each of them was given a white robe and told to rest a little while longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers, were killed, just as they h c. Things which must shortly take place : This describes when the events of this book will take place – they will happen shortly , and they must happen shortly . This means that the Book of Revelation is a book of predictive prophecy. It speaks of things that will happen in the future – at least future from the time of its writing.

v. Some scholars believe that John wrote and loosed us from our sins. There is only one letter different between the words washed and loosed in the ancient Greek language. Both words show up in ancient manuscripts, so it’s hard to say which one John wrote. Nevertheless, both are true – we are both washed and loosed from our sins .

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. b. Blessed is he who reads… and keep those things which are written in it : This promise gives more reasons to know John believed this book was Holy Scripture. First, the words he who reads and those who hear show that this book was intended to be read publicly, just as other books of accepted Scripture. Second, the promise of blessing itself shows that John regarded this book as Holy Scripture. In the Jewish world, such a blessing could never be pronounced on a merely human book.

What scholars can say about the John of Revelation is that he was a significant figure in the early church in the Roman province of Asia Minor (modern day Turkey). is the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants what must soon a come to pass. He made it known by sending His angel to His servant John,

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know your affliction and your poverty—though you are rich! And I am aware of the slander of those who falsely claim to be Jews, but are in fact a synagogue of Satan. they cried out in a loud voice, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You avenge our blood and judge those who dwell upon the earth?” Christ commends those churches whose members have endured persecution and, in some instances, even death rather than declare their allegiance to Roman rulers, who proclaimed their own divinity and demanded that they should be worshipped along with the other gods of the empire. He refers to Pergamum as Satan's home inasmuch as it was in this place that the cult of emperor worship was particularly strong. c. Who is and was and who is to come : As shown in the comments on Revelation 1:4, this phrase communicates the idea behind the great Old Testament name for the Triune God, Yahweh. It reflects His eternal nature and His unchanging presence. Jesus has this eternal nature just as much as God the Father does. Micah 5:2 prophetically expressed it this way: Whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting. Hebrews 13:8 expressed it this way: Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. not fear what you are about to suffer. Look, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison to test you, and you will suffer tribulation for ten days. Be faithful even unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.

c. I heard behind me a loud voice : The loud voice John heard was clear and striking as the sound of a trumpet . The loud voice belongs to the Alpha and Omega , the First and the Last , who is the beginning and the end of all things. Since Jesus introduced Himself with these titles in Revelation 1:8, we know this was the loud voice of Jesus. d. His voice as the sound of many waters : This means that Jesus’ voice had the power and majesty of a mighty waterfall. whenever the living creatures give glory, honor, and thanks to the One seated on the throne who lives forever and ever,

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iii. The things which will take place after this : This means that Jesus wanted John to write about the things that would happen after the things regarding the seven churches, the things of the last days.

The Book of Revelation, the last book of the Bible, has fascinated and puzzled Christians for centuries. With its vivid imagery of disaster and suffering - the Battle of Armageddon, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, the hideous Beast whose number is 666 - many have seen it as a map to the end of the world. 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. The Revelation of John is the one book in the New Testament that claims John as its author. By the time the writings that are now included in the New Testament were assembled in their present form, three letters and one gospel were also attributed to John. But in the case of these writings, the name of the supposed author was added at a later date, and their respective contents indicate that they were not written by the same John who wrote Revelation.i. Exodus 39:1-5 says that there were golden threads in the band that went around the chest of the high priest of Israel. Jesus’ band has more than a few golden threads. It is all gold! How much greater is the eternal, heavenly priesthood of Jesus! iii. Interestingly, the Apostle Paul also wrote to seven churches : Rome, Corinth, Galatia, Ephesus, Colosse, Philippi, and Thessalonika. D. John’s vision of Jesus. 1. (12-13) Jesus in the midst of the lampstands. b. From Him who is and who was and who is to come : John brought a greeting from God the Father, who is described with this title. Him who is and who was and who is to come speaks to the eternal nature of God. It has the idea of a timeless Being, and is connected with the name Yahweh found in the Old Testament (Exodus 6:3, Exodus 17:15). e. Which approach is correct? Each one is true in some regard. The Book of Revelation did speak to John’s day. It speaks to church history. And it does have meaning for our personal life. So while elements of the first three approaches have their place, we can’t deny the place of the futurist view. We can know the Book of Revelation speaks with clarity about the end times because of two central principles drawn from Revelation 1:1-3. b. Which God gave Him to show His servants : This is an important reason why God gave this Revelation of Jesus Christ . He gave it to show His servants . God gave this revelation that it might be shown, not hidden. This is an apocalypse– a revelation, not apocrypha (something hidden).