An Introduction to Revelation
Kraig J. Rice
www.7-star-admiral.com
| The Twelve Scrolls of Revelation |
An Introduction to Revelation
Kraig J. Rice
www.7-star-admiral.com
What is this bible book of Revelation?
If you are flexible you will not get bent out of shape
How is the bible book of Revelation to be interpreted?
I want to add this-
The four gospels of the New Testament declare that Jesus Christ was a
Hebrew and that His first hand-picked disciples were also Hebrews. Therefore,
the Christian church, in the first century, was started by Hebrews. The Gentile church of today
should never forget it's Hebrew roots
What does this bible book include?
When and where were these scrolls written?
What was the historical setting in those days when these scrolls were written?
Is what you are living for
The Apostle John lived at Ephesus. He was a very old man by this time- between ninety and one hundred years old. He was arrested and sent to Rome for trial. What was his crime? He was ordered by the Roman emperor, Domitian, to be put to death for being a true Christian believer. Under the previous Roman emperor, Nero, the Apostles Peter and Paul had already been martyred. Emperor Nero ruled from approximately 64-68 a.d. The emperor, Domitian, ruled from approximately 95-96 a.d. so we know that John was there at that time. The sentence for his execution was carried out but John did not die due to a miracle from God. Remember, that Christ had previously revealed that to him:
"Peter asked Jesus, "what about him (John), Lord?
(How will John be martyred?)" Jesus replied,
"if I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You follow Me."
So the rumor spread among the community of believers that that disciple would not
die. But that is not what Jesus said at all. He only said, "if I want him to
remain alive until I return, what is that to you?"
This is that disciple who saw these events and recorded them here. And we all know
that his account of these things is accurate"
Why was this book written?
A word of preparation-
John is saying that this book is his testimony to the word of God.
Who and what does Revelation reveal?
His glorification partly means that Christ will literally reign on this earth and there is much prophecy in the bible about this. The Israelite leaders, during the time of Christ, were looking for a Messiah who would conquer the Romans and rule as a king in Jerusalem- they did not want a Messiah Who came in humiliation to forgive repentant sinners of their sins. They did not want a Messiah who died on a Roman cross and then was resurrected. They wanted a conquerer-king Messiah then and they still do today. That is probably why they will accept the Antichrist as their Messiah when he starts conquering the earth in the future:
Revelation informs us of the future reign of Christ on this earth that Satan
cannot stop- he cannot stop it by persecution, internal corruption, or outward
force of arms (through armies), yet he tries all of these avenues. Revelation
tells of Christ's absolute and eternal victory over Satan and those individuals
who Satan can use. It describes Satan's defeat and humiliation, first for one
thousand years, and then eternally. Christ has more power than Satan has. It reveals
Satan's final and ultimate destiny as he is thrown into the lake of fire (hell).
Satan does not want folks to study Revelation, but he does want them to change it.
That is why God has placed a curse on anyone who seeks to change Christ's
teachings in this book of the bible-
The theme of this book:
God had John write this book. It was written to all Christians in symbolism form.
It shows God's love and care for each of His children in the faith.
Truth through symbolism is a powerful teaching tool.
Therefore, it is relevant to you and I today. It will also be relevant to any
faithful believer in the future, especially to any who face persecution and/or
martyrdom. Praise God for giving us such a wonderful witness of Himself that is timeless.
One paradox of this book of the bible is that it can be absolute and relative at the
same time.
Why do I refer to the Lord as General Jesus?
Jesus appears in Revelation in different roles. He appears as High Priest and
Supreme Judge as well as many other roles but I see Him most predominately
in Revelation in His military role as General Jesus. In Revelation, He will wage a
future military campaign against a world that will choose to be at war against Him.
However as Savior, He will seek to spiritually save as many as are willing to turn to Him in
spite of the widespread destruction to life and property. Revelation is an exciting book to
study as it has love, hate, conflict, vengeance, adventure, and so much more. But the
part I like best concerns the Hero of the book, Jesus Christ. We see Him as God the
Son, eternally existent, and all powerful- powerful enough to conquer His enemies
and save each of us who will turn to Him
The bible book of Revelation is from God and it is for each of His Overcomers.
