By the Lord’s mercy, in this life-study we come to the last book of the Bible, the book of Revelation. Due to the subtle enemy of God, the book of Revelation has been closed, and few Christians understand it. Hardly anyone has seen something of life, of God’s economy, and of the testimony of Jesus in this book. Thus, we have been burdened by the Lord to have a life-study of this book.
Revelation is a book of prophecy (Rev. 1:3; 22:7), for the revelation it contains is in the nature of prophecy. Most of the visions refer to things to come. Even the seven epistles to the seven churches in chapters two and three, in the sense of signs, are prophecies regarding the church on earth until the Lord’s coming back. Although this book is a book of prophecy, it is not prophecy merely in words, but in visions revealed to the seer. In the eyes of God, all the things prophesied in this book have already transpired and all have been shown to the seer in vision after vision.
In the book of Revelation, most of the verbs and predicates are not in the future tense, but in the past tense, indicating that the events recorded in this book have already transpired. Strictly speaking, Revelation is not merely a prophecy; it is a revelation of things which have already taken place. While they may not seem in our eyes to have transpired, in God’s eyes they have transpired. In God’s eyes, everything recorded in this book occurred nearly two thousand years ago. We all must believe this. Most Christians consider Revelation to be a book of predictions and they are curious to understand these predictions. Many of them read this book only for the sake of their curiosity. But we must say to the Lord, “O Lord, save us from this. We don’t want to know this book in the way of curiosity.” I say strongly, once again, that Revelation is not merely a book of prophecy, but a record of things which have already taken place.
In Revelation, two main things have transpired. The first is that the testimony of Jesus has been accomplished for eternity. Have you not seen the New Jerusalem? The apostle John saw it nearly two thousand years ago. Do you believe that you are in the New Jerusalem? If we appear to be crazy for saying this, we are crazy according to the Bible. The New Jerusalem, the ultimate consummation of God’s work through the centuries, has been completely built up, and we are in it! According to the last two chapters of Revelation, the building of the New Jerusalem has been accomplished. This first item is on the positive side.
On the negative side, a second main thing has transpired — Satan, the enemy of God, has been dealt with. In the eyes of God and even in the eyes of our brother John, Satan has been cast into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:10). Satan, the serpent, is in the lake of fire, and we are in the New Jerusalem. Have you seen this? If we have seen that Satan is in the lake of fire, we shall not beg God to deal with him. Rather, we shall praise Him that the enemy has been dealt with. Whenever Satan troubles us, we must tell him, “Satan, you are in the wrong place. You should not be here. You belong in the lake of fire. Go back there and do not come here again.” Have you ever done this? We all must do it.
The Bible is always consistent, even in the matter of Satan, God’s enemy. In Gen. 3, Satan came to humanity in a very subtle way, coming in the form of a serpent. In Revelation, Satan is deliberately called “the old serpent” (Rev. 12:9; 20:2). In the book of Genesis, the serpent was not so old, but in the book of Revelation, he has become old, at least six thousand years old. With a definite intention, the book of Revelation purposely calls him “the old serpent.” At the time of the book of Revelation, however, Satan is not only “the old serpent”; he has also become a dragon (Rev. 12:9; 20:2). According to Revelation, this dragon is firstly cast out of heaven and down to the earth (Rev. 12:7-9). Then, after three and one-half years, he is bound and cast into the abyss (Rev. 20:1-3). In Revelation 20 we see that, still being somewhat useful in the hands of God, the Lord will release Satan from the abyss at the end of the thousand years (Rev. 20:7). After his release, Satan will try his best to damage humanity, “to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to war” (20:8). But, shortly afterward, according to Rev. 20:10, the Devil will be cast into the lake of fire, which is his destiny and destination. The book of Revelation has been closed because it exposes Satan, disclosing his destiny and destination. But now, at the end of time, we believe that the Lord will open up this book and open up our hearts, spirits, and eyes that we may clearly see that God’s enemy is now in the lake of fire. Hallelujah, Satan, the old serpent, is in the lake of fire and we are in the New Jerusalem!
