The Unveiling: The Seven Visions A Commentary on the Book of Revelation

By R. Jeff Collene

Applying all seven keys introduced in Book 1 of The Unveiling: The Book of Sevens, we now open The Seven Visions revealing seven facets of a comprehensive revelation. The goal is to bring understanding to the Book of Revelation that is readable, devotional, and applicable. The intent is to bring hope and light on this perplexing and rarely taught book. The Revelation is not intended to be an indecipherable enigma, it is not meant to puzzle and bewilder but to disclose God’s plan, purpose, and provision to His bond servants. Therefore, to that end, the purpose is to bring the authors comments on each facet of The Revelation to the reader with these goals in mind.

The Book of Revelation is unveiled as a seven faceted jewel. The seven visions of the Book of Revelation open to God’s bond servants the insight and encouragement needed to persevere until He comes. It reveals the fulfillment of old testament prophecy with Israel’s Great Day of the Lord in 70 AD while in these same visions reveals the cataclysmic end of this age. These two tracks of judgment bring to a conclusion the “former days” and introduce “these last days” as prophetically revealed throughout Scripture. “Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near.” (Revelation 1:3)

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Aug 4, 2023
• ISBN: 9798385001491

R. Jeff Collene

R. Jeff Collene is a husband of more than fifty years, a father of three, and a grandfather of ten. He is a Bible College graduate and teacher and has served over forty years in many ministries. These ministries include the initiation, support, and service of global mission endeavors in many nations and serving many years with prison ministries. He has served in three networked churches in a number of pastoral roles. He was sent out to plant an urban church and served there for over twenty years. Jeff enjoys the current season of his life with his wife, Barbara, and fills his time serving in a local church as he studies, writes, teaches and travels in continued ministries.

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Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®,

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ISBN: 979-8-3850-0150-7 (sc)

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ISBN: 979-8-3850-0149-1 (e)

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WestBow Press rev. date: 07/05/2023

