PREFACE
“The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.” (Revelation 1:1-3)
What do you think of when someone mentions the Bible's book of Revelation?
Do you think of beastly monsters rising up out of the sea that resemble Godzilla in those old Japanese sci-fi flicks?
Do you think of a rebuilt Jewish Temple and the Ark of the Covenant hid in some secret underground chamber amidst a maze of tunnels beneath Jerusalem's sacred temple mound?
Do you think of conspiracy theories, cashless societies, computer chips implanted beneath the skin, and infrared tattoos upon people's foreheads and hands?
Do you begin wondering what world leader today has a name with a numerical value that adds up to 666, making him the prime candidate within the world today for the biblically predicted end-time antichrist?
Do you think of a collection of Nostradamus-like prognostications that cannot possibly be interpreted or understood unless you know the secret Bible code that has been hidden with and safeguarded by some mysterious cult since late in the first century AD?
Do you know what the first words of the book of Revelation are? They are: "The Revelation of Jesus Christ.” Most people think Revelation is a book all about the revelation of the future, but Revelation tells us in the very first words of the very first verse of its very first chapter that it is a book all about the revelation of Jesus Christ. The purpose of the book of Revelation is the same as every other book of the Bible. It is to reveal Jesus Christ to us.
Permit me to teach you a tremendous truth about the Bible. The subject of the Scripture is the Savior, God's Son, Jesus Christ. No matter where you are reading in the Bible; no matter what book, what chapter, or what verse; no matter what story you are reading or who the characters in the story are; no matter what psalm or proverb, no matter what precept or what promise, no matter what command or what doctrine, it is there to teach you something about Jesus Christ.
The whole purpose of the written Word of God—the Bible—is to get you to the living Word of God—Jesus Christ. If the Bible, God's written Word, doesn't do this for you, it can't really help you, since only Jesus, God's living Word, can save you, reconcile you to God, and give you eternal life.
What you should think about when someone mentions the Bible's book of Revelation is Jesus Christ, since He is what the book of Revelation, as well as the whole Bible, is all about. By the way, He is also what life is all about! You'll never be able to understand the book of Revelation nor the Bible itself until you understand that it is all about Jesus Christ. Furthermore, you'll never be able to understand the meaning of life until you understand that it too is all about Jesus Christ. Do you understand this?
The book of Revelation tells us in its opening verse that it was given by God the Father to God the Son, Jesus Christ. It was then sent by Christ to His servant John by an angelic currier, who “signified” it to the beloved disciple.
The word "signified" in verse 1 of the book of Revelation is a key to unlocking the meaning of this mysterious Book. It means to communicate in signs and symbols. The book of Revelation is a book of signs and symbols. Its stars are not literal stars; its candlesticks are not literal candlesticks; its beasts are not literal beasts. Instead, all of these things are signs and symbols signifying other things.
Many insist upon a literal interpretation of the book of Revelation. Indeed, many insist that anything other kind of interpretation leads to a misinterpretation of the book. However, the book of Revelation tells us in the very first verse of its very first chapter that it is a book of signs and symbols, necessitating a figurative rather than literal interpretation.
Revelation is no different from any other book in the Bible in that it cannot be understood apart from the Spirit's illumination and divine revelation. It's author, the Holy Spirit, must explain it to us, and it's subject, Jesus Christ, must reveal Himself to us. In addition to the Spirit's illumination and divine revelation, a figurative interpretation is also essential to us rightly dividing this most important of all prophetic books.
According to verse 1 of the book of Revelation, it was given to John by Christ “to show” Christ’s “servants things which must shortly come to pass.” Two words should be employed to understand these important words in Revelation’s opening verse.
The first word is inevitable. Notice, the things predicted in the book of Revelation “must…come to pass.” There are no “ifs,” “ands” or “buts” about it. All that Revelation predicts has been preordained and predestined by God. It will come to pass and be fulfilled. No angel in heaven, no man or power on earth, nor any devil in hell can keep God’s predetermined and predicted plans and purposes from being carried out and completed. As Jesus taught in John 10:35, “…the scripture cannot be broken.”
The second word is expeditious. In modern-day eschatology, which is simply the study of last things or the last days, there is a growing school of eschatology that teaches all the prophecies of the book Revelation were fulfilled with the destruction of Jerusalem by Titus the Roman in 70 AD. This school, known as Preterism, is predicated on these words in Revelation 1:1. According to the Preterist, the words “must shortly come to pass,” found here and in Revelation 22:6, necessitate a soon fulfillment of Revelation’s prophecies shortly after the Apostle John penned them, which is believed by the Preterist to have been in the year 68 AD.
A close examination of the Greek word translated “shortly” in this verse by the King James translators will reveal to the reader that this Greek word can also be translated “swiftly” or “suddenly.” For instance, the same Greek word is found in Luke 18:8, where our Lord teaches that His elect will be “speedily” avenged at the time of His return.
The Apostle Peter teaches us that in the eyes of our eternal God “one day” is like “a thousand years” and “a thousand years” is like “one day” (2 Peter 3:8). Therefore, what is to “shortly” or soon come to pass in the eyes of an infinite and immortal God is not necessarily something that will be seen as “shortly” or soon coming to pass in the eyes of finite and mortal men.
In light of all of this, we may safely conclude that the best translation of these important words in Revelation 1:1, as well as in Revelation 22:6, is “things which must swiftly come to pass.” The idea being relayed to us here is that once these sure and certain prophecies begin to come to pass, they will happen and be fulfilled expeditiously!
In the second verse of Revelation, John the Revelator, let’s us know in no uncertain terms what he is “bearing record” to on the pages of the divinely inspired Apocalypse. These sacred pages contain “the word of God,” “the testimony of Jesus Christ,” and John’s accurate account “of all [the] things that he saw.” The reader needs to know that when he reads the book of Revelation, he is reading the Word of God, as testified to by the testimony of Jesus Christ and attested to by a personal eyewitness, the Apostle John himself.
In the third verse of Revelation, John the Revelator, assures everyone will be “blessed” by God who “reads,” “hears,” and “keeps” (obeys) the “things which are written” in this book. Although divine blessing assuredly awaits all who read, hear and obey all 66 books of the Bible, the book of Revelation has the distinction of being the only book in the Bible with this stated promise within its text.
The closing words of verse 3 speak clearly to us of the urgency of the message of the book of Revelation. The Apostle John alerts us in these concluding words to Revelation’s preface that “the time is at hand.” The word “time” in this verse should not be understood in a general sense. Instead, it should be understood in the prophetic sense, as a reference to the end of time. John is simply warning us that the divine grand finale is approaching. Christ’s coming and climax of the ages is drawing ever-closer. Therefore, there is an ever-increasing urgency for us to fathom the depths and follow the dictates of the Bible’s most important prophetic book—the book of Revelation—which is the only book in all of Scripture that promises a divine blessing to all who do so.
Don Walton
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