The New Jerusalem is the testimony of Jesus. Today’s church is also the testimony of Jesus. Today, we in the churches are the testimony of Jesus. We all must see this to the uttermost, forgetting ourselves, our weaknesses, our besetting sins, and even the fact that we are on earth. When someone asks you where you are, you must reply, “I’m in the New Jerusalem.” In the New Jerusalem there are no bugs, frogs, scorpions, or serpents. Furthermore, in that city there is no sin, death, or world. There is nothing there except Christ and God’s redeemed and transformed people. If we see this, we shall praise the Lord and shout, “Hallelujah!”
Revelation 1:1 says, “The revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave to Him to show to His slaves what must swiftly take place; and He made it known by signs, sending it by His angel to His slave, John.” The revelation of this book is mainly composed of signs, that is, symbols with spiritual significance, such as the seven lampstands signifying the churches and the seven stars signifying the messengers of the churches (Rev. 1:20). Even the New Jerusalem is a sign, signifying the ultimate consummation of God’s economy (Rev. 2, Rev. 22). This book, then, is a book of symbols through which the revelation is made known to us. John’s Gospel is a book of signs signifying how Christ came to be our life to produce the church, His Bride. John’s Revelation is also a book of signs showing how Christ is now caring for the church and how He is coming to judge and possess the earth and to bring the church, His Bride, into God’s full economy.
Revelation is a book of conclusion. If the book of Revelation were deleted from the Bible, there would be a great shortage, for there would be a beginning but no ending. Although there is the beginning in the book of Genesis, without the book of Revelation there is no conclusion or consummation. After having a good start and after passing through so many works, there is the need for God to have a consummation. Without Revelation, there is no conclusion of God’s economy. God is great; He is a God of purpose. For the fulfillment of His purpose, His economy must be accomplished. Many Bible students have neglected the matter of God’s economy. If we did not have Revelation, we could not see the consummation of God’s economy. In fact, we would even find it difficult to realize what God’s economy is, because we would not see the result, the issue of His economy. But in this book the revelation of God’s economy is so clear because it contains the conclusion of God’s economy.
Without Revelation, we would also have no conclusion to the redemption of Christ. Christ came in the flesh and died on the cross to accomplish redemption. But what does redemption accomplish? To say that Christ’s redemption only saves sinners and brings them to heaven is a very poor conclusion. This kind of conclusion is not so meaningful. But in Revelation we see that Christ redeemed us, purchasing us with His blood, to make us a kingdom and priests. Hence, this book discloses the conclusion of Christ’s redemption.
Revelation 1:6 says that Christ has “made us a kingdom, priests to His God and Father.” The believers redeemed by the blood of Christ have not only been born of God into His kingdom (John 3:5), but have also been made a kingdom for God’s economy, which is the church (Matt. 16:18-19). John, the writer of this book, was in this kingdom (Rev. 1:9), and all the redeemed and reborn believers are a part of this kingdom (Rom. 14:17).
One of the main aspects of this book is that God is recovering His right over the earth to make the whole earth His kingdom (Rev. 11:15). When Christ came, He brought in the kingdom of God with Him (Luke 17:21; Matt. 12:28). This kingdom has been enlarged into the church (Matt. 16:18-19), which will bring in the consummation of the kingdom of God to the whole earth. On the one hand, the kingdom of God today is in the church, but on the other hand the kingdom of God is coming through the overcoming believers (Rev. 12:10). Then Christ and the overcoming believers will reign over all the nations in the millennial kingdom (Rev. 2:26-27; 12:5; 20:4, 6).
The redemption through Christ’s blood has not only made us a kingdom to God but also priests to Him (1 Pet. 2:5). The kingdom is for God’s dominion, while the priests, being those who express God’s image, are for God’s expression. This is the kingly, royal priesthood (1 Pet. 2:9) for the fulfillment of God’s original purpose in creating man (Gen. 1:26-28). This kingly priesthood is being exercised in today’s church life (Rev. 5:10). It will be intensely practiced in the millennial kingdom (20:6), and it will be ultimately consummated in the New Jerusalem (Rev. 22:3, 5).