CONTENTS

The Book of Revelation—twenty-two chapters, 404 verses,

9,852 words in the NASB translation

Preface

Revelation 1:1–8 Introduction

1:1–3 Prologue

1:4–6 John’s Introduction

1:7 Revelation in a Sentence

1:8 Divine Affirmation

Revelation 1:9–3:22 First Vision—The Glorified Christ

1:9–20 John’s Testimony and First Vision

2:1–3:22 Introduction to Jesus’s Letters to the Churches

2:1–7 First Letter—Jesus’s Message to the Church of Ephesus

2:8–11 Second Letter—Jesus’s Message to the Church of Smyrna

2:12–17 Third Letter—Jesus’s Message to the Church of Pergamum

2:18–29 Fourth Letter—Jesus’s Message to the Church of Thyatira

3:1–6 Fifth Letter—Jesus’s Message to the Church of Sardis

3:7–13 Sixth Letter—Jesus’s Message to the Church of Philadelphia

3:14–22 Seventh Letter—Jesus’s Message to the Church of Laodicea

Revelation 4:1–11:19 Second Vision—Seven Scenes from the Throne Room

4:1–11 Scene 1—The Throne of God

5:1–14 Scene 2—The Lamb and the Seven Seals

6:1–17 Scene 3—The Four Horseman, Martyrs, the Day of the Lord

7:1–17 Scene 4—The Bond Servants of God

8:1–13 Scene 5—The Seventh Seal

9:1–21 Scene 6—The Three Woes, the Seven Trumpets

10:1–11:19 Scene 7—The Seventh Trumpet, the Conclusion of Ages

Revelation 12:1–14:20 Third Vision—The Seven Signs of the War of the Seeds

12:1–2 First Sign—The Woman

12:3–4 Second Sign—The Dragon

12:5–6 Third Sign—The Male Child

12–7–17 Fourth Sign—The War in Heaven

Michael, the First Angel of God

13:1–10 Fifth Sign—The Beast from the Sea

13:11–18 Sixth Sign—The Beast from the Earth

14:1–20 Seventh Sign—The Lamb

14:6–7 The Second Angel

14:8 The Third Angel

14:9–13 The Fourth Angel

14:15–16 The Fifth Angel

14:17 The Sixth Angel

14:18–20 The Seventh Angel

Revelation 15:1– 6:21 Fourth Vision—The Seven Bowls of Wrath

15:1–4 The Justice and Conclusion of God’s Judgment

15:5–8 God’s Holy and Final Cleansing for Access

16:1–21 The Conclusive Perspective of Released Judgment

16:2 First Angel—First Bowl Poured Out onto the Earth

16:3 Second Angel—Second Bowl Poured Out onto the Sea

16:4 Third Angel—Third Bowl Poured Out onto Fresh Water

16:8–9 Fourth Angel—Fourth Bowl Poured Out onto the Sun

16:10–11 Fifth Angel—Fifth Bowl Poured Out onto the Beast

16:12 Sixth Angel—Sixth Bowl Poured Out onto the Euphrates

16:17–21 Seventh Angel—Seventh Bowl Poured Out onto the Air

Revelation 17:1–18:24 Fifth Vision—The Doom of Babylon

17:1–6 Step 1—Babylon, the Harlot on Many Waters

17:7–18 Step 2—The Mystery of the Harlot Revealed

18:1–3 Step 3—Babylon Is Fallen

18:4–8 Step 4—The Separation of God’s People

18:9–19 Step 5—Awareness of Final Judgment

18:20 Step 6—Final Retribution

18–21–24 Step 7—Cataclysmic Conclusion

Revelation 19:1–20:15 Sixth Vision—The Victorious Christ

19:1–2 First Hallelujah—Divine Justice

19:3 Second Hallelujah—Divine Retribution

19:4 Third Hallelujah—Divine Order and Delegation

19:5–10 Fourth Hallelujah—Divine Worship

19:11–21; 20:1–15 The Anatomy of Jesus’s Victory Unveiled in Seven Layers

19:11–16 Layer 1—Jesus’s Victory Revealed

19:17–18 Layer 2—Jesus’s Enemies Condemned

19:19–21 Layer 3—Jesus’s Enemies Described

20:1–3 Layer 4—Satan’s Defeat at Jesus’s Victory on the Cross

20:4–6 Layer 5—The Faithful Described

20:7–10 Layer 6—The Final Battle

20:11–15 Layer 7—The Great White Throne Judgment

Revelation 21:1–22:9 Seventh Vision—The New Heaven and New Earth

21:1 First reveal—All Things New

21:2–5 Second Reveal—The New Jerusalem

21:6–8 Third Reveal—Fulfilled, Concluded, and Qualified

21:9–27 Fourth Reveal—The Bride of Christ as the New Jerusalem

22:1–5 Fifth Reveal—Eternal Blessing of the New Creation

22:6–7 Sixth Reveal—A Final Exhortation

22:8–9 Seventh Reveal—John’s Final Reaction

Revelation 22:10–21 Conclusion

22:10–16 Jesus’s Final Instruction

22:17 A Final Plea

22:18–20 A Final Testimony and Warning

22:21 The Grace of the Lord Jesus Be with All. Amen.

Notes

To the faithful witnesses in my life who continue to walk

with Jesus and grow in the knowledge of the Lord,

as we look for and love His appearing.

May you finish well.

PREFACE

The book of Revelation opens with clarity of its source, audience, and purpose. All scripture is given for the benefit of the bond servants of God. It is, therefore, intended to be readable, devotional, and applicable. It is not an unintelligible enigma only meant to puzzle and bewilder. The Revelation is intended to disclose God’s plan, purpose, and provision to His bond servants in this age. My purpose, to that end, is to bring my comments on the book to the reader with these goals in mind. They are my considerations and current insight. The revelation of God is now and will eternally be opened to those who pursue Him. He is eternal and infinite, and we are His vessels being filled to overflowing. He pours the infinite into the finite. The seemingly incomprehensible realities of our incomprehensible God and His infinite truths are made available to the finite mind. Without His graceful condescension, we are chasing the wind, trying to capture the elusive eternal and divine infinite with a mortal and finite mind. God’s wisdom and purposes are mysterious and yet discernable for those in relationship with Him. The book of Revelation is not composed of a simple understanding laying on the surface or a puzzle to be untangled. Rather, it is God’s greatest message, His great reveal, to His people. The apostle Paul encourages Jesus’s disciples to pursue God’s mysteries.

