of Domitian’s reign. When John, in his vision, testified in Revelation 6:9 that “I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the witness which they had maintained,” that’s in the context of Domitian’s reign. It all fits better with the later reign of Domitian.

Now let’s talk about STRUCTURE, the structure of the book of Revelation. There have been a number of proposals of how to structure and outline the book of Revelation down through the centuries. Some have structured the book around key visions in the book. The vision of the Son of Man among the seven churches. The vision of the scroll, trumpets, signs, and bowls. The vision of the return of Christ. The vision of the new heavens and the new earth. That’s one way people break it down. Some have structured the book numerologically, specifically according to the number seven. There are seven churches mentioned in chapters 2 and 3, seven seals in chapters 6 and 7, seven trumpets in chapters 8 through 11, seven signs in chapters 12 through 15, seven bowls in chapters 16 through 18, and seven last things in chapters 19 through 22. Admittedly, those are interesting thoughts and ideas. But I think it much better to simply organize the structure the words of this prophecy according to what is revealed in the book itself.

In fact, look with me at Revelation 1:12-19. We’ll get here in a couple of weeks. But here we have John’s vision of the ascended and glorified Christ. And as we read this passage, we see that Jesus not only appears to John, but He speaks to him. John begins by saying “Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands; and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His chest with a golden sash. And His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire. His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters, and having in His right hand seven stars, and a sharp two-edged sword which comes out of His mouth, and His face was like the sun shining in its power. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, ‘Do not fear; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forever and ever, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.’” And then look at what our Lord says next, in verse 19. “Therefore write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after these things.” That, I would submit is the Holy Spirit-directed, Christ-directed outline of the book of Revelation. “The things which you have seen.” That refers to John’s vision in chapter 1 of the book. “The things which are.” That refers to the seven letters to the churches in Revelation 2 and 3. Those were real historical churches that existed in John’s day. And then we have “the things which will take place after these things.” That starts with chapter 4 and runs to the end of the book, in chapter 22.

Okay so we have done our theology lecture. GENRE, THEME, AUTHORSHIP, INTERPRETATION, DATE and STRUCTURE. That was all background. Now we’re going to get to the second part of this evening’s message as we kick off this new series where we’re going to consider the first three of the 404 verses in the book of Revelation. So go back with me if you would to Revelation 1:1-3. Again, this is the revealing, the unveiling, the disclosure of Jesus Christ. His person, His purposes, and His plans. God’s Word reads: “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, who bore witness to the word of God and to the witness of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy and keep the things which are written in it, for the time is near.”

We’ll be focusing on just these three verses this evening, which feed into the entire body of the book of Revelation. The book begins with these words, in verse 1, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ.” These introductory words tell us how and for what purpose the revelation, the words that would later come to be known as the book of Revelation, is being given. Now, many trees have been chopped down over the years as theologians and Greek grammarians have debated the meaning of the word “of” that sits there between the words “Revelation” and “Jesus Christ.” Are we being told here, by John through the Holy Spirit, that Christ is the revealer? Meaning this is a revelation from Jesus Christ? That would be what Greek Geeks like me, call a subjective genitive. Or is He the revealed One? Or put another way, is He the One about whom this revelation is now being given? That would be called an objective genitive. I go with the former option. I think this is a subjective genitive. Meaning, the sixty-sixth book of the Bible is a revelation from Jesus Christ.

There are a few reasons I arrive at that conclusion. First, is the plain statement the Lord makes to John here in verse 1. That this is the revelation in “which God gave Him to show to His slaves.” This means just what it sounds like. God gave Jesus Christ a revelation to give to us. God revealed something to the Son and the Son, in turn, reveals that same something to us. We find very similar language over in the Gospel of John. Turn with me to John 8. We are going to encounter Jesus saying that the Son only speaks what He has heard from the Father. John 8:26. “I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and the things which I heard from Him, these I am saying to the world.” So there is an example of Jesus revealing what has been revealed to Him by the Father.

