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Revelation


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Revelation 1:1-20

As noted in the Introduction to Revelation, John (along with James and Peter) was considered to be a pillar within the church of holy-people (Christians, sanctified people, saints, children of the only true God) and a minister to the holy-people with a Judean/circumcision background (Galatians 2:9). John was one of the learning-disciples with Jesus before Jesus' death. After the resurrection of Jesus and the giving of the gift of holy spirit on the day of Pentecost (Acts chapter 2), John received holy spirit-life and continued to do what Jesus asked of him.

As we read, we will clearly see that the Lord Jesus Christ revealed this prophetic information to John so that...

...will be able to read and understand what the Lord Jesus Christ is doing now and what he will do in the future with reference to the realm of mankind and the spirit realm. It includes prophecy regarding events occurring during the past, the present, and the future.

Only God knows the date/time when He will give the Lord Jesus Christ the "go ahead" to gather all holy-people together with him in the air, which will begin the day of the Lord (I Thessalonians 4:13 - 5:4). Therefore God and the Lord Jesus Christ made known this prophetic information to encourage God's people so that they would be happy, and to warn those who have not yet believed what God says and thereby giving them the opportunity to believe and be saved (made-safe to God from sins and their consequences, from destruction).

John introduces this writing (book) with an explanation of where the information originated from and a summary of what it contains.

Revelation 1:1 and 2:
1:1Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to him to point-out to His slaves, which-things are necessary to come-to-pass in quickness, and he signified having apostled by means of his angel to his slave John, .2who witnessed the word of God and the witness of Jesus Christ as-many-things-as he saw.

This is the Revelation of Jesus Christ (the information that has been uncovered or revealed pertaining-to and proceeding-from Jesus Christ, as though removing a veil to expose what had previously been hidden)...

...and Jesus Christ signified (gave the signal, designated and authenticated them)...

God is the First, Superior or Ultimate One, the One Who has power, executes judgment, and emanates what He is, His power and light; He is the only true God. The name of God refers to the fullness of everything involved with Himself, all that He is and will continue to be, all of His authoritative-power, ability, workings, etc, His distinguishing and distinctive constitution, character, and quality.

Regarding the name of Jesus Christ, it includes all that the name of "Jesus" and the name of "Christ" represent and stand for – such as all the authoritative-power, and ability, etc, that God gave to Jesus when he raised him up out-from the dead-people, and gave him the name that is above every other name, designating the resurrected Jesus being Lord and Christ (refer to Acts 2:21 and 38; 3:6 and 16; 4:7-12, and 30; Romans 1:3 and 4; Ephesians 1:19-23; Philippians 2:9 and 10; II Thessalonians 3:6; Hebrews 1:1-4). Also, it emphasizes his obedience and service to God on a horizontal level to benefit people.

1) The word "Jesus" is explained in Matthew 1:21 by the Angel Gabriel when he spoke to Joseph.

Matthew 1:21:

.21She [Mary] will bring-forth a son and you [Joseph] will call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."

"Jesus" means "God saves / Jehovah (Yahweh) the Savior," and the Lord Jesus Christ was given that name "Jesus" because he is the one who carried-out God's will to make it available for people to be saved, to be made-safe. It is by means of Jesus, the Christ, that people are able to be saved and thereby have a true and vital spiritual relationship with the only true God. Jesus Christ is God's son – he is alive today! He is now at God's right-hand side, second-in-command to God his Father.

2) The word "Christ" means the "anointed-one" or "Messiah." In the lands and during the time-period of the writing of the Bible, holy oil was poured on the high priest of God to begin his ministry for God, and it was also used to anoint kings. Many people and things were anointed with holy oil to signify their making holy (sanctified) for a specific purpose, etc, which can be read about in many scriptures in the Bible (refer to Exodus 30:22-33; Acts 2:32-36, 4:27, and 10:38-41). The resurrected Christ continues doing God's will today.

A slave is a servant who is bound to serve his master. This service as a slave (bond-servant) means that the slave's whole being is at the service-of or in service-to that one master, not serving anybody or anything else! During the time-period of the writing of the Bible, a master was obligated to take-care of his slave and the slave was obligated to do all his master would ask of him; it was a mutually-beneficial relationship between the master and his slave.

