Chapter 2 - The Last
Shall Be First
Do you enjoy a good
mystery? Have you ever taken a look at the last chapter of a book to
see how the story is going to turn out before you begin? Well,
that’s what we’re going to do now.
One of the most
Jewish books in the Bible is The Revelation to John, the last book in
the New Testament. I believe it is also one of the most
misunderstood. Over the centuries it has been allegorized and
misinterpreted in the worst ways. Because of a lack of understanding
of the Old Testament and by not taking the whole of Scripture into
consideration, multitudes have been stymied at the mere mention of
Revelation. But the key to unlocking the marvels of this book does
not lie in popular theories or bending the latest news headlines to
make them fit a popular scenario. The key lies in the whole of
Scripture. Before diving in, let’s look at the name of the book
and what it means.
The Revelation of
John, usually simply called Revelation (always singular, never
plural), is just that – a revealing or unveiling of information.
In chapter one, verse one, we are told exactly what this is a
revealing of – the revelation of Jesus Christ, given to Jesus by
Father God in order that Jesus could then make it known to John the
apostle, who subsequently made it known to Christians throughout the
world down through the centuries.
First, Father God
had to give this revelation of Jesus to Jesus. But since Jesus is
part of the Godhead, wouldn’t Jesus have full knowledge just as God
the Father does? Well, it seems that when Jesus chose to step out of
heaven to be born a human child He temporarily laid a few things
aside for our sake.
In Matthew 24:36,
Jesus Himself said, “But
when that day and hour will come, no one knows — not the angels
in heaven, not the Son, only the Father.
” We also see Jesus’ temporary position described in Hebrews
2:9, “But
we do see Yeshua — who indeed was made for a little while lower
than the angels —
now
crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by
God’s grace he might taste death for all humanity.
” From these statements we can conclude that at that time, while
Jesus was on earth He was not privy to the fullness of knowledge that
Father God was, but when we get to Revelation, God the Father has
unveiled that which had been hidden from Jesus until that point.
Then Jesus is ready to tell the world!
In the remainder of the first chapter we are given magnificent
descriptions of the Messiah, of His Name, and of His
purpose: the
One who is, who was and who is coming;
the
faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead and the ruler of the
earth’s kings;
the one who loves us, who has freed us from our sins at the cost of
his blood, who has caused us to be a kingdom, that is, cohanim
(priests) for
God, his Father ; the
‘A’ and the ‘Z';
God
of heaven’s armies; someone like a Son of Man, wearing a robe down
to his feet and a gold band around his chest. His head and hair were
as white as snow-white wool, his eyes like a fiery flame, his feet
like burnished brass refined in a furnace, and his voice like the
sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, out
of his mouth went a sharp double-edged sword, and his face was like
the sun shining in full strength.
On
first reading this chapter it can feel quite intimidating, but you
must remember that the writers of the New
Testament – under direction of the Holy Spirit – were writing
with the assurance that their readers were either well versed in the
Old Testament or under the discipleship of someone who was. Why did
they make this assumption? Because at the time that the New
Testament writings were being penned there were no other Scriptures
aside from the Old Testament!
Here are a few
examples from the first chapter of Revelation showing the verse from
Revelation, then the Old Testament passages that correspond to them.
I have italicized or bolded the corresponding text in each set of
verses.
“John to the seven
assemblies (churches) that are in Asia: May grace (God's unmerited
favor) be granted to you and spiritual peace (the peace of Christ's
kingdom) from Him Who is and Who was and Who is to come, and from
the seven Spirits [the sevenfold Holy Spirit] before His throne,”
– Rev. 1:4
“And
the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him--the Spirit of wisdom
and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of
knowledge and of the reverential and obedient fear of the Lord -
” – Isaiah 11:2
“And from Jesus
Christ the faithful and trustworthy Witness, the Firstborn of the
dead [first to be brought back to life] and the Prince (Ruler) of the
kings of the earth. To Him Who ever loves us and has once [for
all] loosed and freed us from our sins by His own blood,” – Rev.
