Revelation 1:1-9

>>>Notes for Revelation can be found HERE <<<

The three-fold outline of the book Revelation one is found in verse 1:19. Notice that Jesus says, talking to John, “Write the things that you have seen, the things which are, and the things that shall take place after these things.” If you look through the Book of Revelation, you’ll find that the phrase “after these things” is repeated over and over. And why is that? I think John is emphasizing to us that there is an orderly development of how things are going to happen. Some of it’s difficult to understand. Some of it we probably can’t fully grasp. But John wants us to understand that what is coming during the seven years of tribulation is going to be a very orderly, systematic judgment of God on the Earth. So he says, “Write the things that you have seen,” in the past tense. Right? So, what has John seen in the past in Revelation chapter one? The vision of Christ. He’s recorded that for us. “And the things which are” represent chapters two and three which deals with the seven churches of Asia. “The things that will take place after this,” represent Chapters four through 22. So, John really gives us his own outline. And if we just follow that outline, it’ll save us from a lot of confusion.

In the first few chapters, we have the seven churches as John ministered to them. In Chapters four and five, we see the church in heaven. There are certain things that are said that tell us that that can only be the church in heaven, which fits with our understanding of the rapture of the church. What do we read in Revelation 4:1? “I heard a voice saying, ‘Come up here.’”. Then in Chapters six through 19, we have the tribulation period itself. It’s very interesting to notice, the word church occurs 19 times in the first three chapters. It does not occur from Chapters six to 19 — the section that deals with the tribulation period. Instead, who do we read about? The nation of Israel. Remember that Paul tells us in Romans 11:25. “Blindness, in part, has happened to Israel.” God is faithful to His promises; what about the nation of Israel? Is God finished with the nation of Israel? Their time is yet coming, and that’s going to be the tribulation period. So, in chapter six through 19, we read about Israel. We read about the tribes. We read about Jerusalem. The whole focus goes back to the promised land.

So let’s go back to Revelation 1:1. “The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to Him to show His servants things that must shortly take place and He Jesus sent and signify it by His Angel to his servant, John.” So, this book has been passed down from the Father to the Son to an angel to John. “Who bore witness of the Word of God in the testimony of Jesus Christ to all things that He saw. Blessed are those that read and hear the words of this prophecy and keep the things that are written in it for the time is near.” Because the Book of Revelation deals with everything from the time of John till the end of the Kingdom. No matter where you live in that time, the time is near because whatever is next to come is going to come and it’s going to come quickly. We notice several purposes behind the book: 1) to reveal Jesus Christ, 2) to reveal the course history, 3) to finish John’s testimony, and 4) to bless those who study the book and not only study but obey the book.

John identifies himself now in Revelation 1:4, “John to the seven churches which are in Asia.” This a typical opening of a letter in the ancient world; you identified yourself first and then identified who you’re writing to. “Grace to you and peace from Him, who is and who was and who is to come. And from the seven spirits who are before the throne.” So, what is “who is and who was and who is to come?” They mean that He’s infinite, and eternal. “The seven spirits before his throne” harkens to Isaiah 11:2, which lists the spirits of God having seven characteristics. So essentially, he’s talking about the Holy Spirit. The interesting thing to me at this point, in the first four versus we have the Father, we have the Son, we have the Holy Spirit, and they’re all sending greetings to us. They’re all working for our spiritual well-being.

Revelation 1:5 says, “From Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the first born from the day of the ruler over the kings of the earth. To him who loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood.” This is talking about the finished work of Christ on the cross, the one who provided for us our so great salvation. Revelation 1:6 should really excite us, “and has made us kings and priests.” In all the Old Testament, you never read of a prophet, priest, and king together. Jesus is prophet, priest, and king. Here, we’re told, “He has made us kings and priest.” You can go to 1st Peter 2:9, where Peter reminds us that we are a royal priesthood. There was no royal priesthood in the Old Testament, with one exception: Melchizedek the King priest.

Revelation 1:7 says, “Behold, He is coming with clouds.” I don’t know about you, but I long for it more and pray for it more every day. “He is coming with clouds and every I will see him. Even they who pierced him, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of him.” Which coming is John talking about — the Rapture or Jesus’ second coming? Ask yourself the question, at the rapture will every eye see Him? No, not unbelievers. It’s going to be a secret departure. They will not see him. We will simply be gone. So, we know we’re talking here about the second coming. “All the tribes in the earth will mourn because of him.” Revelation 1:8 says, “I am the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end says Lord.” Which “beginning” is this? Go back as far as you want. “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” That’s the beginning of creation. And then we have in John 1:1, “ In the beginning was the word.” What beginning is he talking about? As far back as you want to go into eternity past, and whatever beginning you can imagine and He was there. That’s the one “who was.” In first John 1:1 says, “That which you heard from the beginning.” You might remember too in Mark 1:1, “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ,” a different beginning. Here in Revelation 1:8, the Lord says, “I am the beginning, and the end says the Lord, who is and who was and who is to come. The Almighty.” What amazing statement of His dignity and glory and majesty.

In Revelation 1:9, John begins to describe for his congregations the conditions of his vision. “I, John, your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ.” We’re all in this together as children of God. He continues, “I was on the island that is called Patmos” off the coast of Turkey, “for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.” In other words, under persecution under Emperor Domitian, John was having too much effect, just like Paul was earlier. But unlike Paul, who was executed for his testimony, Domitian just shut him away on the Isle of Pattern of Patmos so John could write Revelation.

