The Book of Revelation January 29, 2012

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Lorena Green
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1 The Book of Revelation January 29, 2012 Special Announcements: Pray 1. I m excited that we are beginning a study in the Book of Revelation. a. I didn t always hold that excitement. b. Actually, for a long time I said that I would never teach through the Book of Revelation on a Sunday morning. 1) Wednesday night or some other setting, perhaps, but not on a Sunday Morning. 2) Well, I don t have to tell you what happens when you tell the Lord, I will never 3) So here we are, beginning a study of Revelation here on Sunday mornings. 2. Honestly, when it comes to the Book of Revelation, I usually tell people, it s at the end of the bible for a reason. a. Would you ever open any other book and begin reading the last chapter? Of course not. 1) You will not have been properly introduced to the main characters. 2) You will be missing the plot and won t have a good understanding of the main theme of the book on a whole. b. Sonya and the kids often read books together aloud as a part of their home schooling. 1) Most recently they read The Scarlet Pimpernel. 2) From time to time, if I m around, I ll stop and listen-in on their story. a) Problem is I have difficulty following along because I don t know the characters names and what s going on. b) Who was this Percy Blakeney and what s up with these messages containing a small red flower? c) I get confused when I try to jump in to a story that s already begun. c. This can be true when we just jump into the Book of Revelation. 1

2 2 1) The thing about the Book of Revelation is that many people find it confusing so they avoid it altogether. a) Or worse, some will disregard the entire bible simply because they have failed to understand the Book of Revelation. 2) I ve often said, if you take the time to read the other 65 books of the bible that precede the Book of Revelation, you ll find Revelation much easier to understand. 3. So maybe you re thinking right now then why are we jumping ahead when we haven t studied all the other books together? a. For three reasons: 1) In Revelation 1:3 (NKJV) 1 it says, Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near. a) This is the only book in the bible that promises a blessing to its reader. b) I want to be blessed and I want you to be blessed so this is the first reason why we are starting a study in this book. 2) The second reason is that with all of my heart, I believe we are living in the Last Days. a) The world has become a really small place now that we are connected by satellites, global news and internet. In mere hours we can move from continent to continent, something that took months in generations past. b) Natural disasters are on the raise. And what s more, the magnitude of those disasters have increased. Many of us saw this up-close and personal with the triple disaster up north. - The earthquake, tsumani, and the nuclear power-plant meltdown. AP news report out of Washington: Extreme Weather Disasters 2011: Billion-Dollar Catastrophes Smash U.S. Record 2. c) What s more, financial systems and markets are failing. Nations are falling apart. 1 Unless otherwise marked, all scripture references taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved

3 3 d) This world and the things in it are coming to its end quickly. e) Since the Book of Revelation deals with end times, let s take a look so we can put things into perspective. All the things at are going on around the world can cause one to be fearful and left with a feeling of hopelessness. But I believe that through our study in Revelation you will gain a better understand of what s going to take place leaving you excited about being a part of God s plan and work. This is the second reason why we are jumping into this book. 3) Lastly, I believe the Lord wants me to teach through this book. a) Despite my reservations and preconceived notions, the Lord has spoken to my heart saying, Go there next. And when the Lord says Go!, who are we to say No? 4. So it is my goal, with God s help, to present to you, regardless of how much you know or don t know, the Book of Revelation in a way that helps you to understand and appreciate it. a. But more than that, that you would be excited about what s ahead as well. 1. The contents of this book have been debated for quite some time as Christians have sought to correctly understand this book. a. There are 3 main issues to consider when reading the Book of Revelation. 1) How will you interpret what is written? 2) When does the Rapture occur? 3) What is the millennial reign spoken of in Revelation 20? Issue #1: How do we interpret the Book of Revelation? 1. Concerning the interpretation of this book, there are 4 main interpretations that are held today by various Christians around the world. I ll attempt to briefly introduce you to these interpretations. a. The 4 interpretations are: The Preterist, Historicist, Idealist, and Futurist. 3

