AN EXPOSITION OF THE BOOK OF REVELATION
(Installment Two)

Outline of the Book of Revelation

1. The things which thou sawest--Vision of the Glorified Son of Man (1:9-20).
2. The things which are--Letters to the Seven Churches of Asia (chaps. 2 and 3).
   1. Ephesus (2:1-7).
   2. Smyrna (2:8-11).
   3. Pergamum (2:12-17).
   4. Thyatira (2:18-29).
   5. Sardis (3:1-6).
   6. Philadelphia (3:7-13).
   7. Laodicea (3:14-22).
3. The things which shall come to pass hereafter (chaps. 4-22).
   1. The vision of heaven (chaps. 4 and 5).
   2. The Tribulation (chaps. 6-19).
      1. The Seal judgments (6:1-17).
      2. The 144,000 Jewish Evangelists--and the world-wide revival (7:1-17).
      3. The Trumpet judgments (8:1-9:21; 11:14).
      4. Little Parenthesis (10:1--11:14).
         1. The Little Book eaten by John (10:1-11).
         2. The Temple and the Holy City (11:1-13).
      5. The Great Parenthesis (11:15--15:8).
         1. Advance announcement of outcome of the second half of the Tribulation (11:15-19).
         2. The Woman, Child, and Dragon (12:1-17).
         3. The two wild beasts (13:1-18).
         4. Special announcements (14:1--15:8).
            1. Regarding 144,000 Redeemed on Mount Zion (14:1-5).
            2. Regarding the Everlasting Gospel (14:6, 7).
            3. Regarding the fall of Babylon (the Harlot) (14:8).
            4. Warning against taking the mark of the beast (14:9-12).
            5. Revelation concerning the Martyrs of the second half of
               the Tribulation (14:13).
            6. The harvest of the earth (14:14-16).
            7. The vintage of the earth (14:17-20).
         5. Vision of the Martyrs of the second half of the Tribulation (15:1-4).
         6. The seven Angels with Bowl judgments prepare for action (15:5-8).
      6. The Bowl judgments (16:1-21).
      7. Information supplemental to account of second half of Tribulation (chaps. 17,18,19).
         1. The fall of Babylon the Harlot in middle of Tribulation (17:1-18).
         2. The fall of Babylon the city at end of Tribulation (18:1-24).
         3. The Second Coming of Christ and attending events (19:1-21).
   3. The Millennium and its aftermath (20:1-15).
      1. The Millennium (20:1-6).
      2. The short period following the Millennium (20:7-10).
      3. The judgment of the Great White Throne (20:11-15).
   4. The Eternal Order (21:1-22:21).

One of the familiar theories is known as the preterist interpretation of the Book of Revelation. This hypothesis assumes that John was talking about things that were then in existence--in his own day, A.D. 96. From this point of view all the data must be forced into a peculiar mold that sees and interprets the language as applying to that day and time, a very illogical approach.

The second is known as the historical theory, or hypothesis. The assumption of this point of view is that John was describing the major events that would occur during the Christian Dispensation. Hence history must be doctored and forced to fit into the scheme of secular history. In other words, this theory assumes that the Book of Revelation is church history prewritten in a kind of symbolic or figurative manner. Though many excellent historians have endeavored to trace the fulfillment of John's language, they have succeeded only to the satisfaction of themselves and those of that peculiar school of thought.

Another system is known as that of the spiritualizing school. These interpreters assume that everything in the book is figurative or metaphorical, and that John, though he used plain language in many instances, was talking about a spiritual conflict, the fight between the forces of good and evil, and the ultimate triumph of Christ over the devil and his forces.

The last of the four theories is the futuristic interpretation. Those holding to this view simply take the book at what it says, interpreting the literal language at its face value unless there are facts in the context which indicate a departure from the normal, or literal, meaning of the passage. Whenever there is such positive evidence, they take notice of the fact and interpret the given passage accordingly. Those belonging to this school of thought believe that the first three chapters of the Book of Revelation are historical, even though there are prophetic elements and promises scattered throughout this portion of the book. From Revelation, chapter 4, and onward--according to this school of thought--the Apostle is talking about things that are yet future, things that will occur in the Tribulation, the Millennium, and throughout eternity.

When the student takes everything into consideration, he cannot avoid the conclusion that the premillennial interpretation of the book is the only plausible and logical system to be followed.

There is nothing new, so far as predictions are concerned, in the first twenty chapters of the book. Practically everything that is found in this portion of the Word may be found in the Old Testament. The great fundamental truths that are set forth by Moses and the prophets are brought together and are put forward in various settings and combinations. But when everything is studied in a sane, logical manner, it is seen that there is simply the bringing together of the many lines of prophetic thought which are woven into a grand fabric of providential occurrences yet largely in the future. These statements being true, one must study and refer constantly to the Old Testament in order to determine the full force of the meaning of many passages.

"The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show unto His servants, even the things which must shortly come to pass: and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John; 2 who bare witness of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, even of all things that he saw. 3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of the prophecy, and keep the things that are written therein: for the time is at hand.

"4 John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace, from him who is and who was and who is to come; and from the seven Spirits that are before his throne; 5 and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loveth us, and loosed us from our sins by his blood; 6 and he made us to be a kingdom, to be priests unto his God and Father; to him be the glory and the dominion for ever and ever. Amen. 7 Behold, he cometh with the clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they that pierced him; and all the tribes of the earth shall mourn over him. Even so Amen.

