Revelation 1-5

Introductory Matters.

The Book of Revelation was written by the Apostle John while exiled on Patmos. He wrote this book sometime in the mid-late 60s AD. Revelation describes a series of visions John received from the ascended Jesus. The book is written with lots of symbolism, imagery, and apocalyptic motifs that are strange to us but which made sense to the original readers. There are four approaches that most interpreters take with the Book of Revelation:

(1) The Futurist View – John is writing about events that happen in the far future and they have yet to take place. They largely concern the coming of Antichrist, the Rapture, the Seven-Year-Tribulation, and the Second Coming of Jesus. This interpretation is the newest of all four interpretations, developing within the last 100 years.

(2) The Historicist View – John is writing about events that happen in stages throughout history and which involve the church. This view is much older than the Futurist View, emerging during the Reformation Period in the 16th and 17th centuries. According to this view, ‘Babylon’ symbolizes secular world powers and the ‘whore of Babylon’ is the Catholic Church.

(3) The Spiritual View – John is writing about ‘spiritual’ matters that are true in any age and are thus not referring to any actual historical events. ‘Babylon’ symbolizes secular culture and worldviews, the ‘whore of Babylon’ represents an apostate church, etc. All visions are equally present at all times throughout history.

(4) The Preterist (and Partial Preterist) Views – John is writing about events that are soon to take place for the people to whom he is writing; the events happened in the first century, and so what was ‘future’ for John’s readers is ‘past’ for us. The Full Preterist View holds that everything in Revelation has taken place; the Partial Preterist view holds that most of Revelation has taken place, with only the ‘Consummation of Heaven and Earth’ in Revelation 21 remaining a future reality. 

We will be taking a 'Partial Preterist' approach to Revelation. The Book is a 'revelation' or an 'unveiling,' and it is meant to be understood by the original readers. This revelation is the testimony of Jesus regarding things which must shortly come to pass. The Greek word used for 'shortly' is taxos, which means 'speedily, quickly, swiftly.' The bulk of Revelation has to do with things that would happen shortly in John's perspective; these things were 'future' for him but are 'past' for us. The things which Jesus prophesied would take place within the first century AD. Though some aspects of Revelation remain future-oriented (i.e. the new heavens and new earth), most of it has already taken place. 

Revelation One: The Preamble.

John’s letter – the ‘Book of Revelation’ as we have it now – was written to be sent to the ‘Seven Churches of Asia Minor.’ These were historical churches undergoing persecution. John will write specific messages to each of these churches, and following that they will all receive a copy of his divine vision of what will soon take place. This chapter gives us the only physical description of Jesus in the New Testament, and in 1.12-20 we are given our first glimpse of Jesus in his resurrected, ascended state. When John saw him, he fell to his feet as if dead. Jesus told him, “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.” Below and to the right is an artistic depiction of the scene which John delivers to us.

Jesus is pictured with seven lampstands which represent the churches of Asia Minor (Jesus walks among the lampstands; he is present among the churches), and in his right hand he holds seven stars which represent the seven angels of the seven churches. Though some commentators believe these angels are celestial beings assigned to guarding over individual bodies of believers, a better interpretation is that these 'angels' are the believing leaders of the churches. Jesus upholds his ministers. This interpretation makes better sense of the fact that the letters written to the individual churches are to be delivered to their 'angels' who would in turn deliver them to the churches. 

Revelation 2-3: Letters to the Churches.

The Letter to the Church at Ephesus – Jesus praises the good deeds and hard work of the Ephesian Christians, but he laments that they have ‘lost their first love.’ It’s easy to do all the right things and to be a good Christian, but we mustn’t lose our heart-felt devotion to God.

The Letter to the Church at Smyrna – Jesus praises their steadfastness amid persecution and warns them that more persecution is coming; though this persecution will be short-lived, some of them will die. Those who are martyred have the promise of resurrection and will wear a crown of victory.

The Letter to the Church at Pergamum – Jesus praises how they’ve held true to the faith amidst persecution, but he laments how some of them have gone astray by following false teachings. Jesus promises that he will deal with these false teachers through the words of his mouth (i.e. through the holy scriptures).

The Letter to the Church at Thyatira – Jesus praises how they’ve clung to the faith and matured in their devotion to him, but he is mad that they’ve tolerated a set of false teachings that encourage immoral living. Jesus promises that those who embrace these teachings will suffer for it. 

The Letter to the Church at Smardis – Jesus isn’t happy with the Christians in Smardis. Most of them have grown weak; they no longer live as they ought, and though they profess Christ, you couldn’t tell from the way they live. Jesus commands them to repent, to return to true devotion; if they do not, then Jesus will come for them, and not in a way they like.

The Letter to the Church at Philadelphia – Jesus praises the Christians in Philadelphia for enduring persecution, and he promises that those who persecute them won’t have the last word.

The Letter to the Church at Laodicea – the Christians at Laodicea are just as pitiful as those in Smardis, living lives of luxury and focusing on this life while claiming devotion to God. Jesus warns them, “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” They were lukewarm because they had one foot in the camp of devotion to God and one foot in the camp of worldly living. He then promises, ‘Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.’ 