It is a book of spiritual blessing to us from Him.
This book of the bible is a compilation of twelve different and separate scrolls written at
different times and possibly from different places. Revelation as a whole, is a testimony,
prophecy, index, code, God's plan of the ages, and glimpse into
the future of this world during the last days. It is a study
that includes something of God's will, His mercy, the salvation He offers, His forgiveness,
His redemption, the defeat of His enemies, and His victory. It contains references to songs and
poetry that should not be forgotten. And there is more that is not written here.
When studied properly it is one of the most magnificent pieces of literature in the world.
Revelation was written by the Apostle John in the Greek language on twelve scrolls, however,
Jesus Christ is the author of this book. Jesus gave Revelation to John who in turn delivered
it to the churches. You can study more about John in this book at Revelation 1:9.
What was it like for the Apostle John on Patmos and then in Ephesus?
It must have taken him (in his old age) a significant amount of time, prayer,
perseverance, and resources to write each of these twelve separate scrolls. While he was doing
this I can imagine he had health issues, time constraints- as he preached and taught God's
Word and expounded God's will to others, and faced continual ongoing persecution. Plus he
carried the burdens of his fellow believers who he loved- especially Mary, the mother of Jesus.
In all matters, God was his source.
Revelation is written in the eastern culture in apocalyptic literature. So many in the
western culture try to understand Revelation in that way so it becomes as clear as mud to
them. Many avoid Revelation because they do not know what it means.
There is much symbolism in Revelation. Not everyone agrees on what each symbol represents,
however, some symbols have their meaning in other parts of the Word of God.
Now, let me say this- some of Revelation is an index. That is permissible in
apocalyptic literature. If you study any book's index only you will not get much out of it.
Why did God write Revelation that way? It could be that a Revelation index itself can be a code
that only Christ's Overcomers can decode. Roman agents
living in the Roman Empire in the first century A.D., only understanding the western culture,
could not understand Revelation and thought it to be jibberish so they did not bother to hunt
each copy down and burn it. They did not consider it to be a threat to them. As well, some of
Revelation is prophetic, and there are other parts of it that have deep spiritual meanings.
I believe God wants to interpret His own word in His own way to each of His Overcomers as it can
be a very subjective message to each of His specific individuals at a specified time. God wants
each of His Overcomers to study this book of the bible to deeply enrich their faith.
So what I try to do in this book is to take each index scripture- to study its origin in other
parts of the Word of God. What do the original scriptures, that the respective index refers
back to, mean to you, and what is God's message to you. That way, God interprets His
Word only and makes it very subjective. That is apocalyptic literature at its finest.
Let me give you an example-
God says, "...to him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, that is in
the middle of the Paradise of God" (Revelation 2:7). This is an index verse. What does
this index refer back to in the bible? It refers back to Genesis 2:9. So, what is God's
message here to you? Is His message the same for each of His Overcomers or relative only
to you? To answer each of those questions, a wise Overcomer should pray and ask God for the
answers.
Initially, they were written to Hebrew Christians who occupied the first place in the
church of the first century A.D. That is why there are so many references in it
in regards to Israel- and scripture references from books of the bible for
them. That was a common practice in those days- for example, James, the half-brother of
Jesus Christ and leader of the church in Jerusalem, began his book of the bible with
these words-
James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, sends words of love
to the twelve tribes of the Hebrews living in all parts of the earth...
(James 1:1).
The Hebrew roots of Revelation-
The Hebrew Messiah redeemed fallen mankind from sin and separation from
God. What was His name? His name is Jesus (Yeshua in Hebrew) and that is
also another name for salvation.
(Romans 1:16, 25-26). As we study our way through this bible book of Revelation, we will
see that it was mainly written to early Hebrew Christians in the church and that is why
there are so many Hebrew references in it (the temple, the altar, Jerusalem, and more).
