Revelation Now :

Daily Devotional Bible Studies in Revelation

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The Revelation Concerning Jesus : Day 1

"The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place." (Revelation 1.1)

The Apocalypse by Jesus Christ

This last book in the Bible is sometimes called the "Revelation of Jesus Christ" and sometimes "The Apocalypse." It begins with the words, "The revelation of Jesus Christ," which means not "the revelation about Jesus Christ" but"the revelation given by Jesus Christ."

The Greek word for revelation is "apokalupsis." "Apokalupsis" is made up of two parts. "Apo" means "away from" and "kalupsis" means "a veiling." "Revelation," therefore, is an "unveiling or a revealing." The Book of Revelation is "a revealing" of truth about God given by Jesus Christ. Revelation was not originally a specially religious word in the Second Century AD, it meant simply "the disclosure or the revealing or unveiling of any fact, the uncovering of secrets, or the interpretation of dreams."

An "apocalypse" is also the technical name given to a type of literature, popular in John's day, unfolding details of the unseen spiritual realm and their impact on history. Today the term is often used to refer to the end of the world, which may be a shortening of the phrase "apokalupsis eschaton" which literally means "revelation at the end of the age".

Revealing of God's Will

The revealing of God's will to us is for our action. Paul says that he went up to Jerusalem by "apokalupsis." He went because God told him he wanted him to go there.

Paul received his gospel, not from human lips, but by "apokalupsis", by revelation from Jesus Christ. The message of the preacher is an "apokalupsis." It is used when God reveals to human beings his own mysteries, especially in the incarnation of Jesus Christ.

It is specially used in the Book of Revelation of the power and the holiness of God which is to come in the last days. For some, that will be judgment, but for the Christian it will be an unveiling of praise and glory, grace and joy.

The Christian Life

Revelation is connected specially with the work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit reveals a picture of the whole of the Christian life. There is no part of the Bible which is not lit by the revelation of God's Holy Spirit. God reveals to us what we must do and say, and in Jesus Christ he reveals himself to us. The person who has seen Jesus has seen the Father. Revelation is no technical theological idea; it is what God is offering to all who will listen.

Apocalyptic Books between the Old and New Testaments

The Jews hoped now for nothing less than the direct intervention of God. They divided all time into two ages - this present age, wholly given over to evil and - the age to come, the age of God. Between the two there was to be a time of terrible trial.

Between the Old and the New Testaments, the Jews wrote many books called "Apocalypses" which were visions of the dreadful time before the end and of the blessedness to come. Although there is nothing like it in the New Testament, Revelation belongs to a class of literature which was common between the Testaments. These books are to some degree wild and unintelligible, for they are trying to describe the indescribable. The very subject with which Revelation deals is the reason why it is so difficult to understand.

Revelation Begins with God

Revelation begins with God, the fountain of all truth. Every truth, which human beings discover, is a gift from God. But it must always be remembered that people never create the truth, they receive it from God. This reception comes from diligently seeking and from reverently waiting. God created humans with minds and it is often through our minds that he speaks to us. Certainly he does not grant his truth to the person who is too lazy to think. God sends his truth to the person who not only thinks strenuously, but waits quietly in prayer and in devotion. But it must be remembered that prayer and devotion are not simply passive things. They are the active dedicated listening for the voice of God.

God gives this revelation to Jesus Christ. The Bible never, as it were, makes a second God of Jesus; rather it stresses his utter dependence on God. "My teaching," said Jesus, "is not mine, but his who sent me" (1). "I do nothing on my own authority but speak as the Father taught me" (2). "I have not spoken on my own authority; the Father who sent me has himself given me commandment what to say and what to speak" (3). It is God's truth that Jesus brings to human beings, and that is precisely why his teaching is unique and final.

Given By God

In the Old Testament story, Moses received the Law directly from the hands of God (4); but twice in the New Testament it is said that the Law was given by angels (5). The revelation is given by God to John. It is most uplifting to remember the part humans play in the coming of God's revelation. God must find a person to whom he can entrust his truth and whom he can use as his mouthpiece.

History with Purpose

The Revelation is the revelation of the things which must quickly happen. History is not haphazard, it has purpose. Revelation must happen quickly. Here is the proof that it is quite wrong to use the Revelation as a kind of mysterious timetable of what is going to happen thousands of years from now. As John sees it, the things it deals with are working themselves out immediately. The Revelation must be interpreted against the background of its own time.

Indescribable Apocalyptic Visions

John's apocalyptic visions were in many respects fantastic and indescribable, so he pictured them in terms he knew. When imagining these scenes in our minds, we don't have to understand every detail. We only need to allow these word pictures to flow over us. Everything points us to Christ as the glorious and victorious Lord of all. Its message is Jesus' tremendous love, power, and justice. At the appointed time, the risen and ascended Lord will burst on to the world stage. Everyone will then know that he is the Lord of the Universe! Those who love him will greet their Saviour with songs of praise.

Meditation

Can you allow the vivid word pictures in Revelation to flow over you?

Prayer

"Yesterday, Today, Forever, Jesus is the same, All may change but Jesus never, Glory to his name"

Notes

(1) John 7:16 (2) John 8:28 (3) John 12:49 (4) Exodus 19 and 20 (5) Acts 7:53; Galatians 3:19

"The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place."

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