 To be a "slave" was quite an honorable and responsible position to hold. However, today in the minds of some people the word "slave" has been changed from God's original design of a working-relationship to what mankind twisted, corrupted and perverted it to mean as a position of demoralization or degradation, etc. But we who are students of God's Word must consider this word "slave" as God considered it at the time of John's writing of this letter.

In the spirit relationship viewpoint as regards John and all holy-people (true Christians) - we are brothers of our Lord Jesus Christ and we are sons of God our Father by seed, by birth, because we have received the gift of holy spirit which is the spirit of Christ in us. We are servants in the work-relationship category, and as we speak and/or do what our holy spirit-life communicates to us then we are carrying-out our service appropriately.

[Reference: John 5:19-23; Acts 1:8, 2:18, 4:29, 11:28; Romans 9:28; I Corinthians 1:6-8, 7:22 and 23, 12:10, 14:26; II Corinthians 12:1; Galatians 1:12; Ephesians 3:3; II Timothy 1:6-10; Titus 1:1; Hebrews chapter 1; James 1:1; I Peter 2:16, 3:22; II Peter 3:8 and 9; I John 1:2, 5:9-11; Revelation 19:10, 22:6 and 16.]

Verse 3:
.3Happy (is) the (person) reading and the (people) hearing the words of the prophecy and keeping the-things having been written2 in it, for the time (is) near.

The word translated "happy" means that the one spoken about is pronounced happy, felicitous; he is a happy person from God's viewpoint, not that he feels happy at that time necessarily, but because of the reason that John explains.

Happy is...

...why? - in truth, the time is near (the specific time, precise period, opportune occasion, the season detailed in this writing is close).

Each second and minute and hour and day and month and year that goes-by brings all holy-people (every Christian including John) nearer in time to the event of Christ's coming to gather us all together with him. When we will be gathered-together with Christ we will receive into full-manifestation the salvation which God has promised us in Christ. The fulfillment of all the prophecies regarding the day of the Lord will come to pass after our gathering-together with our Lord Jesus Christ.

[Reference: Romans 13:11; I Corinthians 12:10, 14:22; II Corinthians 3:12-16; I Thessalonians 4:13-18, 5:1-3 and 20; II Peter 1:19-21; Revelation 19:10, 22:7-10, 18 and 19.]

Verses 4-8:
.4John - to the seven churches, the (churches) in Asia; grace to you and peace from the (One) being and the (One Who) used-to-be and the (One) coming, and from the seven spirits which (are) before His throne, .5and from Jesus Christ the witness, the believer, the firstborn of dead-people, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
To the (one) loving1 us and having loosened us from our sins in his blood - .6and he made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father - to him (are) the glory and the strongness into the ages, with-certainty.
.7"Look!, he comes with the clouds, and every eye will see him, and the-people-who stabbed him, and all the tribes of the earth will lament on him" - yes, with certainty.
.8"I am the Alpha and the Omega" says the Lord God, the (One) being and the (One Who) used-to-be and the (One) coming - the All-Strong-One.

John identifies himself by name (John) to those to whom he is writing. He addresses this writing to the seven churches, emphatically and specifically those in Asia.

The word "church" comes from the Greek word ekklesia, which comes from two words meaning "out from" and "called," so together it means "called out from." A church is an assembly of people called out from other people for any reason. It does not refer to a particular type of building or a house, even though the church or assembly may meet in a particular type of building or in a house. These seven churches are listed in verse 11 below.

John's greeting to them is:

...from...

...and from...

...and from...

To the one (Jesus Christ)...

...to/with him (Jesus Christ) are and will be...

The following is a reference to the prophecies recorded in Daniel 7:13 and 14, Zechariah 12:10, and Matthew 24:30 and 26:64. The first section refers to the Lord Jesus Christ, and the second section refers to God his Father.

"Look (behold, see, pay attention)!, he comes in company and association with the clouds (particular and distinct clouds above the earth, not the indefinite cloudy masses that we see in the sky from time to time, but specific clouds)...

"Emphatically I am (in Greek there is a definite word for “I” plus the verb meaning “I am” giving emphasis – I Myself am)...

