The Book Of Revelation, is the last book of the Sacred Scripture/Holy Bible, and the only book of Apocalyptic Literature in the New Testament. Apocalypse, the title of this book in the original Greek, means "unveiling" or "disclosure" or "revealing" of hidden things known only to God. Other examples of apocalyptic literature can be found in the Old Testament in Daniel chapters 7 to 12, Isaiah chapters 24 to 27, Ezekiel chapters 37 to 41 and Zechariah chapters 9 to 12.
The following additional Jewish and Christian books also classified as apocalyptic by most Scripture/Bible scholars: Apocalypse of Abraham, Apocalypse of Baruch, Ascension of Isaiah, Assumption of Moses, 2 Baruch, Book of Jubilees, 1 and 2 Enoch, Life of Adam and Eve, the Sybilline Oracles, Testament of Abraham, and the Testaments of 12 Patriarchs.
Most of these books are found in the Pseudepigrapha of the Old Testament. In 1974 several apocalyptic books and fragments were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, including the War Scroll and Book of Mysteries. In the second and third century A.D. Christians writers produced a number of apocalypses, including The Revelation of Peter, The Revelation of Paul, and The Revelation of Thomas. All these writings are included in a collection known as the New Testament Apocrypha.
Revelation refers to God's communication to people concerning Himself, His moral standards, and His plan of salvation.
God is a personal Spirit distinct from the world; He is absolutely holy and is invisible to the view of physical, finite, sinful minds. Although people on their own, can never create truth about God, God has graciously unveiled and manifested Himself to mankind. Other religions and philosophies result from the endless human quest for God; Christianity results from God's quest for lost mankind.
Like its counterparts, the Book of Revelation depicts the end of the present age and the coming of God's future kingdom through symbols, and images. These symbols include an angel whose legs are pillars of fire, men who ride on horses while smiting the earth with plagues of destruction, and a fiery red dragon with seven heads and ten horns who crouches before a heavenly woman about to deliver a child.
Why was apocalyptic literature written in such imagery? One reason is that these books were written in dangerous times when it was safer to hide one's message in images than to speak plainly. Moreover, the symbolism preserved an element of mystery about details of time and place. The purpose of such symbolism, however, was not to confuse, but to inform and strengthen believers in face of persecution.
Although the keys to some symbols have been lost, the overall message of this book is clear: God is all-powerful. No counter moves of the devil, no matter how strong, can frustrate the righteous purposes of God.
The Book Of Revelation contains seven visions
The first vision is of Christ Almighty exhorting His earthly Church to remain loyal against all hostile attacks. - Rev. chapters 1 to 3 -
The second vision is of Christ the Lamb standing with a sealed scroll before God in heaven. As the Lamb opens each of the seven seals which symbolize knowledge of the destinies of individuals and nations, a series of disasters befall the earth. Rev. chapters 4 to 7 -
A series of seven angels blowing trumpets forms vision three. At the sound of these trumpets more disasters occur. - Rev. chapters 8 to 11 -
The fourth vision consists of the persecution of the Church - symbolized by a heavenly woman and by two witnesses [ Moses and Elijah ] - by Satan and the beast. - Rev. chapters 12 to 14 -
Vision five is another series of seven: seven bowls pouring out God's wrath. - Rev. chapters 15 to 16 -
The judgment of Babylon (a symbol for Rome) forms the sixth vision. - Rev. 17:1- 19:10 -
The final victory, final judgment, and final blessedness form the seventh and final vision. - Rev. 19:11 to chapters 22 -
The consummation of God's eternal kingdom finds expression in the word new. The Lord Jesus Christ comes with the promise to make all things new: a new heaven, a new earth, and a new Jerusalem. - Rev. chapter 21 - The book closes with the sigh and longing of all Christians "Come, Lord Jesus!"
The one who guarantees these revelations repeats his promise: I shall indeed be with you soon. Amen; come, Lord Jesus. - Rev. 22:20 -
The author identifies himself as John, a prophet. - Rev. 1:1-4, 9; 21:2; 22:6-8 - He was familiar enough with his readers to call himself their 'brother and companion in tribulation.' He indicates that he was exiled to the island of Patmos off the west coast of Asia Minor [ modern Turkey ] and that on the "Lord Day" [ Sunday ] he was caught up "in the Spirit" - Rev. 1:9-10 - and saw this visions recorded in his book. An examination of the Greek language of the book of Revelation reveals that it has some strong similarities with the Gospel and Epistles of John, but also some striking stylistic differences. The author seems to think in Hebrew and write in Greek.
As a whole, this evidence points to John the Apostle who spent his latter years in Ephesus or on the island of Patmos. John the Apostle is one of Jesus' twelve disciples, the son of Zebedee, and the brother of James. John must have been the younger of the two brothers, for he is always mentioned second to James in the Gospel of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Peter, James, and John eventually became Jesus' most intimate disciples. They were present when Jesus raised up the dead girl [she was twelve years old] the daughter of Jairus. - Matt. 9:18-26; Mark 5:21-43; Luke 8:40-56 -
They witnessed His TRANSFIGURATION as well as His agony in Gethsemane. Along with Peter, John was entrusted by Jesus with preparations for the Passover supper. - Matt. 26:17-19; Mark 14:12-16; Luke 22:7-13 - James and John must have contributed a headstrong element to Jesus' band of followers because Jesus nicknamed them "Sons of Thunder". On one occasion, when a Samaritan village refused to accept Jesus, the two offered to call down fire in revenge, as the prophet Elijah had once done. On another occasion, they earned the anger of their fellow apostles by asking if they could sit on Jesus' right and left hands in glory. Following the Ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ, John continued in a prominent position of leadership among the apostles. - Acts 1:12-14 -
John was present when Peter healed the lame man in the Temple. Together with Peter, John bore witness before the Sanhedrin to his faith and love in the Lord Jesus Christ. - Acts chapters 3 to 4 - They are many more, however, reveals that John the Apostle continued to hold a position of respect and leadership in the early Church.
