notes
The Apocalypse of John
Revelation Ch. 1
Additional Reading:
Lowery, Robert A. Revelation’s Rhapsody: Listening to the Lyrics of the Lamb. Joplin, Missouri: College Press Publishing Company, 2006
John’s Introduction to the revelation: As we begin to look at the contents of the Apocalypse of John, lets remember to keep our eyes open for aspects of his writing that deal with stark contrasts between light and darkness, and lets look for allusions to the Old Testament. • v1. Most of this first verse seems very self-explanatory, but lets notice some things which we might quickly pass over by accident. • In verse 1 notice that this revelation is to show the things which must soon take place. • This might hint toward a more immediate connection with the first century than many suspect. • v2. Verse two seems to highlight the face that the author bore witness to the WORD of God, and testified about Jesus to all whom he met. This would lead us to expect a Apostle to be the Author. • v3. Along with the opening of the book we see a blessing pronounced on the ones who hear this message and keep it. Why do you expect this is true? • v4. John introduces himself as the author and identifies his audience. • Afterword he continues with what would be a traditional salutation in a greco-roman letter. This seems to mimic the greetings of Paul with the exception of the imagery he uses. • v5-6. The traditional opening continues, now well-wishes are also coming from the Son, not only the father. And then spilling over into the next verse we see a blessing spoken over God for what he has already accomplished. • What is significant about what Christ says God has made us into? • v7-8. This is reminiscent of Daniel 7 and is likely trying to evoke similar feelings about this appearance of Jesus that those who read about the son of man in Daniel would have experienced. • Also, in verse 8, the all powerful, incomprehensible power of God is demonstrated through how he is described. • They draw upon Exodus 3:14; Isaiah 41:4;
The Apocalypse of John: Introduction
Αποκαλυψις Ιησου Χπιστου
• If you put yourself in the position of the recipients of this letter (remember the first week) how would you feel already? The Vision Begins: • v9-11. Here we see the beginning of John’s vision. Notice the similarities between this, and the way that God appears to Ezekiel. • Both are approached by God during a time of Exile. • Both are approached in similar ways. • Both carry messages of hope to a persecuted people group. • This would evoke strong imagery of a people temporary under exile who were expecting the deliverance of God. • v12. Lamp-stands were used in Jewish worship before the Holiest of Holies. They were in the temple of God and acted as part of the worship of God. • v13-15. This image is the centerpiece of the vision that John has. This is the resurrected Christ appearing to deliver a message to John. • Notice that there is a ton of symbolism here that is worth investigating. • Here, the way the Son of Man is described as being dressed is reminiscent of Isaiah 22:21-22 where one who is promised to deliver God’s people is talked about. • Also notice the linkage to Ezekiel 1:1ff and 8:2. Here we see images that are very similar to the ones in Revelation. That means that John may be purposefully trying to link our imaginations and feelings back to the way those people would have felt. God appearing during a time of persecution with the promise of deliverance. • There is once again, a great deal of parallelism with Daniel 7 and 10 here. It is in the account of Daniel that we see many of the similarities with the Revelation account, more-so than with Ezekiel or Isaiah. • Also, there seems to be similarities between this section of Revelation and Zechariah 4. I am not going to push as hard with that one. • v16. There are some parallels in the imagery here with Isaiah 11 and the coming of the righteous branch, the king of Israel. • It is also a euphemistic way of speaking about the kind of authority which makes even the tongue of the speaker into a weapon. • v17-18. Jesus comforts John with the truth about his identity. Jesus is the one who has died and is now alive forever more. Beyond that, he is the one who holds the keys to death and hades. • What would this evoke in a person who was undergoing persecution and possibly facing death? • v19-20. John is commanded to write the things which he has just witnessed, and write the things which are about to happen in his vision. • This is an indication to John to write about things he has already seen, and about things that he will see, it is not meant to be an indicator of the chronological scale of these events. • Jesus reveals some of the symbolism here. The seven stars are the angels to the seven churches (messengers to the seven churches, possibly messages to the seven churches) and the seven golden lampstands are the seven churches. What we have seen and heard thus far... So far, there is no indication that Jesus is talking about some kind of distant future event. He seems to be addressing John and those who are contemporary with John. Also, as we are beginning to see, much of what John writes about is allusion to the Old Testament, not the 21st century. This drives us to ask the question, “What would have been significant or stood out to someone of John’s time who was reading this introduction to John’s Apocalypse?” Thus far, most of the allusions go back to Daniel, and Ezekiel. Interestingly enough these two men both prophesied during Exile, were both given messages of condemnation and hope. And both looked forward to God’s ultimate victory over evil. God is described similarly, and vivid imagery is also greatly employed. If you were living through Domitian’s persecution along side of John and his contemporaries (i.e. the seven churches) what would this have meant to you? What would have been significant in your opinion? What feelings would have been evoked for you as you read through this section of text? Has John already started to tip his hat as to what the central point of the book of Revelation is? Hope in the midst of persecution. Ultimately God wins, and with him, WE WIN.