“…for the time is at hand.” – a commentary on the Revelation of Jesus Christ –
AUTHOR’S NOTE and SERIES INTRODUCTION:
This series of articles is not intended to be an exhaustive verse-by-verse commentary on the Revelation of Jesus Christ. Although it presents a somewhat in-depth study of Scripture passages it is by no means definitive or all-inclusive. Rather, it is a summary of topical themes presented for your consideration with the intent of promoting in-depth personal study.
My sincere prayer is that as you follow this series you will gain knowledge and insight into “…things which must shortly come to pass…” I pray also that you will find a well-rounded presentation of Scriptural truth and that through its application to your life you will be drawn closer to the God each of us was born to serve.
Without reservation, then, I must be careful to point out that these articles are only a commentary and the expression of one writer’s opinions; the Bible is the divinely inspired Word of God. While you are invited to consider the comments and opinions presented here, you are admonished to study and believe God’s Word first and above all else.
Since Scripture is always its own best commentary and interpreter you will find numerous, but not exhaustive, Scriptural citations that may clarify or exemplify a point offered for your consideration. You are encouraged to read and follow these citations in the hope that they will aid in understanding the context of the Revelation. Also, sometimes Scripture will be quoted directly, either in whole or in part. Unless otherwise noted, the quote will be taken from the King James Version of the Bible, not because this writer is a snob regarding that version but because it is the most available of all the versions. There are several good translations available these days and this writer ordinarily studies from three or four of them at a time, finding some to be more ‘readable’ than others. If you use a translation other than the KJV then I pray you’ve found the one that helps your study most. Either way, keep God’s Word open before you and don’t take any man’s word for what the Bible has to say.
Twenty-six articles comprise this series, each presented in seven sections. You may elect to read an entire article straight through or to read one section daily as part of your personal devotional time. The first six sections of each installment cover the passage of Scripture or topic under study while the seventh presents a brief summary of the preceding six. Such a format may also make this body of work suitable for small-group meetings as well and PLEASE feel to use it that way if you wish.
May your study of these articles and the Holy Scriptures ever bring honor and glory to God our Father and to His Worthy Son “…for the time is at hand.”
The Revelation begins with Jesus Christ. It ends with Him. It is full of Him – He is its central figure. It is His Revelation. Jesus is the great and central theme of the book, in which He is presented as the Son of man in the midst of His churches during the present time and as the coming judge and rightful King in the future. It was written with His direct involvement since its authorship rests in the eternal Trinity. The apostle John, the human instrument used by God to record the Revelation, was totally surrendered to the inspirational influence of the Holy Spirit as he wrote, calling minimal attention to himself but magnifying our focus upon the character and person of Jesus and upon the many activities with which He is now and shall be involved.
In glorious splendor Jesus is presented in the opening chapter as the High Priest of every believer, going before our Heavenly Father to intercede on our behalf when we sin. 1 John 2:1 identifies Him as our “advocate,” while Hebrews 7:25 states that His intercession is incessant. When Jesus returns “without sin unto salvation” (Hebrews 9:28), in other words without a sin offering or other means of dealing with sin so far as believers are concerned He will, in effect, demonstrate and prove that God the Father has accepted and approved of all of God the Son’s sacrificial and intercessory ministrations. Nothing further will be required on our behalf – Jesus will have taken care of everything. Jesus’ second coming will be “unto salvation” in that His return will bring to fruition our full and final salvation as believers.
Without doubt our eternal salvation becomes a settled matter in the moment when we repent our sins and place our trust in Jesus. The consummation of all that is involved in our salvation, however, will occur only at the second coming of Christ. The second coming then is a process or a series of associated and related events rather than a single event or episode. Some of those events will occur in a split-second, surely, while others – such as Christ’s millennial reign – will obviously take many years to be fully accomplished. We should not find this surprising given that the first advent of Jesus was a series of events that took between thirty-three and thirty-four years to transpire. Consider that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born nine months later to a virgin, grew through boyhood into manhood while living a sinless life, preached and taught, worked miracles, was crucified and resurrected to live forever before ascending to heaven to sit at the Father’s right hand. Similarly, His second advent will be comprised of many events taking place over a period of more than one thousand seven years. Each of those events will propel us through time toward the grand conclusion – the ushering in of the eternal age.
A General introduction to the entire book of Revelation can be found in chapter 1, verses 1 through 8. In those verses we learn how the book came to be in the first place and we are promised that a special blessing will be apportioned to those who study it. Here we also learn that the Revelation of Jesus Christ is in reality a rather lengthy letter that was addressed, in its most immediate sense, to seven specific churches in the Roman province of Asia, where it was to be circulated, read, studied, understood and heeded. These verses also include an acclamation of praise to Jesus, and finally the promise of His return.
The apostle John was in prison on a small, remote island because he had been a faithful witness for Jesus. God chose this time in John’s life to His great glory by giving John the amazing and exciting Revelation of His Son, Jesus, and instructing him to record it. John then saw visions that left him awe-struck and which caused him to prostrate himself before God’s messenger.
The Revelation is the last letter or manuscript of the Word of God. It is perhaps the most intriguing, presenting a lifetime challenge to students of the Bible. The more we study this book, it seems, the more we realize how much we need to learn from this wonderful fount of knowledge.
God gave us the Revelation to study. Paul’s command in 2 Timothy 2:15 was that Timothy should “study,” and includes God’s word in its entirety. Today some shrink from the Revelation because it is difficult to understand. Some preachers are reluctant to present its material because there are topics within it that are open to questions of interpretation. Some people find it to be too controversial or “politically incorrect” in some way or other. Others, though, find the challenge of uncovering the mysteries of the Revelation invigorating, sharpen their spiritual shovels, and dig in.
Specifically, the Revelation is about Jesus, provided by God to unveil His person to us, His work and purpose with the intent that we study and understand it. Certainly our sinful natures and finite minds couple to hinder our understanding; it is therefore necessary to submit our hearts and minds to God and to depend upon Him to provide the knowledge we seek. As with any other aspect of our lives a willful and stubborn heart, a closed mind and deaf ears are to our detriment. See Paul’s declaration in 1 Corinthians 2:14. We can triumph and learn only in Christ.
It is often said that the events related in the Revelation are not in any chronological order; however, I think we will find a general chronology as our study progresses. For example, Revelation 1:19 presents a division of the letter into three sections and frames a chronological order. “…the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter…” The “things which shall be hereafter,” as we will find, refer to chapters 4 through 22:5. There is within that lengthy passage a further general order of events that we will come to recognize, beginning after the church age at chapter 4, verse 1 and then following a general timeline allowing for special visions, as follows: [1] seven years of tribulation as described in chapters 4 through 18, [2] the return of Christ described in chapter 19, [3] His millennial reign, found in chapter 20, [4] the season of Satan’s rebellion, also in chapter 20, the Great White Throne judgment of the unsaved and the destruction (purification) of the old (existing) heaven and earth, and [6] the re-creation of the new world as described in chapter 21. There are visions within the account of the seven-year Tribulation that overlap one another, to be sure, but the account has an overall forward movement through time, allowing special visions to appear in progression.
We must always be careful to study with humility and prayer. The realization of who Jesus is and what He is doing in the creation will astound our minds, excite our hearts, and fill us with the knowledge of His glory. If we dare to learn more, then let us enter together the wonderland of knowledge that is the Revelation of Jesus Christ…..
“…for the time is at hand…”
Tom Gerritt