1
REVELATION
MADE SIMPLE
My Personal Notes
Presented to
Crownridge Church
Mid- week Bible Study Class
Dr. Steve Newton
a NOTE FROM DR. NEWTON
I regret that I can’t name all the source references used in this study. I have taught on the book of Revelation many times over the past 40 years. I have “milked many cows” as the saying goes and gleaned from many sources over the years. This study is a mixing of the many sources along with my own study notes. I presented this study during Wednesday evening Bible Study Hour at Crownridge Church. I trust this study will be a blessing to you. You may use this material to the glory of God.
Please keep in mind that these are my personal notes written in the unique way and style in which I would present them to students attending my class. You will notice they are not in the traditional outline format. I do not use periods at the end of my sentences or proper punctuation at times. This habit came about some years ago. I was working on obtaining my doctorate degree, pasturing the church I founded, working a full time job, building our church and preparing noted for study during the late hours of the night. I developed a fast forward method which allowed me to produce materials quickly. I present these notes on Revelationin this manner just as I wrote them over the years and trust that they will be helpful to the busy student of God’s word. They are by no means complete in and of themselves but will give one a quick overview and understanding of this Awesome book.
May the Lord open your heart and spiritual understanding as you study the REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST!
The basic outline of the book of REVELATION
AS FOUND IN REVELATION1:19
PART 1. "THE THINGS WHICH THOU HAST SEEN"
CHRIST - Chapter 1. The vision of the risen and glorified Christ, the Lord
of the Church.
PART II. "THE THINGS WHICH ARE"
CHURCHES- Chapters 2-3. The letters to the 7 churches in Asia.
PART III. "THE THINGS WHICH SHALL BE HEREAFTER"
HEAVEN- Chapters 4-5. The scene in heaven before the seven year
Tribulation period begins.
SEALS-Chapter 6
SAVED- The Tribulation begins as the seal Judgments are released
upon those left onearth.
Chapter 7. A parenthetical chapter showing that (a) Jews, and (b) members of every nation and tribe will be saved during the Tribulation.
TRUMPETS- Chapters 8-9. The trumpet judgments fall upon the earth.
ANGEL- Chapter 10. The angel gives John a book.
TWO WITNESSES- Chapter 11. Two Witnesses will speak for God on
earth; the 7th Trumpet judgment falls upon the earth.
ISRAEL - Chapter 12. The Antichrist persecutes Israel and all who turn to
Christ.
ANTICHRIST - Chapter 13. Antichrist rises to world power.
GRAPES -Chapter 14. The 144,000 of chapter 7 are seen safe with
Christ; Antichrists armies marching to Armageddon appear as grapes ripe
for crushing.
BOWLS (Vials)- Chapters 15- 16. The Bowl of Wrath judgments are
poured out upon an earth following the Antichrist.
BABYLON- Chapters 17-18. The Satanic "Babylon" of the end-time is
destroyed at last. Chapter 17 - the Babylon Harlot world church; and 18 –
the Babylon commercial empire of Antichrist.
ARMAGEDDON - Chapter 19. The time for the Marriage of the Lamb
(Christ) to the bride (the true church) has come; Christ with His armies
comes to earth to destroy the forces of Antichrist now gathered in
Palestine at Armageddon.The 7 years are now over.
KINGDOM- Chapter 20. Christ establishes the 1000 year Kingdom of
peace prophecied in Isaiah 11; the unsaved dead of all the ages are
judged before the Great White Throne and cast into the Lake of Fire.
NEW EARTH - Chapters 21-22. The New Heavens and Earth are formed,
the New Jerusalem descends to earth, and the redeemed are with Christ
in joy for all remaining eternity.
COMMENTS:PRELUDE (1:1-8) AND THE VISION OF THE RISEN AND GLORIFIED CHRIST, THE LORD OF THE CHURCH.(1:9-20)
Here we receive the announcement of the vision, are informed of its purpose and of its human receiver. We are told of the blessings, which are pledged to all who read and hear its words.
1. The purpose of this Revelation is to show God's servants the events which will climax this age. In God's everlasting vision, these things are spoken of as that "which must shortly come to pass" ... "the time is at hand." Thus, God invites us to have an attitude of expectancy.
2. John "bare record" of these thingswhich he heard and saw. Some suggest John did not really write this book, rather an imposter used his name to secure credibility. If in fact the name John was just used to cover up this book's clever forgery, what blasphemy we would have here. This is not so- Jesus revealed it, John saw it and he wrote it down without error through divine inspiration for our benefit.
