One of the most neglected books of the Bible is the
book of Revelation. It has been considered as being far too difficult to
understand or it has been used by false teachers to prove their way-out
theories and teachings. Either way, the result is the same, students of the
Bible put the book of Revelation aside, in favour of other, ‘easier’ books.
I want to prove this wrong. Revelation can be studied and understood by all who take the time to understand it. In fact it is an exciting, vivid book that captures our imagination as it delivers one of God’s most powerful messages.
Due to other projects it has been a long time since I have looked at this study. This evening I had a good look through it again and I have made a list of areas I need to complete and other areas which could be improved. I have decided to try to put aside one night per week for working on this study. Keep returning to this post as I will be updating it regularly to tell you what is new, changed or has recently been completed. 21st May 2018.Chapter One.
Notes on the idea that the angel who gave Revelation to John was Gabriel.
I cannot think of a better way to begin the study of Revelation than by considering the last four verses of this book: - -21.
18)I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book:- If anyone adds to them, God shall add to him the plagues which are written in this book;
19)And if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the tree of life and from the HolyCity, which is written in this book.
20)He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.
21)The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all, Amen.
A Warning:- “Do not add to or take away from the words of prophecy of this book. Do not add to or take away from the Word of God.” Although these verses apply directly to the book of Revelation, they can also be applied in general to the rest of the Bible as well.
A Promise:- “Jesus is coming.” This is a promise that the early Church held great faith in. It is a promise that Jesus kept and He will continue to keep until His final arrival on the last day.
A Blessing:-“Grace of the Lord Jesus be with all.” This can be understood to mean a blessing from our Lord Jesus Christ to all those who read or hear the words of this book. The idea of grace is that this blessing is so great that we are unworthy to receive it without God.
Amen:-To add greater weight to this final word the writer ends the book with the word “Amen – ‘So let it be.’” Amen is repeated twice to add greater weight to what has just been said.
(See links to the right under "Special Sections on the Home Page)
During my study I came across a lot of material that, although I found interesting, I was unable to include in my study. Some of this material I felt would still be of use in a in-depth Revelation study so I’ve added a number of Appendixes that I believe could be useful in your study.
This is a summary or survey of the book with only a few short paragraphs for each chapter. It is designed to give you an overall view of the entire book quickly. This survey is very similar to my first study of Revelation.
The inner or symbolic significance of numbers is an important part of Apocalyptic Literature. In this type of literature we see numbers used where words are normally used so that certain numbers come to suggest definite concepts. In the study of the Book of Revelation, we must discard our mathematical ideas and seek out the symbolic meanings. A large number of the unscriptural interpretations of the past and present are based upon a false view of the value of numbers.
Readable but requires further editing and formatting. Much of the language used in the book of Revelation is deeply rooted in the Old Testament. While there is not one direct citation in Revelation from the Old Testament with a statement that it is quoted from another bible passage but when we count significant allusions that are traceable both by verbal resemblance and by contextual connection to the original Hebrew Cannon we find they number over four hundred.
This Appendix contains background material relating to chapter 17. First we will look at prophecies made in the Old Testament book of Daniel concerning the great empires between the time of Daniel and the time when Revelation was written. Further down in this appendix you will also find background on the rulers of these great empires.
Since Revelation pictures the Roman State in conflict with the
Church, we need to get a picture of this great enemy. As Revelation was being
written Rome was reaching her ultimate greatness. Her boundaries extended from
the British Isles to the African Desert and from the Atlantic Ocean to the
Euphrates. To the people of that day it seemed that Rome was the world. From their
humble beginnings in the 8th century BC as a minor people in a
settlement on the Tiber River, the Romans conquered the entire Italian
Peninsula and then went on to establish a vast Mediterranean based empire that
lasted until the late 5th century AD. According to
legend, Rome was founded in the 8th century BC by the Latin Romulus,
the first of a succession of kings. By the 5th century BC a senate
had replaced the king and Rome had become a republic.
Angels play a large part in the Revelation story. They are involved in directing the panorama and scenery of the visions, and in the writing of the book:-
Death, Resurrection and Eternity. When we get to the last few chapters of Revelation and we come across terms such as the 1st death and the 2nd death and the 1st resurrection and the 2nd resurrection, we can get very confused. Here is a small self-contained study of this whole area of Death, Resurrection & Eternity designed to cut through some of this confusion.
To completely cover all the lessons we can gain from the Book of Revelation would be almost like doing the study over again so in this appendix I have chosen a few of the key lessons that I believe are important for us today.