Let a man regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. (1 Corinthians 4:1)

This commentary is the writer’s current understanding and application with an expectation of a continued opening of the mysteries of God throughout The Revelation. It is not written with an apologetic intent, but the dominant perspectives of the preterist, futurist, and idealist applications are referenced and incorporated. The application of the seven keys that open The Revelation, as detailed in Book 1 of The Unveiling: The Book of Sevens, are clearly introduced and will be referenced throughout this commentary. The seven visions of the book of Revelation encompasses all of this age and, therefore, refers to prophetic events that have already been accomplished, as seen in the former days, and those yet to be realized at the end of these last days. It is difficult to ascertain all historical information but, to that end, looking back on fulfilled prophecy, it can be literally defined. Looking forward to unfulfilled prophecy cannot be literally defined but can be symbolically described and introduced. The shadows of the past are cast on future realizations and, therefore, its interpretation.

The beautiful simplicity of Jesus’s revelation is displayed as a seven-faceted jewel. As with any jewel, only one facet can be viewed at a time, yet each facet adds to the others. This is also how the seven visions of The Revelation reflect and refract on each other to give us the whole picture of God’s plans and purposes. These visions, now in their reading, have brought to a close the former days and will bring closure to the end of this age.

The seven facets or visions of the book of Revelation are disclosed to bring understanding, each in its own scope, but this does not infer sequential events. Each facet is a singular vision, yet it refracts light on the other facets. Only one facet at a time may be observed.

THE SEVEN VISIONS OF REVELATION

The glorified Christ addresses His church in this kingdom age to exhort her to persevere until He comes. He reveals the source of the tribulation of this age, as well as His merciful release of the prophesied judgment on Adam’s betrayal: You shall surely die (Genesis 2:17). The Throne Room vision unfolds the glorious provision of the Lamb and His merciful, measured, timely, and conclusive release of that prophetic judgment on Israel, Jerusalem, the Temple, and the sacrificial system of the former days and then concludes with the judgments on these last days, ending with Jesus’s return in glory.

The victory of the cross is the dominant theme as the very hinge of history. All of humanity is judged by God Himself; only He knows their hearts. All those, from Adam to the cross, who looked forward in faith to God’s promised remedy were kept by God in what Jesus called Abraham’s bosom—paradise (Luke 16:22). Following Jesus’s pronouncement—It is finished (John 19:30)—He descended to the place of the dead and proclaimed liberty to the captives (Ephesians 4:8). He then led a procession of an almost uncountable host into the presence of God. This great victory and celebration are incorporated in His great reveal.

The seven signs of the third vision give us a divine perspective and insight into the spiritual battle that has ensued in the second heaven, from the utterance of the proto-prophecy through to its conclusion in the War of the Seeds (Genesis 3:15). The fourth vision is the conclusive outpouring of the Bowls of God’s Wrath that will close this age with reflections on the fall of Jerusalem and applications at the end of this age. The Babylonian systems of this present age are exposed and are ultimately and completely brought under Jesus’s judgment with their collapse in one day in the fifth vision. This fifth vision is primarily considered futuristic yet unfulfilled. When viewed through the preterist lens on the localized effect on Jerusalem, it is then applied in a symbolic and limited form. When viewed through the futuristic lens, it is comprehensive and conclusive.

The sixth vision opens with a great celebration and the four hallelujahs of the saints of God. They celebrate His justice and rehearse His great victory, leading to the final judgment and the second death. As the book of Revelation opened with a vision of the Glorified Christ, it concludes in the sixth vision with a Victorious Christ, leading to the seventh vision with the New Heaven and the New Earth and God dwelling with His people, as He intended from the beginning—the glorified Christ dwelling with His glorified church.

The reality and ability to interpret the foretelling prophecies of the Bible with the lens of history are realized with the preterist application and then applied to futurist explanations. We can look back, with our limited historical view, and assign literal descriptions of prophecies fulfilled. When we look forward, however, at the fulfillment of these prophecies, we can apply past realizations to the prophecies as symbols. Many of these foretelling prophecies are delivered with both preterist and futurist applications. Throughout this commentary, both perspectives are identified, when applicable, in each vision. It is understood that everyone has a worldview and builds on the foundations of their presuppositions. This commentary also has a few unique and foundational ideas.

