Revelation Chapter 1
Notes on the Book from the MacArthur Study Bible
The Title of the book is within the book, unlike most books of the Bible. The word is "apokalupsis" in Greek. The word is used in several ways in the NT, among them, "an uncovering" or "a disclosure". It is used to describe Christ's incarnation (Lk 2:32) and his second coming (2Th 1:7 and others), along with several other things. An interesting observation, which I hadn't thought of before is that Revelation was revealed to John by an angel. It was an angel speaking with him, showing him things, explaining things. I think this is also unique in the NT.
John names himself as author of the book four times. Early tradition is unanimous that the Apostle John wrote the book. Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, and Tertullian all agree. Many of the book's earliest readers were still living in the time of Justin Martyr and Irenaeus. Only John's gospel and Revelation refer to Jesus as the Word. Rev 1.7 and John 19.37 translate Zk 12.10 differently than elsewhere in the Bible, but they agree with each other. Only Revelation and John describe Jesus as the Lamb. So many commonalities indicate that John is the author of both books.
MSB says Revelation was written in the last decade of the first century - 94-96 AD. Some argue that it was written earlier, during Nero's reign, but MSB disagrees. Several reasons are given as to why it doesn't make sense for it to have been written earlier. They are pretty hard to argue with. Still...there is no mention of 70 AD. If it was written in 94-96 AD, then nothing it "foretells" looks forward to that cataclysm. Looking for direct ties between Matthew and Revelation then should take into account that Matthew was before 70 AD - as was Jesus - and Revelation was after. BUT, perhaps this would explain why John was in Ephesus for so long in his later years. He may have left or fled Jerusalem in 70 AD, and there was nothing there to go back to. Additionally, if we find difficulties in resolving Matthew 24 and Revelation, we ought to first try moving the writing of Revelation back to before 70 AD and see if that makes them fit.
(2022 Note - Many times we see NT books "dated" by whether or not they mention 70 AD. If they do not, we ALWAYS say that means they were written BEFORE that date. 70 AD is NOT mentioned in Revelation - or any other book John wrote for that matter. Yet we date all three of his letters AFTER 70 AD. Well...not quite so cut and dried. There is no information in 1Jn by which to establish the date of its writing. There is even less information in 2Jn and 3Jn...except that we think they were written pretty shortly after 1Jn. 1 Jn is "dated" 90-95, per MSB, not because it does not mention 70 AD but because it does not mention the persecution under Domitian "which began about 95 AD. So, we don't have dates for either Revelation or Johns three letters. We just really cannot be sure. So don't be hanging any interpretation on the date it was written! What about the gospel of John? Here is the relevant part of MSB's "guess" about that: "The early church father Iranaeus (AD 130-200, just barely after the crucifixion), was a disciple of Polycarp, who was a disciple of John. Iranaeus says that on the authority of Polycarp, John wrote this gospel while he lived in Ephesus, and was very advanced in age." So the life of John, who walked with Jesus, overlaps well into the end of the first century AD. MSB dates the book in AD 80-90, about 50 years after Jesus' earthly ministry, and before he wrote 1-3 John, or Revelation. So the "best" information we have on the writings of John are based on hearsay testimony - from a VERY respected source - that puts his gospel in 80-90 AD, and we place all the other books after that. Good information to keep in mind!)
2023 - I am reminded that John's gospel doesn't mention 70 AD either, nor does it have any of the material that was in Matthew 24. Could that mean that John saw Matthew 24 as being entirely about 70 AD, and then wrote Revelation after that to look out to end times? I don't "like" that idea, but it ought to be considered.
2023 Later – Or it may just be that John’s gospel was written to explain how the church understood Jesus at the time it was written – say 50 years after the crucifixion. By that time, as Jesus had predicted in Matthew, there were a lot of false prophets, false Christs and so on. Many false doctrines were circulating around, undermining this new religion and its churches. Perhaps John’s gospel is less a biography of Jesus and much more an explanation of Jesus. And perhaps also, John knew that Revelation was coming. Certainly God knew that it was and so didn’t inspire John to write about the end times in his gospel.
John addresses the book from Ephesus where he lived to the churches over which he ministered in Asia, but to which he could no longer travel. So he writes to them - the Revelation.
