Revelation 1:1-8
For the most part, this introduction to John’s report of what he saw and was told to pass on, is straightforward. It is going to be a message from Jesus Christ. It is being written to be sent to the Churches John works with, and is being packaged in a familiar format, the leter, with greeting, blessing, and doxology. Three things bear noting:
One, in verse 1, the things of the visions must take place, depending on your translation, either soon, shortly, or quickly. We can take the reading here as not meaning that these apocalyptic things are not going to happen shortly after John’s reporting. Unless shortly means something longer than two thousand years. Instead, a couple things may be intended. The things John reports will occur quickly, once they happen. Or, even though the end of all things is a long way off, the stuff reported here will begin to have a relevance and pertinance before the end.
Two, this relevance for all believers across all eras is an important aspect of Revelation, because Jesus issues a blessing to those who read and hear the report, and to those who heed its message. The stuff in these visions is important to every follower of Jesus, independent of whether they live to see the end or not. The end, inevitably, is a part of every persons life. So, what we are looking for in this writing, is not “signs of the times,” but timeless teaching.
Three, verse six is a reminder of this sort of timeless teaching. Christ’s sacrifice has caused all who trust in Him to be a part of God’s Kingdom. We no longer belong to the powers that struggle in the world, politics, parties, nations, and empires. We are in the world, and will live through and be impacted by these worldly dramas, but we are other. And we aren’t just strangers in the world, wwe have a task. We are go-betweens between those in the world and God, ambasadors. We offer others a way out of the hazards and tragedies the world threatens. Or, better put, a way through them. We have hope.
And that hope is what we are going to know better in the reading of Revelation.
One, in verse 1, the things of the visions must take place, depending on your translation, either soon, shortly, or quickly. We can take the reading here as not meaning that these apocalyptic things are not going to happen shortly after John’s reporting. Unless shortly means something longer than two thousand years. Instead, a couple things may be intended. The things John reports will occur quickly, once they happen. Or, even though the end of all things is a long way off, the stuff reported here will begin to have a relevance and pertinance before the end.
Two, this relevance for all believers across all eras is an important aspect of Revelation, because Jesus issues a blessing to those who read and hear the report, and to those who heed its message. The stuff in these visions is important to every follower of Jesus, independent of whether they live to see the end or not. The end, inevitably, is a part of every persons life. So, what we are looking for in this writing, is not “signs of the times,” but timeless teaching.
Three, verse six is a reminder of this sort of timeless teaching. Christ’s sacrifice has caused all who trust in Him to be a part of God’s Kingdom. We no longer belong to the powers that struggle in the world, politics, parties, nations, and empires. We are in the world, and will live through and be impacted by these worldly dramas, but we are other. And we aren’t just strangers in the world, wwe have a task. We are go-betweens between those in the world and God, ambasadors. We offer others a way out of the hazards and tragedies the world threatens. Or, better put, a way through them. We have hope.
And that hope is what we are going to know better in the reading of Revelation.
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