Special Topic: Revelation Introduction: intro the series

Prepared and preached by Pastor Steve Rhodes for and at Bethel Friends Church in Poland, OH on Sunday, March 2, 2025

In the eighties, there was a show called Quantum Leap. In this series, the main character leaps between different time periods. One thought to consider is that God exists outside of time and can leap to any moment He wishes. God is the keeper of the timeline; He is in charge.

I’ve used this illustration before, but I think it is worth repeating:

I have a rope up here, and I have plenty of it. I’m going to pull it out and just watch it fall to the floor. Now, imagine that this first end of the rope represents Genesis 1:1. This signifies creation. As I move, observe this rope and envision it representing all of time. We would place Abraham somewhere near this end, followed by Moses, then David, Ezekiel, Isaiah, and eventually Ezra—that’s about 3,500 years of history. Then we go another 400 years to the birth of Jesus, followed by 2,000 years until now. From there, we continue until Jesus returns and sets everything right. Now, as we examine this rope-like timeline, we find ourselves here [pointing toward the opposite end of the beginning]. We are limited to our small segment of time. We are caught in the rope. But God, He created the rope. God created time, and He is powerful and in control. Take this thought a bit further and realize that God placed you in your position for a reason. Wow!

Be encouraged, truly be encouraged. We can quickly glance at this rope and feel discouraged by all the time and existence, but no, be encouraged because God, who is not bound by time, chose to place you on this earth during this time. God can go wherever He wishes along our rope timeline. God can “quantum leap.” But let’s take it a step further: God is to time as we are to this rope. He sees all of time at once. He is not limited by it, for He created it.

As we look at Revelation 1:1, we will “Quantum Leap” back to around 96 A.D.

Today, I want to introduce Revelation. Then, for the next seven weeks, we will study the letters to the churches in Revelation chapters two and three.

My theme today is:

The Revelation of Jesus Christ, God Tells Us The Rest of the Story, An Intro to Revelation (Revelation 1:1-3)

Our Two Applications:

1. Be encouraged; God is in control of everything [everyone say everything], even time.
2. Take this book seriously.

Revelation 1:1–3 (ESV)

The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, ² who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. ³ Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.