...says the Lord God (the word "Lord" is the Greek word kurios and here it emphasizes and confirms the validity and authenticity of God’s lordship, dominion and authority over and relative-to His people, plus the respectful submission due to Him; also, this word is used in Greek as a translation for the Hebrew word Jehovah / Yahweh and refers to God in His covenant-relationship to that-which He created)...

[Reference: Genesis 4:8; Exodus 3:14; Psalm 89:27; Daniel 7:13 and 14; Zechariah 12:10; Matthew 5:34, 16:27, 24:30, 26:64; John 8:14, 19:37; Acts 1:9-11, 2:9 and 24, 4:26, 7:49; Romans 3:25, 5:9, 8:29, 10:8-10, 13:1-4, 14:17; I Corinthians 11:25, 15:23-28; II Corinthians 6:18; Ephesians 1:7 and 19-23, 2:13, 6:10; Colossians 1:13-22 and 27; II Thessalonians 1:6-10; I Timothy 5:21; II Timothy 2:13, 4:1 and 18; Hebrews 1:6, 7 and 14, 2:17, 3:1 and 2, 4:14, 8:1, 9:11-15, 10:12, 13 and 19, 12:2, 23, 24 and 28, 13:15, 16 and 20; I Peter 1:3 and 18-21, 2:4-10; II Peter 1:11, 3:18; I John 3:8 and 9; Revelation 3:14, 4:8, 5:9 and 10, 8:2, 11:17, 16:5, 19:11, 21:6, 22:13.]

Verses 9-11:
.9I John, your brother and sharer-in-common-together in the pressure and kingdom and patient-endurance in Jesus, became in the island, the (island) being called Patmos, because-of the word of God and the witness of Jesus. .10I became in spirit in the Lordly day and heard behind me a great sound as of a trumpet .11saying, "That-which you observe you must write into a book and you must send to the seven churches - into Ephesus, and into Smyrna, and into Pergamos, and into Thyatira, and into Sardis, and into Philadelphia, and into Laodicea."

Emphatically I John...

...came to pass to be in the island, emphatically and specifically the island which is being called Patmos, on account of the word of God and the witness of Jesus (as verse 2 above).

John may have gone to this island located in the Aegean sea voluntarily. While he was there he received the revelation of Jesus Christ as detailed in this writing. John continues:

I came to pass to be...

...and I heard what the great sound (the large voice or uttered-tone) spoke behind me, as of a trumpet making its sound (which is strong and loud and thereby summons the hearer's attention) saying...

[Reference: Acts 14:22, 16:14, 18:19, 19:1 and 10; I Corinthians 9:23, 11:20, 15:32; II Corinthians 1:4-7; Ephesians 3:5; Philippians 1:5-7, 4:14; Colossians 2:1, 4:13-16; II Timothy 2:12; Revelation 22:8.]

Verses 12-16:
.12And I turned-back to observe the sound, the-one-which used-to utter-forth with me; and having turned-back I saw seven golden lamp-stands, .13and in (the) midst of the lamp-stands (there was one) like a son of man having clothed-himself-with2 a long-robe and having girded2 a golden girdle towards the breast, .14but his head and the hairs (were) white as white wool, as snow, and his eyes as a flame of fire, .15and his feet like shining-copper as in a furnace having been set-on-fire2, and his sound as a sound of many waters, .16and having in his right hand seven stars, and journeying-out from his mouth a sharp two-edged sword, and the sight of him as the sun shines-light in its ability.

Verse 13 has the phrase “son of man” which generally refers to anyone of mankind, humankind, but specifically in this context it is referring to Jesus who is now the Lord and the Christ. It emphasizes that he is the one who is descended from the man whom God created and made and formed as recorded in Genesis chapters 1 and 2, the first man Adam to whom God gave dominion, etc, on/over the earth. However this first man gave it to satan as recorded in Genesis chapter 3. In accordance with God's promise - Jesus is the seed of the woman (Genesis 3:15).

Today of course Jesus has accomplished redemption and salvation and so he is the resurrected Christ, the second man having received his spiritual body, the life of which is holy spirit (not soul/breath life). Christ is the new man, the last man. After the time that all Christians will be gathered together away from the earth, Christ Jesus will come to be present on earth for those who will believe at that time among the nation of Israel and the other nations, the Gentiles, as ‘the son of man’ and he will exercise the authority that he has, his dominion on/over the earth having regained and replaced the first man and all that the first man gave to the devil/satan.