The earliest Church Tradition was unanimous in attributing the Book of Revelation to John the Apostle. Although later voices have found problems with this identification, the apostle John remains the strongest candidate for authorship. The Book of Revelation was probably written during the latter years of the reign of the Roman Emperor Domitian. (A.D. 81-89) In the Book of Revelation, John the Apostle sounded the trumpet alert to Domitian's challenge. John tells us, 'The seven heads [of the beast] are seven mountains, undoubtedly a reference to the famed seven hills of Rome, and the dragon (Satan) gave authority to the beast (Rome) to exact worship from its inhabitants. The first Roman emperor to demand that his subjects address him as "lord and god' on an empire-wide basis was Domitian. It was under Domitian that the apostle John was banished to Patmos. Christians, of course, were forbidden by the First Commandment to worship anyone other than God.
The grand theme of the Book of Revelation is that of two warring powers, God and Satan, and God's ultimate victory. It would be foolish and a vital mistake to consider the two powers as equal in might. God is always mightier and powerful than Satan, and Satan continues his scheming plots only because God permits him to do so. Thus, at the final battle Satan and his followers are utterly destroyed - without a contest - by fire from heaven.
When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive all the nations in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, they were come swarming over the entire country and besiege the camp of the saints, which is the city that God loves. But the fire will come down on them from heaven and consume them. Then the devil, who misled them, will be thrown into the lake of fire and sulphur, where the beast and the false prophet are, and their torture will not stop, day or night, for ever and ever. - Rev. 20:7-10 -
John the Apostle portrays God's majesty and power through two key words. The first is the image of the throne. The throne stands for the rightful reign of God over the course of history. Angelic choruses bow before God's throne and chant "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty." - Rev. 4:8 - The second term is Lord God Almighty. [Omnipotent] Almighty or Omnipotent means "without contenders." No matter how fierce and wicked Satan may be, he cannot defeat God. In God's time and in His way He will fulfill His promises and accomplish His sovereign purpose in history.
The central figure in the army of God the King is Jesus Christ. The Book of Revelation begins with the words: "This is the revelation given by God to Jesus Christ so that he could tell his servants about the things which are now to take place very soon; he sent his angel to make it known to his servant John, and John has written down everything he saw and swears it is the word of God guaranteed by Jesus Christ. Happy the person who reads this prophecy, and happy those who listen to him, if they treasure all that it says, because the Time is close." - Rev. 1:1-3 -
This is not a book of revelations, but of one revelation - The Lord Jesus Christ. John's first vision is of the Lord Jesus Christ standing in the midst of His Church with eyes like fire [all-seeing] feet like fine brass [all-powerful] hair like wool, white as snow [eternal and all knowing] and with a sharp two-edged sword coming out of His mouth [the word of truth] - Rev. 1:9-16 - The Lord Jesus Christ is "the First and the Last", "the Alpha and the Omega", "the Beginning and the End", whose final promise is: I shall be with you soon. "Very soon now, I shall be with you again, bringing the reward to be given to every man according to what he deserves. I am the Alpha and the Omega. the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. Happy are those who will have washed their robes clean, so that they will have the right to feed on the tree of life and can come through the gates into the city." - Rev. 22:12-14 -
Revelation was written originally for first century Christians who faced severe trials under a totalitarian political systems. Its imagery reflects the historical realities of that time. This is not to say, however, that it is not also addressing succeeding generations, including our own. As is true of all scriptural/biblical prophecy, God's Word comes to a particular situation; but it yields a harvest to later generations as they receive it. Thus, Revelation assures us that God is present, purposeful and powerful today, tomorrow, and the future, no matter what forms the beast may take. Indeed, the Lord Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of the hopes of believers, no matter how grim circumstances may appear. Amen!
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Sunday, May 24, 2009
I have through years of reading, pondering, reflecting and contemplating, the 3 things that last; FAITH . HOPE . LOVE and I would like to made available my sharing from the many thinkers, authors, scholars and theologians whose ideas and thoughts I have borrowed. God be with them always. Amen!
I STILL HAVE MANY THINGS TO SAY TO YOU BUT THEY WOULD BE TOO MUCH FOR YOU NOW. BUT WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES, HE WILL LEAD YOU TO THE COMPLETE TRUTH, SINCE HE WILL NOT BE SPEAKING AS FROM HIMSELF, BUT WILL SAY ONLY WHAT HE HAS LEARNT; AND HE WILL TELL YOU OF THE THINGS TO COME.
HE WILL GLORIFY ME, SINCE ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. EVERYTHING THE FATHER HAS IS MINE; THAT IS WHY I SAID: ALL HE TELLS YOU WILL BE TAKEN FROM WHAT IS MINE. - JOHN 16:12-15 -
