WARNING LABEL: Please read before starting the following Bible Study on Revelation.

Please note that my approach to Bible prophecy is a normal dispensational approach.  I hold to the pre-millennial, pre-tribulational theology.  This theological view is the most literal approach of applying the Scriptures.  Prophecy that has been fulfilled in the Old Testament was literally fulfilled, and so there is no reason to spiritualize away prophecy in the New Testament.  With this said, please DO NOT email me wanting to debate me because you disagree with me – There is only ONE OF ME and THOUSANDS OF YOU!  I am a pastor of a church, and they are not paying me to debate full time on the internet.  So if you find my approach to interpreting prophecy distressing then go out and witness to a lost person, that will accomplish much more than trying to change my mind (which you won't).  If you find that you are still distressed after leading someone to Christ, then pray that the Holy Spirit will convict me if I am wrong, and then go out and witness to another lost person – then keep doing this until I change or you reach the whole world for Christ. You will find much more satiation in doing this than debating me – I promise!

Introduction: There are a variety of ways to approach the Book of Revelation and as a result a number of schools of interpretation have developed through the years.  There are four primary approaches to this book:

 There is the PRETERIST Approach which holds that Revelation is not a prediction of things to come, but, rather, all the events in this book have all taken place in the past, so the book has no meaning for us today other than a literary value.  The word, "Preterist" comes from the Latin word which means "past."

 There is the HISTORICAL or CONTINUOUS HISTORICAL Approach which views the book of Revelation as a panorama of the history of the church from the time of John unto the end of the age.  Those who hold this view see the visions as symbols of the rise of the papacy, the corruption of the church, and the various wars throughout church history.

 There is the IDEALIST or ALLEGORICAL Approach which regards all the visions of this book as an allegory of the age-old conflict between good and evil.  With this view there are no controls on the imagination of the interpreter, and the true meaning or message can be easily obscured. Those who hold this view emphasize the spiritual message of Revelation.  The major problem with this view is it sets aside the literal interpretation of the book and ignores the historical meaning of the book.

 The last approach is the FUTURIST or NORMAL interpretation.  The label of "futurist" is derived from the fact that this view sees the book from chapter 4 to the end of the book as yet to be fulfilled.  If a person follows the plain, literal, or normal principle of interpretation, then you would come to the conclusion that most of the book describes what is yet future. There are a couple of important reasons why this is the best approach; first, God has literally fulfilled past prophesies; and there have been no events in the history of the world that has come close to those described in this book. Plus most of the early church fathers of the church held to this approach, it wasn’t until towards the end of the 2nd Century that other views of interpretation began to appear.  This is the approach that I will be using in this study.

Every book of the Bible is important, but the book of Revelation is unique because it is about things which must shortly come to pass (v.1).  It deals with the consummation of the age, and therefore is the only N.T. book that is primarily prophetic.

The word Revelation is a translation of the Greek word APOCALYPSIS (ah-pok-kah-loop-sis), from which we get our English word, apocalypse, which means "an uncovering" or "an unveiling."  The idea of the word is that something that was not apparent or made known before, is now being disclosed.

Many believers today do not study the book of Revelation because they consider it a mysterious and scary book that cannot be understood.  However, the very title of this book indicates that it is not intended to be a mysterious book that cannot be understood, but rather an illuminating and revealing book that should be read.

Transition: Let’s begin our study by first looking at. . .

I. The Subject Of Book (v.1-2).

1 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, 2 who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw.

A. Jesus Christ is the subject of the book.

1) The revelation of Jesus Christ is given to communicate to His servants the things which must shortly come to pass.

2) The word "shortly" or "soon" (en tachei;  2:16; 22:7, 12, 20) means that the action will be sudden when it comes, not necessarily that it will occur immediately.

- Once the end-time events begin, they will occur in rapid succession (Luke 18:8; Acts 12:7; 22:18; 25:4; Rom. 16:20: BKC).

B. God gave the message to Jesus Christ.

2. From the Son to an Angel (v.1b).

A. Angels play a large role in this book as is seen in the judgments of trumpets and bowls, the angel and the little book in chapter 10, and the messages fo the angels in chapter 14, as well as many other instances.

B. The angel messenger is not named but some believe he was Gabriel, who brought messages to Daniel, Mary, and Zechariah (Dan. 8:16; 9:21-22; Luke 1:26-31: BKC).

A. The angel signified the message to the Apostle John.

1) The word signified is a translation of the Greek word SEMAINO (say-mah'-ee-no) which means "to give a sign."

2) The book is filled with signs and symbols.

A) Note that when John uses a symbol, he makes it clear to us that is doing so.

B) When the symbols are not explained, other parts of the Bible, particularly the O.T. must be studied for insight and clarification.

B. John is the human writer of Revelation, whereas Jesus is the divine Author (NIBC).

1) John faithfully described what he saw as the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ (BKC).

2) What John saw was a communication from—and about—Jesus Christ Himself (BKC).

II. The Special Blessing Of The Book (v.3).

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.

