“Revelation Revealed” THE REVELATION OF JOHN Overview

Chapters Subject 1 John’s Vision of the Risen Christ 2 & 3 Letters to the Seven Churches 4 & 5 Heaven opened 6 - 11 Judgement and Salvation 12-16 Persecution and Destruction 17 - 18 The End of Evil 19 - 20 The Last Battle 21 - 22 The

Why study Revelation? The last book of the is unique. All the other biblical books are mostly describing events which are in our history, with the exception of a handful of ‘apocalyptic’ passages (see below), whereas Revelation is mostly concerned with setting before us a description of what is yet to take place. It is a book that sparks a range of quite strong responses, from those who are very suspicious of it (and therefore shun it), to those who are obsessed with it (and who do not therefore set it properly in the wider context of scripture). Others are fascinated by its bizarre language and imagery, whilst others are frightened and bamboozled. Our aim is to get the balance right wherever we can, and to seek, firstly, to understand it in its context (ie what was it saying to its first readers) and then to seek to understand it in our modern-day context. It is a book that deserves to be read and studied, as much as any other in the Bible. We need to understand its genre, apocalyptic, a form of literature which flourished in the 2nd and 1st centuries BC and the first century AD.

We will look at some keys to understanding Revelation: of ‘cracking the code’ wherever we can, of learning its layout, of always keeping Christ at the centre of the book, and of spotting the parallelisms. We need to recognise that there are some elements of the book that we simply cannot fully grasp in the way that our 1st century forebears did, since we do not know precisely the context into which the book was delivered in their day. We will, therefore, find ourselves delving into the Old Testament a great deal, for it is there that we will find answers to many of the conundrums in Revelation.

Revelation was written at a time of great persecution, as we shall see. So the church had to evolve strategies for survival, communication, and for mission. Whether the writer of Revelation was purely focussed on his own context is a matter of conjecture. Or did he have a sense that the words were for a far-distant period in the future. It is hard to believe that he could have imagined a time when human beings would have the capability to inflict on the earth some of the terrible events that he describes. But modern weaponry, developed in the 20th century, the emergence of Covid-19 and other contagions, and the cumulative impact of humans on the climate of the earth, could well deliver some of these phenomena in our own times. This gives Revelation a scarily contemporary relevance to our own situation.

For all that, the ultimate message of Revelation is timeless: that, for all the mess that humanity has and is creating, God is unchanging, and his Son, will one day come again to the earth, not as a baby but as a king. The victory won once and for all on the cross, will finally be realised on earth and in heaven, when its impact is fully seen by all people. The call is, in every age, for us to be ready and watchful, living each day in the light of the great promise of Jesus, “Surely, I am coming soon” (Rev. 22:20), to which our response is, “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!”

Why is Revelation a closed book for many Christians? - too difficult apart from a few key passages, e.g. “behold I stand at the door and knock” and well-known bits from Handel’s ‘Messiah’ (e.g. Rev. chapter 5) - language bizarre, weird, meaningless, irrelevant? - danger of obsession &/or misinterpretation • Nothing new in our wariness!! - early Church also suspicious because of heresies of Montanists who derived their beliefs from Revelation. They believed in the work of the as the source of their prophetic tradition, but went beyond scripture in message and application. - only accepted into canon with some difficulty - more recent sects and fringe Christian groups have mis-interpreted the book

What is Apocalyptic literature? • ‘Apocalyptic’ literature - mis-understood term - literally = ‘revelation’ – so Rev. 1:1 starts, “Apocalypsis Iesou Christou…” - certain class of prophetic biblical writing characterised by strange imagery and with the author under direction of celestial personage such as an angel. Often given in difficult times and looks past current trouble to God’s mighty intervention; so, e.g. Ezek. 1, Dan. 7-12, Zech. 1-8.

The Keys to . Crack the Code • possibly written in veiled language to protect writer and readers from persecution by the Roman government • some examples: beast = Roman government white & throne = conquest and kingly rule seven = God (ie perfection and eternity) six = Satan’s pretentious claims to divinity 12 (& its multiples) = the tribes of Israel, ie. God’s chosen & redeemed people 1000 = a large number (not a literal number) horn = power eye = knowledge right hand = authority strange living creatures: lion = nobility ox = strength eagle = speed man = wisdom

• these are purely symbols and are not to be taken literally e.g. the 144,000 sealed servants of 7:4 are not a literal number but a symbol of the complete gathering of that great multitude whom God has chosen and redeemed, ref. Rom. 8:28-30.

2. Learn the Layout • Revelation is not so much a book as a letter (22:6-18) designed for reading aloud (1:3-4) • Structure can be simplified:

Chapter 1 Chapters 2-3 Chapters 4-5 Chapters 6-20 Chapters 21-22 John’s vision Christ’s letters The Victory of Journey of church Arrival of the of the risen Jesus to the seven Asian the Lamb in to heavenly city the heavenly city on churches heaven

• Two visions of John on Patmos - 1st vision = Chap. 1 - revealing the grim condition of the seven Churches of Asia => seven letters, each designed to be read by the other six churches - 2nd vision = Chaps. 4-22 - the journey of God’s people (through the time of the symbolic 1000 years between the resurrection and Christ’s return) towards the New Jerusalem • Journey can be split into four episodes, each with seven elements: 1. Tyranny - 7 seals (Ch. 6-7) 2. Chaos - 7 trumpets (Ch. 8-11) 3. Persecution - 7 signs (Ch. 12-14) 4. Destruction - 7 plagues (Ch. 15-16) - the four episodes are not running end-on but concurrently and culminate in the removal of evil (Ch. 17-20)

3. Centre on Christ • Revelation often seen as entirely futuristic - some cataclysmic end-time battle when Christ will finally triumph - but really about the journey of God’s people in the light and knowledge of Christ’s completed victory on the cross, so. e.g. 3:21, 5:5, 11:15 • Futuristic element is about us receiving the full benefits of his victory at the end of time

4. Perceive the Parallelism • John uses parodies of Roman society to highlight the virtues of God’s kingdom, so e.g. godly woman vs. great harlot new Jerusalem vs. Babylon (=Rome) Lamb vs. Beast name of the Lamb vs. mark of community of Christ vs. followers of the Beast sovereignty of God vs. empire of Caesar => call to persecuted Christians to worship God and not Caesar.

The Setting of Revelation Who was ‘John’? • traditionally John the son of Zebedee (Mt. 4:21) - the apostle and writer of the gospel and letters which bear his name • tradition of authorship from within v. early Church, e.g. Justin Martyr & Irenaeus (2nd C) • must have been well-known since no extra description • authority of letter points to apostleship but many commentators think this improbable. Doesn’t affect veracity of book. • good knowledge of Asia Minor & its churches • some objections to authorship on grounds of different literary styles but others point to similarities & common themes, e.g. 7 signs in the gospel, key words: life, death, victory, Word, Lamb, I am, thirst (21:6 cf. Jn. 4:14 & 7:37) => some commentators attribute it to John the apostle. • John was a key leader of the church in , prior to exile.

When was he writing? • during a period of great persecution, therefore during reigns of Nero or Domitian • early Church dates letter to Domitian, prob. in period 90-95 AD • probably most likely due to well-developed emperor-worship cult by this time.

Where was John? • Island of Patmos (off the coast of modern-day ) in exile (1:9) • probably a slave in the mines and quarries, operated by the Roman authorities • to this day there is a cave called St. John’s Cavern, where he is believed to have lived, and which is now a place of pilgrimage.