Therefore, it was God's will for His Holy Word of God to be entrusted into the hands of His
faithful Hebrew servants. Due to God's covenant with saved Hebrews, we understand that God's Word begins with Genesis
(that is a part of the Sectateuch) of the Old Testament. In order to understand the symbolism
in this book, we have to also understand that much of the symbolism in this book has it's
meaning(s) found in other Hebrew scriptures of the bible. The bible book of Revelation was
placed in the canon at the end of God's word in the New Testament.
God's word is Hebrew from start to finish, however, in later centuries, there were more
Gentile believers than Hebrew believers in the church, who agreed with the Hebrew believers
at that time, that it was written to every true Christian believer, Hebrew or Gentile, so it
is not necessary to be a Hebrew in order to understand it-
I Jesus have sent My angel to give you this message for the churches (of all times)
(Revelation 22:16).
Some of this has been mentioned above. It is a book that reveals what the Father wants to share
with us. We have revealed to us God the Father, the Supreme One of the universe. We have
revealed to us Jesus Christ, God the Son- Who He is and what He has done to purchase
our salvation.
We have revealed to us God the Holy Spirit and His work on earth. We have revealed to us
the fact that we are sinners and need a Savior in order to get to Heaven. Sin is revealed
to us as well as the author of sin, Satan. God has revealed to us His Plan of the Ages
and His plan for our salvation. Our salvation can only come through the shed blood of
Jesus Christ. After we accept Christ as our Savior, Satan and his fallen angels
will persecute us to stop
us from getting to Heaven (from being Overcomers). But Satan's eternal destiny is sealed-
he will spend eternity in Hell fire. Satan will throw everything he can at us in order
to prevent us from living for Christ, evangelizing others, and from being overcomers.
Christ reveals to us those things that might prevent us from making it to Heaven.
But Heaven is worth our sacrifices in order to get there- it is a place of joy,
beauty, peace, and fellowship. God reveals those things that happened to saved Hebrews
as examples to us. We must learn from their mistakes and follow the pathway
of righteousness. We need to be Overcomers in order to make it to Heaven. All of this
is revealed and presented to the church. As an added bonus, God reveals to us a little
something about the future of this world and how things will work out in order for Him to
fulfill His promises to Israel and His covenant with them.
It is believed that these scrolls were written between the years 95-100 a.d. Some were written
on the Roman prison Island of Patmos and possibly some at Ephesus.
It was the time of the Roman Empire. Imperial Rome ruled the world but it's politicians
were morally corrupt. There was persecution against those true Christians in the early
church but evangelism was taking place. Every time a true believer was put to death,
it appeared that unsaved souls were influenced for Christ. From the worldly point of view
it also appeared that Satan was more powerful than God, therefore, many believers needed
spiritual encouragement. However, many Christians had unwavering faith in Christ, in the
face of death, that helped to spread the faith. To be a true Christian in those days possibly
meant a death penalty for the believer and his entire family- as well as the confiscation
of everything he or she owned. The Christians who were martyred were not defeated but were
victorious because they went to Heaven after they died on earth. Bibles (scrolls) were burned
by special agents of Rome, and money was offered to informants for information on Christians.
Those were dark days for the church at that time, however, persecution of the church would
continue to the time of the end, so that is why this book is so relevant to the present time.
worth dying for?
(John 21:21-24).
Since his death sentence against John had failed, Roman Emperor Domitian sent him to prison
instead. John was sent to the penal colony on the Island of Patmos in the Aegean Sea. It
was there that Jesus appeared to him with visions of the Revelation. John was released
from prison in 96 a.d., after the death of Emperor Domitian, and returned home to
Ephesus. John wrote Revelation, the Gospel of John, and 3 letters: 1st John, 2nd John,
and 3rd John. We are not sure which he wrote first. Some folks think that he may have
written Revelation first and then had to write his Gospel and letters afterwards
to obey His orders from General Jesus to write what he had seen when He followed Jesus
for three and one half years
(Revelation 1:19)- also to help explain what he had written in Revelation.
He also wrote them because too many false teachers were spreading too much false teaching
around about Jesus.