There is little historical material in Revelation. It is almost entirely prophetic. Revelation is "first and foremost a revelation about Jesus Christ". He is named many names in Revelation, described in many ways. These are listed in the MSB.
Under "Interpretive Challenges", MSB says this: "No other NT book poses more serious and difficult interpretive challenges than Revelation." I guess so! There are four main "interpretive approaches".
1) The preterist approach is to interpret it as a description of 1st century events in the Roman Empire. The book itself though, claims to be prophecy, not history.
2) The historicist approach views Revelation as a panoramic view of church history from apostolic times to the present - seeing in the symbolism such events as the barbarian invasions of Rome, the rise of the Roman Catholic Church (as well as some individual popes) the emergence of Islam, and the French Revolution. But this would make the book practically meaningless to the people to whom it claims it is addressed. It also leads to conflicting interpretations.
3) The idealist approach interprets Revelation as a timeless depiction of the cosmic struggle between the forces of good and evil. In this view, the book is neither historical allusion nor predictive prophecy. Taken to its logical conclusion, this view makes Revelation a collection of stories designed to teach spiritual truth.
4) The futurist approach insists that the events of chapters 6-22 are yet future, and that they symbolically depict actual people and events yet to appear on the world scene. It describes events surrounding the second coming, the Millennial, and final judgement and the eternal state. Only this view does justice to the book's claim to be prophecy and allows this book to be translated by the same "rules" as all other books in the Bible. Obviously, coming last, this is the view the MSB takes of events.
The introduction tells us that this book is about future events, but near events. An angel is sent to tell John about these events. "He made it known by sending his angel..." Those who read aloud are blessed.
2022 - Vs 1 makes it clear that this is about events future to John. If we want to say this book is about 70 AD, we must establish a date for its writing many years before the accepted date. Failing that, this book is NOT about 70 AD. Nothing in this book is a reference to pre-70AD events.
2022 - Why is it to be read aloud??? Ahhh...Aloud is not here. The Greek word for "aloud", whatever it might be, does not appear in either the TR or the mGNT. It is implied by the fact that both the one who reads and the one who hears are blessed. You can only hear it if it is read ALOUD. And that surmising of intent is included in the ESV and several other translations. It is about a 50/50 mix of those who insert "aloud" and those who do not. The actual word, though, is not there. I would leave it out. My interpretation would be that those who read the book and those who cannot read but only hear are blessed just the same as those who can read. Maybe that implies still more....
2023 - I think the "aloud" thing is a modern thing. I really don't think the word should be there. How is this version any less accurate:
3 Blessed [is] he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time [is] near. [Rev 1:3 NKJV]. Aloud just "inserts" a lot of interpretation into something that is fine just translated. I do not like this word aloud being in there.
2023 - First verse:
1 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, [Rev 1:1 ESV]. Look at the wording....God gave this revelation - this apokalupsis - to Jesus, so that Jesus could show what is coming - how this all ends - to his (to Jesus’) servants. We can always find the genitive case - which sort of shows possession - by changing the order of the words. So instead of "revelation of Jesus Christ", think "Jesus Christ's revelation". I checked BLB, and Revelation is nominative - the subject, and both Jesus and Christ are genitive. As we saw above, apokalupsis is used many ways. In context, I don't think it means "the life of Christ". God gave Jesus information about the end so it could be shared. Perhaps this ties back to Jesus, as a man, saying that only the Father knows the day and hour. Surely in Matthew 24, Jesus shared some of this revelation, and now, in greater detail, it will be shared with man from Jesus through angels to John to the seven churches.
2023 Later – I don’t think I realized the implication of this even as I wrote the paragraph above. God told Jesus – in heaven – about these end times events, so Jesus could tell his servants, and Jesus did so by telling an angel who was then sent to tell John, so that John could write it all down and send it out to the churches.
Remember that Jesus says in Mt 24 that even he does not know the day or the hour. This can only be so of Jesus in the flesh, because Jesus as God definitionally knows all things. So this is Jesus as man who does not know. Revelation is what God deems appropriate for Jesus to pass on to man about the end times, but it does NOT mean that God told Jesus things that Jesus did not already know as the resurrected Christ in heaven with the Father. It is important to make this distinction.
2022 - Ok, going to paste in all of vs 3:
"Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near." [Rev 1:3 ESV]
Look at that last. It clearly implies that besides being prophetic, this book is instructional. There will be lessons to apply in daily life found in this book.