4 4 1) The Preterist View regards the Book of Revelation as applying specifically to the problems and persecutions of the early church at the time of its writing. (H. Morris) a) They believe this book was written to encourage believers who were being persecuted by the Roman Empire. b) John MacArthur notes that the preterist view ignores the book s own claims to be a prophecy concerning future events (1:3, 22:7, 10, 18-19). c) Some forms of Preterism deny Jesus future return and the physical resurrection of the dead to which I strongly disagree. I believe such teachings are incorrect. However, there are some preterist who rightly insist that Christ s return and the resurrection are still future events. - This group is called partial preterists. (ESV Study Bible) 2) The Historicist View interprets the Book of Revelation as a symbolic presentation of the total of church history culminating in the second coming of Christ. (Walvoord) a) Much of it, especially the sections dealing with Babylon and the beast are identified in particular with the Roman Catholic Church and the pope. 3) The Idealist View depicts the Book of Revelation as a timeless struggle between good and evil that is played out in every age. (MacArthur) a) No attempt is made to relate the events recorded in Revelation to any historical events, past, present, or future. b) Rather, all is treated as a series of parables or allegories designed to convey spiritual truth And to encourage troubled believers to trust in the ultimate triumph of good over evil. 4) The Futurist View generally regards all of Revelation from chapter 4 to 22 as describing events at the very end of the Church Age and thus still future events. (H. Morris) a) This position defines chapters 6-19 as the 7 year great tribulation period. 4

5 5 Followed by Christ s literal millennial reign on earth in Chapter 20 before the general resurrection and the establishment of the new heaven and new earth (20:7-22:5). b) Not to confuse you, but let me make one more distinction. Futurists are often broken into two categories: Historic Premillennialist generally don t make a distinction between Israel and the Church. - They also often hold to a rapture that occurs after the tribulation. Dispensational Premillenialist hold that the Church and Israel are distinct and separate entities. - Meaning that D.P. believe that God still has a unique and special plan for the nation of Israel and the Jewish people. - D.P. also believe that the church will be raptured before the tribulation. 2. Recap: The 4 interpretations are: The Preterist, Historicist, Idealist, and Futurist. a. Futurist categories are Historic & Dispensational Premillennialist. Issue #2: When does the Rapture occur? 1. First of all, the Rapture is a word we use to describe the event in which the Christian church is removed from the earth as we know it and brought into the presence of Jesus Christ. 2. This one is a bit easier to explain. There are three views, that the Rapture will either be: Pretribulation, Mid-Trib, or Post-Trib. a. When we say Tribulation we are usually referring to the seven year period, which is a distinct period of unprecedented suffering, catastrophe, and persecution that will occur in the end times immediately preceding the second coming of Christ. 3 b. Scriptures are clear that Christ will come back for His bride, the church. 1) When will He come back to do so? That is debatable. 2) Some say before the 7 year tribulation period Pre-Trib. 3) Some believe it will occur at the half-way mark, 3 1/2 years into the tribulation Mid-Trib. 3 Myers, A. C. (1987). The Eerdmans Bible dictionary. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans. 5

6 6 4) And still some others believe that Christ will come for the church at the end or post tribulation. 3. So if you hear someone say, I m a Pre-triber or something along that lines, you know they believe in a Rapture before the Tribulation in the last days. Issue #3: What is the millennial or 1,000 reign spoken of in Revelation 20 (verse 4)? 1. Futurists believe in Premillennialism. a. This teaches that Christ will return bodily in power and glory before (pre-) His literal thousand year millennial reign on earth. 1) This is all before the new heaven and earth are created in Revelation 21. b. It s the idea that Christ will come and literally reign on earth for 1,000 years. 2. Next there is Postmillennialism, held by Preterists and some Historicist. a. This teaches that Christ will return after (post-) thousand years in which the gospel will triumph so greatly as to thoroughly transform the world. b. This millennial reign will come by the power of the gospel and be enjoyed by the church on earth. c. Christ is not physically present or seen during the church s millennial reign on earth. 3. Finally there is Ammillennialism. a. This is typically advocated by Idealists and it literally means no-millennium. 1) Again, the Idealists have spiritualized the book of Revelation and take 1,000 year to mean a really long time. b. Some Ammillennialist believe that this millennial reign in Revelation 20 is the church here on earth. c. While other Ammillenialist believe the reign spoken of in Rev 20 is that of believers that have died and that are now reigning with the Lord in Heaven. At this point, I suppose there might be two questions on your mind 6

7 7 Question #1: What will be the manner in which we as a church will interpret this book? 1. The challenge is that in reading this book one can find support for all these views which is why there is such a wide variety of interpretations and indeed disagreements. a. In a sense they are all correct. 1) The preterist sees the Revelation s beast as the Roman emperor. 2) The historicist sees the beast of history. 3) The idealist sees a succession of beasts leading up to the antichrist. 4) The futurist sees the beast as the future antichrist. b. But according to John MacArthur, Anything other than the futurist approach leaves the meaning of the book to human ingenuity and opinion. The futurist approach takes the book s meaning as God gave it. 1) With that said, I will largely be presenting Revelation to you from a literal futurist perspective. a) More specifically, a Futurist - Dispensational Premillennialist view. That means we will view the events in Revelation chapters 4-22 as being future events. We ll treat Israel and the church as being separate and distinct from one another and that God is still doing something in and through the Jewish people. We ll also be taking the positions that the church will be raptured before the Tribulation - And that Christ will come back to this earth physically and literally for a 1,000 year reign before the new heaven and new earth are created. 2) Here s the saying we ll apply in our study, If the plain sense makes sense, then don't look for any other sense, or you will end up with nonsense. a) In other words, what we ll do is, unless the passage or prophecy is just screaming and shouting, "I'm an illustration, I'm a symbol," we ll take it at face value. 7

