Revelation
The Revelation of Jesus Christ: the things which are, the things which shall be, and the day of the Lord that brings the kingdom.
Revelation is the capstone of the Bible. It opens with the Lord Jesus Christ in glory among the seven golden candlesticks, His eyes as a flame of fire and His voice as the sound of many waters, and it closes with Him saying, “Surely I come quickly.” Between these lies the fullest account in Scripture of the end of the age: the Church in history, the Tribulation, the Second Coming, the Millennium, the final judgment, and the new heaven and new earth.
Christ gave John the outline: “Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter” (1:19). Chapter 1 is what John saw; chapters 2–3, seven letters to seven churches of Asia, describe the things which are—real churches in John’s day, types of churches in every age, and a prophetic sketch of the Church age from Ephesus to Laodicea. Chapter 4 begins with a door opened in heaven and a voice saying “Come up hither,” and the things hereafter unfold: seals, trumpets, and vials of judgment; the woman, the dragon, and the man child; the beast and the false prophet; the fall of Babylon; and the rider on the white horse.
Revelation is not a book of riddles. It draws heavily on Daniel, Ezekiel, Zechariah, and Isaiah, and most of its symbols are explained within Scripture itself. It promises a blessing to those who read, hear, and keep its words (1:3), and it ends with the curse of Genesis reversed: no more death, sorrow, crying, or pain; the tree of life restored; and God dwelling with His people.
Writer: John the apostle
Written: On Patmos about AD 95–96, at the end of Domitian’s reign.
Name: Revelation means unveiling or disclosure.
Title and authorship
The Greek title, Apokalupsis, means an unveiling or disclosure. The book is “The Revelation of Jesus Christ” (1:1)—not “Revelations,” for it is one unfolding. Critics call it an apocalypse as if it were hidden; the title says it is revealed.
The apostle John wrote Revelation (1:1, 4, 9; 22:8), banished to the isle of Patmos “for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.” The beloved disciple who leaned on Jesus’ breast was chosen to write the Bible’s final book.
Historical background
Patmos, a small rocky island in the Aegean Sea, about AD 90–96 near the end of Domitian’s reign. John was “in the Spirit on the Lord’s day” (1:10), carried forward to the day of the Lord.
The seven churches of Asia, the servants of Christ, and all who read, hear, and keep the prophecy.
Patmos and Domitian
Patmos is a rocky island about ten miles long, some forty miles southwest of Miletus. Roman authorities used such islands for banishment. Early writers such as Irenaeus date John’s exile and the Revelation to the end of the reign of Domitian (AD 81–96), who demanded to be addressed as “Lord and God.”
The seven cities
The seven churches—Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea—lay on a circular postal route in the Roman province of Asia. Local details fit: Laodicea’s lukewarm water piped from hot springs, its banks, wool, and eye salve; Pergamos, “where Satan’s seat is,” a center of emperor worship; Sardis, a city twice taken because its watchmen slept.
Seven church periods
The letters also sketch the course of church history: Ephesus (about AD 90–200), the apostolic church leaving its first love; Smyrna (200–325), persecution under pagan Rome; Pergamos (325–500), the church married to the state; Thyatira (500–1000), the rise of papal Rome; Sardis (1000–1500), the dead works of the Dark Ages; Philadelphia (1500–1900), revival, missions, and the open Bible; and Laodicea (1900–present), the lukewarm church of “civil rights,” rich and in need of nothing, with Christ standing outside the door.
Key passages
Revelation 1:19
The divine outline: the things which thou hast seen, the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter.
Revelation 4:1
A door opened in heaven: “Come up hither”—a picture of the catching away before the judgments.
Revelation 19:11–16
Heaven opened and the rider on the white horse, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
Revelation 1:1–3
The opening identifies the revelation and promises blessing to the reader and obedient hearers.
Revelation 22:20
The promise of his coming calls forth the final prayer of expectation.
Outline
1–3 · Christ and the churches
The glorified Lord judges and encourages seven assemblies.
4–5 · The throne and the Lamb
Heaven reveals the sovereignty of God and the worthiness of the Redeemer.
6–19:10 · The tribulation and fallen Babylon
Seals, trumpets, the conflict with the beast, and vials disclose judgment from complementary vantage points.
19:11–20:15 · The King’s return and final judgment
Christ reigns; Satan is finally defeated; the dead stand before the throne.
21–22 · The new creation
God’s dwelling, the holy city, the river, and the tree of life reveal the completed purpose.
Original language
ἀποκάλυψις (apokalupsis, G602) — “Revelation”
An unveiling—the removal of a covering. The book is the revelation of Jesus Christ: both from Him and about Him.
ἀρνίον (arnion, G721) — “Lamb”
A little lamb. Christ is called the Lamb twenty-eight times in Revelation—the Lamb as it had been slain, who alone is worthy to open the book, and yet whose wrath the kings of the earth cannot abide (6:16).
