When The Lamb Stands SeriesThe Revelation Chapter 1 - (continuation) "From Father To Son" by Sharon L. Clemens

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    In our first lesson, we barely unlocked the incredible book of The Revelation.

"The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants--
things which must shortly take place.
And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John,
who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ,
to all things that he saw." [Revelation 1:1-2]

    The older title of the book of The Revelation is The Apocalypse from the Greek "apokalupsis." The Apocalypse has become synonymous with "the end of the world." But the title literally means an uncovering, an unveiling, or a disclosure--it is the unveiling of Jesus Christ. This is not the end of the world; it is just the beginning.

FROM FATHER TO SON:
    The next phrase in Revelation 1:1 reads--"...which God gave Him [Christ] to show His servants..." Another startling and unique aspect of this book is that it is a personal letter delivered from Father, to Son. MacArthur likens the book to eavesdropping on the gifting of this prophecy from Father God to His Son, Jesus Christ. As a reward for Christ's perfect submission and atonement at His first coming, the Father presents Him with the record of His future glory [cf. Phil. 2:5-11]. We have the privilege of experiencing Christ in His glory in its pages.

THE TIMING--"things which must shortly take place":
    The primary meaning of "shortly" underscores the IMMINENCE of Christ's return. The Second Coming of Christ is the NEXT event on God's time table "for the time is near," verse 3. "Time" refers to epochs, eras, or seasons [dispensations]. The next great epoch of God's redemptive history, the return of Christ, is imminent--next on the timetable. The church has been waiting expectantly for His return for over two thousand years; it is still the next event on God's time table. And, when the moment is right, Christ's return will be sudden.

    The timing of Christ's return is the subject of much speculation. Students of Bible prophecy and detractors of Bible prophecy are interested, but for very different reasons.

    The believer seeks to understand God's timing because we are to be waiting, working and watching for His return [Luke 12:37]; but the Bible does not reveal specific dates of the Rapture, the first stage of His return. Scripture reveals only general signs of its approach: Consider Luke 21:28-- "Now when these things BEGIN to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near." We are to look for a BEGINNING of specific signs that will increase in frequency and intensity to determine the SEASON. Listen to Christ's indictment of those who do not watch: "Hypocrites! You can discern the face of the sky and of the earth [signs of the weather], but how is it you do not discern this time?" [Luke 12:56] Like the red sky at night that predicts fair weather for the coming day and the red sky at morning that predicts a coming storm, the signs of Christ's return for His Bride reflect certain conditions that are present. The believer is to note these signs and know that Christ's return is as sure as signs of changing weather.

    Detractors of Bible prophecy denigrate its study because of date setters who read too much into Bible interpretation. There is no set date for the Rapture of the church; it is an imminent/any-moment event. What do we mean by "imminent"? There is nothing that must happen before the Rapture; therefore, it can occur at any moment--it is imminent, NOT immediate. However, after the pre-Tribulation Rapture, Christ Himself puts Israel and the Christ-rejecting world ON THE CLOCK--counting down seven years in which His wrath will emanate from the Throne of God [Revelation 4 and 5]. These last seven years in the prophecy of The Seventy Weeks in Daniel 9 will be literally fulfilled, just as the first four hundred and eighty three years of the prophecy have already been literally fulfilled and are part of recorded history. [We will study Daniel's 70 Weeks Prophecy between Revelation chapters 3 and 4.]

    Do not let scoffers use the error of date setters to throw prophecy out the window [2 Peter 3:3-4]. Date setters can be held up as an excuse for not studying what is clearly revealed for our learning--and the glory of God. If God did not want to reveal the future to His children, He would not have given us this book and filled the Bible with prophecy.

THE DELIVERY SYSTEM [Revelation 1:1-2
    The delivery of the Father's letter to His Son is also unique; it is transmitted directly from the mouth and authority of God: God gave it to Christ; Christ gave it to His messenger angel; the angel transmitted the vision to John. In verse 4, John was told to use the vehicle of the Churches to spread The Revelation to all who have an ear to hear it.

AUTHOR AND DATE:
    The author is identified as John four times [1:1, 4, 9; 22:8]. The date of John's writing of the book is placed about A.D. 94-96, near the end of Roman Emperor Domitian's reign [A.D. 81-96]. Early church fathers such as Irenaeus confirm this date as well as later writers such as Clement, Origen, Victorinus, Eusebius and Jerome. Any earlier dating of The Revelation would not be consistent with the description of the decline of the churches of Asia Minor as described in Revelation chapters 2 and 3. Also, the later date explains the rise of the heretical sect known as the Nicolaitans [Revelation 2:6, 15], who are not mentioned in Paul's letters. But by the time of the writing of The Revelation, they are mentioned twice. This late century date disproves the claim of Preterists who believe The Revelation was written before the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. Preterists believe The Revelation is a description of that event, but the literal, plain interpretation disproves this view.

THEME:
    Revelation is first and foremost a full revealing of Jesus Christ, 1:1. IT IS ALL ABOUT HIM. The book is filled with glorious descriptions of Christ operating in the fullness of His deity. In this book, we meet Jesus Christ, King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

THE FIRST CHAPTER OF THE REVELATION READS LIKE A TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR THE REST OF THE BOOK. JOIN US NEXT TIME TO CONTINUE THE STUDY OF THE REVELATION CHAPTER 1.

In Him We Wait, Work, and Watch,
[Luke 12:35-59]
Sharon

[Prophecy Chat is a weekly commentary of current events in light of Bible prophecy. Sharon L. Clemens is an evangelical, premillennial, dispensational teacher of eschatology. She can be reached for comment or questions by e-mail at farmgrove@frontier.com]