Tag: Revelation 1:1-18

Good morning! Are you as excited as I am to be embarking on this series? I pray you will be blessed and that it gets you excited to share its content with those who do not know Christ as their Saviour.

After reading the last post, which gives us the names for Jesus in Revelation 1:1-18, we learned about the One who qualifies to reveal these truths to us! We can rely on His words because He was there at the beginning of all things, He created all things, and He can accurately give an account of what occurred since the beginning of this earth all the way to the end! I imagine God’s view is similar to a very long train. If I were standing on a hill looking down at the train below, I could easily see the engine all the way to the caboose. But as a passenger of that same train, I can only view the car I’m in and a few cars ahead as we go around a bend. God sees the whole span of time: past, present and future.

John was instructed to record what he heard and saw. Can you just imagine what this was like to him? Just to give you an idea how his senses were bombarded, here’s what I found:

John records the word “heard” 33 times in Revelation; the word “saw” 42 times; the word “beheld” 8 times; the word “see” 16 times and the word “hear” 11 times; “like a” 7 times; “as it were” 12 times; “like unto” 15 times; “as a” 10 times.

You can see that each time the above words and phrases were used, John was attempting to reach into the future, from 2,000 years ago to today, through a culture, language and time frame. He’s to describe events from a time which no man had ever seen! It’s no wonder that some things seemed like they were right out of Star Wars! 😂 As well, he is seeing things like the one world government and the one world church which he had to describe in such a way that it would make sense – you’ll find that many of his descriptions match up with Old Testament prophecies. As you read Revelation (or any of the prophetic books of the Old Testament), a good rule of thumb to use is: if a passage appears symbolic, it must be symbolic. Check the Old Testament for a clearer understanding if they are referenced.

Rev 1:18-20  I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.  (19)  Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter;  (20)  The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou awes are the seven churches.

We see that Jesus is the One speaking with John and He instructs John to write down what he saw, what he currently sees, and what he’s about to see. Jesus will be giving John letters to the different churches of that time, (which we will see in Chapter 2) found in Asia Minor. The verses above refer to the angels of the seven churches. The word angel is defined as:

G32
ἄγγελος
aggelos
ang’-el-os
From ἀγγέλλω aggellō (probably derived from G71; compare G34; to bring tidings); a messenger; especially an “angel”; by implication a pastor: – angel, messenger.

Strong’s Concordance

The letters will be written to the Pastors of these seven churches, all located in modern day Turkey. The first of the churches is Ephesus. As we read this letter, keep in mind that these have spiritual and historical relevance. Each church was in existance at the time John wrote about them. We can actually see spiritual truths pertaining not just to that specific church, but to all the future ages as well. We see the way Jesus deals with each one: He has a specific “title” which ties in with that particular church, He commends them for what they are doing well, He tells them what they are doing wrong, and He closes the letters.

Rev 2:1-7  Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;  (2)  I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:  (3)  And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not fainted.  (4)  Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.  (5)  Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.  (6)  But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.  (7)  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.

Here’s a little history behind this church located in Ephesus. It existed from the time of Pentecost in 33 AD to 100 AD. This time period is known as the end of the Apostolic Age as John (the last living Apostle) died during this time. Jesus began his letter to them telling them that He holds the churches in His right hand and that He is in the midst of the churches. I praise the Lord that our Saviour is in our midst.

Mat 18:20  For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

Before Jesus shares what He has against them, He commends them for their hard work, perseverance and their discernment in spotting error and false doctrine. They were well taught, obviously. Remember, these churches were built on the Rock and the Apostles were the ones actually teaching them. There’s nothing better than having someone tell you about Jesus when they were personally with Him, amen?

Then Jesus tells the church at Ephesus that they left their first love. This definitely applies to all churches today, amen? Sometimes we get busy with life and lose that fervent desire to serve Him. Can you remember when you first came to salvation? The excitement of knowing the Saviour personally is the first thing on your mind when your eyes open in the morning!

One of the positive comments Jesus made was:

But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.

When the Lord says He hates something, every Christian should perk up and listen carefully. We, too, should hate what He hates. But exactly what are the “deeds of the Nicolaitans”? The name “Nicolaitans” is derived from the Greek word nikolaos, comprised of the words nikos and laos. The word nikos is the Greek word meaning to conquer or to subdue and laos is for the people. It is also where we get the word laity. When these two words are combined, they literally mean one who conquers and subdues the people. It appears the Nicolaitans were conquering and subduing the people. We see this practice clearly in the Roman Catholic Church, from its infancy and today. Not only did the church at Ephesus hate their deeds, but Jesus said He also hated their deeds. Their deeds also included sacrificing to idols. If you recall, Jesus didn’t teach the Apostles to lord over people.

