Tonight We Are Going to Continue Our Study of the Book of Revelation

Background, Message, and Purpose

Rev. 1: 4-6

We are going to continue our study of the book of Revelation.

And if you remember last time I gave you some “keys” to help us understand what this book is about.

The first key for understanding is found in vs. 3 and that is that this book can be understood.

We can “heed” the things which are written.
Many do not believe that this book can be understood.
But that is not what John says here in verse 3.

In fact, John says that this book, when read, heard, and understood, will be a tremendous blessing to us.
So this book can be understood.

The next “key” for understanding this book is to realize that the things spoken of in this book are to “shortly take place.”

Two times here in the beginning verses…and two times in the closing chapter of the book we are told that the time for these things is “near.”
The fact that we are told that at the beginning and at the end indicates that everything in between is included in that time frame.
The events of this book are to “take place shortly. “
To apply the things of this book to future events that have not taken place is to misapply the book.

Now, those are the two keys to understanding this book…and out of those two keys come some principles that we must remember when studying this book.

The first is that we must remember what this book is.
Vs. 3 says that it is a “prophecy.”

That means it is written to deal with the problems of the times, and it is written to call some to repentance, to pronounce condemnation and a coming judgment on those who are the enemies of God, and to reassure the faithful of their ultimate deliverance. .
That is the nature of “prophecy.”
And this book is a prophecy about events that will “take place shortly” after this book was written.

Next, we must remember the principle of “Biblical Comparison.”

Allow the Bible to tell us what the meaning is of certain visions.
Sometimes that is done in the same chapter.
At other times we may have to dig deep and reference several passages.
But that will allow us to properly understand what is being said…much better than just simply giving meaning to something based on what we think it is.

And finally, the last principle for understanding this book is remember the historical background in which it was written.

We must put it in its first century setting.
I believe this book was written somewhere around 79 AD.
It would be wrong to interpret it in the historical setting of 2015 AD.

Now, let me give you just a little bit of historical background that will help us to know what this book is about.

Vs. 4 tells us that this book was written to the “7 churches in Asia.”
It is written to real people…to the Christians in Asia who lived under the rule of the Roman Empire.
And this is what you need to understand about these people.

The situation for these Christians was very critical.

There was a lot of antagonism toward Christianity…not only by the Roman Govt., but also by the common citizens.
And here is why!

First, Christianity was an illegal religion. Rome tolerated the religion of those they conquered so long as they did not proselyte. Christianity existed to save or convert people to Christ. Therefore it was declared by the Roman Govt. to be an illegal religion.

Second, Christianity aspired to universality. This put Christianity in conflict with the Roman Empires goals.

Three, Christianity was an exclusive religion. Christians refused to mingle freely with heathen social life and customs. This caused conflict with the pagan practices of Rome.

Four, Christians were accused of all manner of evil. Because they held meetings at night (sometimes in the early mornings due to their fear of the Roman Govt.) and proclaimed “their love for one another; John 13:34, the Romans figured the meetings were for the gratification of lust. When they heard that Christians speak of “eating flesh and drinking blood”, John 6, they accused them of cannibalism.

Five, the Christian refused to go to war. A part of the oath and initiation of soldiers included service to the idols of the State and the wearing of idolatrous insignias on their uniforms. Christians refused to do this. Also, Christ had taken the sword away from Christians and had given them the ways of peace.

Six, Christians were converted chiefly from the poor and outcast. This caused the “respectable” to look down on Christianity.

Seven, Christians shared with the Jews the contempt which the Romans held for them. Because of their refusal to compromise they were regarded as worse than the Jews.

Eight, Christians were looked upon as wild fanatics because of their enthusiasm.

Nine, Christianity came in conflict with the temporal interests of many of the Romans. Priests, makers of religious idols, and venders of sacrificial animals in particular.

Ten, Christians refused to worship the emperor.

As a result of these ideas and beliefs the Roman government at times practiced a policy designed to exterminate Christianity.

This brought despair to the hearts of the Christians.

But that was only part of the problem.

While they were threatened from without…they were also threatened from within by a deadly heresy….the teachings of the Jews combined with the teachings of the Gnostics.

All of these things combined caused the Christians to be confused, bewildered, and disillusioned.

“When people were being killed, exiled, and robbed of all their property for refusal to renounce their religion, when evils were threatening to strike a death blow within the church, is there any hope for the future?”
Revelation is God’s answer to this question.

Now, since Revelation pictures the Roman State in conflict with the Church, we need to get some kind of a picture of this great enemy.

When Revelation was being written, Rome was reaching for greatness.
To the people of her day it seemed that Rome was the world.
Rome had great well trained armies.
Soldiers were trained in schools of discipline and military life.
The Roman legions were highly feared…and seemed invincible.
They brought wealth and luxury to Rome.

In contrast to the wealth and luxury, there was also dire poverty.

There was no work for hire…slaves did that kind of work.
The idle poor swarmed to the capital to be fed by an enormous dole system and to be amused by the many interesting things of city life.

Morally, the teachers of the day were inconsistent; they taught purity and lived immorally.

They taught contempt for material wealth, and yet lived in extravagant luxury.
Crimes were multiplied; vice made no attempt to hide itself.
A monstrous contest of lust and wickedness was carried on.
Marriage came to be a commercial transaction, easily affected and easily dissolved.
Children were a burden and they were left to the slaves to raise…or were sold as slaves themselves.
Naturally, the Christians looked with abhorrence upon such conditions.
They saw their religion about to be crushed by such a system and wondered about the outcome of it.
Revelation was badly needed to assure them of victory.