Revelation is written to the seven churches. These are the churches over which John exercised apostolic leadership. We saw this in the MSB intro to 1 John.
2022 - This verse:
"John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne," [Rev 1:4 ESV]
Seven churches, seven spirits before the throne. Perhaps these seven spirits correlate to the seven dominions into which both God and Satan divide both the spiritual and earthly kingdoms. Perhaps the seven spirits refer to the heavenly angels that supervise the spiritual conflict extant in each dominion?
2023 - Except that all these churches are in Asia and John is writing to them specifically because he has authority over them. The seven dominions should/must, in my opinion, cover the whole planet.
This verse:
5 and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood [Rev 1:5 ESV]
He is already, at the time Revelation was given, ruler of kings on earth. He is King, administering from heaven. Double amens, in vs 6 and then in vs 7. This is the greeting to the seven churches.
2022 - Can't overlook this verse:
"Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen." [Rev 1:7 ESV]
When could this be? Those who pierced him are dead. They must be resurrected before they can see him. Either that or we must divide this verse - and it is an overall introduction, so that is possible - into the second coming, before the Millennial, and the GWT, when all the dead of all the ages of earth stand before that throne. I would divide it.
2023 – The verb “will see” is in future tense. That tense does not restrict the “seeing” to a single instance. It just means that at some time in the future, every human being who has ever lived will see Jesus. I think that ought to make it clear that we are talking about more than one occasion as “first sight” of Jesus, but also, at the GWT, everyone who ever lived will be present at the same time, and see him simultaneously.
2022 extra - this verse:
8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty." [Rev 1:8 ESV] I think cross-references to Isa 44:6: 6 Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: "I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god. [Isa 44:6 ESV]
Beginning in vs 9, John gives some background about this book. A voice from heaven speaks to him and tells him to "write what you see" and send it to the seven churches. So it wasn't just the letters addressing each church he was to send, but the whole content of the book to each of them. These "orders" are in red. John turns to see who is speaking, and sees the heavenly Christ among the lampstands.
2022 - Vss 9-20 are John describing the unusual source of what he is writing to them. This is no ordinary letter, as for example 1,2,3 Jn were, nor even a history of his own inspired writing, as was his gospel. This book - and what it contains - is unique in that its source is a vision that was given to him, and which he was told to write down and mail out to the churches. The churches are named specifically. Does any other book of the Bible claim to have been so directly revealed as Revelation claims to be? Surely this is unique.
2022 - John looks behind him to see who is speaking. He sees the seven golden lampstands - again possibly representative of the 7 dominions - possible a lampstand for each church? But why would there only be seven in that case since there were a lot more than seven churches in the world at the time? Much more likely they represent the seven dominions of the earth. All the churches John shepherded were in Asia, but by this time there were churches all over, in many other lands. If symbolic of the 7 churches, is John's prophecy limited only to the churches in Asia? I suppose it could be since most of what is to happen occurs in Asia. I hadn't thought of that before...
2024 - In vs 20, Jesus says specifically that the seven lampstands are the seven churches. Also that the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches. There is no room for speculation on what these mean. So in the original vision, Jesus is surrounded by the seven churches - that is relationship - and he has the seven angels in his hand. If we see the angels as messengers - as the preachers - then those in charge of each church are held in Jesus hand. No one can pluck them from his hand. The preachers are sound in all seven churches. The light of the lamps falls on Jesus, but also shines out from him. The churches are proclaiming Jesus in the world. John told us in vs 4 that this book is written TO the seven churches in Asia. The rest of us read this book incidentally. We are not direct recipients. The audience intended ought to be kept in mind.
2024 - At that time, Asia was a Roman province - NOT a continent - on the West side of modern day Turkey. It's western coast was Aegean Sea. Patmos lay in the Aegean just offshore Asia. The churches are all pretty close together. I looked at a map of Turkey, and tried to determine what was in the middle of these churches. There is some interesting geography, but I didn't really see anything that stands out from the background. Two valleys intersect kind of in the middle area. Adakoy is in the middle of where they intersect. This word Adakoy translates into English as "a lot". Looks mostly residential. There is no street view or photo circle in the whole place. More study makes this NOT the center, this is very near Laodicea. So about a 30 minute pursuit of feral branta.
