The Revelation of Jesus Christ, not the Book of Revelations (plural)
A. While the book reveals a lot about the end times, it is not about the Unholy Trinity, the Great Tribulation, or Heaven.
B. The “Revelation” is about Jesus Christ!
- “Revelation” is translated “the coming of Jesus Christ,” 1 Corinthians 1:7.
- “Revelation” is translated “the appearing of Jesus Christ,” 1 Peter 1:7.
- “Revelation” is translated “the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven,” 2 Thessalonians 1:7.
C. The book is not about certain things Christ has revealed; it is Christ Himself, cf. 22:20.
The Origin of the Book
The Father gave it to Jesus, Who gave it to His angel to give to John.
“Shortly”
A. The coming of Christ is always imminent.
B. When He comes, these events will happen quickly.
“Signified”
A. The book is composed of signs. The word is a derivative of “sign” or miracle.
B. John saw the contents of the book unfold before his eyes. Physically, he was imprisoned on the Isle of Patmos (1:9), but God transported him to heaven (4:1), to the wilderness (17:3), and to a mountain (21:20) that he might witness these events and record them for us.
The Blessing
A. “He who reads, . . . those who hear” refer to “Pastor and church.”
B. If the Revelation is not Scripture, then there is no blessing for reading/hearing.
C. While the Revelation was the last book of the New Testament to be canonized, it is nonetheless Scripture!
D. The Blessing comes from reading / hearing AND “keeping” the Revelation!
- “to hold fast”
- “to observe, to preserve, to watch”
“For the time is at hand,” v. 3
A. This indicates how swiftly time will transpire when these events are fulfilled.
B. Today, long-suffering God is waiting to give sinners a chance to repent. But when the time comes for these judgments to fall, there will be no delay.