(Rev 1: 1-3) "The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him, to manifest to his servants the things that must soon take place, and he declared it by sending it by means of his angel to his servant John, who has given testimony of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all the things that he has seen: Blessed is he who reads, and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep the things written in it, for the time is near. "
Introduction
In these first verses we find the title, the authors of the book, the recipients, a summary of its content, its purpose and the blessing that comes as a result of its meditation and application.
Title
(Rev 1: 1) "The revelation of Jesus Christ"
Probably this first sentence fulfills the function of title of the work, but we should not ignore it, since it provides us with very important information about what we will find later in this book.
The first word, "apokalypsis", translated as "revelation", means to remove the veil of something that remains hidden so that it can be seen. As we already know, man is incapable of penetrating the secret of the spiritual and eternal realities that lie beyond his senses, and this would continue to be the case if God had not taken the initiative to reveal them to us. And the book of Revelation is a part of that written revelation that allows us to know those things about the future of the history of humanity that we would otherwise completely ignore. Therefore, we are faced with a book that is not the fruit of human wisdom, but of divine inspiration.
As for the expression "of Jesus Christ", it can be interpreted in two different ways.
- It may refer to the fact that this revelation comes from Jesus Christ. With this would coincide the statement that we find at the end of the book:
(Rev 22:16) "I Jesus have sent my angel to give you testimony of these things in the churches"
- But it can also be understood that Jesus Christ is the content of this revelation. This would be confirmed by the fact that the first vision granted to us in Revelation has to do with the Lord Jesus Christ as he is now in his glory (Rev 1: 13-20).
At this point we must make a very important observation. Many come to Revelation because of the curiosity that invades them to know what will happen in the future. And it is true that in studying this book we will find many prophecies about the events of the future, but this should not make us lose sight of the fact that its fundamental purpose is to make us known to Jesus Christ in the manifestation of his glory. Jesus Christ is the center of all of Scripture, and if we remove our gaze from him, we will be losing the right perspective to properly understand this book. At the end of the day, what the church needs today more than ever, is a renewed vision of the glory of Jesus Christ. Therefore, we must limit our curiosity and fan our love for the Lord. As great and glorious as Christ is! May God help us to forget ourselves to be enriched by him!
Authorship
(Rev 1: 1) "That God gave him, to show his servants the things that must happen soon, and he declared it by sending it through his angel to his servant John"
1. The author of the book of Revelation is God
We have just considered that this revelation comes from Jesus Christ, but now it is added that he received it from God: "that God gave him". Therefore, God the Father is, ultimately, responsible for the revelation that Jesus Christ has to give to his angel so that he, in turn, gives her to his servant John.
The fact that the Father had given this revelation to the Son to be communicated to men is something that the Lord Jesus Christ Himself had emphasized repeatedly during His earthly ministry:
(Jn 7:16) "Jesus answered them and said: My doctrine is not mine, but the one who sent me."
(Jn 8:28) "Jesus said to them," When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am, and that I do nothing by myself, but as the Father taught me, so I speak. "
This does not mean that the Son is inferior to the Father. As he himself said, "all that the Father has is mine" (Jn 16:15). However, during his mission on earth, he took the position of a servant, obedient in everything to the Father who had sent him (Phil 2: 5-8). In this way he obtained our salvation by dying for us on the Cross, and with his life he left us a perfect example of what it means to be a man according to the heart of God.
2. The mediator of this revelation was "his angel"
God did not give this revelation directly to John, but he sent it and "declared it by sending it through his angel." This is a fact that is repeated on other occasions in Revelation (Rev 22: 6,16), and it is not the only book in which angels participate in transmitting the revealed truth of God. We remember that Moses also received the law through angels (Acts 7:53) (He 2: 2).
The role of the angels in the book of Revelation is very prominent, since they not only deliver the revelation, but also help John to understand it (Rev 17: 1,7,15), and at other times they execute the judgments themselves of God on this world (Rev. 7: 2) (Rev. 8: 5).
3. The writer of this revelation was "his servant John"
The first man to receive this revelation was John, who, as we shall see later, was on the island of Patmos (Rev 1: 9). He was commissioned to put it in writing, in such a way that it should be considered as the human author of the book of Revelation. This fact is also confirmed by several Christian writers of the first centuries.
