Rev 3a

Revelation, Lesson 3

• The Israel Text of the Week

The land promise given in Genesis 12 was fully specified later: (Gen 15:18) "On the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying: "To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates…"

• Q and A review on vocabulary words

• Review of homework, particularly the question of authorship

1. A Summary of John’s Work—“…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…”

a. Some Basic Facts about John

(1) Most scholars believe that John was the youngest of the 12 Disciples, perhaps only a teen ager during Jesus’ earthly ministry

(2) “…to His servant…” Again, the word is best translated “slave.” John, as all true believers, was a slave to a great master, the Lord Jesus.

(3) Apparently there was a family relationship or friendship that existed, because on the Cross, Jesus made provision for His mother’s care by giving that responsibility to John

(4) He was the human penman for the Gospel of John, the letters of 1st , 2nd , and 3rd John, and Revelation

(5) There was a rumor among believers that John would live until the second coming, but that rumor was based on a misunderstanding of what Jesus said to Peter about John (See Jn 21)

b. “…John…” Here is the first hint of controversy—so now we need to turn to our study guides to deal with the issue of the authorship of the Apocalypse

c. John the witness

(1) John the martyr or, the one who bears witness—(93 times in verb and noun form)

(a) He was suffering exile and living on a cold barren rock of an island that, given his age, should have led to his death from exposure.

(b) Persecution, while common in that time, was not universal—everything depended on the place and who was the direct overseer of the place in question.

(c) Many Christians did die as martyrs, or witnesses of the faith—However, it is not just those who die for the faith who are martyrs.

(d) But the basic meaning of marturian is “to bear witness…” This word is used 93 times in the New Testament, so using the Bible as a Dictionary of itself, lets see the meaning of “martyr”

(i) Jesus Christ Himself came as a witness of the Truth— (John 18:37) "…For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.""

(ii) John the Baptist witnessed Who Jesus was (and is)

(A) (John 1:15) "John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, "This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.'""

(B) (John 1:32) "And John bore witness, saying, "I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him."

(C) (John 1:34) ""And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of God.""

(iii) The Woman at the well testified—John 4:39) "And many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him because of the word of the woman who testified, "He told me all that I ever did.""

(iv) Jesus’ own works testified as to Who He was—(John 5:36-37) ""But I have a greater witness than John's; for the works which the Father has given Me to finish; the very works that I do; bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me. 37 "And the Father Himself, who sent Me, has testified of Me. You have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His form."

(v) The Scriptures witness who Jesus is—(John 5:39) ""You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me."

(vi) The Father testified of the Son—(John 8:17-18) ""It is also written in your law that the testimony of two men is true. 18 "I am One who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me.""

(vii) The Holy Spirit testified and testifies about Jesus—(John 15:26-27) ""But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. 27 "And you also will bear witness, because you have been with Me from the beginning."

(viii) The word can refer to a Christian’s reputation— (Acts 6:3) ""Therefore, brethren, seek out from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business;"

(ix) God testified to the Truth of the Gospel the Apostles brought by miracles— (Acts 14:3) "Therefore they stayed there a long time, speaking boldly in the Lord, who was bearing witness to the word of His grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands."

(x) The Law and the Prophets witnessed as to the Truth of the Gospel to come— (Rom 3:21) "But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,"

(xi) Abel did die for his testimony— (Heb 11:4) "By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks…”

(xii) Enoch’s testimony was so strong that God took him home directly—Heb 10:5 “…By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, "and was not found, because God had taken him"; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God."

(xiii) John testified as to Who Jesus is—

(A) (1 John 1:2) "the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us;"

(B) (1 John 4:14) "And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world."

(C) (Rev 1:9) "I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ."

(xiv) We see the martyrs who died to seal their testimony—(Rev 6:9) "When He opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held."

(xv) By our Testimony, we can overcome—

(A) (Rev 12:11) ""And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death."

(B) (Rev 20:4) "And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years."

(xvi) God testifies as to the Truth of the book of Revelation.

(Rev 22:16) ""I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.""

(Rev 22:20) "He who testifies to these things says, "Surely I am coming quickly." Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!"


d. So, what does it mean to witness?

(1) It means every aspect of Christian life and testimony that we see above—

(2) Witnessing is not something we do on a Thursday night—our witness involves

(a) Reputation

(b) Love of the brethren

(c) Behavior

(d) Teaching

(e) Discipling

(f) Sacrifice and steadfastness under persecution

(g) And for many, ultimately it means our earthly lives sacrificed in His service.

e. To what did John witness? “…to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw…”.

(1) The Word of God—

(a) God knew that this was the last book of the Bible—(Psa 119:89) "Forever, O LORD, Your word is settled in heaven."

(b) Though Revelation has no direct quotes of the Old Testament, it does repeat the central themes of the Old Testament and it alludes to the eschatological (end times) passages of the New Testament, including

(i) Mat 7:21-23—the Great White Throne

(ii) Mat 24—(the description of the Tribulation. and Glorious Appearing)

(iii) Acts 1:8-11, 2 Peter 3, The Glorious Appearing

(iv) 2 Th 2:1-14—the Man of Sin—compare with Rev 13.

(v) Jude—The Glorious Appearing

2. The Blessing of God on All Who Read, Hear and Obey— “…(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…”.

a. A Blessing, and (perhaps) a description of an early church worship service

(1) The three participles translated reads, hear, and heed are in the present tense. Reading, hearing and obeying the truths taught in the book of Revelation (and in the rest of Scripture) are to be a way of life for believers. The change from the singular he who reads to the plural those who hear the words of the prophecy and heed the things which are written in it depicts a first century church service. It was common practice when the church gathered for one person to read the Scriptures aloud for all to hear (c.f. 1 Tim 4:3). (MAC)

(2) Why was this the case?

(a) Most of the early believers were poor, or were slaves, and had no resources, and some had no education (though there were educated slaves which were the tutors for the children of the wealthy

(b) A copy of the Old Testament would have been very expensive

(c) Though they had the books of the New Testament, they were often not together in one place for the same reason as above.

(d) So, an appointed person read to the whole congregation, and many committed to memory what they heard in these primitive church meetings.

(3) A description of a second century worship service from the writings of Justin Martyr—

“… on the day called Sunday, [we] gather together to one place, and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as time permits; then, when the reader has ceased, the president verbally instructs, and exhorts to the imitation of these good things. Then we all rise together and pray, and, as we before said, when our prayer is ended, bread and wine and water are brought, and the president in like manner offers prayers and thanksgivings, according to his ability, and the people assent, saying Amen; and there is a distribution to each, and a participation of that over which thanks have been given, and to those who are absent a portion is sent by the deacons. And they who are well to do, and willing, give what each thinks fit; and what is collected is deposited with the president, who [sees to the needs of] the orphans and widows and those who, through sickness or any other cause, are in want, and those who are in bonds and the strangers sojourning among us, and in a word takes care of all who are in need. But Sunday is the day on which we all hold our common assembly, because… Jesus Christ our Saviour on the same day rose from the dead….”(Justin Martyr, 150 AD)

b. A blessing—markarios—

(1) A Christian is deliriously happy because of this book

(2) A Blessing for the reader—and what a great honor it was to be a Lector, who assured that God’s people could hear the Word, and of course, the Lector also had to study and prepare to read his passages for each week.

(3) A Blessing for the listener—the only way most of them could know the Word and Grow was to have it read to them.

(4) A Blessing for the one who acts on the information given—Mat 28:19-20—From the beginning, it was never the intention of God to make converts, but instead to make Disciples who live out the Gospel.