Revelation 1:1-2
Revelation Bible Study
Are you ready for the APOCALYPSE?!?
Don’t panic! Keep reading!
This word has nothing to do with a zombie apocalypse, but everything to do with Revelation!
Just wanted to see if I had your attention!
Even without any zombies, I promise Revelation is not going to be a boring Bible study for sure! 😀
∆ apokálypsis – revelation -revealing, uncovering, unveiling, manifestation.
Grab your cup of coffee or tea and curl up with your Bible and a notebook!
This is going to be a slow and relaxed study, working through just a few verses each week. We’ll look at each verse, sometimes all the little, divinely chosen words too, and see how they will paint us a breathtaking picture of the zenith of God’s plan coming all together!
You may find this is too much information. That’s ok!
It IS a lot. BUT… I want to encourage you to keep at it.
You could just read the Scriptures slowly, skim through my observations, sit and pray, and see what the Lord reveals to YOU!
And don’t forget to get involved with whomever is studying along and leave your comments in each week’s study!
First though, just a few notes as we get started!
+Note #1-
This is the 3rd post for this study, so you may want to go read the first 2 if you haven’t already.
+Want to Study Revelation? A Verse By Verse Bible Study
+An Introduction To The Book Of Revelation
Also, just in case you missed my disclaimer in the introduction, I am not a Bible scholar or an expert on the book of Revelation.
I’m just a Christian sister who has spent a lot of hours praying, reading, studying, researching, asking questions, and digging into this amazing part of the Bible! I have found so many faith building, life changing TRUTHS in these pages, I wanted to share it here!
What you will find in this study is my own notes that I have been using with a group of wonderful ladies around my dining room table over the last few years. The BEST way to study is TOGETHER! So please leave your thoughts, comments, questions, things you’re learning…and let’s chat!
+Note #2-
Links are all underlined and in blue so that you can find them easily!
+Note #3-
Definitions to particular words found in our study are marked with a ∆ .
The definitions are taken from a work called ‘Strong’s Concordance‘ and if you click on the word you will find the full entry on Bible Hub.
+Note #4-
You will also notice that below each verse we are studying I have included a pink colored version of the verse(s). This is the Greek/English translation. This can sometimes help us notice things that may not come through fully in our English Bibles.
The word “love” is a great example.
In English we use ONE word for many different kinds of love. “I love my kids”, “I love pizza”, and “I love my husband”. However, there are 7 or 8 different words to describe “love” in ancient Greek, each one more fully describing what KIND of love exactly they were trying to communicate.
+Note #5-
I am using the NIV in this study, simply because that is the Bible I have. I have linked the Scripture verses to Bible Gateway, so you can easily read the verses we are studying in the CONTEXT of the whole chapter, and also in different translations.
+Note #6-
I may link directly to a book on Amazon occasionally. I am an affiliate and receive a small commission if you make a purchase.
*Revelation 1:1-2
“The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who testifies to everything he saw— that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.”
“[The] revelation of Jesus Christ, which gave Him God, to show to the bond-servants of Him what things it behooves to take place in quickness. And He signified [it], having sent through the angel of Him, to the servant of Him, John, who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, as much as he saw.”
(Revelation 1:1-2 (Interlinear)
-The revelation from Jesus Christ
[The] revelation of Jesus Christ
Though we read this book with trepidation sometimes, through all the areas that are difficult to interpret, I have been surprised to see how many times this book CLEARLY defines itself for the reader. The very first words set the tone for the ENTIRE book!
“The revelation OF Jesus Christ”
These first words tell us what the focus of this whole book is about.
As we talked about in the Introduction to Revelation (and above in this post), the title of this book and the word “Revelation” used in verse 1, is the Greek word apokálypsis.
This is where we get the English word “apocalypse”, and with that connotation perhaps is where our fear of this Book comes from. However, the word apokálypsis literally means the uncovering, unveiling, or revealing!
THIS should move fear right out of the way and get us excited to read this book!!!
This book is NOT the revelation of John as some have called it, but the revelation of JESUS CHRIST!
∆ Jesus- Iēsoús – Yahweh saves (a human name with deep meaning)
∆Christ- Xristós – “the Anointed One,” the Christ (Hebrew, “Messiah”)
He’s the one doing the revealing, and He is the One who is being revealed in these pages.
Even the words Jesus + Christ would reveal His identity to both the Gentile (Jesus) and the Jew (Christ).
He is the Son of God, the Anointed One (Christ), come in human flesh (Jesus).
When the chapters ahead get thick and heavy, REMEMBER to stop and LOOK for ways that Jesus is being revealed!
–which God gave him to show his servants [bond servants] what must soon take place.
∆ To give- didómi– To commit to; to bestow
WHO is “him”?
Does this mean that God gave “the revelation of Jesus Christ” to Jesus or to John?
Though this could be debated, I’d say Jesus…. God has given this message to Jesus who is the narrator of this entire book, and Jesus therefore is giving it to John, who is acting as the scribe. And the next use of the word “him” is connected to bond-servants which clearly aren’t John’s servants.
What do YOU think?!
WHY did God give it to Him?
God gave this revelation of Jesus “to show to His bond-servants” what must take place soon!
This succinctly gives us the reason for this message.
To MAKE IT KNOWN!
To EXPOSE it to the eyes of His bond-servants !! His bond-servants! That’s us! (see Scriptures below!)
