THE BOOK OF REVELATION
(This is one of the chapters of the book GOD AND HIS ETERNAL PLAN)
All Christians know about the book of Revelation. Many books have been written to explain the prophecies in it. For us, the study of the book of Revelation is very necessary and appropriate for Christians in this day and age, and we would like to summarize the following basic reasons to encourage God’s people to study this prophetic book again.
REASONS TO STUDY THE BOOK OF REVELATION
1. Revelation is the last book in the Bible, so when studying the book of Revelation, we have the opportunity to review all the topics mentioned in the previous 65 books.
2. Many events prophesied in the book of Revelation from the first century after the birth of Jesus Christ have already been fulfilled, and we are in the third day of the end times, so studying the book of Revelation is necessary and timely.
Let us think for a moment about the THIRD DAY that we just mentioned above.
The Word of God says that the end times began with the birth of Jesus Christ, as it is written in…
HEBREWS 1:2 – And in these LAST DAYS He has spoken to us by His Son, Whom He appointed Heir of all things, through Whom He also made the worlds.
Thus the birth of Jesus Christ into the world and His PREACHING of the kingdom of God marks the beginning of the end times.
The Word of God also tells us that one day of the Lord is equal to one millennium of man, as it is stated in…
2PETER 3: 8 – Beloved, do not forget this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
Thus, from the day Jesus Christ was born until now, the world has entered the third millennium, which means the third day of the Lord and is also the period when Jesus Christ will return.
We may recall that the Word of God often mentions some sacred numbers, such as 1, 3, 7, and 12. The number one relates to God being the One True God. The number 3 relates to the Trinity, the crucifixion, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ three days later. The number 7 relates to God creating all things in six days and resting on the seventh day. The number 12 relates to the 12 tribes of Israel and the 12 gates of Heaven.
Although God does not let us humans know the exact day and hour that Jesus Christ will return, but because of His love for His children, God has repeated some sacred numbers in the Bible in order to reveal a little bit about the period when that event will happen so that Christians will be alert and prepared to be brought up in the air to meet the Lord. Such revelation is one of the mysteries of the Bible.
As we can see, the first millennium had already passed and Jesus Christ has not returned. The second millennium had also passed. Now is the third millennium, which corresponds to the number 3 in sacred numbers. Jesus Christ rose from the death on the third day, and He will also return on the third day, which is the millennium we are living in now.
The Bible also does not tell us the hour Jesus Christ rose from the death on the third day. Likewise, we will never know whether Jesus Christ will return in the middle of the third millennium or at the end of the third millennium, but only that He will return in this millennium.
If we say that Jesus Christ will return on the 7th day, then that time is too far away, because it is more than 4,000 years away, and cannot be consistent with the Lord’s words in the first sentence of Revelation chapter 1, which is THE THINGS MUST HAPPEN SOON. The word SOON means quickly, so the 7th day does not match this word very well. That is also because in the third sentence of Revelation chapter 1, the Lord’s words emphasize one more time, that THE TIME IS NEAR.
3. The third reason is that God promises to bless anyone who reads, hears, and keeps, that is, remembers the words written in the book of Revelation.
For these three reasons, we will study this book together so that we can keep ourselves alert in the end times and be prepared for the day of the Lord Jesus Christ’s return.
May the Holy Spirit enlighten us to understand the book of Revelation clearly so that we can remember and do everything God has commanded. May God fulfill His promise to bless us as we read, hear, remember and do the words of God recorded in the book of Revelation. Amen.
We will study the book of Revelation using the method of Biblical Exegesis, which means examining each sentence, each word in the whole book. Therefore, we hope that you have enough patience to follow and we also hope that God will give us enough time so that we can study this whole book together. Amen.
REVELATION 1: 1 – The REVELATION from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show His SERVANTS what must soon take place. He made it known by sending His angel to His servant John.
In the very first verse of the book of Revelation the word of God clearly states that these revelations came from God, and that He gave them to Jesus Christ so that He could reveal them to His servants by sending angels to them, the principal recipient of which was the apostle John.
Thus we can understand that the mysteries in the book of Revelation are part of God’s eternal plan, which is related to mankind on this earth.
