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Note: Two weeks ago, I completed writing an Interruption on each of the Psalms (Interruption #1787). It took over three years, and when the series was completed, I faced the dilemma of: “What do I write next on Saturdays?”
How about the Book of Revelation?
The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John (Revelation 1:1, NASB, my emphasis).
Revelation
Let’s start by getting the title correct.
It’s the Book of Revelation, or as the original King James Version published in 1611 reads, The Revelation of St. John the Divine. Revelation indicates a single revelation that begins in Revelation 4:1 and lasts until the end of the book.
Remember: One revelation, not two or three. When someone says “Book of Revelations,” please give them a scholarly stare-down.
Bond-Servants
“Bond-servants” is a translation of a Greek word meaning “slave.” I think the word “slave,” while indicating our complete subservience to Jesus, misses a key difference between a typical slave and a believer — our enslavement to Jesus is entirely voluntary and motivated by love. Also, our master (Jesus) came to serve and die for us.
When John uses this term “bond-servant,” he must be considering what he previously wrote in John 15:15…
No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, because all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.
This revelation to “bond-servants” of knowing all things from the Father, as John mentions in his Gospel, parallels the purpose of Revelations: to reveal to us the things that must soon take place. (I said Revelations on purpose; you should have chastised me mentally when you read it.)
Soon
God’s time is different than ours.
As Peter writes, “With the Lord one day is like a thousand years.” From God’s perspective, the past 2,000 years have been only two days in eternity. Understanding this time difference is key to understanding many parts of the upcoming Revelation that starts in chapter 4.
Angel
This angel isn’t named, but Jesus refers to this angel in Revelation 22:16…
I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you of these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”
God creates everything that exists for a purpose. Imagine this “no-name” angel standing in the throne room along with myriads of other angels, when Jesus, sitting at the right hand of the Father, looks directly at him and says, “I have an assignment for you.”
OG Notes:
- In these “Revelations on Revelation” Interruptions, I will be using the New American Standard Bible (NASB) unless otherwise noted.
- As you have observed, it will be a word study of the Greek words, with depth added by drawing on other passages of Scripture, other writers, and my hopefully insightful and inspirational thoughts.
- With the Psalms on Saturday series, I mostly ended with — Amen. Peace out! With this series on The Revelation of St. John the Divine, I will end each one with…
Come, Lord Jesus!