This book was written on orders from General Jesus Christ, the Lord of Armies
(Revelation 1:19) for the Apostle John to share with us what he had seen in the past,
the spiritual conditions at his present time, and future events. At John's present time it was
written mainly to help God's people to be overcomers as they were being
persecuted by the Roman government. The images and symbols of Revelation may be somewhat
difficult for some of us to understand today but to the persecuted overcomers in the early
church, this message was clearly one of hope, courage, and faith in times of trouble.
Every suffering overcomer for Christ needs to be reminded that they will be greatly rewarded
in Heaven.
Revelation was also written to prepare God's people for the last intervention of God in
human affairs. The Christians of the first century believed this event to be close at
hand. When it occurred, a new age of the world would begin, in which Christ and
His people would be triumphant. Before that, the evils and terrors of a one world
government would increase and intensify.
It has occurred to me that since the revelation was given by Christ and it is about Christ, then it is like His own autobiography in a way. I find that to be very interesting. So we can say that Revelation is a revealing of Christ as well as God's future plans. In His first coming, He came as a suffering Savior (in His passion) to be slain as a sacrificial Lamb for the sins of mankind. He was humble and gentle. In His second coming, He is coming as a Lion (a Lion of the tribe of Judah), a mighty conquering King of Kings and Lord of Lords to rule the world in justice and peace from Jerusalem in His glory. In other words, Christ is not seen in humiliation in this book. Rather, He is seen in glorification.
"I have come in My Father's name, and you receive Me not- if another shall come in his own name, (the Antichrist) him you will receive"
(John 5:43).
They stumbled over their Messiah by tripping over the truth revealed in their own scriptures concerning His first coming-
...so when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Hebrews are offended, and
the Gentiles say it is all nonsense
(1 Corinthians 1:23).
They just could not see it- they were spiritually blind. Paul the Apostle stated-
...lest you be wise in your own conceits, I do not want you to miss this hidden truth
and mystery, brethren, an insensibility (hardening) has (temporarily) befallen a part of
(unsaved) Israel (to last) until the full number of the ingathering of the gentiles has come in...
(Romans 11:25).
It is God's plan for Israel to accept Jesus Christ as their Messiah and this
they will eventually do. It is God's plan for every Christian facing persecution
and/or martyrdom to know and understand that God will take him or her to Heaven
in victory, evil doers will be punished, evil nations will be overthrown, and
Satan will be defeated and thrown into hell. God wins in the end.
...and I solemnly declare to everyone who hears the prophetic words of this book- if
anyone adds anything to what is written here, God will add to that person the
plagues described in this book. And if anyone removes (in spiritual rebellion)
any of the teachings (logos or the sayings) of Christ in this prophetic book, God will
remove that person's part from the book of life and the holy city that are described
in this book
(Revelation 22:18-19).
Jesus Christ is seen as the Christian believer's Triumphant King or Soon Coming King.
God the Father agreed with God the Son to reveal some mysteries to His Overcomers
regarding the future. The Father and Son are co-equal and agree with one another in all things.
God sent His messenger (angel) to the Apostle John to carry out this mission. Messengers
(angels) help them carry out their decrees. We see this same messenger here at the beginning
of this book and also at the end of this book
(Revelation 19:10). Jesus is the hero of this bible book. It is all about Him- Who He is, what
He did in the past, what He is doing at present, and what He intends to do in the future.
In this book of the bible, I see Christ in His military role as General Jesus, the
God of Armies (God of Hosts in old English).
To answer that question, let me share a few passages of scripture with you. Jesus is eternal
so it was easy for Him to appear to Joshua as the Angel of the Lord in symbolism-
...and it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked,
and, behold, there stood a Man over against him with His sword drawn in His hand- and Joshua
went to Him, and said to Him, are you for us, or for our adversaries? And He said-
no (I will not answer your question), but as General of the Army of the Lord AM I now come.
And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said to Him, what do You have
to say My Lord to His servant? And the General of the Lord's army said to Joshua-
take the shoes off of your feet, because the place where you stand is holy.
And Joshua was obedient
(Joshua 5:13-15).
Who is this King of glory? The Lord of Armies, He is the King of glory
(Psalm 24:10).
The Lord of Armies is with us- the God of Jacob is our high tower
(Psalm 46:7).
(Revelation 22:17).
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As of January 7, 2024