1. This letter is a revelation from Jesus Christ. This is all in verse 1.
   1. It is from the Father to the Son.
   2. It is from the Son, Jesus, to the angel.
   3. It is from the angel to John.
   4. It is from John to us.
   5. The verse says that God gave this to His servants to show His servants what soon must take place.
   6. Be encouraged that God is not limited. Nothing is limiting God. God wanted to show us and all Christians through the ages things that must take place.
   7. I must pause here because you are likely looking at this and thinking, “But it says must ‘soon take place.’” Let’s handle some of the background to this letter.
   8. First, notice that it is titled the ‘“Revelation’ to John.” It is not “Revelation’s.’” This work, a letter in the New Testament format, is one ginormous Revelation of Jesus Christ given to John.
   9. Remember that God is outside of time. The Bible says in:
   10. 2 Peter 3:8–9 (ESV)
   11. ⁸ But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. ⁹ The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
   12. There are four primary ways of interpreting Revelation.
   13. One of these is the Historicism method:
   14. This method interprets chapters 1-3 as taking place in the first century, chapters 4-20:6 taking place between the second century and the end times, and then chapters 20:7-22 as when Jesus makes things right.
   15. Second is Futurism: With this method, most of Revelation is in the future, chapter 4 and throughout chapter 22.
   16. Then there is the Preterist. The preterist is a past fulfillment or contemporary to John’s readers. Those would believe that it had to do with the Roman Empire and the fall of the Roman Empire. Fulfillment is entirely in the past by the fall of Constantine and Rome in 476 AD. Some see it as the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD, but this view is very narrow. This seemed to start in the late 1500s or early 1600s. This would be the earliest understanding of Revelation in the period following its dissemination
   17. Then there is the idealist: They see Revelation operating at two levels.
   18. General spiritual principles operating at all ages.
   19. There was an immediate meaning for John and his readers, but there is also a profound spiritual reality for all ages.
   20. There is the idea that there is a clash between good and evil.
   21. There are variations on each of those interpretations, especially when we get to the Millennial reign and the tribulation period, and we are not getting into that today.
   22. Next, let’s look at dating. It appears that John is exiled to the island of Patmos, and this was under persecution. He might have been there forced to work the mines. This could have been the great persecution under Caesar Nero in the 60’s AD or in the 90’s AD under Domitian, which many believe.
2. John witnessed for the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ with all he saw. This is verse 2.
   1. We may wonder what he saw. This gets into the type of literature of Revelation. It is a letter with apocalyptic literature and prophesy. Think of the idea of pulling back a curtain and revealing something. That is the idea of apocalyptic literature. It means that God is showing us the spiritual realm. God is pulling back the curtain and showing us the end.
   2. John uses a pool of images that are familiar to him and his readers but not familiar to us.
   3. John uses a Jewish pool of images.
   4. He uses a few from Hellenistic culture.
   5. Most of the imagery is from the Old Testament and intertestamental period. They are plain to his audience.
   6. We must understand this. If we divorce Revelation from its original context and meaning we can have multiple understandings and make it say whatever we want.
   7. In an early 80s Reader’s Digest article titled “The Motel of the Mysteries,” the writer presents it as an archaeological report. The article discusses late twentieth-century America, now buried under dirt. An archaeologist discovers a motel, but the description suggests it was actually a late-twentieth-century burial site. The toilet seat is described as something worn on the head, the bathtub as a sacred tower, and the shower as a musical instrument. The article continues in detail, but we understand it better. If we don’t, it surprisingly makes perfect sense.
   8. Time Magazine in 1992, when the Republicans took over Congress, shows a Donkey under the Republican Elephant. We understand the image because it is part of our time, but in hundreds of years, they may not know that.
   9. John’s audience understands the image.
   10. Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Jeremiah are primary examples of John’s Old Testament imagery.
   11. Also, imagery from Baruch, Song of Songs, and other intertestamental imagery.
   12. There is no single quotation in Revelation. John is steeped in his Jewish context, and these images flow out of him.
   13. John was a witness to what God was showing him.

• Verse 3 tells us we are blessed when we read this letter.
  1. This is the only Bible book that says this.
  2. But we may not feel blessed. We may feel cursed as we try to get through.
  3. I remember sitting with my older brother on his bed, and I was probably in grade school, as he read the whole book of Revelation to me. I was confused. Yet, we are interested, aren’t we?
  4. The great Martin Luther mistrusted Revelation because of its obscurity. “A revelation should be revealing,” he said.
  5. One wrote (Dr. Constable): “The symbolism is drawn from many previous Bible books. Revelation is similar to an airport, or a railway terminal, where materials from many other sources come together.” I like that description.
  6. We must read the letter. We must study the letter.
  7. Revelation 22:10: And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near.

Close:

1. Be encouraged, God is in control of everything [everyone say everything], even time.

Speaking of encouragement, it is not directly related, but I want to exhort all of us to be encouragers. I recently heard the following in a Chuck Swindoll message:

In a message such as this, because it illustrates to me that even the President of the United States at times needs a word of encouragement. Another of those golden moments turned up on television the other day, only a small minority must have seen it because not only was it on PBS, but it was a documentary on that most staid of subjects, a library.

His was an agony that reflected the suffering and turmoil of his country. And there is something touchingly pathetic in the picture of this great leader seeking solace and self-assurance from the comfort of a few old newspaper clippings. Who would have thought the night of his tragic death that earlier that evening in the Oval Office under candlelight, the man was reading the words of somebody who believed in him?[1]

[1] From Insight for Living Daily Broadcast: Strengthening Your Grip on Encouragement, Part 3, Feb 27, 2025
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/insight-for-living-daily-broadcast/id89603501?i=1000696323884&r=1115
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2. Take this book seriously.

I don’t know about you, but I can get discouraged when I hear the news. But isn’t it encouraging to know that God is in control? Look at this rope. [Have someone in the back row pick up the other end.] God is in control of time. God placed each of us here for a reason. God entered John’s time and told him of the things to come.

Revelation is part of the Bible, the Word of God.

Do you know Jesus?

God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)

Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)

Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)

Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)

Pray