Revelation 1:1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show
His servants--things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified
it by His angel to His servant John, 2 who
bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all
things that he saw. 3 Blessed is he who reads and
those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are
written in it; for the time is near. 4 John, to the
seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and
who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His
throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful
witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the
earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own
blood, 6 and has made us kings and
priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever.
Amen. 7 Behold, He is coming with clouds, and
every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the
earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen. 8
"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End," says
the Lord, "who is and who was and who is to come, the
Almighty."
There comes a time in every deep and growing relationship
when an unveiling takes place. This is referred to as “intimacy,” and it has
everything to do with developing trust.
How fascinating that as we arrive at the very end of God’s
Word to us and for us, a complete unveiling takes place. The Revelation of
Jesus Christ is the book where we learn of the, “…things we have seen, and the
things which are, and the things which will take place after this.” (This is
indeed the outline of the Book.) (Rev 1:19)
All of it, every bit of it, is revealed. Unveiled. Laid
bare for those in relationship with Jesus to see.
The word ‘apocalypse’ is often misused and misunderstood.
People speak of an ‘apocalypse’ as if the meaning of the word is some sort of
great cataclysmic event. That is simply not true. The definition of the word ‘apocalypse’
is ‘unveiling.’
Thus the English translation of the Greek ‘apokalypsis’
is: ‘revelation.’ Everything is ‘revealed’ to those who are willing to look.
Note that all we are shown here in the Book of Revelation
is a single, unified revelation, and so it is not correct to speak of this as, “the
Book of Revelation(s).”
What exactly is revealed to those willing to look? (By
the way, the Book promises a blessing to all who DO look. See Rev 1:3)
I believe the blessing is the complete understanding of
Who God in Christ IS, and what God in Christ is going to accomplish on behalf
of His people. One of the greatest understandings to come from this unveiling
is: God is in control. Total control. The events of this world have not spun
out wildly, they have spun out as God has directed and will direct, and we who
are in Christ may have perfect peace even in the midst of all the events
described even as they are literally taking place because we know God is
driving, and He promises to protect (bless) all those who “hear” the words of
this book.
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