First, we can see that from the first mention of the earth (Genesis 1:1), the context of this word determines its meaning. Both the Hebrew אֶרֶץ‎ (erets) and the Greek γῆ (ge) are translated as earth but are relatively defined. In the context of creation, it describes all matter. In the beginning, God created first, שָׁמַיִם‎ (shāmayim) as space, translated heavens. Into this space, He spoke "erets" as matter, translated earth. Into this matter in space, He spoke the command that energized the matter with, Let there be light. This movement of matter in space is now understood to be the source of all energy (radiation), even that which our eyes can discern. The application of our perceptions has much to do with these words. Again, the translation is defined by the context. For example, erets in Genesis 1:1 is a reference to all created matter, yet to be organized, and this same word, in other uses, is a reference to the land of Israel. This same usage is found in the New Testament as the land of Israel and the earth, and finally, again, as all matter of creation. Throughout the book of Revelation, the context relates both to Israel in the Great Day of the Lord of the former days" and to the whole of earth or all created matter in the universe as the Great Day of the Lord at the end of the age.

Throughout the Hebrew scriptures, the reference to the nation of Israel refers to the land, erets, describing the promised land of Canaan. The ultimate conclusion of judgment falls on "the earth," using the same word to reference our planet and, contextually, all of creation. Therefore, the context determines its use. In reference to the Great Day of the Lord concerning Israel, Jerusalem, and the Temple, the land is the land of Israel. In context of the end of the age, the Great Day of the Lord, the earth refers to all creation.

Second, this commentary also recognizes two tracks of consummation seen in the two Great Days of the Lord. Throughout scripture, the prophets announce doom on the nations of the earth. These moments of cataclysm follow many years of God’s grace until the fullness of wickedness is accomplished. At the fullness of time, kairos, God’s judgment is announced through His prophets and the Day of the Lord has come. The released judgments of God have been realized throughout history, beginning with the fall of Adam and exposed as a universal flood on the cancerous sin of humanity. The ongoing outpouring of judgments have been realized in limited and localized experiences by individuals, families, and nations, as described by the sixth seal of the second vision. The revelation of Jesus Christ references these judgments in the release of the first six seals of the Throne Room vision. The final judgments of the Great Day of the Lord are realized in the first century with the fall of Jerusalem and the Temple and will be concluded in a global and catastrophic experience at the end of the age. These two tracks of judgment are realized in preterist and futurist applications. Both the past fulfillment of these judgments and the future consummation of all judgment are reflected in the seven announcements of judgment in the book of Revelation. The Revelation describes all judgment brought to a close at the end of the age. In the tribulation of this world, however, there is the ongoing consequence of judgments.

THE SEVEN JUDGMENT

ANNOUNCEMENTS

OF REVELATION¹

1. Revelation in a Sentence (1:7) is the telescopic eyepiece of the book of Revelation.

2. The warnings to the seven churches (2–3) are in the first vision.

3. Seven Seals—Seven trumpets (6–11) are the judgments on all of mankind released by the only One worthy, the Lamb, of the sealed scroll, as unveiled in the second vision.

4. Seven Signs—Seven angels (12–14) reveals the cosmic story of spiritual warfare with seven signs and the seven angels in the third vision.

5. Seven Bowls (15–16) are revealed as the conclusive seven vials of wrath of the fourth vision.

6. The Doom of Babylon (17–18) is a judgment narrative on the great harlot, Babylon, in the fifth vision.

7. The Great White Throne (19–20) is the conclusive end of judgment in the seventh vision.

It is the heavenly perspective of the book of Revelation that is disorienting to our natural chronological perception. This key of Heaven Timethat opens apocalyptic literature is addressed in book one of The Unveiling. If considered, however, it opens the understanding to parallel tracks of fulfillment in both eras. First, we see the consummation in the former days, the Great Day of the Lord, resulting in the judgment on the land of Israel, Jerusalem, and the Temple, concluding the sacrificial system of weak men and weak blood. Second, we see the ultimate consummation of this age in Christ’s return in these last days, resulting in the Great Day of the Lord on the land, encompassing all of creation, ending in the second death.

This dual consummation gives clarity and helps to understand the attempts of commentators to press all the events into a chronological and sequential series of events, whether it is a preterist or futurist perspective. The transitional verses between visions abruptly bring one event to a close while opening yet another, but they reveal the clear reflections in the first track and the expectations of the second.