The resurrected Christ Jesus is now second-in-command to God his Father. You may like to review the Chart of events and timelines.

John continues writing the revelation of Jesus Christ:

I (John) turned back to observe the voice, the voice which was speaking in company and association with me (it spent time talking with me; the action of speaking to John continued during a past time that is now finished as John is writing; it was not a quick one-time occurrence);...

...and after I turned back I saw (not just the act of looking and seeing something, but actual perception in the mind and thereby getting to know)...

[Reference: Daniel 10:5-14; John 5:27; Acts 7:30; Ephesians 6:14; II Thessalonians 1:8; Hebrews 1:7, 2:6, 4:12, 8:2 and 5, 9:2, 23 and 24; Revelation 2:12 and 18, 14:14.]

Verses 17-20:
.17And when I saw him I fell towards his feet as a dead-person, and he put his right (hand) on me saying,
"You must not be fearful; I am the first and the last; .18and the (one) living, even I became dead and look!, I am living into the ages of the ages; and I have the keys of the death and the gravedom. .19Therefore you must write which-things you saw, even which they are and which are about to come-to-pass after these-things. 
.20The mystery of the seven stars which you saw on my right (hand) and the seven lamp-stands, the golden (lamp-stands) - the seven stars are angels of the seven churches, and the lamp-stands, the seven (lamp-stands) are seven churches."

When I (John) perceived him I fell towards his feet as a dead-person (as someone who has just died falls down to the ground), and he placed his right hand on me (the word "hand" is not in the Greek text but in the context it is understood, and the fact that it was his right hand instead of his left hand indicates that the specific words of prophecy spoken to John were for the purpose of being a blessing to/for him, good words) saying...

God resurrected Jesus to eternal life when he loosened the pangs of death from him because it was not possible for him to be strongly-held by it (Acts 2:24). The devil's death-power (Hebrews 2:14) was not powerful enough against God's resurrection-power and so God was able to raise Jesus Christ up from among the rest of the dead-people!

Every person is born with a fleshy body with its soul/breath-life, and this body results in death both physically and spiritually because of the fall of Adam (refer to the Appendix to Romans). However during the present age, every person who believes what God says regarding Himself and His son, the Lord Jesus Christ, receives holy spirit-life within our present fleshy bodies, which is the spirit of Christ, and this results in eternal life (receiving a spiritual body with its holy spirit-life in the future) because of the resurrection of Christ (I Corinthians 15:21-28). The Lord Jesus Christ now has the keys of the death and the gravedom (John 5:19-30; I Corinthians 15:54-57; Hebrews 2:14 and 15; Revelation chapter 20).

John continues with the words from the Lord Jesus Christ:

"Following-on logically, you (John) must write...

The mystery (secret) of the seven stars which you (John) saw on my right hand and the seven lamp-stands, emphatically and specifically the golden lamp-stands, is as follows:

We should note that a "mystery (secret)" contains the details that are known and can be understood by those involved in it and by those to whom it has been revealed – it is not inexplicable to those involved in it.

[Reference: Matthew 16:18 and 19; John 5:19-30, 16:13; Acts 2:22-36, 17:31, 26:16, 27:24; Romans 1:4, 5:12, 17 and 21, 8:18 and 38; I Corinthians 3:22, 15:21-28, 45-47 and 51-57; Ephesians 1:21; I Timothy 4:8, 6:19; II Timothy 1:10, 4:1 and 18; Hebrews 2:5-15, 6:4 and 5, 7:25, 13:8 and 14; James 1:15; I Peter 5:1; Revelation 2:8, 20:13 and 14, 22:13. Note: verbs with a superscript 2 (2) immediately following them indicate the "perfect" tense - details are provided in the "Relevant Notes" link of this study.]


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Adam and Eve
Birth of Jesus Christ
Baptism
Belief - Faith
Church, Temple,
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Creation
Crucifixion of Jesus
Devil, satan, and evil
Forgiveness
Hope and Resurrection
Love in
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Name of God
Name of the
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Pentecost and the
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Salvation and
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Stars and
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Suffering while doing
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Summary of the
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Who is the Bride?