Mar 10:44-45  And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all.  (45)  For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

There is one Lord over the church and that is Jesus! Jesus ends His letter to Ephesus by telling them to hear what the Spirit says to the church. Those who are born again will get to eat of the tree of life in the midst of the paradise of God!! It’s God’s Word that pierces the heart of man. Jesus wants to build our faith through His word. As we go through this Book, I pray that the reader will come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ!

Rom 10:17  So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Friend, it is no coincidence that God has placed you here for such a time as this so that you may be saved if you are not already. Please click here and the link will open up in a separate tab to You Can Be Born Again and Know It!

Welcome to this new series on the Book of Revelation. It is by no means an in-depth study but it is a series which will give the reader a glimpse of what will happen during the Tribulation. I’m excited to be writing this one! My prayer is that once the Rapture has happened, there will be something out there in cyberspace that will warn those who are left behind so they can prepare. Some may come to salvation immediately after the Rapture; the Word of God doesn’t specify numbers according to His Word. What can the world expect after the Rapture? The Rapture is not an event that starts the Tribulation. As you learned in our previous devotional series, keep your eyes focused on Israel. Whenever a peace treaty is signed with Israel, that will mark the start of the Tribulation. I hate to tell you this, but those seven years won’t be good at all. In fact, it will be the most horrifying time in the history of this earth! So let’s proceed and receive a blessing as promised in:

Rev 1:3  Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

One mustn’t start reading Revelation with the attitude that it’s a difficult book to understand. We are promised a blessing here, amen? If we are promised a blessing, then it stands to reason that the Holy Spirit of God would give us understanding of its content. When one understands the reasons why it is worded the way it is and one begins to read it the way the Apostle John “observed and heard” it, it becomes a book filled with wonder, intrigue and horror. It’s written by the Author of all things – He is the beginning and the end.

Revelation is interpreted in different ways by different “schools of thought.” I believe that we should interpret this book literally and futuristically. Some believe that it is an allegorical book and full of symbolism. Yes, there are some symbolic things but not all of it is. Others believe that it is for historical purposes only. While some of this is true in Chapter 1 through 3, the rest from Chapter 4:1 moving forward, is very much futuristic. None of what is prophesied in Revelation has happened in history… EVER! Therefore, that view cannot be true.

But when we look at the Bible as a whole, we see that everything revolves around whom? Israel! The Old Testament begins with God creating a people for His own and prophecies are made about futuristic events revolving around Israel. Two-thirds of the Bible is prophetic and it is all about Israel. It’s not about America versus Russia nor China versus Taiwan.

Exo 6:2-4  And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the LORD:  (3)  And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name JEHOVAH was I not known to them.  (4)  And I have also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, wherein they were strangers.

As we begin chapter one, we see the Apostle John was on the island of Patmos at the time he wrote this. He was imprisoned there and doing hard labor. John was the last of the Apostles – all the others were martyred. This book is the Revelation of Jesus Christ, not of John. The word “revelation” in Greek is apokalupsis and it means “an unveiling or revealing.” It’s appropriate to begin this book with revealing to us just who Jesus (Yeshua) is. He had many names, as we see here in Chapter 1, which described Him and His character.

1. The Faithful Witness (Rev 1:5)
2. The First begotten of the dead (Rev 1:5)
3. The Prince of the kings on earth (Rev 1:5)
4. The Alpha and the Omega (Rev 1:8)
5. The Beginning and the Ending (Rev 1:8)
6. Which is, Which was, and Which is to come (Rev 1:8)
7. The Almighty (Rev 1:8) (God in NT and Shaddai in Hebrew)
8. The Son of man (Rev 1:13)
9. The First and the Last (Rev 1:17)
10. The Living One (Rev 1:18)

Therefore, we see that He is quite qualified to give the Apostle John all the information that is needed for those who read this wonderful Book, amen? We will read about things that were, that are and that will come in the next post. Are you ready? Let’s hunker down and pray that the Lord of all wisdom will open our eyes and work in our hearts.

Friend, it is no coincidence that God has placed you here for such a time as this so that you may be saved if you are not already. Please click here and the link will open up in a separate tab to You Can Be Born Again and Know It!