The book of Revelation also presents a wonderful and marvelous consummation of the church. In this book we see God’s economy, Christ’s redemption, and the church’s testimony. Without Revelation, we could read the Epistles again and again without realizing that the church is Christ’s testimony. In which of the Epistles do we see the churches shining as lampstands in the dark night? Only in the book of Revelation do we see this. In Revelation, the churches firstly are the shining lampstands. Eventually, in eternity, the church will be the New Jerusalem, a golden mountain. This is the wonderful consummation of the church. The present situation is a lie, and we should not believe it. Do not just say, “How evil is the Catholic Church and how pitiful are the Protestant churches.” We must look at the other side, the eternal side, where we see the New Jerusalem. Even today, during the dark night, we have the shining lampstands.
Along with God’s economy, Christ’s redemption, and the church’s testimony, Revelation also discloses the enemy’s destination. If we did not have the book of Revelation, we would not know what Satan’s destiny is, and no one would be able to understand why God has been and still is tolerating the subtle, evil, dirty Satan. However, if we get into this book and see the conclusion of Satan’s record, we shall be happy and laugh at the serpent. Therefore, in Revelation we have the conclusion of four major things — God’s economy, Christ’s redemption, the church’s testimony, and Satan’s destiny.
The book of Revelation is the conclusion of John’s writings. As we pointed out in the life-study of John, the writings of the apostle John are of three categories: his Gospel, his Epistles, and his Revelation. John’s Gospel is for the imparting of life. In John 10:10 Jesus said, “I came that they may have life and may have it abundantly,” and in John 12:24 He said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it abides alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” In these verses we see the imparting of life, which is the central thought of the Gospel of John. In John’s Epistles is the fellowship for the growth of life. Although life has been imparted into us, it needs to grow. Life grows by fellowship. Therefore, in John’s Epistles we see the fellowship for the growth of life. In the last category of John’s writings, his Revelation, we have the reaping of life. Firstly, life is imparted, then it grows, and eventually it is reaped. Without Revelation, we would have the imparting of life and the growth of life, but not the reaping of life.
Revelation is also the conclusion of the New Testament, which is composed of the Gospels, the Acts, the Epistles, and Revelation. In the Gospels we see the sowing of the seed of life, for in the Gospels Jesus came to sow Himself into humanity as the seed of life, sowing Himself into a small number of people, such as Peter and John. In the Acts is the propagation of life. In the Epistles we see the growth of life. The central concept of all the Epistles written by Paul, Peter, John, and the others is the growth of life. We all need to grow in life. In Revelation we see, once again, the harvest of life. In chapter fourteen of Revelation we have a ripened field and a harvest. Rev. 14:15 says, “Another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to Him who sat on the cloud, Send forth Your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is ripe.” In Rev.n 14, the whole field is harvested. By this we see that Revelation is the conclusion of the New Testament.
As the last book of the Bible, Revelation is the conclusion, completion, and consummation of the entire divine revelation, the whole Bible. The Bible needs such a conclusion. The seeds of most of the truths of the divine revelation were sown in Genesis, the first book of the Bible. The growth of all these seeds is progressively developed in the following books, especially in the books of the New Testament, and the harvest is reaped in the book of Revelation. For example, in Genesis is the seed of the serpent, and in the book of Revelation there is the harvest of the serpent. Hence, most of the things covered in this book are not absolutely new, but refer back to the foregoing books of the Bible. In Genesis is the seed of the divine revelation, in the following books is the progressive development of the divine revelation, and in Revelation is the harvest of the divine revelation. Therefore, we all must get into this book and know it. If we do not know this book, we cannot be clear about God’s revelation. In our travels, we often are not clear about the way, the road, until we have reached our destination. After we have reached our destination and look back upon the way we have taken, we become very clear. In Revelation we arrive at the destination of the whole Bible. Having arrived at this destination, we can understand this divine Book.
Now we come to the contents of Revelation. Do not think that the contents of this book are frogs, scorpions, locusts, horns, serpents, and horses. We should not even say that the contents are merely the seven seals, the seven trumpets, and the seven bowls. No, this book is not mainly concerned with these things. Revelation is firstly a book of Christ, secondly a book of the church, and thirdly a book of God’s economy.
