This Book has a title- It is the Revelation of Jesus Christ. The Greek word for Revelation is ‘apokalupsis’ which means unveiling or disclosure. This book has a purpose, which is described in verse 1- “to show His servants what must soon take place.”
This doesn’t give us more details but gives more than we can swallow. This book came from God, the Father to Jesus, and to the Angel who communicated to John, who finally wrote it to us. This is the transmission of the book.
This book is authentic- It is the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ (v.2).
The phrase ‘I saw’ and ‘I heard’ appears 60 times in this Book. It is not only authentic but authoritative and also has a promise.
Verse 3 says- Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it.
Do you read the Word of God? Do you hear the Word of God? Or take to heart the Word of God?
In Chapter 2, verses 7, 11 and 17, the phrase- ‘Whoever has ear, let him hear’ has been repeated. Do you have an ear? Then you need to hear!
There are many who avoid reading the book. There are many who avoid it like a plague and say it is wrapped in such deep mystery. You might say- It is wrapped in such darkness I can’t get through it... It is wrapped in such misunderstandings and such puzzling things, it is beyond my understanding....
Listen to what He says: Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it.
How do you keep some of these things? You keep them and store them up in your hearts. You keep them in your minds and at the forefront of your battle every day with the powers of darkness or you draw upon the understanding of what Christ has done and what Christ will do and what Christ will always do in facing his foes.
So, this Book begins with a promise and ends with a promise. In Chapter 22:7, there is a promise- “Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy written in this scroll.” This book because of its very nature is called Prophecy. And the word prophecy is found 7 times in this book. And the number 7 signifies Perfection.
Verse 3 says- “because the time is near”. Only God knows His prophetic clock. The time is always there for the practicing of faith. The time is always there for the application of the battle being fought by faith.
In Verse 4, we are told about the human writer- the apostle John. And the recipients of the letter- the 7 churches in Asia Minor. Asia Minor is modern day Turkey.
I am sure, most of us are interested in Reading books and when we open a book, we see that it is dedicated to so and so. The Book of John has a dedication too. It is found in Verse 5- “To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood”.
This Book is dedicated to Jesus Christ! Awesome! And moreover, Jesus is described in v.5 as the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
He is the faithful witness- U can Trust him- This Shows His Reliability.
He is the firstborn from the dead- This Shows His Superiority.
He is the ruler of the kings of the earth- This Shows His Sovereignty.
God loved us that He gave us His Son! Son loved us that He washed our Sins! And what is He worthy of? Verse 6 says He is worthy of Glory and Power. He is worthy of Dominion.
The main theme of this book is found in Verse 7- “ Jesus is Coming Again!”
"Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all peoples on earth will mourn because of him."
This is a glimpse into what will take place in the rest of the book. Every eye shall see. Remember, this is the revelation of Jesus Christ. Every eye shall see him here. Some will see him and they will rejoice in seeing. They will glory in seeing. They will be happy and joyous in seeing. But then there will be others- those who pierced Him. Some will see him as the one that they caused to die. Will that be you? Will you look upon him and say, “My sin caused the prints in his hands, the prints in his feet, the wound in his side, the wounds upon his head”?
Will you say that? I pierced him. It is for my transgressions that he suffered all that. There are those who will look upon him and say, “So what? He didn’t do anything for me anyway.”
Dear Friends, the vision of Christ brings all sorts of reactions in different people. What will be your reaction?
God Bless!
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