REVELATION

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REVELATION

• Chapter One

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V 1-3 THE SUPERSCRIPTION

• Jesus Christ as the messenger and the message.
  Christ in this book shows us that world affairs
  cannot be isolated from Him.
• God The Father as the one from whom Christ
  received the message. Christ as our prophet
  receives all revelation directly from the Father
• John 517, John 716 and John 828.
• The recipients of the message are simply called
  his servants Gods people in every age.

3

• The substance of the message
• These things must come to pass. God has a
  timetable which will be fulfilled in the kingdoms
  of men leading to the Second Coming of our Lord.
• These things must come pass shortly. It is
  clear from the following scriptures that this can
  be a long period of time in Gods sight
• Romans 1312, 1 Peter 47, Revelation 311.

4

• The means by which the message was sent was
  through an angel.
• The one who received the message on behalf the
  church was John the Apostle who recorded the
  visions under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
• There is a blessing for those who both read and
  hear and obey the words of Revelation. This
  blessing is repeated in 227 and amplified in
  2214.
• The time is at hand indicating we must regulate
  our lives in the light of Christs Second
  Coming.

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V4-8 THE SALUTATION

• This is typical of the regular manner in which
  the epistles were written
• Romans 11,7 and 1 Timothy 11,2.
• John makes it clear that this book is from
  Jehovah who is described as eternal.

6

• The seven spirits before the throne represent not
  the person but the work of the Holy Ghost. His
  work in inspiring the authorship of this book and
  his saving work in our lives is perfect and
  complete.
• Jesus Christ is presented in his 3 offices as
  mediator
• As Prophet he is the faithful witness.
• As Priest he died and rose again. The phrase
  first begotten indicates that he opened the grave
  first to ensure that we would rise again.
• As King he is prince of the kings of the earth.

7

• The work of Christ is described
• The high honour we possess through him. A Priest
  King is constantly serving a higher power and we
  are those priests who are royalty but yet are
  constantly servants.
• The Lord is coming literally and visibly.
• To each of these aspects of Christs work John
  says Amen or it shall surely be.

8

• The person of Christ is described
• He is the Alpha and Omega. This is in keeping
  with Johns peculiar title for our Lord, the
  Word John 11 and 1 John 11. He gives
  substance to all things.
• He is given the same title as God in v4 to
  describe his eternity. This is a proof text for
  the deity of Christ and may be used to refute the
  Jehovah Witnesses.
• He is described as being Almighty.

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V9-10 JOHN THE PENMAN

• His description of himself would indicate that he
  was being persecuted for the sake of the gospel
  at the time of writing.
• He was exiled to an island called Patmos.
• He was worshipping the Lord on the Lords Day
  when the Lord gave him the Apocalypse.

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PATMOS

• 11 miles in area.
• Used by the Romans to exile criminals.
• It is believed that John was exiled here in AD95.

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V11-20 THE SEVEN CHURCHES
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THE SEVEN GOLDEN CANDLESTICKS

• Picture of the candlestick in the Old Testament
  sanctuary.
• The 7 candles in one candlestick represents the
  unity of the church.
• Solid gold represents the purity of the church.
• The light from the candlestick represents the
  witness of the church.
• The presence of Christ represents the dependence
  of the church.

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CHRIST IN THE MIDST OF THE CANDLESTICKS

• His Title identity with man as mediator.
• His garment our priest lighting the candles.
• His hair his eternity and purity Dan 79.
• His eyes his omniscience.
• His feet his work as King and Judge.
• His voice powerful and dynamic.
• His words the Prophet speaking to the church
  and the King judging the world.
• His appearance the glory of God.

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CHRIST HOLDING THE SEVEN STARS

• The stars represent the angels of the churches.
• Angel means messenger.
• Each church had one .
• The stars represent the ministers of the
  churches.
• The lighting of the candlesticks depends upon
  Christ holding the ministry in His right hand.

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JOHN COMFORTED

• The church ought to be humbled before Christs
  glory.
• The church has no reason to fear Him.
• He is the one who has lived, died and rose again
  for us.
• We can truly say Amen to this.
• He has authority over Hell and death by defeating
  them on our behalf.