Introduction to Revelations

The Time Is Near
An Introduction To The Book Of Revelation

Revelations 1-22:21 Shp Kevin Jesmer NIU UBF
Key Verse: 1:3 4/11/10

“Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.”

I thank God of our study of 1 Corinthians. I think that we studied that passage as much as we could, capping it off with a deep and sincere Easter Bible conference based on 1 Corinthians 15. Most of us memorized the passage. I was even blessed to develop 1 Corinthian daily bread messages. But now it is time to move forward. Where should we go from here? I think a good place is the Book of Revelation. These past six months we have heard of several deadly earthquakes. We see global climate change. We hear of wars and acts of terrorism and people, especially in the western cultures, are falling away from Jesus in droves. How should we interpret all that is going on? What should be our response to all of these things? Where should our thoughts and our hearts be focused? That is why we need to study this book. Through it God will give us insight how ton interpret the times. We can see where everything is leading. Yes! History has a point, a destination. It is not random. History is leading toward the Second Coming of Jesus and the establishment of the Kingdom of God. We can see that through uncertain times, Jesus is always with us. Revelation should not fill our hearts with gloomy pessimism. The drama of these unfolding events is spectacular and through them we need to always remember that in Jesus we are always on the winning side. Therefore Revelation is a book of hope. I’m sorry if I gave away the story. But this kind of story is one that even if someone tells you the ending it is still exciting. So let’s get oriented to this wonderful book. I pray that we may live with God's hope, and clear vision of Jesus for the present and the future to come.

Part l: The Setting
The writer introduces this book as "the revelation of Jesus Christ...to his servant John." (1:1) Jesus made it known by sending his angel to John. Who is John? This is John the Apostle. He was one of the Twelve. He also wrote the Gospel of John and the three Epistles of John. He had a very close relationship with Jesus. In the Bible he refers to himself, "the disciple whom Jesus loved." (Jn 13:23) He served the church as leader in Ephesus. John outlived all of the disciples. He was the only one of the original apostles who was not killed for his faith. He lived to be an old man and spent some time, in his later years, as an exile on the Isle of Patmos.
John wrote this book in a very difficult setting. The Island of Patmos is a small, rocky Greek Island in the Aegean Sea, about 50 miles from Ephesus. The Christian church was facing severe persecution. Almost all believers were socially, politically, or economically suffering because of the “empire wide” persecution. Many were even being killed for their faith. John states in 1:9, “I, John your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are our in Jesus was on the Island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.” John was a companion in their suffering. Somewhere between 81 A.D. and 96 A.D., John was banished to Patmos by the Emperor Domitian for preaching the Gospel. The Gospel declares that Jesus is Lord and God, but Domitian required that all people call him, Dominus et Deus "Lord and God." For Christians this was intolerable. They refused and many even preached against the demands of Domitian. So did John. Tradition has it that, to silence John, Domitian had John thrown into a cauldron of boiling oil in Rome. But miraculously John suffered no injury! The only way that Domitian silence John was to send him into exile. Patmos was not a nice Greek vacation spot with blue seas, blue skies and white plastered homes. No! It was a Roman quarry and those who were banished there lived as virtual slaves, even old men. John worked hard. But apparently there were some shreds of mercy. He could find some quiet time in a cave. He had some freedom to worship on the Lord’s day. (1:9) He also had equipment to write and the means to send letters abroad. Today this cave is called the cave of the "Apokalypsis". Throughout the ages I suppose millions of people must have sat in this cave and recited the Book of Revelation, fasted and prayed in order to understand what John came to under that day. At the Emperor Domitian's death in 97 AD, John returned to Ephesus where he lived to a ripe old age.
John wrote to the seven churches in Asia Minor, to Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis and Philadelphia and Laodicea. John encouraged the churches to read this book aloud, in their congregations, so that everyone could hear it and apply its words. John hoped that all of God’s people would take it to heart what is written in it and be assured of the fact that God will triumph. From God’s point of view, it was a message given from God the Father, to Jesus, to an angel, to John and then to the servants of God.
This book provides a logical conclusion, not just to the New Testament, but to the Bible as a whole. It has been interpreted in many ways. Historicists see Revelation a broad view of history. Preterists, think that Revelation refers to the events of the apostolic era or the first century. Futurists, believe that Revelation describes future events; and the Idealists or Symbolists hold that Revelation is a symbolic allegory of the spiritual world representing the ongoing struggle between good and evil. All of these interpretations are not mutually exclusive. They can be used in combination with each other. The Book of Revelation is about the future and about the present. We don’t know when all of these events will occur. But, no matter what, we must always be prepared for it will all unfold quickly and there will be no chance to turn to Jesus. This book gives guidance as it teaches us about Jesus Christ and how we should live for him now. No matter how we interpret it, we need to soberly ask ourselves how the study of Revelation is going to make us a better follower of Jesus today. This book offers future hope to all believers, especially those who are suffering for their faith, by proclaiming Christ’s final victory and the reality of eternal life with him for all believers.
The vision to John includes many signs and symbols that convey the essence of what is about to happen. What John saw was indescribable. When reading this symbolic language we don’t; have to understand every detail. John himself didn’t understand every detail. Many people in history have tried to specifically say that these symbols mean specific countries and events. I will try not to do this. We must not loose the point. The point is that John’s imagery shows that Christ is indeed the glorious and victorious Lord of all. There are others who have tried to perfectly memorize revelation and pray in order to get the same vision. I would be very impressed if some of you tried to do this but it is not mandatory. But lets make a concerted effort to examine the details presented.