The third observation is the continued reference to the deep symbols and types of The Revelation. The continued unveiling of the facets and flow of the book of Revelation progressively refract light on each succeeding vision. As each facet reveals greater light and insight, we also see the repetition of symbols with additional application. Jesus introduces His instructional use of symbols in the first vision (Revelation 1:20). As a picture is worth a thousand words, so a symbol is worth a thousand books.

I have also spoken to the prophets, and I gave numerous visions, and through the prophets I gave parables. (Hosea 12:10)

We have also received such insight from the Author’s Apology of John Bunyan’s classic The Pilgrim’s Progress. He justifies his similitudes for clarity and amplification of truth.

Solidity, indeed, becomes the pen of him that writeth things divine to men;

But must I needs want solidness, because by metaphors I speak? Were not God’s laws,

His gospel laws, in olden times held forth by types, shadows, and metaphors? Yet loth

Will any sober man be to find fault with them, lest he be found for to assault

The highest wisdom. No, he rather stoops, and seeks to find out what by pins and loops,

By calves and sheep, by heifers and by rams, by birds and herbs, and by the blood of lambs,

God speaketh to him; and happy is he that finds the light and grace that in them be.

Be not too forward, therefore, to conclude that I want solidness--that I am rude;

All things solid in show not solid be; all things in parables despise not we;

Lest things most hurtful lightly we receive, and things that good are, of our souls bereave.

My dark and cloudy words, they do but hold the truth, as cabinets enclose the gold.

The prophets used much by metaphors to set forth truth; yea, who so considers

Christ, his apostles too, shall plainly see, that truths to this day in such mantles be.

Am I afraid to say, that holy writ, which for its style and phrase puts down all wit,

Is everywhere so full of all these things--dark figures, allegories? Yet there springs

From that same book that lustre, and those rays of light, that turn our darkest nights to days.

Come, let my carper to his life now look, and find there darker lines than in my book

He findeth any; yea, and let him know, that in his best things there are worse lines too.²

The primary symbol of the book of Revelation is seen in the number seven. Seven is the biblical number of fulfillment, completion, and rest, as introduced in Genesis 1. It becomes the skeletal structure on which all the visions of The Revelation stand. There are seven times seven symbols introduced in seven visions. The Revelation mines the rich symbols introduced in the Pentateuch, they are expanded in the prophets, and built upon throughout scripture. These rich wells of historical meaning are dramatized in the visions with inspired imagination for the church. At the same time, these similitudes provide a mysterious communication for a reader implicated in the pronounced judgment, specifically the Roman Caesars, which they would not comprehend and thus protects the bond servants of God, those with wisdom.

Finally, the seven keys that open apocalyptic literature, the primary subject of The Unveiling: The Book of Sevens, are the interpretive lens of the commentary.

SEVEN KEYS THAT OPEN THE

BOOK OF REVELATION:

³

Jesus: The Focus of The Revelation

The first and most obvious key is that Jesus is the focus of The Revelation. This first key brings an overruling reality of peace and order in a violent and chaotic description of ongoing judgment in a broken world. He is glorious and victorious throughout the documented visions. The Revelation begins with Him, centers on Him, and ends in Him. He reveals His mercy, His power, and His promise and concludes with His victory over the world, the flesh, and the devil.

The Church: The Audience of The Revelation

The second key needs to be stated, as simple as this might seem, in that God’s people are His audience. The Revelation is not written to an unbelieving world but to a believing people, His bond servants. This key is affirmed to define that Jesus’s revelation addresses God’s people. This clarifies and eliminates the consideration of a pronouncement of judgment to an unregenerate and rebellious humanity or as a dual address to the two audiences of Israel and the church.

Disclosure: The Intent of The Revelation

The third key is as important as the title given and the introductory phrase of the book. This is that disclosure is the intent of the book of Revelation. God’s motive is clear from the first sentence. The title is more than the first words of the book; it is the very nature of our self-revealing God. He has unveiled and disclosed His apocalypse to His people, revealing Himself, His plan, and His purpose.