However, it is curious that in Revelation John refers to himself by his name, something he does not do in the Gospel or in the three epistles he also wrote. In any case, he refers to himself as "Juan," and is described as a "servant." He does not mention that he was an apostle of Jesus Christ, because his recipients undoubtedly knew him well.
On the other hand, it is important to note that John was a suitable person to write this book, since he had been a direct witness of all the public ministry of our Lord Jesus Christ, he was one of his twelve apostles and he was well known in the churches of the time. Let's look at what he says when he starts his first letter:
(1 Jn 1: 1-4) "What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have contemplated, and palpated our hands concerning the Word of life (because life was manifested , and we have seen it, and we testify, and we announce to you the eternal life, which was with the Father, and it was revealed to us;) what we have seen and heard, we announce to you, so that you also may have fellowship with us; our communion is truly with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ, these things we write to you, so that your joy may be fulfilled. "
The simplicity and humility of John in referring to himself are significant, especially if we remember that both he and his brother James had asked the Lord the privilege of sitting on his right and left in the kingdom of heaven. They, like the rest of the apostles, aspired to occupy the first positions, but the Lord taught them an important lesson:
(Mk 10: 42-44) "But Jesus called them and said to them," You know that those who are considered rulers of the nations lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. Whoever wants to become great among you will be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you will be a servant of all. "
Now we see that John had come to regard it as a high honor to be a servant of God and of men.
Purpose
Regarding his purpose, we are told that he was given "to show his servants the things that must happen soon."
Now, the events of the future that this book talks about and that have to happen soon, have to do fundamentally with the future "manifestation" of the Lord Jesus Christ in glory, and this is going to affect the whole world, so we must Be well prepared.
To understand how this glorious manifestation of the Lord Jesus Christ will affect us, perhaps an Old Testament story can help us. In (1 R 1-2) we are told how King David prepared the "manifestation" of King Solomon. In those days David was very old, and taking advantage of the situation, a son of his called Adonijah proclaimed himself king in Israel. When David learned of this through his wife Bathsheba and the prophet Nathan, he reacted quickly by organizing the enthronement of his son Solomon as he had determined some time ago. To do this, he had his son mounted on his mule, he called all his servants to accompany him, also the priest Sadoc and the prophet Nathan anointed him as king, and they played trumpet saying "Long live King Solomon!" and finally he sat on the throne of David and reigned. Given these facts, Adonias became very nervous and the people who were with him began to leave. It was dangerous to be on the opposite side when David was manifesting who was the real king.
This story serves to illustrate what God is going to do soon when he publicly declares who is the true King of this world. The heavens will open to present the Lord Jesus Christ in all his glory and majesty. He will come surrounded by his holy angels in the midst of great cosmic signs and will gather all those who have believed in him (Mt 24: 29-31). Then all the lineages of the earth that have opposed him will realize that they were on the wrong side and will unsuccessfully seek a place to hide. And the Lord explains these things to us so that in advance we place ourselves in the correct position and do not mix with the opposite side.
On the other hand, note that it says that these things "must" happen. This denotes the absolutely sure fulfillment of God's plan. History is not a mere chance, a succession of different epochs that lead nowhere, but on the contrary has a purpose established by God. And that goal has to do with our Lord Jesus Christ ruling this world in righteousness.
Also, these things must happen "soon". Now, let us not forget that it is about God's time and not ours, and "that one day with the Lord is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like a day" (2 Pet. 3: 8). In any case, although we must understand it according to the clock of God, and being clear that it does not intend to define any specific time limit for its fulfillment, nevertheless, the proximity of these events should motivate us to live in holiness and obedience:
(2 Pet. 3:14) "Wherefore, beloved, while you are waiting for these things, be diligent to be found by him without blemish and blameless in peace."
It is true that many years have passed since this was written, and perhaps many believers have begun to cool down, as the Lord Jesus Christ warned that it would happen in recent times: "and because evil has multiplied, the love of many it will cool "(Mt 24:12).
Also on another occasion he told the parable of an unfaithful servant who reasoned and acted as follows: "My lord delays to come, and I will begin to beat the servants and the maids, and to eat and drink and get drunk" (Lk 12:45). ).
But according to the book of Revelation, everything that is said there will happen imminently. To convince us of this, he repeats the same idea two verses later: "The time is near". This insistence must keep us awake and alert in our spiritual life.