Revelation
As we begin our study together of
this often controversial book of the Bible, we can start with the questions who
wrote the book, what is the book, when was it written and why was it
written? The book or letter has raised
more questions over time that it has answered.
I would hope that our study will focus on the historical context of the
letter and the literary context of the letter so that we can better understand
what it is about and what we can continue to learn from it. John Wesley stated
that when we read this book we do so not just with our intellect but also with
our emotions.
The first question was who wrote the
letter? The first chapter begins to answer all the who, what, where, when, and
why questions. The author is John a
servant of Christ who has witnessed to the word of Christ. For some John is that same John who wrote the
gospel and the letters of John. Others
have maintained that this is a different John as the Greek writing is not as
formal as the gospel. Also it would depend
on when the letter was originally written as to whether this could be the
apostle. Regardless of whether or not this is the Apostle John, we will refer
to him as the John of Patmos. John is
writing from an island off the coast of modern day Turkey known in the first
century as Asia. He is obviously a
leader of the churches of Asia and has some authority over them.
The second question pertains to
exactly what type of letter is this?
Warren Carter in his book, “What Does Revelation Reveal: Unlocking the
Mystery”, states that they are three genres contained in the letter. The first is the letter is apocalyptic. In Greek revelation is ‘apocalypse’. This means to take out of hiding. Sometimes when we use the word apocalypse it
becomes negative signifying the horrendous end of the world. This is a misuse of the word biblically. There are many examples of apocalyptic
writing in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. Examples include writings found in Daniel
7-12; Isaiah 24-27; Ezekiel, Matthew, Mark, Thessalonians, and other
literature. In fact much of what we will
be reading in Revelation refers back to the Old Testament. The book was written to people who were very
familiar with the Hebrew scriptures and would recognize the allusions to them. The apocalyptic literature arose during times
of persecution and oppression when the world seemed to be dominated by
evil. The literature was written to
provide hope during such times. It would
describe visions, reveal God’s purposes and plans, show that God’s rule will
prevail, the punishment of the wicked and would describe the establishment of
justice and a world re-created in right relationship with God. (returning to
the time of the garden of Eden Gen. 1.1-2.4).
The actual writing would have strange creatures, numbers, vivid colors,
conflict, and heavenly scenes. “The
concern is with the question of sovereignty: who or what controls the world? What is God doing, if anything in the world
that seems, at least to the writer, to have run amok? Does evil have the final word? Is there any justice for the powerless and
oppressed? (Carter, 17).”
Another genre is prophecy. Is Revelation prophetic in predicting the
future? Prophecy in biblical terms is
less about telling the future and more about telling about God and God’s
actions now. Jesus often said that we
should not worry about the end of time but to live today faithfully. In fact,
he goes on to say that the end is only known to the father Matthew
24:36-50. All the efforts that many have
tried to figure the code are futile.
Prophecy helps provide that God is active today as well as yesterday and
tomorrow. Prophecy comes from God and in
this case from Jesus which give authority to the writing.
The last genre is a letter. John states that this is a letter that is
written to seven churches, Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis,
Philadelphia, and Laodicea. Here is our
first encounter with a special number.
There were likely more than seven churches in Asia. John was probably writing to all the
churches. As we hear in verse 3 “Favored
is the one who reads the words of this prophecy out loud, and favored are those
who listen to it being read, and keep what is written in it, for the time is
near.” Letters, such as Paul’s letters,
were meant to be read out loud to those who gathered together. So actually this letter would have been read
in its entirety before the congregation.
Talk about a long church service. Using the number 7 is special. Seven has a symbolic meaning. Much of Jewish writings attributed certain
meanings to letters and numbers. The
number seven often means complete, whole or perfect. Think about the seven days of creation. There will be more numbers that take on
special meanings.
When the letter was written is
difficult to access. Carter states that
he believes that letter was written shortly after the destruction of the Temple
in 70 AD. There are many scholars who
would agree with that. This would have
been a time of great upheaval and uncertainty among the faithful. Others such as Justo Gonzalez maintain that
the letter was written towards the end of the century around 90 AD. This was a time also of drastic changes. The Roman emperor wanted to be worshipped as
a god and refusal to do so could lead to economic oppression, political
oppression and persecution. At either
time, there was not the same persecution that would occur around 125 AD. I tend to think that this was written around
90 AD after a period of time with the problems that began to happen with the
synagogue leaders and the Christian leaders that we see in the Gospel of John.
Why was this letter written? Gonzalez in his book, “Three Months with
Revelation,” states “His book is a word of comfort and encouragement for the
churches in Asia, calling them to stand firm in the faith and reminding them
that the final victory belongs to Jesus and his followers. (12)” This was not
meant to be a cookbook or a countdown to the final days. It was not written for
the 21st century but to the churches of that day. Given that there are still things we can
learn about our faithfulness that relates to today. This is true about the entire Bible as it is
the living Word of God.
The first chapter also begins to talk
about God’s vision. We encounter the
number seven several times. The seven
angels and the seven lampstands are examples.
John in writing to the churches also points out the conflicts they are
experiencing have a heavenly context as well.
The seven angels are guardians of the churches on earth. We can find allusion to this in Daniel
10:12-21. The stars they hold are the
churches and that Jesus is in control of them and the churches. The seven lampstands represent the light of
the world coming through the churches. We also become aware of the power of God
in his description of unchanging and John falling down before Him. Again the description of God can be found in
Daniel 7 and Ezekiel 1:24.
All of this and much more from the
very first chapter. Fasten your seat belts as we are on the journey.
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