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Revelation
Chapter 1:
(Revelation is the
New Testament Conclusion of The Prophecies of Daniel
Chapter Seven)
"The
Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto
his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and
signified it by his angel unto his servant John: Who bare record of
the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all
things that he saw." (Revelation
1:1-2 KJV)
"Blessed
is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy,
and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is
at hand. John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be
unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is
to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;
And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first
begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth." (Revelation
1:3-5 KJV)
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For
the time is at hand: At any time since Revelation was
written mankind could have recognized his need to have God living in
the midst of all of us. It is up to us to acknowledge our inability
to reach perfection and rule over one another, asking God to return
to us.
In addition, much
of Revelation has always been understandable through the Bible
itself. The wise Bible student who asks Jesus for guidance can
discover the Truth about Jesus' offering His White Robe of
Righteousness to anyone, no matter what state that individual is in.
"And
he saith unto me, Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for
the time is at hand. He that is unjust, let him be unjust
still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that
is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let
him be holy still. And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is
with me, to give every man according as his work shall be." (Revelation
22:10-12)
No matter what
condition we are in, Jesus is ready to come to us personally and lead
us to Knowledge of God through the Holy Spirit which Jesus guides.
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From
the Seven Spirits which are before His throne: In this
way John ties the Seven Churches to the Seven Spirits before God's throne.
While Revelation would have been relevant to these first Christian
Churches John is addressing, and has always been relevant for
individual study, because of the inclusion of the Seven Spirits
before the throne it is implied that the messages to the churches in
Chapters Two and Three also apply to the circumstances of allegorical
historical Churches.
"Unto
him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, And
hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to
him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen." (Revelation
1:6 KJV)
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Unto
him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood:
Note that it is Jesus' blood that saves us from our sins by
convincing us of God's Everlasting Mercy towards us. Most of the
blood mentioned throughout Revelation is the blood of Jesus.
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And
hath made us kings and priests unto God and His Father:
John makes clear here that since Jesus' ascension to heaven, when He
received 'dominion' of all kingdoms of the earth into His Kingdom, we
have been living within the Kingdom of God, as is made plain in Daniel
Chapter Two.
Each of us since
that time has been equivalent of a king or a priest in Old
Testament times, answerable only to Jesus Himself. Jesus is also
desribed in verse five above as the "Prince of the kings of the
earth" - which kings are you and I.
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To
Him be glory and dominion: Another acknowledgement that Jesus
received His Kingdom upon His ascension to heaven - as shown in Daniel
Chapter Seven - and has been in charge of His Kingdom since
before Revelation was written.
"Behold,
he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also
which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail
because of him. Even so, Amen. I
am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord,
which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty."
(Revelation 1:8 KJV)
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And
all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him: All
including Christians: As did the Jews before Jesus came the first
time, Christians today have largely
turned from God and the teachings of Jesus. Many of these
Christians have forgotten the true Character of Jesus as revealed to
us in the Gospels. Our lifestyle and society today is anti-Christian,
and as Jesus' true Character is once again revealed many will regret
their fall from the simple Brotherhood
of Love that Jesus taught.
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The
Almighty: Jesus and JEHOVAH are One, as we will be One
with Them when Jesus returns.
"I
and my Father are one." (John
10:30 KJV)
"Neither
pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me
through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art
in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the
world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou
gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are
one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one;
and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved
them, as thou hast loved me."
(John 17:20-23)
"I
John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and
in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that
is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ." (Revelation
1:9 KJV)
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And
in the Kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ: Further
testimony from John leaving no doubt that Jesus received His
Kingdom upon His ascension to heaven. The human race has been
under His Government ever since, though we have been ignoring His
teachings and failing to implement brotherhood thus far. We are
'outlaws' until we ask God to change us.
"And
I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I
saw seven golden candlesticks; And in the midst of the seven
candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment
down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His
head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his
eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine
brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound
of many waters. And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out
of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance
was as the sun shineth in his strength."
(Revelation 1:12-16 KJV)
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Seven
golden candlesticks: These again represent the Seven
Spirits of God, as shown Chapter 4 as the Seven Spirits before Gods throne:
"And
out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices:
and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which
are the seven Spirits of God."
(Revelation 4:5)
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His
eyes were as a flame of fire: An indication of the true
meaning of 'fire'
in prophetic metaphor, His eyes were as of sanctifying Love.
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His
feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace:
This is a reference that places Jesus, also in His Spiritual state,
as the Person seen in the fiery furnace with Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego in the book of Daniel:
"And
these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell down bound
into the midst of the burning fiery furnace. Then Nebuchadnezzar the
king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his
counsellors, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the
fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king. He answered
and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire,
and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son
of God." (Daniel 3:23-25 KJV)
Brass (actually
copper or bronze) is often used in Bible prophecy to symbolize Jesus.
The pillars that supported the Tabernacle of Witness were fitted at
the bottom with sockets of brass, as well as the arms and feet of the
'man' Daniel saw in vision in Chapter Ten:
"His
body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of
lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his
feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words
like the voice of a multitude." (Daniel
10:6 KJV)
I believe this
characteristic is also a reference to the identity of Jesus before He
came to us as a Man, when He was a High Messenger of God. The
covering Cherubs on the Mercy Seat of the Ark of the Covenant were
said to have "walked up and down in the midst of the stones of
fire." (Ezekiel 28:14)
There were two
Cherubs, when God was present on the Mercy Seat one would be at His
Right Hand, the other at His Left Hand. God's Right Hand is referred
to throughout prophecy. For example:
"And
he brought them to the border of his sanctuary, even to this mountain,
which his right hand had purchased." (Psalms
78:54)
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Out
of His mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: The sharp
twoedged sword of metaphor and parables, represented here as
Jesus' tongue - thus His Words. With His Word He divided and broke
into pieces mankind's attempts at empire and lording it over other
the meek of the earth.
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As
the Sun shineth in its strength: The
Light Of The World that illuminates Biblical Truth for us:
"But
unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise
with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as
calves of the stall. (Malachi
4:2 KJV)
"And
when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right
hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:
I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for
evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death. Write the
things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and
the things which shall be hereafter; The mystery of the seven
stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden
candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches:
and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches." (Revelation
1:17-20 KJV)
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And
the things which are, and
the things which shall be hereafter: That most of the
metaphor of Revelation is meaningful at any one time through history
since Jesus' resurrection is made clear here.
But it is also
made clear that "the things that shall be hereafter" are
contained in Revelation as well. A metaphorical record of the future,
understandable when
mankind has finally reached the point of being unable to
solve the problems his iniquity has caused, and is capable of
recognizing prophetic events that have already taken place, or that
are taking place now.
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The
Seven Candlesticks
are
the Seven Churches: Jesus is shown walking among seven
golden candlesticks, called lampstands in most versions of the Bible:
The Modern King
James Version reads:
In Chapter Four
John describes the seven lamps of fire burning before God's throne:
"There
were seven lamps of fire
burning before the throne, which are
the seven Spirits of God." (Revelation
4:5 KJV)
The "Seven
Spirits of God" are also the Spirits of the Seven Churches.
The Spirits and
the Churches are shown as related to one another in Revelation
Chapter One, in John's preamble to the prophetic visions he recorded:
"John
to the seven churches
which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is,
and which was, and which is to come; and from
the seven Spirits which are before his throne."
(Revelation 1:4 KJV)
Each Spirit
represents the Spirit which inspired one of the Seven Churches - as
founded by men and women inspired by the Holy Spirit through a
desire to know God and help their fellow man.
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