Through the words of God in the Bible we can see the intimate relationship between God and Jesus Christ. He is the Word of God incarnate, so when God reveals something, He reveals it through Jesus Christ. That has been clearly confirmed in…
JOHN 1: 1-3 – 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
We can also see that in Revelation 1:1, Jesus Christ only revealed God’s plan to His servants, and did not reveal those mysteries to outsiders or unbelievers.
When God reveals His eternal plan to His servants, it shows us God’s everlasting love for His people. This action of God is clearly confirmed in…
AMOS 3: 7 – Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing His plan to His servants the prophets.
The word HIS SERVANTS or SERVANTS OF GOD help us see the secret of how Christians can understand the mysteries in the book of Revelation and in the whole Bible, which is that first of all we need to become servants of God, then the Holy Spirit will help and enlighten us so that Christians can understand God’s word clearly and deeply, especially understanding the mysteries in prophecies and revelations.
The word SERVANT OF GOD in this first verse does not refer to the apostle John alone, but refers to all Christians who are worthy to be called servants of God. That also means that the word SERVANT OF GOD does not refer only to prophets or those who dedicate themselves to serving God such as pastors, evangelists and missionaries, but refers to all those who are considered servants of God because of their reverence and obedience to God. Such meaning has been revealed by the word of God many times in the Bible, for example…
PSALM 119:38 – Confirm your word to your servant, to THOSE WHO FEAR YOU.
PSALM 119: 140 – Your promises have been thoroughly tested, and YOUR SERVANT LOVES THEM.
From the two Bible verses above, we can see the characteristics of a person who is considered a servant of God, that is, a person who fears God and has a great love for His words in the Bible.
2TIMOTHY 2: 24-25 – 24 And THE LORD’S SERVANT MUST NOT BE QUARRELSOME BUT MUST BE KIND TO EVERYONE, ABLE TO TEACH, NOT RESENTFUL. 25 Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth.
The above Bible verse shows that a person who is considered a servant of God must be gentle, kind to everyone, and skillful in correcting others.
King David was called the servant of the Lord because he kept and followed the commandments and laws that God gave to the people of Israel, as stated in…
1 KINGS 11: 34 – But I will not take the whole kingdom out of Solomon’s hand; I have made him ruler all the days of his life for the sake of David my servant, whom I chose and WHO OBEYED MY COMMANDS AND DECREES.
1 KINGS 11: 38 – If you do whatever I command you and walk in obedience to me and do what is right in my eyes by OBEYING MY DECREES AND COMMANDS, AS DAVID MY SERVANT DID, I will be with you. I will build you a dynasty as enduring as the one I built for David and will give Israel to you.
1KINGS 14: 8 – I tore the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it to you, but you have not been like my servant David, WHO KEPT MY COMMANDS AND FOLLOWED ME WITH ALL HIS HEART, DOING ONLY WHAT WAS RIGHT IN MY EYES.
Here we need to distinguish between those who are called God’s instruments and those who are called His servants.
God’s instruments are those who are used by God to accomplish what He wants even though they are pagans and do not truly believe in God, such as in the case of King Cyrus of Persia, as mentioned in…
2CHRONICLES 36: 23 – This is what Cyrus king of Persia says: The Lord, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Any of his people among you may go up, and may the Lord their God be with them.
Those who are called servants of God are those who know God, truly believe in Him, and voluntarily live according to God’s ways and serve Him all their lives. That is why all Christians are considered servants of God.
Voluntarily following God and living according to the exemplary way that God has given in the Bible is an image of taking up one’s own cross and following God, as Jesus Christ said in…
MARK 8: 34 – Then He called the crowd to Him along with His disciples and said: Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.
So we can understand that when God reveals the mysteries of what is to come to His servants, it means that all those who are considered His servants can understand, not by their own ability, but by the revealing power of the Holy Spirit.
Because if the word SERVANT only means the apostle John, then we can see that in the book of Revelation, he did not explain much but only recorded what God showed him in the revelation. Moreover, John had already passed away, so if the word servant only means him, then no one will be able to understand the meanings and mysteries recorded in the book of Revelation and the explanations in all subsequent ages are just lies according to human knowledge.
