The Unveiling
How does a prisoner smuggle covert information out of his cell without getting caught? Simple. Hide it in plain sight. Exactly what the apostle John did to deliver the message of Jesus to the churches.
Remember from the introduction, John had been exiled to the island of Patmos for preaching the Good News of Jesus. He received instructions from Jesus Himself, to share the vision. John hid the vision in a complex cryptogram, and left a key to be used to translate the letters. The Apostle painted a vivid picture of Jesus, the head of the church, with types, shadows, and symbols. As we dig into chapter one, keep the key in mind. The things seen are not literal, but images used to symbolize reality.
The Revelation, or the vision John received, is made up of a series of scenes. Scene shifts occur several times as the vision moves along and becomes more detailed. Chapter one, the first scene, is the presentation of Jesus’ credentials.
1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants– things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel 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. 3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.
In verse one, the word Revelation comes from the Greek, apokaloopsis, which means a disclosure, a revealing. The Amplified Bible translates it as an unveiling, which is a more accurate translation. The Spirit world is “beyond the veil.” John pulled back of the curtain to reveal Jesus Christ the King of Kings, and things in the heavenly realm.
In the Old Testament temple, a heavy, multi-layered curtain, a veil, separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies, the ark of the covenant, and the presence of God. (Exodus 26:31)
No one could go within the veil except the high priest who entered once a year. His mission was to represent the children of Israel, the Hebrew people, and sprinkle the blood of a sacrifice on the mercy seat.
No human could enter without blood being offered. Temple servants tied a rope around the priest’s ankle as he went in. If the Spirit of God found any sin in him, or did not accept his sacrifice for some reason, he would be struck dead. He must constantly move, because if he stopped, the other priests would pull him back out by the rope. No sin can stand in the presence of God, the Sinless One.
When Jesus cried out from the cross “it is finished,” the temple veil ripped from top to bottom (Mark 15:38). This signifies God Himself tore the veil, and allowed man access to the spirit world through the death and resurrection of Jesus the Messiah.
In Revelation 1 verse 2, John observed this unveiling of the Messiah. He walked and talked with Jesus and would have been intimately familiar with Him. John called himself the disciple whom Jesus loved. John 13:23, 1 John 1:1-4
Verse 3 is the reason for the Revelation, and the importance of the letter. Jesus, the Head of the church, sent the vision to bless the church and to prepare it for the time to come.
The biblical time frame is divided into three parts, or three dispensations. Again, three, the number of perfection. In this case, God’s perfect timing. Each dispensation is two thousand years long, for a total of six thousand years. Where did six thousand years come from?
9 “Remember the former things of old, for I Am God, and there is no other; I Am God and there is none like Me, 10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things that are not yet done, Saying, “My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure …” Isaiah 46:10 (See also Ecclesiastes 3:14-15)
Isaiah 46:10 tells us that God declares the end from the beginning. This is called the Solomon Concept, due to the reference in Ecclesiastes. This tells us that things done in the beginning will happen again. Or we might say, “what goes around, comes around.”
Genesis 2:1-3 tells how God created the earth in six days, and gave dominion, or a “lease,” to man, through Adam (Verse 15). Six days of creation were a type, or shadow of things to come. On the seventh day, God called His completed world “very good” (Gen1:31), and rested from His work. Since a day is as a thousand years (2 Peter 3:8), the Word is saying that man will have dominion over the earth for six thousand years. The seventh thousand will be the millennial reign of King Jesus, and a thousand years of rest. More on that later.
The first dispensation was Adam to Abraham. The building of the family of man, of their faith, and of the knowledge of God; Jehovah’s search for a people to be His own; a people who would trust and worship Him.
The second was Abraham to Jesus, the time of the ten commandments and the law. God taught man to walk in the first covenant that He established with Abraham and his descendants.
The third, the church age, is the time Jesus walked the earth until His return at His second coming. In the third dispensation, the first covenant is replaced by a new covenant, where “the just shall live by faith.” Habakkuk 2:4. And by the greatest commandment; love. John 15:12
How many years have passed since Jesus’ advent and the end of the third dispensation?
Jesus Himself doesn’t know the exact time of His return. The information is in the Father’s own power alone. He (Jesus) said to them, “It is not for you to know the time or season which the Father has put in His own authority …” Acts 1:7-8
The word you in that passage refers to the disciples. He was talking to them, not necessarily us two thousand years later. The exact time must remain a mystery; to name a date would be futile. Otherwise, people would wait until the very last moment, and die in their sins when Jesus comes back like a thief. (1 Thessalonians 5:2 & 4) But the signs of His imminent return are obvious.
More about this seventh dispensation is found in Revelation 21 and 22, a new heaven and earth.
4 “John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: grace to you and peace from Him who is, and was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits (of God) who are before His throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, 6 and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. 7 Behold He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.
8 “I Am the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty (El Shadai).”
Why would John write to only the seven churches he addressed? A large church existed in Jerusalem. The introduction covered this. Remember, seven is the number of completeness and perfection.
In verses four through eight, Jesus presents His credentials, and shows who he is.
Verse 4 “… Who is, and was, and is to come …”
Here, we are given the names of God. In Exodus, God told Moses His name. “I AM Who I Am and WHAT I AM, and I WILL BE WHAT I WILL BE. … Tell them, I AM has sent you.”
Exodus 3:14 AMPC
The literal Hebrew translation of I AM is YHWH, Yahweh/Jehovah, the name of Almighty God. “The Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1 This is Who Is.
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1 This is Who Was.
“… This same Jesus, who is taken up from you into heaven, will so come as you have seen Him go …” Acts 1:11 This is Who Is to Come.
Verse 4 contains one more set of names. “Who was and is, and is to come, and from the seven spirits (of God) who are before His throne …”
Isaiah 11:1-10 list the seven spirits of God. They are listed in Isaiah 11:2 as the Spirit of the Lord (the Holy Spirit), and the spirits of wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, and the fear of the Lord. In fact, the bible gives over 480 names of God. Among them are:
Jehovah Jireh, God will Provide. Genesis 22:8
Jehovah Repheka, God our healer. Exodus 15:26
Jehovah Tsidqenu, God our Righteousness. Jeremiah 23:6
Jehovah Nissi, God our Banner, or God the Conqueror. Exodus17:15
7 “Behold He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.”
See 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. This is His coming for the “catching away” of the saints. Notice, He does not touch the earth here; we rise to meet him in the clouds.
See also Revelation 6:15-16
12 “Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned, I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the seven lampstands, One like the Son of Man …”
Revelation 1:12-13
Jesus stood among the lampstands. According to Exodus 25:31-32 & 37, the lamps were lit with olive oil and were never to go out, providing constant light. Light is symbolic for Jesus, the Light of the World. Lampstands represent the church (verse 20). The church is to be the light to the world that never goes out. Jesus, the Head, provides the anointing; the oil and the light. Like the lesser light, the moon (Genesis 1:16), the church is to reflect the light of Jesus until His return.
The man of sin, the Antichrist, is a creature of darkness. Like a cockroach, he hides from the light. He cannot come on the scene until the lesser light, the church, is removed and taken up. See 2Thessalonians 2:3-8
When the church’s light is gone, literal “hell” will break loose. More about this later.
Interested in what Jesus actually looks like? And what about the tall man with snowy hair, flaming eyes, and a sword coming out of his mouth? Chapter one, part two, is a portrait of Jesus. Not only what His glorified body looks like, but who He really is.