Revelation 4: The Throne Room of Yahweh

After writing down the letters to the individual churches in Asia Minor, John then records the Throne Room of God. This is the only image we have in the New Testament of God’s throne room (Ezekiel also saw God’s throne room, and the two visions are very similar). Below is an artistic depiction of the scene John records for us:

Who are the 24 Elders? This is a vision of Yahweh enthroned in heaven. Around the throne are 24 seats in which sat elders in white clothes and wearing crowns of gold. The elders likely represent God’s people throughout all of history. There were twelve tribes in the Old Testament and twelve apostles in the New. In Ezekiel 8 and 11, Ezekiel sees twenty-five men before God’s throne: twenty-four priests and one High Priest. Here, the High Priest is Jesus, and the twenty-four priests represent God’s people, who are a ‘Holy Priesthood’ (1 Peter 2.9).

What are the Seven Lamps? John says there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, and he identifies these as the seven spirits of God. In the midst of these seven spirits were ‘lightnings and thunderings and voices,’ reminiscent of Mount Sinai where God gave the Israelites His Law. What are the seven ‘spirits of God’? There are three main interpretations:

(1) They represent the Holy Spirit. In Hebrew symbolism, ‘Seven’ correlates with completeness.  

(2) They represent the ‘celestial footprint’ of the seven churches formerly identified with seven lampstands; when churches gather, they are entering into God’s throne room.  

(3) They represent the ‘heavenly menorah.’ The original menorah, used in the Temple prior to its destruction, had seven lights. 

What are the Four Living Creatures? John says that the throne is guarded by four creatures covered with eyes facing front and back. The first was like a lion; the second like a calf; the third had a face like that of a man; and the fourth was like a flying eagle. Each creature had six wings, eyes looking all around, and they even had eyes under their wings! It was common for ancient kings to have their thrones set upon carvings of different creatures, but God’s throne is surrounded by living creatures. All other throne rooms are but parodies of His. The four living creatures in Revelation are the parallel of the four cherubim seen in Ezekiel’s vision of the throne room, with a major difference: in Ezekiel, a single cherubim has four faces, but in Revelation each face belongs to a separate creature. It’s possible that the creatures here are different, but it’s more likely that John’s perception of the creatures is different than Ezekiel’s. The image to the left is an artistic depiction of the four living creatures; the image below is an artistic depiction of Ezekiel's view of the Living Creatures. 

Given this connection with Ezekiel, we can identify the four creatures as cherubim. Cherubs were designed by God as guardian creatures: they were charged with guarding the entrance to Eden, with supporting and guarding God’s throne, and they were to guard the Ark of the Covenant. They are the ‘top dogs’ of the angelic realm. They’re depicted in both Ezekiel and Revelation. Cherubim, along with seraphim pictured in Isaiah 6, are the only angels to be described as having wings; all other angels don’t have wings, and the vast majority of angels look like men without wings. The cherubim are the throne’s guardians and supporters, and the seraphim are tasked with singing God’s praises around the throne. The cherubim, too, praise God, but their primary role was guarding and supporting God’s throne. Interestingly, the ‘Diviner in the Garden’ of Genesis 3 was a rogue cherubim; at one time, we can surmise, he was alongside the loyal cherubim in guarding God’s throne. 

Revelation Five: The Sealed Scroll

John notices that the one sitting on the throne – Yahweh in a visible form – is holding a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed shut with seven seals, so that in order for the scroll to be opened, the seals will need to be broken (or ‘opened’). A powerful angel – not one of the cherubim – asks, ‘Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?’ John doesn’t see anyone who can open the scroll, and this makes him sad; but one of the elders tells him not to fret, for ‘the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.’ 

John then has a second vision of Jesus, but this is much different than the first: ‘Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.’ Jesus isn’t actually a slain lamb; in the vision, this is symbolic imagery pointing to what Christ has done. He was slain, and with his blood he purchased for God people from every tribe and language and people and nation. These redeemed, taken together, are formed into a kingdom of priests to serve God, and they will reign on the earth. Because of what he has achieved, he alone is worthy to open break the seven seals and open the scroll. The seven horns represented perfect power; the seven eyes represent perfect knowledge; and the seven spirits, which are sent throughout the earth, represent the Holy Spirit who is inside all Christians and working on the earth. When Jesus takes the scroll from God’s right hand, the entire throne room explodes in praise and worship. Both the 24 elders and the four cherubim had bowls of incense, which represent the prayers of God’s people. Our prayers are like sweet-smelling incense to God; He loves our prayers, and He hears them in His throne room. In the next chapter, Jesus will begin opening the seals.

Three times in Revelation believers are described as ‘kings and priests’: Rev 1.6, Rev 5.10, and Rev 20.6. So often we think of ourselves simply as ‘forgiven sinners’, but we are much more than that. We are Kings and Priests. As Kings, we have the current responsibility of serving our ultimate king in carrying His kingdom throughout the world, beginning in our own lives and in our own homes; and we have a future of reigning alongside Christ with real power and responsibility in a restored heavens and earth. As Priests, we have the current responsibility of leading people to God and devoutly serving him, interceding in prayer for friends and family and telling people the Good News; in the future, we will serve God as priests as we reign over creation alongside His Son and our Savior.