Go to John 12:49,50. We will see something similar. Also the words of our Lord, “For I did not speak from Myself, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment, what to say and what to speak. And I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me.” One more, John 14:10, “Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak from Myself, but the Father abiding in Me does His works.” Now in a similar way, back to Revelation 1, it’s in our passage in our book, that the ascended and risen Christ is revealing to His followers what the Father has made known to Him. So He is the source. Jesus is the source of revelation.

Second, there are other places in the Scriptures where the very phrase “revelation of Jesus Christ” is used in a similar way or Jesus is described as the one doing the revealing. For instance, in Galatians 1:12, Paul says “For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.”

And then the third reason I take the position that the “of” here is a revelation from Jesus Christ, is that we have to remember that the Scriptures testify over and over to Jesus revealing Himself and being a source of revelation in a variety of different ways. For instance He revealed Himself as the Creator. He revealed Himself in His preincarnate appearances back in the Old Testament as the angel of Yahweh. He revealed Himself in His incarnation. He revealed Himself in His post-resurrection appearances. And of course, He has revealed Himself through His Word. Christ, in other words, as God, has regularly revealed Himself. And that’s exactly what we see here in the book of Revelation as Christ reveals God’s future, yet-to-be fulfilled plans for the future.

So, for each of these reasons, I do believe the best way to take that word “of” here in verse 1 when the text speaks of the “Revelation of Jesus Christ,” is to take it as being a revelation from Jesus Christ. That’s my exegetical conclusion. Exegetically this is a subjective genitive. This is a revelation from Jesus Christ.

But here’s the thing. While, exegetically I take that interpretation, theologically there is no question that the book of Revelation is about Jesus Christ! It’s a revelation of Jesus Christ. Revelation, in a very true sense, is a revelation not only from or by Jesus Christ but statements about Him made all over its pages. That’s why I would say the theme of the book is Jesus Christ.

Consider some of these titles which are ascribed to Christ, that are scattered throughout the book of Revelation. Our Lord is described as “the faithful witness” (1:5), “the firstborn of the dead” (1:5), “the ruler of the kings of the earth” (1:5), “the Alpha and the Omega” (1:8; 21:6), the one “who is and who was and who is to come” (1:8), “the Almighty” (1:8), “the first and the last” (1:17), “the living One” (1:18), the holder of “the keys of death and of Hades” (1:18), “the One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands” (2:1), “the One who has the sharp two-edged sword” (2:12), “the Son of God” (2:18), the One “who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet are like burnished bronze” (2:18), the One “who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars” (3:1), the One “who is holy, who is true” (3:7), the holder of the “key of David, who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens” (3:7), “the Amen, the faithful and true witness” (3:14), “the Beginning of the creation of God” (3:14), “the Lion that is from the tribe of Judah” (5:5), “the Root of David” (5:5), “the Lamb of God” (12 times in Revelation), the “Master, holy and true” (6:10), the One who “is called Faithful and True” (19:11), “The Word of God” (19:13), the “King of Kings, and Lord of Lords” (19:16), the “Christ,” the Messiah who will rule on earth with His glorified saints (20:6), “Jesus, the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star” (22:16).

As I’ve already mentioned tonight, the very theme of the book of Revelation is the Lord Jesus Christ. And, as we’re now seeing in these first 3 verses, what John is saying here is very much in keeping with that theme. This is the revelation from and about Jesus Christ.

