The Revelation of Jesus Christ
Revelation Chapter 1
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“Write the things which you have seen, the things which are, and the things which will take place after this.” Rev.1:19
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V. 1 "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His bondservants—things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to his servant John.” This book is sent directly from Yeshua himself. Note that Yeshua received it from God the Father, and He in turn gave it to His bondservants, carried by the hand of a herald angel.
What does the word "Apocalypse" or Revelation mean?
From Approaching Hoofbeats, by Billy Graham
“After all, Apocalypse is a Greek word combining calypto [to veil, to cover, to conceal] with apo [from]. Thus apocalypse means ‘to remove the veil’, ‘to uncover’, ‘to reveal’, ‘to make clear’”.
Jesus himself came to John to reveal what’s in this book, but used an angel to convey the majority of the message. We must look for both to understand the message clearly.
This message is for bondservants and describes things which must shortly take place – this can only be addressed to the last generation – no other generation qualifies with both.
V2: ". . . who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw." Here John testifies that he personally heard and saw all that is recorded in this vision. As one of the Twelve, and as one of Yeshua's [Jesus'] most beloved, we can trust his testimony and his witness above the opinions of those currently living. His words have been included as part of the Bible, and are therefore considered to be the inspired Word of God, delivered through his servant, John.
v.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."
This is the only book in the Bible with a blessing for those who read or hear and keep its words. It came directly from Yeshua as the finale to inspired scripture, and therefore must be of particular importance to the believer. We should regard this as very important, because in addition to what is written to all believers, we have the hand of the Spirit guiding us into this study.
"for the time is near" – time passes differently on earth than in heaven, for instance, 30 minutes in heaven can be years on earth – see Ref: “ . . .with the Lord, one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years is as a day.” 2 Peter 3:18.
The 7th one-thousand year day:
Jesus is “the Lord of the Sabbath”, so history through the example of Creation week, is a prophetic foreshadowing which prophesies the 7th 1000 year period to be the Lord's Sabbath rest - the Millennium.
This is taken from the Didache, or “Teaching of the Twelve” by Barnabas [one of the twelve]:
“And elsewhere he saith: if thy children shall keep my Sabbaths, then will I put my mercy upon them. And even in the beginning of the Creation he makes mention of the Sabbath. And God made in six days the works of his hands; and he finished them on the seventh day, and he rested the seventh day, and sanctified it. Consider my children, what this signifies. He finished them in six days. The meaning of it is this: that in six thousand years the Lord God will bring all things to an end. For with him one day is as thousand years and himself testifieth, saying: “Behold this day shall be as a thousand years.” Therefore, children, in six days, that is, in six thousand years, shall all things be accomplished.(13:2-5); Ref: Shadows of Things to Come, Rick Joyner, p 27.
v 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."
Seven Spirits before the throne, to seven churches . . . Take note of the use of 7 in Revelation, which portrays divine completeness; Who are the seven spirits? The seven Spirits of God refer to Isaiah’s prophecy in Isaiah 11:1-2: “Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit. And the Spirit of the Lord will rest upon Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and strength, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.” The Menorah is a picture of the Holy Spirit, which God has drawn to help us understand.
V 5-6. "and from Jesus Christ, 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, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen."
Here Yeshua [Jesus] effectively signs the letters to the seven churches, and reminds us that He is the firstfruits from the dead to be given to the Father, and by his role as the Lamb slain from the foundation of the earth, He is worthy of the title, 'Ruler over the kings of the earth'. John then reminds us of Yeshua's sacrifice for us, the shedding of His own blood, and by that blood, He has made us kings and priests to reign with Him in the age to come, the seventh millennium, when He reigns here on earth as King of the earth. We will walk with Him in our new, incorruptible bodies on this earth for His 1,000 year reign on earth, as we will see in this study of God's promises for the next Age, the redemption of the earth from the ancient curse we have carried since Adam and Eve first sinned.
V.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." The description that He is coming with the clouds is the same image described by Daniel in Chapter 7 of his book. It was universally accepted by Rabbis to be a description of the Conquering Messiah [Messiah ben David] as He was prophesied to come in glory. But notice that the tribes of the earth will mourn – they recognize that their Judgment Day is near – see Matt 25:41-46; even the Jews, 'even they who pierced Him', will recognize what they did, and who He is; we see this prophesied in the Old Testament, in Zech 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 who 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." John wholeheartedly agrees with this response, by confirming, "Even so, Amen."
V.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.' "
Note the change from the third person in verse 7 [a description of Yeshua] to first person – Yeshua [Jesus] is speaking.
John, writing to the churches in Asia, wrote in their language, Greek. However, in Hebrew, the first and last letters of the alphabet are not alpha and omega, they are aleph and tav. The Aleph and Tav have special meaning regarding the Word Who was made flesh. This was a Jewish Messiah speaking to his Jewish friend. Although it was written down in Greek, it was more likely spoken in the Hebrew tongue between these two friends. To understand this reference, and where it is found in the Old Testament, beginning in Genesis 1:1, to other Messianic prophecies, see the section on Alpha-Omega.
V.9: I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.
