Revelation 1.1-B The
Revelation of Jesus Christ, Which God Gave unto Him,
To Show unto His Servants Things Which Must Shortly Come to Pass
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Chapter 1:1-B |
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I. The Great Revelation to God’s
Servants, 1:1–8 |
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A. The Great Revelation, 1:1–3 |
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The Revelation of
Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things
which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: |
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2 Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of
Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw. |
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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.[1] |
2 (1:1-B) End Time—Revelation, The: the Revelation concerns things that must shortly take place. Note four significant facts.
1. The Revelation concerns future events, events that are yet to happen in the end time. The events had not yet happened when Jesus Christ gave the Revelation.
2. The
early believers had looked for these events to take place very soon.
The idea is shortly, swiftly, speedily—in their lifetime. This means that the
early believers were expecting the Lord to return in their lifetime. They were
doing exactly what Christ had told them to do: to look and watch for His
return.
V
“Watch
therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come” (Mt. 24:42).
V
“Therefore,
be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the son of man cometh” (Mt. 24:44).
V “Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh” (Mt. 25:13).
3. God’s
clock measures time differently than man’s clock. This is clear, for it has
been thousands of years since Jesus Christ gave this Revelation to man. Yet He
has not returned to earth and the end of the world has not yet happened. Does
this mean that John was wrong in saying that the events were to shortly happen?
No!
Ø
God clearly reveals that we are living in the
last days, and that the events are to happen in the last days (see the note
below, LAST DAYS—2 Pe. 3:3).
Ø God also clearly reveals that a thousand years is as one day with Him (see the note below TIME—2 Pe. 3:8).
The point is this: the return of Christ and the end of the world are God’s affairs, not man’s. Therefore, the time frame of the events are bound to be based upon God’s time, not man’s. The events are in God’s hands. In fact, based upon God’s measurement of time it has been only about two days since Jesus Christ revealed the events of the Revelation.
Thought 1. Every generation of believers must look for the return of Christ. This is exactly what He commands. He teaches that He can return at any time; therefore, we are to obey Him. We are to expect His return, watch and be ready for it. But we must also realize that He may not come today. Therefore, we must plan and establish long-term ministries upon the earth so that the lost can continue to be reached for Christ. The proper attitude is this: we must be expecting Christ to return today, but we must plan as though He will not come for a hundred years.
4. Jesus Christ gave the Revelation to His servants. Who are His servants? Believers who truly follow and serve Christ. This is significant to note, for there are many who profess to believe and follow Christ and do not. The Revelation is not written to them. The Revelation is a closed book to those who do not genuinely follow Christ. It is a closed book to the world. Jesus Christ gave the Revelation to His servants and His servants alone.
Thought 1. The Revelation is not a book for the world, nor for those who profess Christ but fail to serve Him. It is a book that is written only for genuine believers. The idea is that the world cannot understand the Revelation and will only mock it. Perhaps this is the reason there is often so much mockery of the things of God by the world. We who truly know Christ have too often proclaimed things to the world that were for our exhortation alone. The events revealed by Christ in this great book are for the true servants of God, not for the world. (2 Pe. 3:3–7; 3:8–10; 3:11–14)
V
“But the
Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he
shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance,
whatsoever I have said unto you” (Jn. 14:26).
V
“But the
natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are
foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually
discerned” (1 Co. 2:14).
V
“But
strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of
use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil” (He. 5:14).
V
“But the
anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that
any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is
truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him” (1 Jn. 2:27).
V “The secret things belong unto the Lord our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law” (De. 29:29).[2]
LAST DAYS—2 Pe. 3:3 Jesus Christ, Return—Scoffers—World, Judgment of: “Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts[3].”
The first
coming of Jesus Christ to earth was the pivotal point of human history.
Ø
Jesus Christ came in “the fullness of time” (Ga. 4:4).
Ø
Jesus Christ came “in these last times for you” (1 Pe. 1:20).
Ø
God has “in
these last days spoken unto us by His Son” (He.
1:2).
Ø John the Apostle says, “it is the last time” (1 Jn. 2:18).
Since Jesus
Christ first came to earth, history is in its last stage. Right now, the time
between Christ’s first coming and His second coming, is called the age of
grace—the age when God’s mercy and grace are flowing out to the world through
His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. The thing to remember is that this period of
history is called …
·
“these last times” (1
Pe. 1:20).