A. The book of Revelation is the only book that promises a special blessing to those who study it.

B. This special blessing is promised first of all to those who read this book.

1) Many believers have bypassed this book because it is full of signs and symbols they do not understand and what they do not understand frightens them.

2) The promise is that we will be blessed even if we just read the book.

2. To those who hear (v.3b).

A. This special blessing is promised to those that hear the words of this prophecy.

B. This would refer to those who listen as it is read and taught.

3. To those who obey (v.3c).

A. The special blessing is predicated upon keeping those things which are written here.

- In other words, the spiritual truths that are revealed in this book must be implemented into our own experiences if we are to receive the promised blessing.

B. This is the first of seven "beatitudes" in this book (14:3; 16:15; 19:9; 20:6; 22:7, 14).

C. The phrase, "for the time is near" speaks of "a fixed or definite period or season."

- Indicating that the time for the fulfillment of the prophecies was nearing the time that God has set.

Transition: Now let’s look at. . .

III. The Recipients Of The Book (vv.4-5a).

4 John, to the seven churches which 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, 5a and from Jesus Christ. . .

A. The Apostle John was the last of the living apostles, and is identified here.

B. He is writing this letter to the seven churches who were located in the Roman province of Asia (modern western Turkey) which were probably founded as a result of the Apostle Paul's ministry in Ephesus during his 3rd missionary journey (Acts 19:10: RFEPH).

- Tradition states that John oversaw the work in this area late in his life and that he was banished to Patmos from Ephesus.

2. With greetings from the Trinity (vv.4b-5a).

A. From God the Father (v.4b).

1) God the Father is described as the One "who is, and who was, and who is to come."
2) These three aspects of time show His timelessness or His eternal nature (RFEPH).

B. From the Sevenfold Spirit (v.4c).

1) This refers to God the Holy Spirit in His fullness, seven being the number of perfection and completeness (BBC).

- It is not surprising that the number seven is found fifty-four times in this final book of the Bible.

2) The seven Spirits remind us of the seven titles given to the Holy Spirit in Isaiah 11:2, "The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD."

A) The Spirit of the Lord.

B) The Spirit of Wisdom.

C) The Spirit of Understanding.

D) The Spirit of Counsel.

E) The Spirit of Might.

F) The Spirit of Knowledge.

G) The Spirit of the Fear of the Lord.

C. From the Son (v.5a).

- Jesus Christ.

Transition: The final thing that we will look at is. . .

IV. The Theme Of The Book (vv.5b-e, 8).
 5b . . .the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, 6 and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. . . 8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End," says the Lord, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."

1. Who Christ is (v.5a-d).

A. God’s faithful witness (v.5b).

1) Christ preached exactly what the Father told Him to proclaim.

- John 7:16, "Jesus answered them and said, 'My doctrine [teaching] is not Mine, but His who sent Me.'"

2) Jesus perfectly revealed God in what He said, did and was.

- John 1:8, "He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light."

B. The Firstborn from the dead (v.5c).

1) This guarantees the Christian’s future resurrection through His own resurrection.

2) 1 Corinthians 15:20, 23, "But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. . .But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ's at His coming."

C. The Ruler of the kings of earth (v.5d).

- Indicating His prophetic role after His second coming (chp.19).

D. The Eternal One (vv.5e-6).

1) Forever and ever.

2) What Christ begins, He will finish and sustain for all eternity.

E. The Alpha and Omega (v.8).

1) The first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, means He is Almighty from the Beginning to the End of all creation (NIBC).

2) The beginning and end relates Christ to the created universe – He caused it to come into existence, and He will take it out of reality

3) Almighty, once again speaks of His power, authority, and His sovereignty.

A. Shed His blood to redeem us (v.5e).

1) John’s emphasis here is upon the sacrificial act that was manifested at Calvary, that type of  love goes on forever.

- Romans 8:35-39, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?  As it is written:  'For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.' Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.  For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

2) He washed us from our sins in His own blood.

- Hebrews 9:22, "And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission."

B. Made us a kingdom of priest (v.6).

- 1 Peter 2:5, 9, "you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. . .But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that  you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light."

3. What Christ will do (v.7).

7 Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.

A. Come again (i.e., 2nd coming).

1) Readers are exhorted to look for He is coming.

2) This is His second coming which will be with the clouds.

- Acts 1:9-11, "Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as He went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel, who also said, 'Men of Galilee, why do you stand gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.'"

B. Reveal Himself to both the Jews and Gentiles.

1) Every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him.

2) Zechariah 12:10, "And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn."

Invitation:
1. If you knew that you would see Jesus coming in power and glory tomorrow, what changes
     would you make in your life today?
  A. Jesus Christ didn’t go to heaven to stay there.
  B. More than 300 times in the N.T. we are told that He is coming again.
 

Study References
BBC - William MacDonald, Believer’s Bible Commentary.
BKC - John Walvoord & Roy Zuck, The Bible Knowledge Commentary (New Testament ed).
NIBC - New Illustrated Bible Commentary, Thomas Nelson Publishers
RFEPH - Revelation, Future Events, Present Hope, Regular Baptist Press