The whole Bible reveals Christ. As the conclusion, completion, and consummation of the Bible, the book of Revelation especially is “the revelation of Jesus Christ” (Rev. 1:1). Although this book also reveals many other things, the focus of its revelation is Christ. Several aspects of Christ, such as the vision of Him as the High Priest in the midst of the churches, caring for them in love yet with a judging attitude (Rev. 1:13-16), the vision of Him as the Lion-Lamb in the midst of God’s throne and of the four living creatures and in the midst of the twenty-four elders of the universe, opening the seven seals of God’s universal administration (Rev. 5:1-14; 6:1), and the vision of Him as Another Mighty Angel coming down from heaven to take possession of the earth (Rev. 10:1-8; 18:1) have never been unveiled as they are in the book of Revelation. In this book, the revelation of Christ is unique and ultimate. In the Gospels, Acts, and Epistles we do not see that Christ has seven eyes, but this is revealed in the book of Revelation (Rev. 5:6). Christ, our Savior, has seven eyes. How terrifying! This revelation of Christ is unique. In Luke 4:22 we are told that “words of grace” proceeded out of Christ’s mouth, but in Revelation 1:16 a sharp two-edged sword proceeds out of His mouth. Moreover, in his Gospel, John says, “Behold, the Lamb of God” (Rev. 1:29), but in Revelation one of the elders says, “Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah” (Rev. 5:5). Hence, the revelation of Christ in this book is unique. In no other book is Christ unveiled as He is in Revelation. The first item of the contents of Revelation is this unique Christ.
On one hand, this book gives us “the revelation of Christ,” and on the other hand, it shows us “the testimony of Jesus,” which is particular and consummate (Rev. 1:2, 9; 12:17; 19:10; 20:4). The testimony of Jesus is the church. Revelation presents the revealed Christ and the testifying church. In this book we have a particular and consummate record of the church. In no other book are the churches revealed as they are in the book of Revelation. The lampstands in chapter one, the great multitude of the redeemed in chapter seven, the bright woman with her man-child in chapter twelve, the harvest with its firstfruits in chapter fourteen, the overcomers on the sea of glass in chapter fifteen, the Bride ready for marriage and the fighting army of Christ in chapter nineteen, and the New Jerusalem in chapters twenty-one and twenty-two are all the testimony of Jesus. The testimony of Jesus is the spirit — the substance, the disposition, and the characteristic — of the prophecy (19:10). Christ is the Witness (1:5), the testimony, the expression of God, and the church is the testimony, the expression of Christ. As such, the church is the reproduction of the testimony, the expression of God in Christ. The particular revelation of the church in this book is very crucial, and we all must see it.
The contents of Revelation also include the economy of God. God’s economy is His universal and eternal administration. In the book of Revelation we see God’s universal and eternal administration which is for the carrying out of His economy. Space-wise His administration is universal and time-wise it is eternal.
In God’s administration the first group of items is the seven seals. A seal indicates that something is closed, concealed, and not open to the public. The first four seals cover the history of the world from Christ’s ascension to the end of this age (Rev. 6:1-8). This history is briefly yet all-inclusively covered in these four seals. With the opening of these seals we see four horses, every one of which has a rider. The rider of the first horse is the gospel preaching, the rider of the second is war, the rider of the third is famine, and the rider of the fourth is death. Hence, in these first four seals we have the gospel, war, famine, and death. If you know the history of the world, you will realize that this has exactly been the situation during the past twenty centuries. Since Christ’s ascension, the gospel has been preached.
Throughout the centuries, along with gospel preaching there has been war. Since the Roman Empire sent its armies to destroy the city of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, war has been intensified century after century. In the beginning of this century there was World War I and following that there was a greatly intensified war — World War II. War always causes famine, and famine brings in death. These four horses are the content of the first four seals.
The fifth seal covers the cry of the martyred saints (Rev. 6:9-11). This will occur close to the end of this age and near the beginning of the great tribulation. Due to the preaching of the gospel throughout the centuries, many saints have been martyred. Close to the end of this age these martyred saints will cry to God for revenge.