1:5
“Also
I will make him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the
earth.” – Psalm 89:27
“And formed us
into a kingdom (a royal race), priests to His God and Father –
to Him be the glory and the power and the majesty and the dominion
throughout the ages and forever and ever. Amen (so be it).” –
Rev. 1:6
“And
you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests, a holy nation [consecrated,
set apart to the worship of God]. These are the words you shall
speak to the Israelites.” – Exodus 19:6
“But
you shall be called the priests of the Lord; people will speak of
you as the ministers of our God. You shall eat the wealth of the
nations, and the glory [once that of your captors] shall be yours.”
– Isaiah 61:6
“Behold, He is
coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those
who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth shall gaze upon Him
and beat their breasts and mourn and lament over Him. Even so
[must it be]. Amen (so be it).” – Rev. 1:7
“I
saw in the night visions, and behold, on the clouds of the heavens
came One like a Son of man, and He came to the Ancient of Days
and was presented before Him.” – Daniel 7:13
“And
I will pour out upon the house of David and upon the inhabitants of
Jerusalem the Spirit of grace or unmerited favor and supplication.
And they shall look [earnestly] upon Me Whom they have pierced,
and they shall mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and
shall be in bitterness for Him as one who is in bitterness for his
firstborn.” – Zechariah 12:10
“I am the Alpha
and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, says the Lord God, He Who
is and Who was and Who is to come, the Almighty (the Ruler of
all).” – Rev. 1:8
“For
to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government
shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father [of Eternity],
Prince of Peace.” – Isaiah 9:6
These are just a
handful of examples showing our need for greater understanding of the
whole of God’s Word. Some things just won’t make sense without
that firm underpinning, and when things don’t make sense that’s
when we run the risk of interpreting things our own way – and that
can lead to gross error.
In John 8:31-32, we
read, “To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, ‘If you hold
to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the
truth, and the truth will set you free.’” Then in John 14:6 we
read, “Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.’” In these
passages Jesus is telling us that if we know the truth we will be set
free and that it is Jesus Who is the Truth. In Jesus is the
fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets (in other words, the Old
Testament) (Matthew 5:17-18), therefore we must take into account
every portion of the Word of God when studying the Bible. Now, back
to Revelation.
Moving a little
deeper into Revelation, in chapter 4, we begin seeing some wild
things going on both on earth and in heaven. Over the years there
have been equally wild speculations about what’s happening, why
it’s happening and to whom it’s happening. But again, if you
take the whole of Scripture into account – not just Revelation –
you are able to set aside speculations and see God’s truth.
In chapter 4 of
Revelation, John is shown a vision of the throne room of God in
heaven. It is quite magnificent and is a perfect parallel to similar
visions given to Daniel (Daniel 9) and Isaiah (Isaiah 6) centuries
before, with one exception. In John’s vision there are twenty-four
elders present in heaven. These elders are conspicuously absent in
any Old Testament visions of the heavenly throne room, and we will
explore the reasons for this later.
Then, in chapter 5,
John sees Him Who is seated on the throne holding a scroll that has
writing on it inside and out, rolled up and sealed. Unfortunately
there was no one found in heaven or on earth who was qualified to
open the scroll until the Lion of the Tribe of Judah (one of the
titles for Jesus) comes forth and takes the scroll from Him Who sat
on the throne (God the Father). Prior to Jesus stepping forward,
John is so upset when no one can be found to open the scroll that he
begins weeping bitterly. But why? What did John know about that
scroll that is not plainly evident from the text in Revelation? Why
is Jesus the only One able to take the scroll and open it? And what
does His opening the scroll mean exactly? So many questions! But
don’t give up. We’re going to take it one question at a time,
looking only to God’s Word for our answers. Ready? Here we go!
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