Unlocking Revelation
Introduction
It stars Martin Sheen and Marlon Brando. Set in the Vietnam War, Apocalypse Now is a 1979 epic war film based on Joseph Conrad’s novel Heart of Darkness, which discloses the darkness of the human heart.
Director Francis Ford Coppola’s accurate understanding of the word ‘apocalypse’ is contrary to the popular misunderstanding of the word as ‘destruction’.
The Greek word apokalupsis, translated ‘revelation’ (Revelation 1:1), is made up of two Greek words – apo (out of) and kalupsis (‘hiding’). The word actually means ‘disclosure’. In the book of Revelation, the veil is taken off. The mystery is unlocked.
‘The revelation of Jesus Christ’ (v.1) has a double meaning. First, it is the revelation that is given by Jesus. Second, it is the revealing of Jesus, who lies hidden in the Old Testament but is revealed in the New Testament. In the book of Revelation, Jesus is further unveiled. We get a clearer disclosure of his great love for us, and his victory over evil.
Psalm 140:1–4
1 Rescue me, LORD, from evildoers...
2 who devise evil plans in their hearts...
3 They make their tongues as sharp as a serpent’s;
the poison of vipers is on their lips.
4 Keep me safe, LORD, from the hands of the wicked;
protect me from the violent,
who devise ways to trip my feet.
Commentary
Revelation of the righteousness of God
David prays to be rescued from evil people. He speaks of evil thoughts (v.2a), evil words (v.3) and evil deeds (v.4).
Evil is not just about other people. It is about me. All of us have had bad thoughts, said hurtful things and done wrong. All of us have failed to be righteous.
The apostle Paul writes, ‘There is no one righteous, not even one’ (Romans 3:10), and then goes on to illustrate his point using a verse from our psalm – ‘the poison of vipers is on their lips’ (Psalm 140:3 and Romans 3:13).
But Paul explains that now a righteousness from God has been ‘revealed’ (Romans 3:21, GNB). This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe’ (v.22).
Prayer
Revelation 1:1–18
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, 2 who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. 3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.
4 John,
To the seven churches in the province of Asia:
Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come... 5 and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father —to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.
10 On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, 11 which said: “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches...
12 I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. 14 The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. 15 His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.
17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18 I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.
Commentary
Revelation of Jesus Christ
This book is a record of the apostle John’s revelation of Jesus, which came to him as he was worshipping. Eugene Peterson writes that ‘we are enlisted as participants in a multidimensional act of Christian worship’. John ‘has worship on his mind and is pre-eminently concerned with worship’. God speaks to John as he is worshipping and Jesus is revealed.
The book of Revelation was written to seven churches in Asia minor (v.11), which were pastored by the apostle John who was in exile on the island of Patmos ‘because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus’ (v.9). John sees ‘seven golden lampstands’ (v.12), which he tells us represent the ‘seven churches’ (v.20).
Seven in the Bible is the number of completeness and perfection. So, this can be taken to mean the whole church. It is written for you and me. Jesus calls John to write down what he sees. He begins to unlock the ‘mystery’: ‘The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches’ (v.20). This suggests that every church, including yours, has its own angel. Jesus holds all the churches in his hands.
John, in revealing the nature of spiritual reality, uses poetry, songs, metaphors, visions, symbols and pictures. Parts of the book of Revelation are extremely difficult to understand. But it is worth persevering. This is the only book in the Bible where we are specifically told that those who read it will be blessed: ‘How blessed the reader! How blessed the hearers and keepers of these oracle words’ (v.3, MSG).
It seems that the early Christians had already changed their day of rest and worship from Saturday (the Sabbath) to Sunday. The revelation began ‘On the Lord’s Day…’ (v.10) – the day the Lord was resurrected, in other words, Sunday.
The book of Revelation, like the Bible as a whole, centres on Jesus: ‘Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth’ (v.5). It is very easy to get bogged down in the details of Revelation, but the key is to remain focused on Jesus. The general message of the book is clear – Jesus wins!
Jesus is the one ‘who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father’ (vv.5b–6). Through Jesus you are loved, loosed from your chains and lifted up.
Your sense of worth is not based on what you do or look like, nor on what others think about you. You are of great value and worth because Jesus loves you so much that he shed his blood for you.
Jesus is going to come again. It will not happen secretly. Everyone will see it: ‘Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him’ (v.7). You are on the winning team. Jesus is coming back and you will enjoy eternity with him.
John sees ‘someone “like a son of man”’ (v.13). This was Jesus’ favourite way of referring to himself. He sees Jesus in all his majesty and glory, ‘dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash round his chest’ (v.13). He sees him in all his purity and timelessness: ‘His head and hair were... as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters’ (vv.14–15).
He sees the total splendour of his appearance: ‘In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance’ (v.16). Sometimes, when people spend time in the presence of Jesus, their faces seem to shine. This gives us a taste of what Jesus himself looks like.