8 8 Question #2: What if your beliefs are different from the Futurist position? What should you do? Or What if another Christian you know holds to a different interpretation? 1. Should you end that relationship and disassociate yourself with that individual or group? 2. I d like to share with you what Albert Mohler wrote concerning this very topic 4 ; he said, a. God's truth is to be defended at every point and in every detail, but responsible Christians must determine which issues deserve first-rank attention in a time of theological crisis. b. First-level theological issues would include those doctrines most central and essential to the Christian faith. Included among these most crucial doctrines would be doctrines such as the Trinity, the full deity and humanity of Jesus Christ, justification by faith, and the authority of Scripture. c. These first-order doctrines represent the most fundamental truths of the Christian faith, and a denial of these doctrines represents nothing less than an eventual denial of Christianity itself. d. The set of second-order doctrines is distinguished from the first-order set by the fact that believing Christians may disagree on the second-order issues, though this disagreement will create significant boundaries between believers. When Christians organize themselves into congregations and denominational forms, these boundaries become evident. (He uses infant baptism and the ordination of women as examples of second-order doctrines.) e. Third-order issues are doctrines over which Christians may disagree and remain in close fellowship, even within local congregations. I would put most of the debates over eschatology, for example, in this category. 1) The word eschatology that Mohler uses means the study of end time events, this very subject matters. 2) So even if we hold different positions, we can do as John Wesley said, we may agree to disagree and still maintain a close relationship and fellowship

9 9 Since we don t have very much time left, let s look at the first 3 verses of Chapter 1 as a simple introduction to this book: Revelation 1:1 3 1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John, 2 who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw. 3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near. 1. The first thing I want to bring to your attention is the title of this book which comes from verse 1. a. The full title is The Revelation of Jesus Christ. 1) It s not Revelations remove the s when you make mention of this book. b. The word Revelation comes from the Greek word, apokalypsis, meaning to reveal or unveiling. 1) This book reveals to us Jesus Christ who is the central character throughout the entire book. c. Some wrongly say that the Book of Revelation is a sealed book, therefore they just avoid it. 1) From the very first verse we see that it s not a sealed book; instead it s a book that unveils Christ. 2) This book reveals and presents Christ to us, full of power, glory, and honor. 2. The second thing to note is the author, who is John. a. This would be the Apostle John, the same person who wrote the Gospel according to John. b. He was one of Jesus disciples. 1) His brother was the disciple James. They were fishermen and they were called the Sons of Thunder and the Sons of Zebedee. 3. This letter was likely written at the end of the first century around the mid-90s at the end of Domitian s reign a. During a time when the Christians were being heavily persecuted. They needed some hope and encouragement. 9

10 10 4. Dr. David Jeremiah said, The book of Revelation tells us that Jesus is coming again, how He is coming, and what the condition of the world will be when He comes. a. The expectation of the Revelation points to the return of Christ. (E. Hindson). b. The message of this book was to bring hope to these persecuted people. 1) But its message was not limited to them alone. 2) 2 Timothy 3:12 Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. 3) We will all suffer persecution. c. In the midst of difficult times, it s easy to lose heart and God gave us the Book of Revelation to help remedy this condition. 1) The book of Revelation is bad news for the unbeliever; it says, You Lose! 2) But for the believer, the bottom-line is that Christ wins and those found in Christ will join Him in celebrating this glorious truth for all of eternity. 5. God doesn t want you to fear these things or to look at this book as gloom and doom. a. Let s embrace the invitation found in verse 3 which says, Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near. b. I believe that the heart and meaning of the book of Revelation can be summarized by Hebrews 9:28 which says, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation. c. So with expectation, thanksgiving, and joy, let us fix our eyes upon the One who is Faithful and True; the glorious, wonderful and worthy Lamb of God. 1) Our Lord and King Jesus. 2) The blessings are bountiful to those who keep their eyes on Jesus. 6. Let s not only make Jesus the main character of this book, but let s make Him the main character of our lives! 10

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