God would never allow knowledge of His word or of the mysteries that will take place in the latter days to belong to only a certain group of His people, because that would create a spiritual hierarchy and because of that, there would be people who would take advantage of that special ability to dominate other Christians and create power or authority for themselves in the Church of God. If that happens, it means that there is a lack of equality in the spiritual realm and it creates conditions for the abuse of spiritual ability. That is something that God certainly does not want to happen in His house and in the Christian community.
Therefore, in order for Christians to understand the mysteries of the things that must soon happen in the end times as recorded in the book of Revelation, God’s people must strive to live up to the standards of being God’s servants in order to please God and thereby receive the gift of revelation from the Holy Spirit to be able to understand God’s words in the entire book of Revelation.
As for the words MUST SOON TAKE PLACE, we have already explained a little bit in the beginning. But here we would like to add that these words mean that it will happen quickly, but quickly according to God’s love and mercy. That means that God wants everyone on earth to have the opportunity to know God, believe in Him, and receive salvation in Heaven in the future. That is why God has set the time for things in the last days that must happen after the Gospel of Jesus Christ is preached to the whole world, as written in…
MATTHEW 24: 14 – And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
Because of God’s love and mercy toward mankind, He delayed the return of Christ until the gospel was known throughout the world. Such love of God was revealed in…
2PETER 3: 8-10 – But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. 9 The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. Instead He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything done in it will be laid bare.
It is for this reason that when we see that the gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ has been preached to the ends of the earth and the Bible has been translated into all the languages of mankind, it means that the day of Christ’s return is very near and we Christians must prepare for that glorious day in a way that is ready according to all the standards that God has prescribed in the Bible.
In this same verse, the word of God mentions angels and says that they were sent to John to reveal to him the mysteries that will take place in the last days. This shows that angels know the mysteries and realities of the invisible world before humans do, but they do not reveal them to anyone unless God allows them to. Thus we can see that angels enjoy greater privileges than humans and that they have a complete obedience to God. We can learn more about the angels on the subject of Christians and Angels.
Now let us continue to meditate together on the second verse of chapter 1 of the book of Revelation.
REVELATION 1:2 – who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, and to all that he saw.
In this verse, we see the following important points that need to be pondered:
– Proclaiming the word of God and testifying about Jesus Christ.
– Such proclamation and testimony must be done in truth and truthfulness, that is, according to the will and truth of God, not according to one’s own will and opinion.
– The duty and responsibility of proclamation and testimony is not only for those who have dedicated themselves to serving God but for all of God’s people.
In this verse, although the Lord’s word tells us that John was His servant and that he preached the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ, it also helps us see one of the great responsibilities that those who are called servants of God must carry out, which is to bear witness to the word of God in the Bible through their own daily life, that is, through their words, actions, habits, and all other aspects, even in their thoughts and goals in life.
Because, as we have mentioned above, the word servant of God is not meant to be reserved only for the apostles of Christ, or for pastors, evangelists or missionaries, but for all those who have a heart that truly wants to serve God in every situation, position and place that God has put them in.
But when a Christian wants to preach the word of God effectively, he must at least have a full and profound understanding of the Bible, and especially must have applied the teachings in the word of God to himself, just as in this verse the word of God says that the apostle John preached and testified about everything he saw. Likewise, a Christian can only preach the word of God effectively when he personally has a clear experience of what he is presenting to others.
As a matter of fact, there are many Christians who are very zealous in witnessing to the Word of God in the Bible and calling people to God, but they themselves do not understand much of the Bible. Such zeal is good, but not understanding or experiencing the Word of God when witnessing will create problems and difficulties for ourselves and sometimes even cause stumbling blocks for outsiders, especially for those to whom we are witnessing. The following are reasons why Christians should only testify about things that they have personally experienced.
First, if a Christian testifies about something he does not fully understand, then his testimony is a lie. When a Christian testifies about the word of God and calls people to God, he is calling them to the Truth. But if his testimony is a lie, what could be more contradictory?
The Ninth Commandment of the Ten Commandments states that God does not want us to bear false witness against our neighbor, as it is written in…
EXODUS 20: 16 – You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.
This commandment applies exactly to Christians’ witnessing about God’s word to unbelievers, meaning that God’s people must not bear false witness about things that they do not clearly understand or have not truly experienced.
Up to now, there have been many leaders in the churches who have called Christians to go out and witness to unbelievers and called them to God and to the churches, but they have not fully equipped those who go out to witness about the word of God. This situation has caused many Christians to violate the Ninth Commandment without knowing it.
