Scripture Reading: Gen. 3:14-15; John 16:13-14; Rev. 1:1—3:22
This book of "the revelation" concerns the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ. This book not only makes known future events, it also makes known the person of Jesus Christ. Many people read Revelation for the sake of prophecy, but while there is prophecy in it, it is not a book of prophecy. This book is specifically designated to be "the revelation of Jesus Christ," because its object is to make known who Christ is. It is the "Apocalypse," that is, the unveiling of the Lord. It draws aside the curtain and unveils the person of Jesus Christ. It is not that Christ reveals something through this book, but that this book reveals Him. It is not that He makes known certain things, but that this book makes Him known. It does not reveal how Christ saves or how Christ empowers; it reveals how the Lamb of God in the purpose of God is related to the throne of God. We think that if we know Jesus Christ as our Savior, then we have had a revelation of Him, and that if we know Him as our power, then we have had a revelation of Him. But the revelation of this book is a revelation of Him in relation to the throne of God. At the beginning of this book we see the Lamb before the throne, at the end of the book we see the Lamb on the throne. The purpose of this book is not to show coming events; it shows coming events only in so far as they reveal who Christ is. Many study Revelation because they are prompted by intellectual curiosity, not by a desire to know the Lord. This kind of study has no spiritual value. The primary object of Revelation is not to enlighten us regarding coming events, Satan, Antichrist, the resurrection of the Roman Empire, the rapture, or the millennium, but to reveal Christ so that we may know Him. If we are clear in regards to the Lord, we will know coming events. The divine order is not getting to know future events, but getting to know the Lord first. Then we will know future events without any difficulty. John wrote of "all that he saw," and these things were comprehended in "the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ" (1:2). Coming events are declared to make known "the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ." The word of God is the revelation of what is in the heart of God.
As Christians we have two cares — the past and the future. What if salvation only reached to this present point? The purpose of Revelation is to answer this question, not to answer questions regarding the great tribulation or the Antichrist. In the beginning of Genesis we see a serpent. What is going to be the end of him? In the beginning we see a curse. What is going to be the end of that curse? In the beginning we see a tree of life. What is going to be the end of this tree? In the beginning we see death and sin. What is going to be the final issue of these things? We see their beginnings, but what is their end? What is going to be the end of us? God has made a beginning with us, but what is going to be the end?
"I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, He who is and who was and who is coming, the Almighty." "I am the First and the Last and the living One; and I became dead, and behold, I am living forever and ever" (1:8, 17-18). We know Christ as the Alpha, but Revelation tells us that He is also the Omega. We know Christ as the First, but Revelation tells us that He is also the Last. We know Christ as the Beginning, but Revelation tells us that He is also the End. Christ is our Beginning, and He is also our End. Christ is our Alpha, and He is also our Omega. Jesus Christ is the answer to all of our questions. The book of Revelation is not a matter of seals and trumpets. It is not a revelation as to whether the rapture is partial or complete. It is not an answer to our intellectual speculations, but it is an answer to our spiritual need. What is the outcome of this world? What is the outcome of the political situation? What is the outcome of us? Everything has its outcome in the Lord Jesus Christ. Every issue is settled when He is settled on the throne of God.
Who is qualified to study Revelation? We can find the answer in John's history. The first revelation John had is recorded in Revelation 1:12-18. The first vision he had was not of things, nor of events, but of the person of Jesus Christ (1:9-18). No one is qualified to study the subsequent visions recorded by John if he has not seen the first vision recorded by him. The first vision reveals who the Lord is; the visions that follow are of coming events. These are the issue of His being what He is, and they make way for the universal revelation of Him as He is. Unless we have this revelation first, a knowledge of coming events will only stimulate our curiosity and puff us up, producing confusion or even unbelief. The purpose of the book is to lead us to know Jesus Christ, not to know Him merely as Savior or Sanctifier, but to know Him as King on the throne. Only those who have seen the King on the throne and who have fallen as dead at His feet are qualified to study prophecy.
Even John, who rested on the bosom of the Lord, had to have a revelation of the Lord that shattered him in the dust before he was qualified to see the further vision of Revelation. This first seeing is fundamental to all other seeings. Not until we know the Lord as He is revealed in Revelation 1 can we understand the events revealed in the subsequent chapters. Only then can we see the reason for these events and the rightness of them.
John knew the love of the Lord, but he did not know the majesty of the Lord. He knew the Lord as a compassionate Savior, but he did not know Him as a glorious King. This was the Lord who was revealed in the midst of the churches. We can know this Lord today. Not until we see Him in this manner are we equipped for conflict. It is this vision of the Lord that makes us warriors. The message of the church today is salvation, but our burden is not just to proclaim the salvation of the Lord; it is to proclaim the battle of the Lord. Revelation shows that the Lord is not only the Savior, He is the King, and as King He proclaims war on all that is contrary to His kingdom. If a person does not see the love of the Lord, he cannot proclaim salvation. If a person does not see the majesty of the Lord, he cannot proclaim war. The purpose of coming events is to destroy the enemy and to bring in the King. They are not revealed to provide food for curiosity, discussion, and gossip.
In the book of Revelation God wants to show through John an aspect of Christ that was not shown in his Gospel. In the Gospel of John we see Christ as the Savior; in Revelation we see Christ as King. In the Gospel of John we see the Alpha; in Revelation we see Omega. In the Gospel of John we see His love; in Revelation we see His majesty. In the Gospel of John we see the Lord girded about the waist, that is, for service; in Revelation we see the Lord girded about the breasts, that is, for war. In the Gospel of John we see His mild eyes melt Peter; in Revelation we see His eyes as a flame of fire, enlightening and consuming. In the Gospel of John His voice is gentle, and gracious words proceed from His mouth; in Revelation His voice is as the sound of many waters, and a sharp two-edged sword proceeds out of His mouth, bringing judgment on all His foes.
It is not enough to know the Lord as the Lamb of God, the Savior of the world; we must also know Him as God's Christ, as God's King, and as God's Judge. When we see Him as the Savior, we say, "How lovable!" When we see Him as King, we say, "How fearful!" When we see Him as Savior, we lean on His bosom. When we see Him as King, we fall at His feet. The first issues in thanksgiving; the second issues in praise. Seeing Him as the King is like seeing another Christ; it is like experiencing another salvation.