Now, at the same time we have to remember Christ is not the only Person in the triune, the triune Godhead. He is the Second Person of the Trinity. There are two other Persons of the trinity, God the Father and God the Spirit. And as we read on into our text we are given a brief glimpse into the Trinitarian relations which have existed between God the Father, the first member of the Godhead, and God the Son. In fact, we see it right here in verse 1. After we read, “The revelation of Jesus Christ,” then we read “which God gave Him.” Which God gave Who? Answer? Christ. And what is it that “God gave Him”? Well, the revelation God gave the Lord Jesus Christ, which is now captured in this book is actually the culmination of what we see laid out in Philippians 2:5-11. There, you’ll recall Paul tells the Philippians that the Son of God would come to earth and empty Himself by taking the form of a slave and being made in the likeness of men and he would humble himself by being obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross, and then it says as a reward, God would “highly exalt Him.” I believe that this “God gave Him” language here in Revelation 1:1 where it says He will “show to His slaves the thing which must soon happen,” is an aspect of God the Father highly exalting God the Son, having taken the form of lowly, humble slave in His incarnation. Now the Lord, in His glorification and His exaltation, holding the title deed to the universe in His nail-pierced hands, is going to, in conjunction with God the Father -- and this really speaks to their shared divine essence --He’s going to reveal to His slaves, meaning you and me, His subjects, the things which are to come.

The fact that He has slaves, the fact that He can be called Master., the fact that He knows the things that are to come, speaks to His deity and divinity as a member of the Trinity. And let’s pause there for just a moment on that word “slave” to remind ourselves that the repeated testimony of the New Testament is not that Jesus is our buddy or our home boy or our co-pilot. But instead, that He is our Master and we are His slaves. And we so look forward to that day when He will say to us, “Well done, good and faithful slave, enter into the joy of your Master,” if we have put our faith in Him as His slaves.

So God the Father, back to verse 1 here, revealed to God the Son, which God gave Him, as an aspect of the Son’s exaltation which ultimately is described in this book we now know as Revelation. And why? Why did God the Father give this to God the Son? Why did He give this revelation to God the Son? Well, it says here to show to His “slaves the things which must soon happen.” And what are those things? Well, it is the things that are described in the remainder of the book of Revelation, whether that be the period of Tribulation which follows the Rapture of the Church or the return of Christ with His saints at the end of the Tribulation or the thousand-year reign of Christ on the earth or the Great White Throne Judgment or the eternal state. Those are the things which are to happen.

But note here the text also says these events “must soon happen.” These things are not only to happen, they are to happen soon. Now, the word for “soon” there could be translated quickly or briefly. But here it’s not really about speed or quickness. It’s more about imminence. That’s the idea here. He’s speaking of imminence. Again Robert Thomas on this point. He takes that word “soon” and this is his comment, he says, that word “is to teach the imminence of the events foretold, not to set a time limit within which they must occur.”

So that word “soon,” “the things which must soon happen,” is not referring to the time of our Lord’s coming as much as it is referring to the nearness of His coming and our corresponding anticipation of His coming. That’s the sense of the word “soon.” In fact, that’s the same sense in other parts of this book. Like in Revelation 2:16, Christ’s letter to the church at Pergamum, He says, “I am coming… quickly.” Same thing to the church at Philadelphia in Revelation 3:11, “I am coming quickly.” In between woes number 2 and 3, in Revelation 11:14 it says, “The second woe is past; behold, the third woe is coming quickly.” We see it in Revelation 22:6, where the angel tells John that “the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent His angel to show to His slaves the things which must soon take place.” And then 3 more times in Revelation, 22:7, 22:12, and 22:20, where Jesus Himself says that He is “coming quickly.” It’s the same root word, whether it’s coming quickly or soon. It’s the same Greek term.

And again the idea is imminence, these “things will soon happen.” This is not about glamorized date-setting. In fact, we know that date-setting is prohibited by Scripture. Acts 1:7. “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has set by His own authority.” This idea of imminence is not designed to puff anyone up about knowing for sure the exact date of when Christ comes for His Church. None of the “88 Reasons Why the Rapture Will be in 1988” stuff. No, quite the contrary. The idea of imminence should put us in a constant state of readiness and alertness. Matthew 24:42, the Lord says, “Therefore stay awake, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.” And in light of this idea of imminence of these things, verse 1, which are soon to take place, we are to have our rugs swept. We are to have our houses in order. We are to have our loins girded and our lamps lit. We are to keep our hearts right. We are to keep our minds inclined and we are to keep our affections directed toward Him while we wait. Because the reality is, once the various end-time events start to take place, they will happen quickly and in rapid-fire sequence.