According to the law of God in the Bible, when a person commits a sin without his knowledge, it is not counted against him. But the leaders will be guilty before God, because in their desire to gain more people into the church, they have pushed Christians into breaking the commandment of God. They cannot justify that they themselves did not know that such witnessing is a violation of the commandment. They are the leaders of the church, so they must know that. That is the responsibility of the leaders, which cannot be denied.
It is for this reason that in previous centuries, although the churches had developed and many people joined them, the moral state of the churches had declined, to the point that in the present century the churches have become corrupt, both in terms of personnel and spirituality, to the point of introducing worldly tendencies into the churches and accepting sins that the Word of God in the Bible has affirmed as abominable before Him, such as what is written in…
LEVITICUS 18: 22 – Do not have sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, that is detestable.
These things have happened to show that false witness about the word of God in the Bible only leads to moral degradation, and the judgment of God will overtake such people, especially the leaders in the churches, as the Bible says in…
PROVERBS 19: 9 – A false witness will not go unpunished and whoever pours out lies will perish.
Second, it is hypocrisy to bear witness to the word of God without applying its teachings to oneself. Jesus Christ himself severely condemned those who commit such a crime, as it is written in…
MATTHEW 23: 4 – They tie up heavy, cumbersome loads and put them on other people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.
MATTHEW 23: 15 – Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when you have succeeded, you make them twice as much a child of hell as you are.
The Word of God says that hypocrites will never receive salvation, as it was written in…
MATTHEW 24: 51 – He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
The Word of God says that hypocrites will never receive salvation. So what is more absurd than a person inviting others to come to God for salvation when he himself will never receive it? That hypocrites will not enter Heaven is confirmed by the Lord’s word in…
MATTHEW 24: 51 – He will cut them in pieces and assign their portion with the hypocrites. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Third reason, if Christians do not understand much about the Bible but go on to witness to unbelievers, we will often be questioned but cannot answer, causing unbelievers to doubt our faith in God. A typical example to demonstrate this is when a person sells his goods but when questioned by a customer, he cannot answer about the quality or what convenience it brings, then how can the buyer dare to buy those goods?
Fourth, if Christians try to witness without much knowledge of the Bible, the devil will take advantage of that effort to infiltrate the church and gradually turn the church into a worldly organization. When Christians witness and invite people to come to God without understanding the truth, without using the truth as the basis for that invitation, non-Christians may come to the Church for their own ideas, or for the physical benefits that the Church can bring them, but not really coming to God for forgiveness of sins, for rebirth and change. If many people join the Church in this way, the Church will soon become a worldly organization and no longer a place to encourage people to live according to the way and standards that God has appointed.
Now let us meditate together on verse 3 of chapter 1 of the book of Revelation.
REVELATION 1:3 – Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.
First, let us consider the Lord’s words about the time being near.
MATTHEW 24:14 – And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all nations; and then the end will come.
LUKE 17:26-29 – 26 And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: 27 They were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. 28 Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot: they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building; 29 But on the day Lot went out of Sodom, it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.
We are in the third millennium, which is the third day according to the Scriptures.
2PETER 3:8-10 – 8 Beloved, do not forget this, that with the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like a day. 9 The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will be dissolved by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be burned up.
So in this time the word of God promises to bless those who read, hear, and obey His words in the book of Revelation. READING the book of Revelation is something every Christian can do, but LISTENING is more important.
The word HEAR here means to hear the explanation of the hidden meanings in the book of Revelation.
2 PETER 2:1 – But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction.
2TIMOTHY 4:1-5 – 1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, 2 being led astray by the hypocrisy of liars whose consciences are seared, 3 who forbid marriage and command abstinence from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. 4 For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, 5 for it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.
The Case of the Jews in Berea.
ACTS 17:11 – These were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and examined the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so.
But after READING and HEARING, DOING is the most important thing.
JAMES 1:22 – But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
LUKE 6:46 – Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I say?
MATTHEW 7:21 – Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
MATTHEW 12:50 – For whoever does the will of my Father who is in heaven is my brother, and sister, and mother.
Now let us meditate together on the fourth verse of chapter 1 of the book of Revelation.
REVELATION 1:4 – John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits which are before his throne.