∆ To show – deiknumi– to expose to the eyes; to point out or exhibit; to teach, demonstrate, make known
∆ Bond servant- doúlos– slave; properly, someone who belongs to another; a bond-slave, without any ownership rights of their own.
Here are a few Scriptures clarifying for us what a true bond servant of Christ is!
This is hard, but TRUE language for all of us who say we are disciples!
*1 Corinthians 7:22– “For the one who was a slave when called to faith in the Lord is the Lord’s freed person; similarly, the one who was free when called is Christ’s slave.”
*Ephesians 6:6– “Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart.”
*Romans 6:22- “But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.”
WHAT is the purpose of giving “him” the revelation of Jesus Christ here?
The purpose is stated clearly that this is being done to show His servants something, “…the things which must soon take place”! What are these “things”? Everything we will be reading in this BOOK!! The events that MUST take place in the future!
People seem to have a natural curiosity to know the FUTURE! There wouldn’t be so many psychics and tarot card and palm readers if there wasn’t a market for it. If only humanity would look to the One who is over all of Creation (including those who claim to be able to tell the future), and has never been wrong about a single prediction!
Soon.
Did you get stuck on this word? If you are thinking that it has been thousands of years and that doesn’t sound very “soon”, you aren’t alone! However, once again if we look at the definition of the Greek word for “soon” it is MUCH clearer in meaning than our word. In English, “soon” can mean 5 minutes, 5 hours, 5 days, or even longer, depending on the context. In this case, the Greek word for “soon” refers to some specific action that is done quickly.
So, literally it means once this SPECIFIC unveiling of Jesus begins, it will all happen VERY quickly!
∆ must– deí – what must happen, i.e. what is absolutely necessary (“it behooves that . . . “).
∆ take place– gínomai– to emerge, become, transitioning from one point (realm, condition) to another.
∆ soon– tachos – swiftness (speed), i.e. done as quickly (speedily) as is appropriate to the particular situation. VELOCITY. We get our word taxi and tachometer from this root
–He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John
HOW did Jesus make “it” known?
It = The revelation
Imagine what was really happening here!!
John, 95ish years old and banished to the island of Patmos, sat praying and minding his business, until… an angel came and this INCREDIBLE revelation of Jesus and God’s future plans literally took John to another place!!
God the Father gives the Revelation.
Jesus, the Son, receives the Revelation to share with His servants.
The angel signifies the Revelation in his appearance to John.
John experiences the Revelation and records it for all Christ’s servants.
He made “it” known, by sending this angel to John.
These future events were literally “signified” (“sign”ified) in this way.
∆ made it known– sémainó– signify, indicate, give a sign, make known.
∆ sending– apostéllō– (from apó, “away from” and stéllō, “send”) – properly, send away, i.e. commission; (passive) “sent on a defined mission by a superior.”
∆ angel– aggelos– messenger, generally a (supernatural) messenger from God, an angel, conveying news or behests from God to men.
WHO is this angel?
I don’t think we can say for sure who this angel is. Could it be Gabriel?
What do YOU think?
Gabriel does seem to have a special work of announcing this kind of thing!
*Read More- Daniel 9: 21-24 , Luke 1:19-26 , Daniel 8:15-16
–who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.”
John, “who has given witness to everything he SAW”. Wow!!!
Once again John is declaring that he is a FIRST HAND, EYE-WITNESS to the things he is writing in this book.
WHAT did he see?
John SAW the Word of God (Jesus -expressing the very thoughts of the Father)… remember that John is writing here… the same John who began his gospel account with these words-
*John 1:1– “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
And John SAW the TESTIMONY of Jesus Christ!
What is the testimony of Jesus Christ? The evidence, the witness, the reputation of Jesus Christ! Some commentators believe this indicates the nail scars in the glorified Jesus!
Either way, John SAW Jesus’ testimony of what would BE…it was UNVEILED to him!
This is the same John who had walked miles and miles of dusty roads with Jesus as He taught and healed and preached!
The same John who rested his head on Jesus’ chest during the Passover meal… and later stood at the foot of the cross as Jesus said “It is finished!”.
But what John is seeing now, isn’t the Jesus he had seen before. John is seeing the resurrected Jesus, not on earth this time, but completely in the fullness of His glory in Heaven!
The very thing John had heard Jesus ASK His Father for as He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane!
*John 17:5– “And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.”
∆ to see– horáō– often with metaphorical meaning: “to see with the mind” (i.e. spiritually see), i.e. perceive (with inward spiritual perception).
∆ word– lógos – (from légō, “speaking to a conclusion; laying the matter to rest”) – a word, being the expression of a thought; a saying. Lógos (“word”) is preeminently used of Christ (Jn 1:1), expressing the thoughts of the Father through the Spirit. Usually this refers to the spoken or written Word of God, Jesus.
∆ testimony– marturia– witness, evidence, testimony, reputation.
Here are just a few more reflective kinds of questions to think on during the week if you want.
What questions do YOU have?
Leave them in the comments at the bottom of this post!
+What stuck out to you most in these first words of the Book of Revelation?
+Did you learn anything new about the character of God or the way He deals with man?
+These things were physically revealed to John. He heard. He saw. He felt. He experienced!
Why do you think God chose to reveal these things to John in this way?
+John is called a “bond servant”, and the words in this book were being written to Jesus’ other bond servants, all of them up until this very day. Why do you think this word was chosen to address all who would read the Revelation?
+What were your expectations when you started reading this morning?
Did anything surprise you as you studied?
+What was the most interesting or exciting revelation today?
