Revelation 1:9-20

Relax, Read and Reflect

Prayer- Lord, Open our hearts and open our minds and help us learn. Go-Fight-Win. Amen.

One like a Son of Man

9I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10On the Lord's Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, 11which said: "Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea."

12I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, 13and among the lampstands was someone "like a son of man,"[a]dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. 14His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. 15His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. 16In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.

17When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.

19"Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. 20The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels[b] of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

John is in exile on a small island in the Aegean because of his faith. He is not happy. An angel comes to him and he is scared, (OK, I would be frightened too.) This angel is "like a son of man". Could this be Christ? He has a two edged sword and seven golden lampstands for seven stars, (seven churches?)

Yes, you guessed it. Revelation is full of numerology. It deals with seven, forty, and 144,000 over and over. It is so into this that it can be divided into seven parallel sections, as well as the prologue and epilogue

What will the Spirit tell John?

What knowledge will this unlock?

Prayer. Lord, let us all read this and let it touch us. Not because we need to know when the earth will end but because we want to know how to prepare here on Earth. Go-Fight-Win. Amen.

Revelation 1:1-8

Relax, Read and Reflect

Prayer- Lord, Open our hearts and open our minds and help us learn. Go-Fight-Win. Amen.

Revelation 1

Prologue

1The revelation of 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, 2who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. 3Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.

Greetings and doxology

4John,
To the seven churches in the province of Asia:

Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits[

a

] before his throne, 5and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 6and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.
7Look, he is coming with the clouds,
and every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him;
and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be! Amen.

8"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty."

We are starting a new study this week. For the next several weeks we will explore the last book of the Bible-The Revelation to John or Revelation. This book may be one of the most feared and misunderstood book in the Bible. Revelation deals with the Apocalypse-the end of the world. There are really only two books in the bible that are apocalyptic in nature, the other is Daniel in the Old Testament.

Revelation uses prophecy from both the Old and New Testament. It is a fitting end of the Bible because of it’s apocalyptic nature. It has very vivid imagery and is intended to build clear pictures in the readers mind. It was written by John, a Roman follower of Christ who has been exiled to a small island because of his faith. John does not like the Roman Emperor, (who would if you had been banished from your home and many of your friends killed.)

Some of the keys in understanding John’s vision have been lost, and some of his message may be personalized, but this also builds a strong belief that Jesus will indeed come again. Do not be afraid, I think you will find as you read this book that it is not as scary as you may think. It is definitely want of the most visual of all the books.

The Revelation starts with a prologue from John. John states that this message was brought to him by an angel of the Lord. John gives a shout out to the seven churches in western Asia Minor, (present day Turkey.) His letter is the "Alpha and Omega," the beginning and the end.

As we read this and other parts of our Bible, it is important to remember that Jesus is just that- the beginning and the end. All things are through Christ. There is no better ending prayer than that. Go-Fight-Win. Amen.