Follow Along with the Message

“Blessed”

Sunday, February 6, 2022

Revelation 1:1-3

SERMON NOTES

To understand Revelation, we must understand how the original readers understood it.

#1. Revelation is a book of prophecy—1) Spoke into situation in their time. 2) Spoke into the future. 3) Affirmed by scripture

#2. Revelation is a letter to John to the seven churches—understood by people in their time in their circumstances. Revelation was written to reveal Jesus, to show how all history points to Jesus, to give us hop—Jesus has victory over sin and death

#3. APOCALYPTIC (Genre of literature)—Greek “APOKALYPSIS”: “revelation, uncovering, disclosure, unveiling.” Common form of literature 2nd Century BC to 2nd Century in Jewish and Christian literature (contains prophecy, symbolism, encouragement, rebuke). Confusing to us but not people then/would have understood. 

Interpretation

• Historical—shows history of church from beginning to Jesus’ return.
• Futurist—Everything in Revelation 4–22 describes what is future to us—hasn’t happened yet.  
• Preterist—Most of Revelation already happened during early years of Church: 1) Destruction of Jerusalem 2) Fall of Roman Empire 3) Both 
• Idealist—symbolic of what Christianity teaches, battle between good and evil between Jesus/Church and Satan/his forces. 
• Mixed—mixture of all views 

Dr. Dennis Johnson: 1) Symbols in Revelation also found in OT—Ezekiel, Daniel, Isaiah, Zachariah 2) Interpretation must align with Bible

Written 95AD—widely held view of early church. Early Church Fathers (Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Eusebius, Jerome) said Revelation written when Domitian was emperor—great persecution (began in Rome under Nero/worldwide persecution & more intense). 

Domitian (81-96AD, killed family members, executed government leaders, made up stories to persecute/imprison/execute Christians).  

Persecution

• Roman Government—Christians were severely punished/executed if they did not worship emperor
• Separation from Judaism—Roman Law allowed Jews to worship. Christians first seen as sect of Judaism. As they separated from Judaism, they lost this protection.  
• Economic struggle—Businesses built partnerships—each group worshiped a god or gods. People did not do business with them if they did not worship those gods. 

Conditions of 7 churches support 95AD (Western Turkey: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia). Ephesians, Colossians, 1&2 Timothy written in 60s AD… relatively healthy. By Revelation—churches had deep spiritual issues. 

Paul does not mention Nicolaitans in Ephesians (Revelations 2). Laodicea—devastated by earthquake (60AD) reconstruction/by Revelation considered rich. Church in Smyrna—started after 67AD. 

Author: John (mentioned 3 times in Rev. 1, once in Rev. 22). 2ND Century AD—Church fathers (Justin Martyr, Clement of Alexandria, Irenaeus (Disciple of Polycarp—disciple of John)—“John received the Revelation…toward the end of the reign of Domitian.” 

60 years earlier, Jesus was on earth, crucified, resurrected, Christians waited for His return, church grew, gospel spread, Christians persecuted for 30 years—persecution increased more intensely each year, “is there hope?”

TODAY—world is less friendly to Christians, Christian ideals aren’t welcome, Christians are persecuted, COVID, international issues, world is more troubled than ever. We ask, “Is there hope?”

Revelation 1:1-3

1 The revelation of Jesus Christ that God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2 who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, whatever he saw. 3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep what is written in it, because the time is near.

Revelation 1:1

“The revelation of Jesus Christ that God gave him (Jesus)…” 

Revelation—is not science fiction version of what the end will look like or when it will be. Jesus said “no one knows the day or the hour.”

Pastor John McArthur 

“Far from being the mysterious, incomprehensible book many imagine it to be, Revelation’s purpose is to reveal truth, not to obscure it.”

DA Carson: Revelation—written to encourage readers by revealing: 1) Jesus in His glory 2) Truths about Jesus 3) Jesus’ final victory. 

“to show His servants” (followers of Jesus), those not in Christ cannot understand, we must keep focus on Jesus.

1 Corinthians 2:13-14: 

“¹³ We also speak these things, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual things to spiritual people. ¹⁴ But the person without the Spirit does not receive what comes from God’s Spirit, because it is foolishness to him; he is not able to understand it since it is evaluated spiritually.”

“He made it known by sending his angel (messenger) to his servant John”

Revelation 1:2

“who testified to the word of God (God’s word affirms what is being revealed) and to the testimony of Jesus Christ (everything points to Jesus), whatever he saw.”

Revelation 1:3

(1) Blessed (encouraged, hope in Jesus, not discouraged because they couldn’t figure it out) is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and (2) blessed are those who hear the words of this prophecy (in homes, later, today) and (3) keep what is written in it, because the time is near (John McArthur--next season of God’s redemptive history/Jesus’ return has always been the church’s hope).

We are not studying Revelation to figure out when Jesus is coming back or how the events in Revelation fit into our present-day realities. 

Our study thru Revelation will lead us to: 1) Find hope in Jesus, 2) Be encouraged in Christ, 3) Be secure because God is sovereign

SMALL GROUP / FOLLOW-UP QUESTIONS

1. Review - How did the original audience/readers of Revelation understand this writing by John the Apostle?  (see yellow highlights below)
2. Review - What are the main frameworks of interpretation used, when reading apocalyptic literature, such as Revelation? (see light blue highlights)  If you have read/studied Revelation before, which framework do you lean toward and why?  
3. Review - What were the different types of persecution that the original readers were facing, when he wrote Revelation?  
4. Although we do not live under the rule of the Roman government, and the Christian faith has long separated from Judaism, what forms of persecution do Christ-followers in our context endure today?
5. Read Revelation 1:1-3.  Who was the author of Revelation? (John)  Was this John the Baptist or John the Apostle of Jesus?  How do we know?  (Apostle - John the Baptist was long dead before Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross [Mt. 14.6-12] and John the disciple/apostle wrote the gospel of John, as well as the epistles 1, 2, and 3 John.  
6. The word “revelation” does not simply refer to the name of this book of Scripture but also to the nature of this writing.  According to this passage, who and what is being revealed? (Jesus, particularly with respect to the end of the age).  
7. Why is it important for Christ-followers to know about the end of the age, though we may not know the exact time Jesus will return (cf. Mt. 24.36)?
8. In what ways are people “blessed” upon hearing/reading the words of the Revelation?
9. What does this passage tell us about God and his redemptive plan for humankind? 
10. How should knowing these things about God impact our everyday lives - our actions, our hearts, and our minds?
11. Close in prayer.