Heaven: The Perspective of The Revelation

The fourth key is transformative. This is the unique approach that allows us to see, with new eyes, a heavenly vision. This is the overwhelming view that heaven, the spiritual dimension, is the perspective of the book of Revelation. A divine paradigm is required to see all that God reveals to His people. Our limited and chronological view serves us poorly in our perception of this heavenly vision. As the illustration of the penny held close to the eye can block the view of an entire mountain, so our finite chronological view can blind us to the heavenly perspective being opened to us.

Scripture: The Library of The Revelation

The fifth key is foundational in this: what God has already revealed is not in conflict with what He is revealing. Rather, the Old and New Testaments are the library of introduction for the book of Revelation and the literary model for interpretation. The biblical practice of noting and studying the first mention of words, types, and symbols, especially in Genesis but throughout scripture, is the foundation for seeing the additional truths and the mysteries opened to us.

Judgment: The Result of The Revelation

The sixth key is the dominant theme of unfolding judgment as the purpose of the book of Revelation. Throughout scripture, the Day of the Lord describes His judgment on His people and His intervention in human history. The seven separate visions of the book reveal God’s judgment on a sinful people and a sinful world. I suggest that the seven separate descriptions of announced judgments are a kaleidoscopic view of His fulfilled Word on these pronouncements throughout scripture, rather than a linear sequence of events. The dual tracks of divine judgment are realized in both the judgment on humanity’s sin, as prophesied in Genesis, and on Israel as a nation. Both the conclusive judgment on the Temple and the sacrificial system, as well as the ultimate global consummation of the age, are realized in the visions of the released judgments, sometimes simultaneously.

Restoration: The Promise of The Revelation

The seventh key is the most encouraging realization of the promise of restoration. Behold, I am making all things new (Revelation 21:5). This hope is revealed in the glorious Christ in the beginning of the book and concludes with the victorious Christ united with His people in the full restoration with a new heaven and a new earth.

The Seven Facets of the Jewel of The Revelation in Seven Visions

The unique display of God’s revelation to His bond servants can be described as a seven-faceted jewel. This jewel is a single multifaceted display of God’s plan and purpose realized in this age. This is the fulfillment of His pronouncement on Adam at his fall.

No single view reveals all seven facets. Yet each facet reflects and refracts light on all other facets. This commentary intends to utilize the seven keys to open the revelation of each facet, exposing the beauty of God’s great mercy and grace.

INTRODUCTION TO THE

BOOK OF REVELATION

Introduction Outline

PROLOGUE IN SEVEN PHRASES

REVELATION 1:1–3

The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John, who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near.

The book of Revelation opens with a clarity of its source, audience, purpose, and the means of God’s communication for His bond servants. The seven keys that open Revelation, detailed in Book 1 of The Unveiling: The Book of Sevens, are clearly introduced and will be referenced throughout this commentary.

First Phrase—The Revelation

This is the transliterated Greek word, apocalypse. This word describes the disclosure or unveiling of God’s heart. The book of Revelation is a discovery of what was concealed or hidden, the mystery of God revealed to His bond servants.

Second Phrase—of Jesus Christ

Jesus is the revelation of God to humankind. He is the incarnate deity, God in the flesh. John states in his Gospel that no one has seen God at any time; the only begotten God who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him (John 1:18). The writer of Hebrews proclaims,

God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. (Hebrews 1:1–3a)

Jesus is what God has to say to His own.

Third Phrase—which God gave Him.

Jesus reveals that the source of the revelation is from the Father, given to Him. This phrase reveals the triunity of the Godhead, as revealed to us in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The community and intimacy of the Triune nature of God is a mystery only revealed in contextual expression and is foundational in human relationships. The composite expressions and revelations of God throughout the scripture (e.g., burning bush, cloud by day and fire by night, one like the Son of Man in the fiery furnace) are both phenomenonological and anthropological descriptions for our benefit. He condescends to our low estate with the intention of revealing Himself to us.

Fourth Phrase—to show to His bond-servants

This revelation describes the audience of the book of Revelation. We know nothing of God but what He reveals to us. God is self-revealing! It is His desire and His intention.

Jesus answered them, To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. (Matthew 13:11)

The apostle Paul also concludes, Let a man regard us in this manner, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God (1 Corinthians 4:1).

Fifth Phrase—the things which must soon take place.

