Introduction to Revelation – Revelation 1:1-20 August 11, 2021 Context & Background Information 1. When reading the book of Revelation, it is very important to remember that Revelation is part of the _______________ _______________ of _______________ connected by __________ _______________ _______________. 2. Who wrote Revelation? ⇒ The author of Revelation is _______________. (Revelation 1:1, 4, 9) ⇒ Did the author write Revelation on his own authority? __________. (Revelation 1:1-3, 10-11). John was in “__________ _______________”. ⇒ There has been debate as to which John this was, but Church tradition has said this to be the Apostle John, one of the 12. (Revelation 22:8; John 19:35, 21:24; 1 John 1:1-4) ⇒ The Apostle John was the last one of the original 12 to die. ⇒ John is the only disciple to witness the entire _______________ of Jesus Christ. ⇒ John witnessed not only the ministry of Jesus, but for many years the beginnings of the Christian church. 1 ⇒ John was the bishop of the church in Ephesus for many years. ⇒ John lived long enough for the writings of the New Testament not only to have been written but also to be in circulation. ⇒ John was exiled to the island of Patmos, where he wrote Revelation. Why was he exiled to the island of Patmos? _______________________________________ 3. When was Revelation written? ⇒ According to Irenaeus, a very early Church father, John lived into the reign of the Roman Emperor Trajan, who ruled from 98-117. ⇒ Some say Revelation was written around 68 AD, when Nero was Emperor and some say around 95 AD, when Domitian reigned. Either way it does not matter, because the context of Revelation being written happened during the reign of the Roman Empire, who persecuted Christians. ⇒ Revelation portrays the Roman Empire as a system of violent oppression, founded on conquest, maintained by violence and oppression. Therefore, the theology of Revelation is very contextual. People at that time would have immediately recognized the symbolic figures John uses. ⇒ For example - The Roman Empire is represented by the beast and the harlot of Babylon. The beast is the military and political power of the Roman Emperors. The harlot is the city of Rome, in all the prosperity gained by economic exploitation of the Empire. 4. What type of book is Revelation? ⇒ 1:1 - Ἀποκάλυψις – _____________________________________________________ 2 This revelation reaches us via Christ angel John (the writer) the servants of God. ⇒ 1:3 – Prophesy – it was intended to be read aloud in the context of Christian worship. (22:6-7) ⇒ 1:4 – a “circular” Letter – (22:21) ⇒ Thus, Revelation is an apocalyptic prophecy in the form of a circular letter to seven churches in the Roman province of Asia. The seven churches are named in the order (Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicea) that a messenger starting from the island of Patmos would travel in a circular route. These 7 churches were real life churches but 7 is intentional. 5. What is Revelation’s purpose? ⇒ The purpose is stated in Revelation 1:1 and 22:20. __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ ⇒ No matter what the prophetic message of this book has to say, it is ultimately about _______________ _______________. 6. What about the numbers? ⇒ 7 - ______________________________________________________________ ⇒ 4 - ______________________________________________________________ 3 ⇒ 3 - ______________________________________________________________ ⇒ 12 - _____________________________________________________________ ⇒ 6 - ______________________________________________________________ ⇒ 10 - _____________________________________________________________ ⇒ 40 - _____________________________________________________________ ⇒ 1,000 – __________________________________________________________ ⇒ Multiples of these numbers ⇒ ALWAYS KEEP IN MIND, when we get to the symbolism in Revelation…For example, Jesus is depicted as a lion and a lamb with 7 horns and 7 eyes. Clearly, Revelation is symbolic and NOT LITERAL. 7. Revelation 1:1-20 (Prologue & Commissioning of John) ⇒ Verses 1-3 ⇒ The way the Greek word Ἀποκάλυψις is used here, it means that this is a revelation that comes from _____________________and it is a revelation about Jesus Christ. ⇒ Jesus Christ through “His angel” gave the revelation to his _______________ concerning things that would happen soon. ⇒ Verses 4-8 ⇒ The ____________________ formula is presented in the words “who is and who was and who is to come”, and from the 7 spirits and from Jesus Christ. 4 ⇒ What do you notice about what is all mentioned in verses 5-7? __________________________________________________________________ ⇒ The “Alpha and the Omega” – 1:8 & 17 ⇒ Verses 9-20 ⇒ The book of Revelation was written by John who was _______________ by the _______________ _______________. ⇒ What was the first thing the voice told John to do? ________________________________________________________________ ⇒ John was the only one who was given the _______________ not only to see the exalted _______________ but also to share the vision with the church. ⇒ “One like a son of man” – John describes what this “son of man” looked like. Why would have John recognized him? ________________________________________________________________ Bible ONE – Daniel 7:9-14 (Ancient of Days, Son of Man), Daniel 10:5-6, Matthew 26:64 (Jesus refers to Himself as “Son of Man”, favorite title, 88 times in NT) ⇒ 7 Golden Lampstands = ⇒ The 7 Stars in His hands = For next week read Revelation 2:1-3:22 5.