3. Here, we learn of the blessedness of the reader (singular) and of the hearers (plural). The early church did not have a Bible for each person; one person read while all others listened. All would be blessed we are promised. And what a blessing this book is, despite the multitude of divergent opinions concerning its details, for in this book the final triumph of God over sin and Satan is unmistakably revealed; and in it the final safety of every believer is assured. Halleluiah!
BACKGROUND:
To many the book of Revelation is most confusing. To the non-Christian it appears to be unbelievable, strange and filled with fairy-.tale-like frightening events. They read this book but without understanding. Jesus Christ himself, spoke of such a confusion when he said In Luke 8:10,
... Unto you [His followers] it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God: but to others [non-believers] in parables; that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand.
Because the book of Revelation was written in about A.D. 95 some took the phrase in Revelation 1:1 " ... things which must shortly come to pass ... " to mean these events would occur within a few years after John was inspired of God to write this book. However 2 Peter 3:8 tells us that" ... one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and thousand years as one day." Only in this current day does it appear that the prophecies of Revelation are finally becoming fully ripe for fulfillment. God's next event is the Rapture.
Past / Present / Rapture / 1st 31/2 yrs / Last 3½ yrs / Armageddon / Millennium / New heavens & earthNOTES
COMMENTS:
4. John addresses his letter to the seven churches which were in the Roman province of Asia. This area was governed by a Proconsul and is hence sometimes called, Proconsuler Asia. This is our present Western third of Turkey.
"Seven churches" or assemblies (not "buildings") and "seven spirits" Just as the seven days of the Genesis creation account included the entire creative action of God and even the subsequent rest, so the sevens of this book represent the entirety of the subject at hand.
The seven churches represent all the churches, and the seven Spirits portray the omnipresent Spirit of God. The 7 seals, 7 trumpets, 7 bowls, and 7 thunders, described later, all represent the total span of these judgments.
There were more churches than seven in Asia; For instance, there was a church at Colosse and at Hierapolis. Paul's wrote an entire epistle to the Colossians. These seven, mentioned however, represent all of the churches
They are also types of churches. We see some types of these seven church characteristics in every church throughout the ages AND also, they are representative of all the church ages. In the order mentioned, they fit church history perfectly
5. Christ's attributes and coming are now listed. Notice how this verse speaks of His trustworthiness, His power over death, His lordship over earthly potentates, and His savior-hood In washing away our sins by His dying at Calvary.
6. We who have trusted in Christ are today kings and priests. We are kings in that as Christ's servants we are under bondage to no man; were priests in that we ourselves can come directly to God in prayer because of Christ's finished work. We do not need any other human priest to enter into the presence of God. We can come bodly before the throne of God.
BACKGROUND:
Many Christians are not fully aware of the royalty of their inheritance. We tend to look with awe at those in high office such as Presidents and Kings. We see their privileged position and all the benefits they derive from this elevation.
But Christ has made every Christian a king and a priest. He has given us royalty, and our destiny is a royal destiny.
In the Old Testament, only the priest had the right of access to God. When a male Jew entered the Temple, he could pass through the Court of the Gentiles, the Court of the Women, the Court of the Israelitesbut there he must stop; into the Court of the Priests he could not go.
By our new birth in Christ we now have royal blood and can come directly and Boldly unto the throne of Grace (Hebrews 4:16). In John's day, Roman citizenship was for the privileged few. John was not a Citizen. But he rejoiced in the fact that in Christ he now had a celestial citizenship.
Notice the phrase. “from the seven Spirits that are before His throne.” In verse 4
Isaiah 11:1, 2. There we read of the seven Spirits who rest upon the Branch of Jehovah, our Lord Jesus Christ. Note the order given.
1. The Spirit of the Lord.
2. The Spirit of Wisdom.
3.The Spirit of Understanding.
4. The Spirit of Counsel.
5. The Spirit of Might.
6. The Spirit of Knowledge.
7.The Spirit of Fear of the Lord.
There you have the one Spirit in the seven-fold plenitude of His power. We see groups of sevensrepeatedly in this book. Seven is the number of perfection and so, here,we see perfection in the seven spirits that rest upon Jesus.
Then, with the Father and the Spirit, we have Jesus Christ as “the faithful Witness” when here on earth, “ the First-begotten of the deadin resurrection glory”, and “the Prince of the kings of the earth”when He comes again to reign.
Past / Present / Rapture / 1st 3 1/2 yrs / Last 3 ½ yrs / Armageddon / Millennium / New heavens & earthDefinition:
KINDREDS= All the nations of the earth (Greek: phule, tribe, nation).
COMMENTS:
7 John speaks here of Christ's coming in the clouds with power and glory at the end of the 7 year Tribulation Period (Daniel's 70th week. Daniel 9:27).