Due to the human desire to know the future, the next phrase has been a stumbling block for many interpreters of the book of Revelation. He explains that He is revealing the things which must soon take place. The context of this phrase indicates that the following visions are applicable to all who read and heed the words of the book. The context of scripture’s application is for all the church, in the first century to the twenty-first century. If these words are received and limited by a preterist perspective, then they could limit the book of Revelation to the first-century church and the destruction of Jerusalem, the Temple, and the sacrificial system. Unfortunately, this would exclude its application to all the Christians to follow in the remaining millenia and the final judgments of this age.

We live in an inaugurated biblical eschatology. It is a moving target. The reality that the kingdom of God is here but not yet reveals that our experience, like the first-century church, is rooted in the paradoxical conviction that the last things have already occurred, even though they are not yet fully completed.⁴ So our eschatology is referred to in the future, is spoken of in the past, and is addressed in the present. The realization of Jesus’s fulfilled prophecy is dominant in the experience of the first-century church and fulfills the soon in that generation. However, in the millenia that has continued in this age, the soon has come to every believer who has lived and died and will continue to the end of the age.

Sixth Phrase—He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw.

This is the specific means of communication from God’s heavenly messenger to His earthly messenger.

John is serving in the fivefold ministry office of an apostle sent to reveal God’s plan and purpose to His peoople. The apostle Paul announces,

And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. (Ephesians 4:11–13)

God has revealed Himself and His will through His people, His bond servants, and the gifts He has given for their edification.

The revelation came from God to Christ, from Christ to the angel, from the angel to John, and from John to the church, who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. John’s response is honored and affirmed in all three points of his testimony: the Word of God, Jesus Christ, and the visions that he saw. John’s obedient documentation of the revelation is his testimony, and his personal reputation is his force behind its dissemination.

Seventh Phrase—Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near.

This is the first of seven blessings or beatitudes in the book of Revelation. This apostolic blessing is an encouragement and an affirmation for those who receive it, whether by reading or hearing. The accessibility of a personal copy of any book was very rare in the first century, and the sharing and transmission of written documents occurred in corporate gatherings, where one would read and many would hear.

This closing blessing defines and affirms the prophetic application of the book of Revelation. The divine, prophetic word is an inspired utterance that foretells or forthtells the the will of God. Since this is the Revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave Him, it is a prophetic word that restates what God has revealed throughout the scriptures, forthtelling the inspired declaration of the divine will and purpose, as well as a prediction of things to come (a foretelling).

The blessing concludes with an exhortation to heed, to be mindful and attentive to the things written. The deep channels of thought are the flow of wisdom, earthly, natural, or demonic, or from above that direct our lives (James 3:13-18). We are exhorted to pay attention and keep the revelation in our hearts and minds to respond in the tribulations of life.

Verse 1:3

For the time is near

The conclusion of the prologue reminds us of the immenent application to each believer. This statement has stirred debate for many interpreters to define or limit the application of the book of Revelation. Referring back to the first verse, must soon take place is the reminder that this applies to the reader in the context of time and eternity. The context of this phrase indicates that the following visions are applicable to all who read and heed the words of the book. If we consider the book of Revelation as referring to the state of the church in all ages, the words in verses 1:1, 3 are understood as the commencement of the events predicted. It’s as if he had said, In a short time, the train of these visions will be put in motion. These times are pregnant with the most overwhelming events, and they begin and continue to roll on. They also indicate how swiftly time will transpire when they are fulfilled.

JOHN’S INTRODUCTION

REVELATION 1:4–6

Verse 1:4

John to the seven churches that 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 who are before His throne.

John addresses the original audience of this report and the directed epistles to the seven churches under his ministry in Asia. The tenor of this introduction denotes that John addressed these churches and their leaders from a position of authority, as a bishop over the bishops, an archbishop. He specifies the audience even further by directing his letter to the seven churches that are in Asia. The simplicity of this introduction eliminates any confusion as to whom the disclosure is made. To be clear, it is not addressed to an unregenerate world, nor is it directed to a Hebrew ethnic minority. It is directed to the church, the ecclesia—the called-out ones of God in the earth.

His direct addresses to these seven churches are a specific revelation not unlike other New Testament epistles. They are, first, specific and relevant to the