The Rapture we know will take place without warning. 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 says, “Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we will be changed.” It is an Imminent event. The judgments that will sweep over the earth during the Tribulation will happen with remarkable force and speed as God’s righteous wrath is poured out on a wicked and rebellious world. Even the thousand-year earthly reign of Christ on the earth will be brief by God’s standards. 2 Peter 3:8 says “with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day.”

And it’s also important to note as we look at this concept of imminence and things that will soon happen, as 1 Thessalonians 4:18 puts it in the context of the Rapture, this imminence is to comfort us knowing that we could as believers meet the Lord in the air at any time. And it should motivate us and spur us on to live holy and obedient lives. 2 Peter 3:14 says, “since you are looking for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless.” This should spur us on. These realities of imminence of our Lord’s coming for us should spur us on to persevere in faithfulness as we wait for the clouds to break as the Lord comes for us and takes us out of this world to be with Him.

So the book of Revelation, still in verse 1 here, is the outworking of what God has given to Christ “to show to His slaves the things which must soon happen.” Well, as we read on in verse 1, the actor here is still Jesus, where we’re told “and He indicated this by sending it through His angel to His slave John.” Jesus, in other words revealed to John “the things which must soon happen.” And he did so by way of His angel. This angel, then apparently was then the one who at Jesus’ command communicated what Jesus had to reveal to His human author John. But note the ranking and order here. Jesus is the one who communicated the contents of the book of Revelation through His angel. The angel did not communicate this book on His own. The angel is not equal in authority to Jesus. No, Jesus communicated to John through His angel. We find a similar statement over in Revelation 22:16, which reads, “I, Jesus, sent My angel to bear witness to you of these things for the churches.” And both of these texts, Revelations 22:16 and Revelation 1:1 point to the reality that the Lord Jesus Christ is Master over the angelic realm. He is Lord over the angels. He is, as Hebrews 1:4 says “much better than the angels, as He has inherited a more excellent name than they.”

Now, back to Revelation 1:1, who is His angel? What is the identity of this angel? The answer is we don’t know. Some have surmised that it’s Michael the archangel back from Jude 9. Some have said maybe it’s Gabriel. I don’t think we have enough exegetical evidence to make that determination. What we can say, though, from the text itself is that this is the angel of Christ. This is Christ’s directed messenger, one of the heavenly host who has been directed to give this specific message directly to John, His slave.

Not only is Christ the Ruler of the angels, He is the Master over His apostles including John. I just read it. Christ sent the message of Revelation “through His angel to His slave John.” Just as Christ is our Master and we are His slaves, Christ was John the Apostle’s Master. John was His slave. So God the Father gave this Revelation to God the Son, who in turn communicated it through His angel, who in turn communicated it to Christ’s slave John, and then it comes to us, the Church.

And that’s exactly what we see John doing in the book of Revelation, faithfully carrying out his duties as Christ gives him the message through the angel to declare. Look at verse 2. Speaking of John, it says that he “bore witness to the word of God and to the witness of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw.” And note that John did so, carrying out his duty there, not by championing his status as an apostle, “I, John the apostle now declare to you.” No. He is a faithful and compliant “doulos,” a slave. A slave of his Master, the Lord Jesus Christ. Which is such a wonderful example of humility and servanthood. So there are examples in Scripture of blessing being promised to those who keep the Word of God more generically. But there is no question that a special promise of blessing is made to those who hear, who read, and who keep the Words of this book of Revelation. We see that promise not only in Revelation 1:3, but if you go back to Revelation 22, we see a similar promise made. Look at Revelation 22:7. Our Lord says “Behold I am coming quickly. Blessed is He who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.” So two times there we have confirmation of a special blessing coming to those who read, who hear and who keep the Word of this book.