Part ll : The Plot
Let’s get acquainted with general storyline. Chapters 1-3 lay the groundwork. These chapters consist of a brief introduction followed by seven separate messages to seven churches. Each message is custom-made for the church in question. Each message assesses how that particular church is doing, spiritually and tells it what to change. In a nutshell, the churches are each presented with a choice: to be faithful or not to be faithful to Jesus. The choice they decide to make has serious consequences. The seven churches of Asia Minor represent the whole Church. Each church's message ends with: "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches" (2:7, etc.) Therefore, the messages to the churches also serve as a means to convey a message to a wider audience, even to us. That is if you have an ear to hear the word of God! So as we study the first three chapters, let us perk our spiritual ears and hear what God has to say to us.
The remaining portions of the book are found in chapters 4-22. In these chapters you will find images that can be found nestled in the books of Isaiah, the Psalms and Ezekiel. The plot is driven by a powerful conflict between the forces, both earthly and spiritual, of good and evil. Expressed in the simplest terms: 1) there is a time of great tribulation on the Earth which combines natural disasters with war on an unprecedented scale; 2) the "Lamb" saves his people from the tribulation, destroys the wicked, and ushers in an age of peace; 3) after the age of peace, there is a second, brief time of trouble which results in the permanent banishment of the wicked; 4) a new heaven and a new earth replace the old, and the people of God go to live in the presence of Christ in a heavenly city described as the "New Jerusalem." Through the study of this book we will learn that Jesus Christ is coming again, evil will be judged, and the dead will be raised to judgment, resulting in eternal life or eternal destruction. The Bible ends with a message of warning and hope for people of faith of every generation. Christ is victorious and evil had been done away with. There it is in a nutshell. It will become clearer as we systematically and textually study these chapters. Here is a general outline of the entire book. 1. Jesus' words to the 7 churches (1-3) 2. The throne, the scroll and the Lamb (4-5) 3. The 7 seals (6:1-8:1) 4. The 7 trumpets (8:2-11:19) 5. The dragon, the beasts and the Lamb (12-14) 6. The 7 bowls (15-16) 7. Babylon the prostitute (17:1-19:5) 8. Hallelujah! God Almighty reigns (19:6-22:21)
Some mega themes that are found throughout the Book of Revelation are as follows: God’s sovereignty, Christ’s return, God’s faithful people, judgment and hope. First, God’s sovereignty. Our God is the Sovereign Lord. He is greater than any power in the universe. He controls all of history with the goal of bring all of his people together in unity with him. Though the devil seems to wield much power, God is actually in control and he will bring the people of faith into eternal dwellings. We can surely entrust our lives and our future to this sovereign God. Next, Christ’s return. Jesus came to this earth as a tiny baby in manger. He lived and died as the Lamb of God, the perfect sacrifice for our sins. He will surely come again as the King of kings and the Lord of lords. This would be especially comforting for those in John’s time for this gives all believers the strength to carry on to the end. Next, God’s faithful people. John encouraged the Christians to resist the pressure to worship the Roman emperor. He warns everyone to be faithful to Christ. When they do, resisting temptation and making loyalty to Jesus their number one priority, God will help them to stand among God’s faithful people. Next, judgment. In this book we will see that God’s righteous anger towards sin will be fully revealed. God’s judgment will put and end to evil and injustice and the devil. This is great news to committed Christians of every age. Lastly, hope. God will establish a new heaven and a new earth. All believers will live with him in perfect peace and security. We have a sure hope that all of Christ’s promises will come true. Through studying this book we can all be encouraged in our spiritual walk.
Part lll: Christ Is Revealed in Revelation.

Christ is clearly revealed in Revelation. In 1530, Martin Luther, the great protestant reformer realized that Christ was central to the book. He concluded that “through and beyond all plagues, beasts, and evil angels, Christ is nonetheless with the saints and wins the final victory.” The book unveils Christ’s full identity. In chapter 1 alone, we will discover so many names and references of Jesus. Thet are…1. Christ 2. Alpha and Omega 3. Living One 4. First and Last 5. Faithful Witness 6. First Born of the Dead 7. Ruler of the Kings of the earth 8. The Almighty 9. Son of Man 10. Lord. Do you get a good idea of who Jesus is? As you study the Book of revelation, don’t focus so much on the timetable of the events or the details of John’s imagery. If you do you may miss the main message, that is, the message of Jesus Christ himself and his infinite love, power and justice.

Many of the signs of the end of the age are being fulfilled right before our very eyes. Over the next few months may God help you to properly interpret the times and respond properly to this fact. Let us take hold of God’s future hope for all believers including yourself. Let us marvel at God’s grace in the salvation of his people and his power over the forces of evil. Let us walk with confidence because Christ the victor walks with you and by his grace we are on the winning side. Most importantly may you get to know God better so that you can trust him completely as you life by faith each and every day.