2022 - This description of Christ in his glory might be useful in other scenes, for instance Daniel 7. These characteristics:
Like a son of man. Form and appearance is human.
Long robe (but doesn't say white)
Golden sash around his chest - like the breastplate of judgement, rather than the over the shoulder sash we think of.
White hair, like wool, like snow. I always associate this with Theos, but here it is surely about Christos.
Flaming eyes, like fire
Burnished bronze feet
Voice like many waters.
Seven stars in his right hand
Sword from his mouth
Face bright as looking straight at the sun.
That's a lot of things to look for. This ought to be memorized, compared with the visions of Isaiah and Jeremiah, whom I believe were seeing Theos. Note that John mentions no throne! Isaiah and Jeremiah DO mention a throne when speaking of Theos. So in this vision, Christ is not on a throne...that is quite interesting.
The one in this vision tells John who he is, leaving us no doubt on this point, and confirming that the vision is how Jesus looks today, in heaven:
17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, "Fear not, I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. [Rev 1:17-18 ESV]
He did not have white hair during the time after his resurrection, nor did his face shine like the sun. At least, I don't remember any reference to anything like this in the gospels.
He says he has the keys of Death and Hades. Everything, in fact, is now in His hands.
2022 - We will see Death and Hades mentioned together again at the GWT judgment. Jesus was given those keys apparently upon his ascension. I believe we have established elsewhere that Death and Hades contain those who died lost. It is for Christ to open Death and Hades, and to judge those who are there. He had this power in John's time. We will see later that upon his second coming, he receives an earthly dominion. I feel almost heretical here...implying that Jesus' Kingdom at this time is spiritual only, and his earthly – maybe his physical is a better word - kingdom will only be conveyed at the second coming when he defeats Satan militarily. And yet...it does explain much.
This verse outlines the book of Revelation:
19 Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this. [Rev 1:19 ESV] So we would expect things from past, present and future all in this book. In fact, many outline it just that way, making the letters to the churches the past, then a very brief present, and then it launches into the end times.
The stars in Jesus’ hand are the angels of the seven churches, the lampstands ARE the seven churches. The word used for “angels” in this verse is “angeloi”. The BLB outline of Biblical usage has only one entry for this word, as follows: “a messenger, envoy, one who is sent, an angel, a messenger from God”. Based on this, some say this is about the actual preachers/pastors at each of the seven churches, and not about angels at all. That is possible I think…but at this point, actual angels seem more likely to me. Thing is, we are going to see “stars” falling to earth later in Revelation, and these stars are NEVER about men. ((((Come back and do a word study on both angeloi and aster.))))
2023 - Vs 20 leaves no doubt about what the stars and the lampstands represent in John’s vision of Christ in heaven. This does not necessarily mean that the seven spirits before the throne are NOT about the seven dominions. In John’s vision of Christ, there is NO throne and that alone is a good basis for saying the representations are different. Continuing…
2023 - So the letter was, at that time, addressed ONLY to the seven churches in Asia, and we have all the names, we know all the locations. So let's think about that. It is written to those seven churches. Not to the Jews, not to the lost. The churches will be raptured out - either before the future events begin, or not too awfully far into them. So we have to wonder why this book at all. What were the seven churches in Asia supposed to "gain" if the rapture was just around the corner anyway? And I have to believe John thought the full blown second coming was to be any day. Hmmm...I hadn't thought of that either. If John saw these things as taking seven years to occur, and he thought - the book states - that this is all prophecy, he knew the second coming was today plus seven years minimum in the future, right? And the seven churches would have made that connection also. Wouldn't they have also wondered what they were supposed to get from this book? Other than a blessing for reading or hearing it read? It seems like we ought to start right about here with studying this book. WHY was it written? It seems of little use to its recipients doesn't it? UNLESS the rapture is much later than even I would put it....The later the rapture, the more useful this book...
2023 - later. In my morning prayers I asked why this book. And immediately it occurred to me that Genesis and Revelation are the bookends on the story of man and of God's working in the history of man. Genesis is the beginning of man's story, not the beginning of God's. Revelation is the end of man's, but not of God's. God may have done much before us of which we are totally unaware, and God may have plans for what He will do when man is all done. But the story of man has a beginning and an ending, and our story is all contained from Genesis to Revelation. THAT is why Revelation!