Although the book of Revelation was written to the seven churches in Asia, which is the southwestern region of Turkey today, the Holy Spirit inspired the letter to those seven churches to be a teaching for all churches in all ages to come, so what happened in those churches is what is happening in the churches today.
The Apostle John wishes the churches to receive God’s grace. God’s grace is a free reward, that is, it is unconditional, but there is a characteristic of grace that Christians need to know, that is, grace is given by God but can also be taken away by God, as written in…
ROMANS 3:24 – And being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
2 SAMUEL 7:15 – But I will not withdraw my grace from him, as I withdrew it from Saul, whom I removed from before you.
To receive the grace of God, we must love Him always.
EPHESIANS 6:24 – Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with unfailing love.
One of the sources of God’s grace that Christians can receive is His word in the Bible. So when we study God’s word, we are seeking God’s grace.
PSALM 45:2 – You are fairer than the sons of men. Grace is poured into your lips. Therefore God has blessed you forever.
PEACE
The peace of Christians comes from God, who is, who was, and who is to come, not from the world, from power, or from the things of this world. Therefore, Christians can have the peace of God in all circumstances. But if the peace of Christians depends on circumstances, it is not a peace given by God.
And the peace of God comes from the seven spirits who are before His throne. This means seven angels.
REVELATION 1:19-20 – 19 Write therefore the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place hereafter, 20 the mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
This means that in Heaven there are 7 archangels, and one of them rebelled against God, that is, Satan and the angels under his authority, so God created mankind so that from there God could choose and make enough angels return.
REVELATION 6:9-11 – 9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God and the testimony they had maintained. 10 And they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “How long, Lord, holy and true, will you not judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” 11 And a white robe was given to each of them; and it was said to them that they should rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers, who were to be killed as they were, should be completed.
Therefore, every true church of God has an angel, and through the protection of that angel the church is kept safe.
We will continue our study to verse 5 of chapter 1 of the book of Revelation.
REVELATION 1:5 – And from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth!
In this verse there are things that we need to ponder, that is
BEING FAITHFUL WITNESS
Witnessing about God to the world, or to unbelievers, is what Christians need to do.
The two words FAITHFUL mean that Christians must witness honestly about God, that is, be honest about what God has done in their lives, and be honest about the purpose of witnessing, which is to bring people to God, not to human organizations.
The word FAITHFUL also means to always testify about God when there is an opportunity, not just testifying sometimes and not sometimes.
1 CORINTHIANS 11:1 – Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.
EPHESIANS 5:1 – Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.
FIRSTBORN FROM THE DEAD
1 CORINTHIANS 15:20 – But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.
When Jesus Christ said that He was the first to rise from the dead, it meant that there were others who rose from the dead after His resurrection. So this statement of the Lord tells us that if Christians truly believe in the Lord and follow Him faithfully and wholeheartedly in this life, after we die, we will be resurrected.
1 THESSALONIANS 4:14 – For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so those who sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him.
So through the Lord’s statement, we understand that death for those who believe in and follow the Lord is just a sleep, and then we will wake up to receive eternal life given by God.
LUKE 8:52 – And all wept and bewailed her. But Jesus said to them, “Do not weep; she is not dead, but asleep.”
JOHN 11:11-14 – 11 After saying this, Jesus said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go there to awaken him from sleep.” 12 His disciples said to him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” 13 Now Jesus had spoken of his death; but they thought he meant taking rest in sleep. 14 Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus is dead.”
1 CORINTHIANS 15:6 – After that he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom remain to the present, though some have fallen asleep.
BEING THE LORD OF THE KINGS OF THE WORLD
These words mean that Jesus Christ is the ruler over the rulers of the world, and that what happens on earth is under the will and decision of Jesus Christ.
1 CHRONICLES 29:12 – Both riches and honor come from you, and you rule over all; in your hand is power and might; in your hand is it to make great and to give strength to all.
PSALM 103:19 – The LORD has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all.
That also means that if we want to change the course of history, the right thing to do and the right thing to do is to pray to God and to Jesus Christ.
DANIEL 2:21 – He changes times and seasons; He removes kings and sets up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise, and knowledge to those who have understanding.
1 CORINTHIANS 2:6 – Yet we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the rulers of this world, who are coming to nothing.
(to be continued)