The sixth seal, taking place very near to the time of the great tribulation, covers the shaking of earth and heaven (Rev. 6:12-17). At the opening of the sixth seal, there will be a great earthquake (6:12) which will be a warning to earth’s dwellers. Some evil ones say, “Who is God? We are God!” Although they may say that they are God, when the real God comes to shake their dwelling place, then they will know who God is. I have met some people who have argued with me, saying, “Mr. Lee, you preach about God. Don’t you know that we are God?” I answered, “Let us see who is God. Although God has some amount of toleration, His toleration is limited. One day you will exhaust His toleration, and His little finger will shake the earth. Then you will know who is God.” Before the great tribulation begins, God will send forth a warning to all the earth’s dwellers reminding them that there is a God. At the time of the sixth seal, God will not only shake the earth but also the heavens. Revelation 6:12 and 13 say, “And there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became as blood; and the stars of heaven fell to the earth as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind.” At that time, the earth will no longer be a suitable place for evil men to live boastfully.
The most difficult seal to understand is the seventh. The seventh seal, which will last for eternity, consists of the seven trumpets. Do not confuse the seals with the trumpets. The seals are secret, but the trumpets are public. When you seal something, you make it secret and private, but when you sound a trumpet, you make something public.
The seven trumpets are the contents of the seventh seal. The first four trumpets are the judgments on the earth, the sea, the rivers, and the sun, moon, and stars (Rev. 8:7-12). As a result of the judgments in the first four trumpets, the earth will no longer be a suitable place for people to live in. The fifth trumpet, the first woe as judgment on men, will be the beginning of the great tribulation (Rev. 8:13; 9:1-11). As we shall see, the great tribulation will be terrible. The sixth trumpet, which is the second woe as a further judgment on men, is a part of the great tribulation (9:12-21). The seventh trumpet is quite complicated. It consists of the eternal kingdom of Christ, the third woe comprising the seven bowls, the judgment of the dead, the rewarding of the saints and of the God-fearing people, and the destruction of the earth’s destroyers (Rev. 11:14-18). The third woe, which is the second item of the seventh trumpet, will be the closing of the great tribulation. After this, there will be the rewarding of the prophets, the saints, and those who fear God’s name. Throughout the generations, these three categories of people have been produced. The prophets mostly come from the Old Testament, the saints mostly come from the New Testament, and those who fear the name of God will be produced during the great tribulation. The seventh trumpet includes the reward the Lord will give to these three classes of people. The seventh trumpet also comprises the judgment of the dead and the destruction of the earth’s destroyers. The destroyers of the earth are Satan, the Antichrist, the false prophet, and all their followers. Hence, the seventh trumpet includes everything from the end of the tribulation to eternity.
The seven bowls, a part of the negative contents of the seventh trumpet as the last plagues of God’s wrath on men, will be the ending of the great tribulation (Rev. 15:1, 6-8; 16:1-21). The seven bowls, like the seven seals and the seven trumpets, are composed of a group of the first four and then the fifth, sixth, and seventh. This grouping is meaningful. Certainly the writer of the book of Revelation must be God. Who else would have had the wisdom required to write it? If this book was written according to John’s imagination, then John must be God. The book of Revelation is surely composed in a marvelous way.
The book of Revelation has five sections: the introduction (Rev. 1:1-8), the things seen (Rev. 1:9-20), the things present (Rev. 2:1-29; 3:1-22), the things to come (4:1—22:5), and the conclusion (Rev. 22:6-21). In the introduction we have the revelation of Christ and the testimony of Jesus. Although Revelation includes God’s economy, God’s economy is not the crucial focus of this book. The two crucial items which are the focus of Revelation are Christ and the church, that is, the revelation of Christ and the testimony of Jesus. Following this introduction, we have the things seen — the seven lampstands and the Son of Man with the seven stars. Then, in chapters two and three, we have the things present — the seven local churches. The next section, covering the things to come, has two parts. The first part (4:1—11:19) consists of a general view of the things to come from Christ’s ascension to eternity future. In the second part (12:1—22:5) we find the details of the important things covered in the first part. These two parts resemble Genesis chapters one and two. In Genesis 1 we have a general record of God’s creation; in Genesis 2 we have the details of God’s creation of man. In the same principle, in 4:1 to 11:19 we have a general view of all the things to come, and in 12:1 through 22:5 we have the details of the important things to come. Do not consider the last eleven chapters as a continuation of the first eleven chapters, for the general view of the things to come concludes at the end of chapter eleven. Following all the details of the things to come unveiled in the second part of this section, we have 22:6-21 as the conclusion to the book of Revelation.