We see that John is a companion in tribulation, by his own description, so it is clear that he believed we, too, would undergo tribulation - we should expect it.
So, why was John on the Isle of Patmos? John was exiled to Patmos in 95 C.E. [common era] by Domitian, who died in 97 C.E., 18 months later when John was allowed to return to Ephesus, recalled by Emperor Cocceius Nerva; he told us himself that he was exiled “because of the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus”. Considering Domitian's requirement to be worshipped as a god, it is not surprising that John was exiled, most likely for refusing to worship Domitian, and for telling the people about Yeshua.
V.10-11: "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet, saying, 'I Am, The Alpha and the Omega, The First and the Last,' and, 'What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamum, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea. ' "
Note that John was 'in the Spirit' worshipping, when he heard a voice behind him speaking. Most American teachers will tell you this voice is Yeshua's voice, but please note that the voice sounds like a trumpet, and as we will see in verse 15, that is not what Yeshua's voice sounds like. The trumpeting voice is a herald angel, who is announcing the presence of the great Lord, I Am, Who also carries the titles, The Alpha and Omega, The First and Last. All of these titles are given, announcing the presence of the Lord. The herald angel further instructs John to write everything he sees in a book, and to send it to the churches, thus the Book of Revelation is the result of John's obedience. We will hear this angel speaking throughout Revelation, and will keep track of him.
V.12-16: "Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning, I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden girdle round his breast; his head and his hair were white as white wool, white as snow; his eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined as in a furnace, and his vice was like the sound of many waters; in his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth issued a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength."
When John turned to see who was speaking, he saw instead the incredible vision of the Conquering King, with the two edged sword coming from His mouth to Judge mankind. John forgot about everything else, and saw only his beloved Lord. In this description, Yeshua [Jesus] looks like the Ancient of Days; this is what Daniel also saw, Dan 7:9 “I beheld till the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment [was] white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne [was like] the fiery flame, [and] his wheels [as] burning fire.”
John goes on to note that Yeshua's voice sounds, not like a trumpet, but like the sound of many waters; He is seen in His role as King of kings, holding seven stars and with his face shining like the sun, but more glorious, and his feet like burnished bronze. What an incredible sight this must have been for John!
V. 17-20: "When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand upon me saying, "Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one; I died, and behold I am alive for evermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. Now write what you see, what is and what is to take place hereafter. As for the mystery of the seven stars which you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches and the seven lampstands are the seven churches."
John recognized Him – but was so awed he fell flat on his face - Yeshua is in His glory, and is beginning to transform to the King of kings; Yeshua comforts His old friend, telling him not to fear. Then He explains the symbolism of the vision so that we will not be confused. The stars are the angel messengers by which He sends important messages to the churches - the Lord uses angels to clarify messages and make sure they are understood; the lampstands represent the churches, since we are to be the light to the world.
Conclusion:
If we understand this great culmination of history, any tribulation becomes small compared to the vision of what is to come. This is a revelation of the transition to the Age to come, when Yeshua [Jesus] takes possession of the kingdom granted to Him by the Father, where He will physically reign for 1,000 years from Jerusalem as King of the earth, fulfilling His promises to Israel. We will reign with Him here on earth in our new bodies. All of creation has awaited this redemption – this is the climax of earthly history and it is the promise to all believers who will inherit this kingdom. We have seen a glimpse of the glory that is to be revealed, and we are promised a blessing if we read, study and heed the revelations in this book. If our Beloved has made a personal appearance to give us this message, will He not also be faithful in helping us to understand it?
What else can we expect, if we are at the end of this Age?
"Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God." Acts 14:22.
This warning allows us to be prepared for the evil times just prior to the end of this Age. We must prepare for the storms before we get into them. If we are going to be prepared to get through the storms, we must understand that they will surely come. There are storms that we must go through even when we are on course and moving in the will of the Lord. When the Lord compared the house that had been build upon the rock, and was built by both hearing and heeding the word of the Lord, it was still subjected to a storm, to prove its worth to all watching.
A recent phenomenon to come out of the Western church has been the subtle concept that it is not the will of God for Christians to have problems. This is contrary to the biblical testimony, which speaks of the faith to have victory over problems, not to escape from them.” Ref.: Mobilizing the Army of God, by Rick Joyner, p 162.
“We are not delivered from tribulations, we are delivered through them.” Ref.: Mobilizing the Army of God, by Rick Joyner, p 181.
The Cell Group Movement was also initiated by the Holy Spirit and will continue as a major thrust in the church. This is a crucial strategy for preparing the church for the harvest. It will also help to restore the ministry of the church to its proper foundations – building people.” Mobilizing the Army of God, by Rick Joyner, p 207.
“A new wave of ministries is about to be released with extraordinary gifts. This movement will then capture the attention of the entire church, and even civil authorities. However this will bring a time of much greater danger for those called to this ministry, than the onslaught of the accuser that has dogged this movement. . . .For those who are faithful and obedient to the Holy Spirit, there will be continual and substantial increases to the anointing and authority with which they are trusted.” Mobilizing the Army of God, by Rick Joyner, p 214-215.
