Monday July 24th 2017

REVELATION

INTRODUCTION

When John, the presumed author of the Gospel of John, was in captivity on the island of Patmos, he was taken up to Heaven and saw a divine vision. So he wrote: "the revelation of Jesus Christ that God gave to him... and that God made known through his angel". He wrote about A.D. 96 when the emperor Domitian began a wave of very violent persecution to eradicate Christianity, making the worship of the emperor an obligation. Some say that the prophecies only concern the time of the apostle (the preterists), some say that they concern all history, as the persecution of Rome for example (the reformists), or that they concern eschatology, the sign of the last days (the Evangelicals), and some say that it's only poetry about God's power over evil. But the author glimpses, through the worship of the emperor, the inevitable consequence of history: the culmination of the trends which already exist: that mankind will be separated between obedience to Christ and to the antichrist. So, beyond the setting of his time, the prophet depictes the great crisis of the world which looks like the crisis of the last days. As the church was devastated by the Roman persecution, the church of the last days will suffer a great opposition from the dominant secular power. Coming from this great fight, Christ will appear in his glory and he will establish God's kingdom in power. It seems that the author says that the advent is imminent, but we can't plan the date of his coming, it's unknown to mankind and kept in secret by God under his authority (Ac 1:6)

Revelation 1:1-8

key verse: 8

I AM THE ALPHA AND THE OMEGA

John writes about the hapiness of the obedient people and about the great character of the Messiah. 

1. Happy is he that reads (1-3)

In his ecstasy on the island of exile, John receives a divine vision. An angel sent by God reveals to him the mystery of heaven. Paul was caught up into the third heaven whereas for John God sends an angel to reveal to him the secret of his providence about what will soon follow. According to the revelation, apostasy is imminent. But God considers a thousand years like a day. That will happen very soon. John speaks as a witness who doesn't miss any of these things that he saw, but who announces all. He speaks about hapiness in the reading of the holy papers. This hapiness is for those who read it and also who keep his instructions with obedience. Their house is solid, build on rock (Mt 7:24).

2. I am the alpha and the omega (4-8)

The author salutes the readers from the Sent. He wishes mercy. Who sends him ? First it's Jesus. He is the one who is, who was and who is to come. He is God, Shepherd and Judge. Then, the spirits before the throne send him. They are the elders. They also can refer to the Holy Spirit. Finally, Jesus with another attribute, as a faithful witness, sends him. Jesus is the sovereign of history, who uses the kings of the world and who overcomes evil and Satan by his resurrection. If we deeply and personally remain in this character of the Lord, we naturally receive his unchanging mercy. Therefore, we must receive his testimony that is his word, the power of his resurrection, his sovereignty in our life and in history. Then, John speaks about the object of praise of the believers: on one hand the redemptive love towards the sinners, and on the other hand the divine call for his kingdom. Who is this redeemer and this sovereign ? He is the alpha and the omega, the beginning and the end. He is all for all. 

Prayer: Lord, help me to read and obey your world. Help me to receive your mercy and your great call for me a miserable sinner. You are my all and you are all for the world. 

Bottom line: the alpha and the omega is the Lord Jesus