Revelation-Part 5

By: Dr. Robert Thomas; ©1999

Dr. Thomas gives, from chapter one, a brief outline of the rest of the Book of Revelation. If you have been “afraid” to study the Book of Revelation, this series of articles would be an excellent place to begin.

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THE BOOK OF REVELATION : JOHN’S COMMISSION TO WRITE

After our overview of the Book of Revelation (June), we saw the book’s emphasis on imminence in 1:1 (July), its picking up of God’s long-range plan in 1:1 (August), and its theme verse (1:7) (September). With these matters taken care of, John the Apostle is ready to describe why he came to write this book. In doing so, he sketches for us the book’s broad outline so that we can follow its flow of thought more easily. Revelation 1:9- 20 furnishes a description of his instructions to write the book.

The Initial Commission (1:9-11).

John first tells how he received his commission to write to churches in seven cities of what was then the Roman province of Asia: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. This initial command to write came to him while a prisoner on an island called Patmos off the Mediterranean coast of this province. He was in exile because of his activity in preaching God’s Word, preaching that was in essence the activity of Jesus Himself through the apostle.

Source of the Commission (1:12-16).

At that point in his commissioning John turned toward the voice like a loud trumpet (see 1:10) and saw the glorified Jesus Christ in His overwhelming brilliance. John’s de­scription of His glorified Lord draws almost exclusively from Old Testament pictures that suggest the role Jesus is to play in the visions yet to be described in the book. Here is what John saw. He saw seven golden lampstands that stood for seven churches being addressed and for the witness those churches were to carry to peoples they met. He next saw a human form in the middle of the lampstands, none other than the messianic Son of Man spoken of in Daniel 7:13, a title Jesus applied to Himself so often in the Gospels. The “Son of Man” title is quite appropriate to Revelation because it often related to His function as judge (see John 5:22, 27; Acts 17:31). Based on a comparison with Ezekiel 9:2, the next feature, “clothed down to the feet,” suggests Christ’s dignity in extending mercy to some while imposing the judgments about to be described. The “golden girdle” aspect of His appearance recalls that of the divine messenger in Daniel 10:5, but more specifically foreshadows the judgment to be inflicted by the angels of the seven last plagues who are similarly clad (Rev. 15:6).

“His head and His hair were white as white wool” obviously alludes to Daniel 7:9. That kind of description pictures the Lord’s eternal pre-existence. “His eyes were as a flame of fire” draws from Daniel 10:6 and pictures the supernatural intelligence associated with the Son of Man’s dealing in righteous wrath. “His feet were like gleaming bronze as aglow in a furnace” pictures Christ’s movement among the churches to promote their purity. To achieve this purity, he renders judgment in cases of moral shortcoming. Ezekiel 43:2 is the source of a second description of Christ’s voice: “His voice was like the sound of many waters.” Earlier in the vision John described it as “loud” and “as a trumpet,” but here he likens it to Ezekiel’s description of the glory of God returning to His Temple in Jerusalem. That terminology reminds John and others of the divine authority behind the commission that is about to be repeated in 1:19 and behind the messages to seven churches in chap­ters 2–3.

The only one of the ten features in 1:12-16 that does not draw upon the Old Testament is a description of Christ’s holding seven stars in His right hand. Revelation 1:20 identifies the seven stars as seven messengers, one from each of the seven churches being ad­dressed. The messengers represent the churches in such a way as to be practically identi­cal with them, so that the Lord’s grip on them signifies His grip on the churches they repre­sent. Holding with His right hand, a symbol for power and strength, pictures His control over the messengers and the represented churches.

Isaiah 11:4 is the source of the next-to-last feature: “from His mouth was proceeding a sharp two-edged sword.” Other New Testament passages emphasize the power of God’s Word with a similar figure (see Eph. 6:17; Heb 4:12). In those days the short Roman sword had the same shape as a human tongue and presented an obvious analogy to depict the power of Christ’s spoken word. Double edges on a sword meant greater sharpness. The concept combines the force of a warrior defeating his enemies with his pronouncement of a judicial sentence against them.

“His appearance was as the sun shines in its strength” comes from the song of Deborah and Barak in Judges 5:31. About sixty-five years earlier John had seen Jesus’ face shining like the sun on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matt. 17:2). Its significance as the climax of this initial vision alludes to the overwhelming nature of the glory of the as­cended Christ.

In summary, the picture presented by Jesus to John portrayed the Messiah’s functions and attributes of judge, comforter, one inflicting divine wrath, preexistence, penetrating intelligence, enforcer of moral standards, powerful spokesman of God’s Word, and one possessing authority over the churches. John’s commission to write comes from the top authority in the universe who will eventually judge mankind.

Commission Restated and Clarified (1:17-20).

John found the sight before his eyes overwhelming, so much so that he fell at Christ’s feet as though dead. The Lord reassured him, however, by telling him not to fear and introducing Himself as the first and the last and the one who Himself had overcome death (1:17-18). He then resumed the commission from verse 11, restating it in more specific terms: “Write, therefore, the things that you have seen, and the things that are, and the things that will happen after these things” (1:19). Though some have interpreted these words as meaning the Book of Revelation has two divisions or even only one division, the obvious meaning, also supported by the weight of evidence, sees them as portraying a three-part outline to the book: (1) the things that you have seen, (2) the things that are, and (3) the things that will happen after these things.

Part one of the book is the vision John has just witnessed (1:12-16). The present tense of the initial commission “what you see” in verse 11 and the past tense of “the things that you have seen” in verse 19 make that segment apparent. Making John’s initial vision one of three major divisions of the book emphasizes its importance in furnishing a proper foundation for John’s commission, but also in setting the tone for the rest of the book. The glorified Christ on Patmos Island is the revealer of the far-reaching truths in the remainder of Revelation.

Part three of the book is conspicuous because of the wording of 4:1 and 22:6. Thesame expression as is found in 1:1 sets off the third part, “things that must happen.” In 4:1 the voice of Christ introduces John to “things that must happen” after the period of the churches described in Revelation 2–3. Revelation 22:6 marks the conclusion of “things that must happen soon,” an exact repetition of John’s description of the book’s content in 1:1. Sandwiched between 4:1 and 22:6 is the substance of the prophecy about what 1:19 calls “the things that will happen after these things.”

Between parts one and three comes the second division of the book, “the things that are.” Revelation 2–3 addresses seven churches existing in John’s time but also churches that represent conditions of churches throughout the era between John and the future events predicted in 4:1–22:5. The two chapters provide typical descriptions of present conditions, and therefore constitute the second division of the book.

With the broad outline contained in John’s commission, a reader can follow the general thread of thought through Revelation. John’s commission ends with an explanation that the seven stars represent seven messengers who had come from the seven churches and that the seven lampstands represent the churches themselves (1:20).

Christ commissioned the apostle John to write about the future and how that informa­tion should affect our lives as we await their fulfilment. The serious nature and sobering consequences of the coming penal judgments for those whose present conduct is not under God’s control is sufficient to make each of us examine his/her prime motivations.

We must ask ourselves, “Am I living my life all out for myself or for Christ?” If the answer is myself, I need a major change immediately, before that future epoch takes me by surprise.

Note: For more information about John’s commission to write the book of Revelation, see my more detailed discussion in Revelation 1–7 (Moody Press, 1992), pp. 83-122. My somewhat briefer discussion is available in Four Views on Revelation (Zondervan, 1998), pp. 179-229. To order either of these, you may call Grace Book Shack at (800) GRACE15.

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