Religious Conditions: Rome was not only the center of government and wealth, it was also headquarters of religion as well.

The religion of the day was a mixture of fear, superstition, and ceremony.
To the Romans the refusal to worship the emperor was a sign of disloyalty to the State and an act of treason.
Emperor worship was forced upon the Christian as a test of their loyalty to the State.
At first Christians were called upon to perform the ceremonies of loyal service.
To refuse was disloyalty; to agree as to prove that one was not a Christian.
Many Christians saw the ceremony as a meaningless act which did not affect their Christian faith…an act they did in order to escape punishment by the govt.
These Christians were ostracized by their fellow Christians for denying the faith.
As emperor worship grew, Christians were outlawed as a body as soon as their adherence to the “sect” became known.
Revelation was written to reassure the Christian that their faith was not misplaced.
That in the end the kingdom of God would triumph and Christ would reign supreme.
And Rome, in all its power, was doomed to be destroyed.

Revelation was written to encourage the Christian to maintain their faith at all costs, even in the face of death.

And that is the message for us today.

Now, if we understand the situation these Christians were in, we will better understand what is taking place in this book.

So quickly, let’s look at verse 4-6. Vs. 4 says:

John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace,

There are two things here. John writes to the “seven churches of Asia.”

The number 7 is often used in the book to indicate “completeness” or “totality”, so the likelihood is that John is writing to the “whole” church.

Second, notice the greeting, “Grace to you and peace.”

Grace is what God extends to us…and peace is what we will have if we will receive it.
God extends His grace to us…and if we receive that grace…peace will be ours.
Almost every epistle in the NT is written between the parenthesis of grace and peace.

And notice who extends this “grace and peace” in verse 4: …from Him who is and who was and who is to come.

Listen, this gave no little comfort to these Christians.
And it encouraged those who were wavering.
You see, some were starting to think that God no longer existed.
After all, they had seen the Roman emperors deified…they had seen them made gods.
And they had seen those emperor/gods die.
If those gods could die…maybe their God could die too.

Well, this expression told them that God could not die…that He was, and is, and always will be.

And that reassured them that their faith had not been misplaced.

John says in verse 4: …from the seven Spirits who are before His throne.

We don’t know for sure why John says “seven Spirits.”
Can’t find an explanation in the Bible.
The number 7 indicates completeness or totality…so it may be that John is saying that this book is “completely Spirit inspired.”
It comes totally inspired from the One who knows the mind and will of God.

This too would have been encouraging for these brethren because they would know for sure that this letter was not full of empty promises.

It came from God Himself.

Now, in verse 5 John talks about Christ.

And He says that this message is “from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the first-born of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.”

He uses three descriptive terms here in reference to Christ.

First he calls Jesus the “faithful witness.”
He is not lying, He cannot lie, He will not lie…He is faithful in every way.
Whatever Christ says to them in this book, they can believe.
If He says that Rome is going to be judged and the faithful to God will be victorious, they can trust what He says.

Then John says that He is the “first-born of the dead.”

Many of these Christians would soon be experiencing death themselves.
But death couldn’t hold Christ.
And if it couldn’t hold Him…it wouldn’t hold them either.

And then John says that Jesus is the ruler of the kings of the earth.

Some of these Christians needed to hear this.
They needed to be reassured that Rome, even in all of its power, was subject to the One they had put their faith, trust, and hope in.
This reassured these Christians that Rome was subject to Christ’s will and rule.
And in a short time they would see it.

Now, look at the end of verse 5: To Him who loves us, and released us from our sins by His blood, 6 and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father; to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

This is what they needed to know.

They needed to know that Christ loved them.
And really, the word “loves” is present tense.
That means Christ didn’t just love them when He died on the cross.
But He still loves them…and being present tense…He would continue to love them.
Christ would never stop loving them…and let me tell you…”Woe to anyone who harms those that the Lord loves.”
These people were glad to be told that Christ love for them continued.

Then John says that “Christ released them from their sins by His blood.”

“Released” here is past tense.
They had been “released from their sins by His blood.”
These were the “blood purchased” of Christ.
And again, it is a abomination to inflict harm and injury upon those that Christ has died for.
He will not let this go unpunished.

And then, John says, “He made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father;

These phrases and terms are meant to reassure these Christians of who they are…and whose they are.
They are assured of all the promises that comes with being part of His kingdom.
And no one who inflicts harm on God’s kingdom will go unpunished.

Folks, all of these terms and descriptions are intended to reassure, and reaffirm, and encourage these Christians that God is still alive.

That these Christians have not been forgotten.
And that they still belong to God.

And in the face of what they were seeing going on around them…in the face of severe persecution…this would bolster their faith.

And the same holds true for us too.

John is writing to us.
God’s grace has been extended to us through Jesus and for those who have received Christ, you have peace with God.
He is a God who is, who was, and who is to come. In other words, Our God is alive!
And, what is recorded in this book is completely Spirit inspired.
Jesus can be trusted…He is the “faithful witness”…you can count on what He says.
And just as Jesus is the first born of the dead…just as He was raised from the dead we will be too.
And though oft the wrong seems so strong, Jesus is the ruler of the kings of the earth.
He loves us and continues to do so.
His blood has released us from our sins.
And even though this world may consider us to be insignificant and inconsequential, God has made us to be a kingdom, priests to serve Him.
And no one inflicts harm on God’s kingdom and goes unpunished.