·
“the last days” (2
Pe. 3:3; 2 Ti. 3:1).
·
“these last days” (He.
1:2).
· “the last time” (1 Jn. 2:18; Jude 18).
Note John’s
term for the end time: the last time
(eschate hora). The Greek really means the last hour, the midnight hour when
the world is to end. But note this: the end time does not mean
annihilation; it does not mean that everything will cease to exist. As William
Barclay describes so well:
In biblical thought, the last time is the end of one age and the beginning of another. It is not only a time of ending; it is a time of new beginning. It is not only a time of destruction; it is a time of recreation. It is last in the sense that things as they are pass away; but leads not to world obliteration, but world recreation. In other words, the last hour and the last days lead not to extinction, but to consummation (The Letters of John and Jude. “The Daily Study Bible.” Philadelphia, PA: The Westminster Press, 1958, p. 71).
The final chapter of human history is now being written. Soon Jesus Christ will return to earth and time will be no more. When? Jesus Christ said that no man knows nor can know. Only God knows. And we must always keep in mind what verse eight says, “that a thousand years is as one day” with the Lord. Therefore, we must not be projecting dates. What we must do is obey the Lord’s exhortation to watch and be ready. We are to look for His return every day and be prepared for His return at any moment. And when He returns, not only will the earth and the heavens be destroyed, but He is going to recreate the whole universe, both the heavens and the earth. The new universe will be the home of all those who have followed Jesus Christ.
Thought 1. This then is the message that we must heed: it is the last days. What are we going to do about it? Are we going to attach ourselves to the world and be destroyed with it or attach ourselves to Jesus Christ and enter into the glory of the new world that is soon coming? The choice is ours. We either follow the world that is doomed to destruction or else we follow Jesus Christ and enter the new world promised by Him. The end time, the destruction of the world that is coming, is not a message of gloom; it is the most glorious message of hope—the hope of a new world. There is a new world coming that will be gloriously perfected: no corruption, evil, sin, or death—only glory and splendor, health and life; and it will last forever and ever, world without end.
But note
the point: there are scoffers in these last days, people who scoff at the
idea of Christ returning to earth and recreating the universe.
V
“Then
certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoics, encountered him. And
some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter
forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the
resurrection” (Ac. 17:18).
V
“Knowing
this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after
their own lusts” (2 Pe. 3:3).
V
“How that
they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after
their own ungodly lusts. These be they who separate themselves, sensual, having
not the Spirit” (Jude 18–19).
V
“And they
say, How doth God know? and is there knowledge in the most High?” (Ps. 73:11).
V
“That
say, Let him make speed, and hasten his work, that we may see it: and let the
counsel of the Holy One of Israel draw nigh and come, that we may know it!” (Is. 5:19).
V “Behold, they say unto me, Where is the word of the lord? let it come now” (Je. 17:15).[4]
TIME—2 Pe. 3:8 Jesus Christ, Return: “But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”[5]
Why has Christ not yet returned to earth? First, because God does not measure time the same as man. There are two differences between the time of God and the time of man.
a. There is the span of time. To God, a thousand years is only as one day. God is eternal. Think of thousands of years heaped upon thousands of years. Multiply ten thousand years times ten thousand and then multiply that by thousands of years again and keep on multiplying, never quitting. That is eternity. What then is one thousand years? Time is relative; it has no span to God. But this is not so to man. Man measures time by days and years, and he walks minute by minute throughout the day, all 365 days of the year. Therefore, time stretches on and on to him. But to God, who is eternal, it takes one thousand years to make a day. Therefore, to ask why Jesus Christ has not yet returned after two thousand years is ridiculous. To God, it has only been about two days since Christ died and arose. Two thousand years may seem like a long time to man, but not to God. To God, two days is only a drop in a bucket.
The point is this: believers must not be discouraged because Christ has not yet returned. God may want a lot more to take place on earth before He sends Christ back to earth. Our task is not to question when He is returning, but to watch and be ready in case He returns before we depart this life and go to Him.
b. There is
the intensity of time. Note that
one day with God is as a thousand years.