John’s response to the revelation of Jesus is worship: to fall ‘at his feet as though dead’ (v.17). Jesus places his hand on him saying, ‘Don’t fear: I am First, I am Last, I’m Alive. I died, but I came to life, and my life is now forever. See these keys in my hand? They open and lock Death’s doors, they open and lock Hell’s gates’ (vv.17–18, MSG).
Prayer
Zechariah 9:9–16
9... See, your king comes to you,
righteous and victorious,
lowly and riding on a donkey,
on a colt, the foal of a donkey.
10 ... He will proclaim peace... to the ends of the earth.
11 As for you, because of the blood of my covenant with you,
I will free your prisoners from the waterless pit.
12 Return to your fortress, you prisoners of hope...
16 The LORD their God will save his people on that day
as a shepherd saves his flock.
Commentary
Revelation of the Saviour
Why are some people so relentlessly positive? It all stems from a little word: ‘hope’. Jesus, as revealed in this passage, sets the prisoners free from ‘their hopeless cells’ (9:11, MSG).
Jesus fills you with hope. However bad your current situation, never give up hope. We are ‘prisoners of hope’ (v.12). Joyce Meyer writes, ‘Real hope is a constant positive attitude that no matter what is happening currently, things will change for the better.’
The words of Zechariah have several levels of fulfilment. Far greater than the historical fulfilment of chapter 9 (through Alexander the Great and the Maccabees), was the fulfilment revealed in Jesus.
‘See, your king comes to you righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey’ (v.9). These words were fulfilled on the first Palm Sunday, as Jesus entered Jerusalem on a donkey (Matthew 21:1–5; Mark 11:1–11).
Zechariah foresees that a humble, righteous king will come bringing salvation. He is meek, humble and externally poor. His kingdom would not come by traditional methods of battle. He is not a military king (Zechariah 9:10).
He will bring peace to Jews and Gentiles (v.10, see also Ephesians 2:17). His rule will extend from sea to sea (Zechariah 9:10). You will experience great blessings ‘because of the blood of my covenant with you’ (v.11).
He brings freedom for the prisoners (v.11; see also Isaiah 61:1; Luke 4:18). He brings you security: ‘Return to your fortress, O prisoners of hope’ (Zechariah 9:12). He brings you great blessing: ‘I will restore twice as much to you’ (v.12). He is invincible ‘like a warrior's sword’ (v.13; see Revelation 1:16). He brings you salvation (Zechariah 9:16; see also Luke 12:32; John 10:1–16).
There are many other wonderful promises in these prophecies of Zechariah including Jesus as ‘the cornerstone’ (Zechariah 10:4) and the ‘Good Shepherd’ who will pastor the flock with ‘Favour’ and ‘Union’ (11:7). In sharp contrast to the ‘foolish’ shepherd described here (v.15), you are called to ‘care for the lost’, ‘seek the young’, ‘heal the injured’ and ‘feed the healthy’ (v.16).
We also see in this passage a foreshadowing of the betrayal of Judas. The ‘thirty pieces of silver’ (v.12) is the price that was put on Jesus’ head (see Matthew 26:15).
Almost every detail of Jesus’ life, character, mission, death, resurrection and victory was foreshadowed in some way in the Old Testament and revealed in the New Testament.
Prayer
Pippa adds
Revelation 1:13–17
On seeing Jesus, John writes, ‘When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead.’
It is easy to think of Jesus as the gentle teacher who walked around Galilee doing good. But here we see him risen, in all his majesty and glory, when the only appropriate response is to fall face down before him.
Verse of the Day
Revelation 1:17–18
‘Do not be afraid, I am the first and the last, I am the living one, I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever!’
Thought for the Day
Your sense of worth is not based on what you do or look like, nor on what others think about you. You are of great value and worth because Jesus loves you so much that he shed his blood for you.
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References
Joyce Meyer, Everyday Life Bible (Faithwords, 2018), p.1459.
Eugene Peterson, The Message, ‘Introduction to Revelation’ (NavPress, 1996), p.1674.
The Bible with Nicky and Pippa Gumbel (commentary formerly known as Bible in One Year) ©Alpha International 2009. All Rights Reserved.
Compilation of daily Bible readings © Hodder & Stoughton Limited 1988. Published by Hodder & Stoughton Limited as the Bible in One Year.
Unless otherwise stated, Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version Anglicised, Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 Biblica, formerly International Bible Society. Used by permission of Hodder & Stoughton Publishers, an Hachette UK company. All rights reserved. ‘NIV’ is a registered trademark of Biblica. UK trademark number 1448790.
Scripture quotations marked (AMP) taken from the Amplified® Bible, Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. (www.Lockman.org)
Scripture quotations marked MSG are taken from The Message, copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress. All rights reserved. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.