That leads us to the second observation here. Note the full-orbed nature of the statement of blessing that is made here in verse 3. The blessing is received not only by reading and hearing the words of this book but also by keeping it. Meaning, observing, paying attention to, and obeying what is written. It is all three. They are like links in a chain. Those who hear, read, and keep the words of this book as it reveals the grand climax of God’s overall historical and prophetic program. Those who do all three will be blessed.

Third, and this goes back to something I said earlier. Note the underlying presuppositions behind verse 3 here. There is a presupposition of what we read on this page: we can understand. The fact that those who read and hear the words of this book are to keep, practice, and obey what it says, presupposes that they must be able to understand what it means. We can’t keep what we don’t know. We can’t follow what we don’t understand. So there is a presupposition here that we can understand what this book reveals. I would also say there is a presupposition here of a literal reading of this text. And that goes back to something we covered earlier. How can a person read and hear and heed the words of this book if they aren’t taking those words literally? And if they’ve instead allegorized or spiritualized the text to a place of utter meaninglessness? There is a presupposition of a literal interpretation.

Fourth observation I want to make here is that each of these participles here in Revelation 1:3, “read,” “hear,” and “keep” are in the present tense and what that means is that our reading, our hearing, and keeping of what this book reveals are to be continual ways of life for us. In other words, the words of Revelation like any words in Scripture, are not given to us to be merely informative and they aren’t even given to us ultimately to be predictive. They are also given to us to be morally instructive. Christ expects obedience to His Word. All of it. And He expects us to mold and model our lives around it.

And the Lord’s expectations for us are given in light of what we see at the end of verse 3 here which is that “the time is near.” This is a companion statement to what we saw back in verse 1, where it says “these are the things which must soon happen.” The idea here is that the next phase of God’s plan in ushering in the final events of history, the last things is near. It is imminent and is on the horizon. It’s closer to us today than it was yesterday. This idea of what comes next, what is near, and the end being near, is laced all throughout the New Testament, not just in the book of Revelation.

Here is Paul, in Romans 13:12, “The night is almost gone, and the day is at hand.” Or the author of Hebrews in Hebrews 10:25, who told the early church that they are to encourage one another, “and all the more as you see the day drawing near.” Or Peter in 1 Peter 4:7, “The end of all things is at hand.” Here is James in James 5:9, “Behold, the Judge is standing right at the door.” And even John, our author here, elsewhere says in 1 John 2:18, “Children, it is the last hour.” The imminence of the return of our Lord is coming for His Church. It ought to spur us on to faithful, holy, Christ-honoring living as we, verse 3, read, hear, and keep the words of this book.

So there we have it. “The Beginning of the End.” We’ve only just begun what God has given us in the book of Revelation about the end of all things. We’ll get back to it next Sunday night, unless the Lord comes for us first. Amen? Let’s pray.

Father, thank You so much for this chance to be in Your Word. Thank You for this start of our study of the book of Revelation and the promise and assurance and hope that it offers. I do pray that tonight’s message has been one that will be foundational to our overall study of the text. God, I know there’s a lot of information especially in this first one as we go really fast through a lot of the survey material, the background material. And even as we just get into the prologue of the text in verses 1-3, I pray that we would be looking forward with anticipation into what the remainder of this book reveals, built on this foundation of what we started tonight. I do pray that You will work in our hearts as we grow in our love for You and our anticipation of Your coming return. God, You are coming soon and we look forward to Your imminent return. We know that we are called and spurred on to love one another and to serve one another with love and good deeds as we wait for You to come for us. God, help us to navigate that path. Help us to keep the end in view, to keep eternity in view and at the same time not lose sight of those who You have placed in our care today as we wait. We thank You for this time this evening and we thank You for this day that You have allowed us to enjoy. We thank You for Your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. It’s in His name we pray. Amen.