Gene Cunningham - August 8, 2022

Will Judas be Revived as the Antichrist?

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Daniel 11:36 deals with the Abomination of Desolation. It says, “Then the king will do according to his own will. He will exalt and magnify himself above every God. He shall speak blasphemies against the God of gods and shall prosper till the wrath has been accomplished.” Always remember the tribulation period is a time of God’s wrath. Paul warned of the wrath that was coming on the unbelieving nation of Israel. That wrath spoken of in Daniel 11:36 was fulfilled first in 70 A.D. and the destruction of the nation, and then it’ll be completed during the tribulation period. So, God’s wrath is going to be accomplished “for what has been determined shall be determined.” Daniel 11:37 says, “He shall regard neither the God of his father's,” which tells me that if he comes out of Islam, he will be different than Islam, and “…he will not regard any God.” Why? It's hard to regard any God when you think you are God! You'll notice that it says, “…He will magnify himself above them all.” What was Satan's basis of rebellion? Isaiah 14:14 shows us what Satan, and therefore, the antichrist will say, “I shall make myself like God.” Why do you suppose the Antichrist is called “a prince” in Daniel chapter nine and a “king” in Daniel chapter eleven? At Mid Tribulation point he is in dwelt by Satan as Judas was. As a matter of fact, there are some very interesting parallels between Judas and Antichrist. They're both called the “son of perdition.” The Antichrist is called “…him who was…” and “him who is not…” and “…him who is to come…” When Judas died, the Bible says, “he went to his own place.” So, is it possible that Judas may be revived? Maybe I wouldn't argue the point, but there are some very strange connections between the two Daniel 12:11 says, “From the time that the daily sacrifice is taken away…” Remember, they're going to rebuild the temple. Jewish sacrifices are going to be re-implemented. Do you get excited when you hear about the temple being rebuilt? It is a sign that Christ is coming; that's a good thing. But the fact that the Jews are going to rebuild the temple is a bad thing. They're violating the entire book of Hebrews. The book of Hebrews told them that all that sacrifice has passed away, the veil has been ripped from top to bottom. The temple ultimately was destroyed (in 70 AD). The sacrifices have ceased because they were all fulfilled in Christ, but unbelieving Jews keep going back to the old covenant. During the tribulation, the sacrifices for unbelieving Jews are going to be reinstituted in Jerusalem and at the mid tribulation point, when Antichrist walks into the temple, he will demand that sacrifices stop. Daniel 12:11 continues “…from the time that the sacrifices are taken away and the abomination of desolation…” The antichrist has set up probably an image of himself in there. “Shall be 1290 days” why 1290 and not 1260 (3 ½ years)? There's an extra 30 days here. Is there going to be a clean-up program? The Earth is going to be a slaughterhouse during God’s wrath and antichrist rule. From the time of the second Advent (Christ’s return to rule and reign), there's going to be at least a 30-day period of basically restoring the earth. Though you might think 30 days is quick time to restore the mess that's going to be here, because the Lord made the universe in seven days, He can surely clean it up in 30. That some of these things were simply not told. With prophecy always keep this in mind. There's always a missing piece. So like a puzzle with a missing piece, it's always hard to put it together. And the missing piece doesn't fall into place until the right time. Which should tell us something. Don't be too dogmatic that you know everything about prophecy because things are going to happen different than you think.

From Series: "Jesus' Roadmap for the Future"

The Olivet Discourse -- Jesus' Roadmap for the future, is one of the three major discourses (sermons) of Jesus. They include: 1. The Sermon on the Mount/Galilee Discourse (Matthew 5–7) 2. The Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24–25; Mark 13; Luke 21 3. The Upper Room Discourse (John 13–17) Each of these messages is aimed at a specific period of history, which we call a dispensation. They lay out God’s dispensational plan, like a road map, from the time of the crucifixion to the end of time. The Sermon on the Mount was directed to the generation in which Jesus lived and was His platform as King—if Israel would receive Him. Obviously, they rejected Him as their King. However, this will be the basis of Jesus’ administration during the 1,000-year Kingdom Age (Millennium). Then, the Olivet Discourse was aimed at the consequences of Israel’s rejection of Jesus as Messiah, and anticipated the destruction of the nation (70 A.D.) and the final Tribulation period. Remember that the Church Age is an intercalation—meaning an insertion, like a parenthesis, into the Age of Israel. This means that with the Rapture of the Church, the Tribulation picks up where 70 A.D. leaves off. This is why the Church Age is called a “mystery” (Rom. 11:25; 16:25; Eph. 3:1–13; Col. 1:26–27), which is a graduate course to “the principalities and powers in the heavenly places” (Eph. 3:10). Finally, the Upper Room Discourse was directed toward the Church Age, which began at Pentecost and would continue to the Rapture (1 Thess. 4:13–18). The uniqueness of this Age is summarized by Paul’s phrase “in Christ,” and all of the elements involved in what we call “positional truth”—our total union with Christ and the indwelling of His Spirit in us, which occurs nowhere else in history. With the removal of the Body of Christ, the Church, Israel would again become the focus of God’s working on this Earth (Romans 9–11; Revelation 6–19).