θηρίον (therion, G2342) — “beast”
A wild, dangerous animal, in contrast to the Lamb. The beast out of the sea is the Antichrist; the beast out of the earth is the false prophet. Daniel 7 uses the same imagery for world empires.
χίλια ἔτη (chilia ete, G5507) — “a thousand years”
Stated six times in Revelation 20:2–7. The Latin mille (thousand) gives us “Millennium.” When the plain sense makes common sense, seek no other sense: it is a literal thousand-year reign.
Ἀρμαγεδδών (Armageddon, G717) — “Armageddon”
From Hebrew Har Megiddo, “mount of Megiddo,” overlooking the valley of Jezreel, a historic battlefield. The kings of the earth gather there for the battle of that great day of God Almighty.
Doctrinal study
The outline of prophecy
Chapters 1–3: the Church age. Chapter 4: heaven opens and someone goes up—the catching away pictured in John’s call, “Come up hither.” Chapters 4–19: the Tribulation—seals (6–8), trumpets (8–11), the key persons (12–14), and vials (15–16), with Babylon’s fall (17–18). Chapter 19: heaven opens and someone comes down—the Second Coming. Chapter 20: the Millennium and the great white throne. Chapters 21–22: the new heaven and new earth.
The seventieth week of Daniel
The two witnesses prophesy 1,260 days (11:3), the woman is fed in the wilderness 1,260 days (12:6), and the beast continues forty-two months (13:5). These figures correspond to the two halves of Daniel’s seventieth week (Daniel 9:27). Revelation 6–19 is the detailed account of that week.
Babylon the great
Revelation 17 describes a woman—MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS—riding a scarlet beast, arrayed in purple and scarlet, drunken with the blood of the saints, and seated on seven mountains. Chapter 18 describes the fall of Babylon as a commercial city. The religious and economic systems of the last days, rooted in ancient Babel, meet their end.
Genesis and Revelation
Genesis records the creation of the sun; Revelation, no need of the sun. Genesis, Satan’s first victory; Revelation, his doom. Genesis, sin’s entrance, the curse, tears, and death; Revelation, no more curse, tears, or death. Genesis, paradise lost and the tree of life forbidden; Revelation, paradise regained and the tree of life restored.
Commentary notes
Sevens
Seven churches, seven spirits, seven candlesticks, seven stars, seven seals, seven trumpets, seven thunders, seven heads, seven crowns, seven angels with seven plagues, seven mountains, seven kings. There are also seven beatitudes, from “Blessed is he that readeth” (1:3) to “Blessed are they that do his commandments” (22:14).
When the plain sense makes common sense
The problem with Revelation is not that it is hard to understand but that it is hard to believe. Take it literally unless the text itself marks a symbol, and let Scripture interpret Scripture. Most of its images are drawn from the Old Testament and explained in context.
Daniel and Revelation
Daniel was told, “shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end” (Daniel 12:4). John was told, “Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand” (22:10). Revelation opens what Daniel sealed.
Christ in the book
- The faithful witness, the first begotten of the dead, the prince of the kings of the earth (1:5)
- The Son of man among the candlesticks (1:13)
- The Lion of the tribe of Juda and the Lamb as it had been slain (5:5–6)
- The man child caught up to God (12:5)
- The Word of God on the white horse, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS (19:11–16)
- Alpha and Omega, the bright and morning star (22:13, 16)
Applications
Historical
- Written to seven literal churches in Asia Minor, to the servants of Christ, and to all who read, revealing the events of the coming day of the Lord.
- The seven letters address historical congregations and their particular needs. Their spiritual conditions also provide patterns recognizable in later churches.
Doctrinal
- Written to the servants of Christ to reveal the events of the end: the Church age in seven periods, the catching away, the seven-year Tribulation with its seals, trumpets, and vials, the Antichrist and false prophet, Babylon’s fall, the Second Coming, the thousand-year reign, the great white throne, and the eternal state.
- The seven churches also represent successive periods of church history, from early decline through persecution, compromise, revival, and latter-day lukewarmness.
- The tribulation visions provide repeated accounts of the period from different perspectives. Their arrangement requires comparison of related events and descriptions when studying the sequence of judgments.
Devotional
- Revelation teaches the servants of Christ the course of church history and the events at the close of the present dispensation, and it calls every church to hear what the Spirit saith. The seven letters describe churches today; any congregation may bear the marks of one or more of them.
- Hear what the Spirit says to the churches and respond with repentance, endurance, and faithful love.
- Let the certainty of Christ’s victory produce worship and obedience in the present.
Answering the critics
Revelation is attacked on every front. The chief assault says the book is symbolic and mysterious and cannot be understood; critics also dispute its authorship, date, and canonicity, and interpret it as past history (preterism) or as timeless symbolism.
Because of its importance, the devil wants men to avoid Revelation or treat it like a fortune-teller’s riddle. But it promises a blessing to those who read and keep it (1:3). It identifies its author as John, it plainly states its outline, and its prophecies harmonize with Daniel, Ezekiel, Zechariah, and Christ’s Olivet discourse. It is one of the plainest books in the Bible for those who believe it.