The Lord Himself had earlier spoken of this in Matthew 24:29, 30; 25:31. At this time He will slay the armies of Antichrist gathered in Palestine at Armageddon (Revelation 19:11-20:2). The Prelude here at the beginning of the Revelation flashes out with one of the mighty themes of the book: Behold, He comes in the clouds (Daniel 7:13, 14)
Here John is speaking of the remnant of Israel and the gentiles who have turned to Christ during the Tribulation Period. These cry because they and their kindred have for so long turned their backs on their Saviour. As they see the One who suffered so for their sins they break into a weeping as they behold His wounds on their behalf (See Zechariah 12:10).
8. Here is the self-proclamation by Christ that He is the Alpha and Omega! If there is any doubt here as to whether these verses apply to the Father or Son, in 22:13 they are shown unmistakably to apply to the Son! Some say Jesus never claimed to be God…nonsense.
Alpha and Omega were the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet so then here the announcement is that Christ is the very start and the very conclusion of every matter. Amen! This could only be said of God! This verse alone proves the deity of Christ without a doubt!!!!. He is the eternal was, is, and shall be, the Almighty. What a prelude!
BACKGROUND
Until a few years ago ministers and laymen alike wondered how it would be
possible for "every eye" to see the Lord Jesus Christ as He came through the clouds. .
From a human standpoint this seemed an impossibility. However, with the space age and modern technology this has become more clear. On Sunday, July 24, 1969 people from all over the world watched Neil Armstrong as he took his first step on the moon. Through orbiting satellites that bounced back to earth radio and TV signals "every eye"
was able to see the exact sameoccurrence simultaneously. I was 19 years old and remember that day as if it were just yesterday.
Past / Present / Rapture / 1st 3 1/2 yrs / Last 3 ½ yrs / Armageddon / Millennium / New heavens & earthNOTES
COMMENTS
9. In verses 9-10 we learn of the circumstances of the Apostle when the Revelation vision was given to him. His spiritual location is that he is the brother of believers everywhere. He is as human as we are. In 2 Peter 1:21 we read that it was through men "moved by the Holy Ghost" that prophecy came. God uses everyday ordinary men and woman like you and me.
The Apostle, even he, is our "companion" (Gk sugkoinonos, "partner" in business) in tribulation. All believers will have tribulation in this life ( Acts 14:22).
Because of faithfulness to God the apostle, who lived his twilight years In the Ephesus area, was banished to the island of Patmos by the antiChristian Roman emperor Domitian (reigned 81-96 A.D. Irenaeus, who wrote at about 170 A.D., declared that John saw his vision "towards the end of Domitian's reign" (Against Heresies, V:xxx). Patmos is an isle which runs N. to S. and is 8 miles long; it is located in the Aegean Sea 25 miles due S. of the W. edge of Samos.
What good could come out of this banishment? (You never know what God has in store for you. What seems bad may in fact be the very thing that will bless you, Glorify God and bless generations after you!!!!
BACKGROUND
Imagine yourself banished in exile on a lonely island about 5 miles from the nearest town. Patmos was no paradise Island. John more than likely was in chains, poorly fed and clothed, and made to sleep on the bare ground.
And yet persecuted by Rome's attempt to shut off his witness for the Lord, John found triumph in tragedy. For as a virtual prisoner on Patmos, away from the activities of the world, God used him as a witness to reveal things to come.
You will recall some of Paul's greatest epistles came while he was a prisoner in Caesarea and in Rome. Perhaps now Romans 8:28 becomes clearer to us as Christians.
It was the Emperor Domitian who banished John to. Patmos. Domitian rebuilt the empire's shrines of Jupiter, Juno and Minerva In Rome. He spent an equivalent of $22 MILLION dollars on its gold-plated doors and gilded roof alone! And yet in the midst of this idolatrous world, John was an unflinching witness for Christ.
Past / Present / Rapture / 1st 3 1/2 yrs / Last 3 ½ yrs / Armageddon / Millennium / New heavens & earthLesson Two
THE SEVEN CHURCHES
Pattern used for each of the letters to the seven churches
1. Name of Church letter to whom the letter is addressed
2. Description of church as Jesus sees it
3. Commendation: good qualities and strengths…”I know your works” (NOTICE
that Jesusfinds the good, if any, in each church first, before commenting on
the problems- ---we should do the same.
4. Faults are exposed- only Smyrna and Philadelphia have no faults and these
two are the only spots where church still exist today!!!
5. Demand and remedy –
6. Request to hear- He that has an ear what the Spirit sayeth let him hear (some
will not listen)
7. A promise to those who repent and change direction
Let's take a look at each of the seven churches individually.
I. Ephesus Rev. 2:1-7
Rev 2:1-7
1 Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;2 I know thy works, and thy labor, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:3 And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast labored, and hast not fainted.