Picture one day on the earth and consider …
·
all the trials and temptations
·
all the suffering and pain
·
all the accidents and diseases
·
all the sin and evil
·
all the cursing and blasphemy against God
·
all the selfishness and hoarding while millions
are in desperate need
· all the people dying and being sent to hell
God feels every ounce of all the events. He loves us; therefore, He feels it all. He suffers along with us, and the intensity of His feeling is absolute. God is absolute and perfect; therefore, He feels in an absolute and perfect sense. He suffers with us with such intensity that we could never even imagine the experience. This is what is meant by “one day is with the Lord as a thousand years.” The feelings of one day are so intense that it feels like a thousand years. Whereas we bear only the sufferings of our own personal experience, God bears the sufferings of all the experiences of all men. Therefore, to God the experience during just one day of an evil earth is as a thousand years to Him.
This point
is significant: it is a warning to man. God will not bear evil
forever. He will not suffer the rejection and rebellion of men too long. He
will speak the Word and send Christ back to judge the world. Scripture
definitely teaches that we are living in the last days.
V
“This
know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be
lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient
to parents, unthankful, unholy, without natural affection, trucebreakers, false
accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, traitors,
heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; having a form
of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away” (2 Ti. 3:1–5).
V
“[God]
hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir
of all things, by whom also he made the worlds” (He.
1:2).
V
“Forasmuch
as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and
gold, from your vain conversation [behavior] received by tradition from your
fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish
and without spot: who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the
world, but was manifest in these last times for you” (1
Pe. 1:18–20).
V
“Knowing
this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after
their own lusts” (2 Pe. 3:3).
V
“Little
children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come,
even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time”
(1 Jn. 2:18).
V “But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; how that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts” (Jude 17–18).[6]
God is
timeless. In God’s eyes, the future is just around the corner, even though it
may seem far away to us. No one knows when these events will happen, so
believers should live at all times as though Christ will come in the next
moment.[7]
Jesus is the ruler of the universe! He will come to this earth in victory. For believers, this is Good News. For unbelievers, it’s a sober call to repent of their evil ways and prepare for Christ’s return. The same God who controlled the past and who will be in control in the future still controls the present—even if it seems as though evil is winning. This world is an illusion; the real world is the spiritual world. God is allowing evil to triumph for a time, but evil is ultimately doomed. The primary point of the book of Revelation is that God is sovereign. He has already determined the end of history.[8]
Prayer: Father God, thank you that you have called us to yourself to be your children. We praise you, Father God, for revealing to us ahead of the time to come of your soon judgment on all those that reject you. You have provided the way to escape your coming wrath; may we boldly proclaim that way, Christ Jesus, our Lord, and Savior who died on the cross, suffering the penalty we deserve. We praise you, Lord. May you come to call us home soon.
Revelation 1.1-B ~ The Revelation of Jesus Christ …
To Show unto His Servants Things Which Must Shortly Come to Pass
https://www.bible.com/bible/114/REV.1.NKJV
[1] Leadership Ministries Worldwide. 1996. Revelation.
The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible. Chattanooga, TN: Leadership
Ministries Worldwide.
[2] Leadership Ministries Worldwide. 1996. Revelation.
The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible. Chattanooga, TN: Leadership
Ministries Worldwide.
[3] The Holy Bible: King James Version. 1995. Electronic ed. of the 1769 edition of the 1611 Authorized Version. Bellingham WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
[4] Leadership Ministries Worldwide. 1996. 1 Peter–Jude.
The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible. Chattanooga, TN: Leadership
Ministries Worldwide.
[5] The Holy Bible:
King James Version. 1995. Electronic ed. of the 1769 edition of
the 1611 Authorized Version. Bellingham WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
[6] Leadership Ministries Worldwide. 1996. 1 Peter–Jude.
The Preacher’s Outline & Sermon Bible. Chattanooga, TN: Leadership
Ministries Worldwide.
[7] Barton, Bruce B. 2000. Revelation.
Edited by Grant R. Osborne. Life Application Bible Commentary. Wheaton, IL:
Tyndale House Publishers.
[8] Barton, Bruce B. 2000. Revelation.
Edited by Grant R. Osborne. Life Application Bible Commentary. Wheaton, IL:
Tyndale House Publishers.
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