8 I am the Alpha and the Omega, saith the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty" (Rev. 1:1-8).

In Revelation 1:1-8 an introduction to the book is found. In the first statement we see the words: "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, . . ." The word revelation in the original means to remove the covering, to expose to view. The book, therefore, claims to be the removing of the covering of the future so that the people of God may see what is yet to come. It is very difficult to see how many people can think that the book is a mysterious, unintelligible production, in view of the fact that the writer claims that this book is a revelation from God. Having confidence in every word of the inspired text, we shall believe that this book is indeed a divine disclosure, mediated through Jesus Christ, to the servants of God. We are told that God gave this revelation to Christ to pass on to His servants. Why is it said that God gave the revelation to Christ, since He was God and equal to the Father? The answer seems to lie in the fact that the second person of the Holy Trinity limited Himself, entered the world by miraculous conception and virgin birth, went to the cross to suffer and die for mankind, was buried, was raised with a glorified body, and became our great High Priest to intercede in our behalf and to be our representative before the great tribunal of the universe. All good and perfect gifts thus come from God, through Christ, in the power of the Holy Spirit, to us.

The Lord gave this revelation to be delivered to His servants, or bondservants, as Christians are called. We have been set at liberty by Christ, and the Lord's freedman is the Lord's bondslave and vice versa.

The things which are revealed in the Book of Revelation, as stated in verse 1, "must shortly come to pass. . . ." We are to understand that the first things that are set forth in this prophetic program were to come to pass shortly, and they did begin to come to pass shortly after the revelation was made. The word may also be translated speedily, quickly, or soon. When the time arrives for any of the events foretold to come to pass, they do so with swiftness.

The word rendered "signified" has been misunderstood very greatly in certain quarters. According to a prevalent theory it means to "sign-i-fy," that is, to "write in signs." The Greek word has no such idea. It is therefore a mistake to interpret this word as indicating that the Book of Revelation is written in signs, or symbols. There are some symbols in the book which must be interpreted in the light of the fact that they are symbols. For instance in 12:1, and 12:3, and 15:1 we see that God called certain things symbols. We dare not interpret them literally. But we are never to interpret anything in the Bible as a symbol unless the facts clearly indicate such a meaning.

This message was sent to John who had been a faithful witness to the Word of God and to the testimony concerning the Lord Jesus, and who was suffering banishment on account of his boldness in Christ.

According to 1:3 there is a special blessing for those who read the Book of Revelation; for those who hear it read (being unable to read for themselves); and for those who keep, or observe, the things written in the book. God would not mock His servants by promising a special blessing, even to the ignorant one who listens to the reading, if it were so very mysterious that it could not be understood. The message of the Book of Revelation has always been, and is especially today, a bright ray of heavenly light that is thrown across our dark pathway.

If the time was near in the first century when the message was given, it is certainly much nearer in the twentieth century--as all of the signs of the times indicate.

According to verse 4 primarily and originally the Book of Revelation was sent to the seven churches of the little province of Asia, which was in the western part of Asia Minor.

For these churches (and all other churches throughout the age) a special prayer is made by John in their behalf: "Grace to you and peace, from him who is and who was and who is to come; and from the seven Spirits that are before his throne; 5 and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the first born of the dead, and the ruler of the earth" (1:4,5). Grace and peace in the soul come from God alone. The word grace has various shades of ideas. For instance, grace was given us in Christ Jesus before times eternal…" (II Tim. 1:9). God's grace (spiritual power) is sufficient for us now (II Cor. 12:9; Heb 4:16). Then grace is to be brought unto us at the revelation of Jesus (I Peter 1:13). The peace for which John intercedes in behalf of the churches is the peace of Christ in the heart which passes all understanding (Phil 4:7). Christ miraculously bestowed that peace upon the Apostles. Whenever anyone accepts Christ today, the Lord puts peace and assurance in the heart. One of the fruits of the Spirit is peace (Gal. 5:22,23). The grace and peace for which John is making supplication comes from the Holy Trinity: from God the Father, "who is and who was and who is to come," from the seven Spirits that are before his throne" (Isa. 11:2), "and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth." All blessings which we enjoy come from the three personalities constituting the Holy Trinity. Our prayers are to be directed to God the Father, through the Lord Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit, as we learn by comparing scripture with scripture.

Our Lord Jesus is "the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead" and is the ruler of the kings of the earth. He always sought to do the will of God the Father and not His own. He faithfully declared the will of God, irrespective of circumstances and conditions. He was the "firstborn of the dead" in that He was the first and only one who died, and who has been raised back to life, never to see death again. Others before Him had been raised from the dead, but they were not raised to immortal life. He, being the first one to have this glorious experience, is said to be the first-born of the dead, or from the dead. Moreover, He is the ruler of the kings of earth. All authority in heaven and in earth has been given unto Him, and He is the Supreme Sovereign. Sometimes it seems as if the nations of earth are having their own way, and that Satan is holding high carnival. This is untrue. Our Lord is overruling, guiding, and directing the course of human events and history. He is steering all things toward the great, grand, and glorious consummation yet in the immediate future.

According to the latter part of verse 5 Christ loveth us and loosed us from our sins by His blood. The word rendered loveth is in the linear verb stem and indicates continued action. He loved us in the past; He loves us in the present; and He will continue to love us. But the verb rendered loosed is in the aorist tense and indicates one act that has already been accomplished. This passage assumes the doctrine of the finished work of Christ on the cross, by which all who accept Him are saved and cleansed by His blood. The one who is thus regenerated has been loosed from all sins, past, present, and future. This is an accomplished fact because of the blood of Christ that cleanses us from all sin.

We who are thus saved constitute a kingdom, acknowledging the sovereignty of our blessed Lord and Saviour. We are in the spiritual kingdom of God now--having been translated from the kingdom of darkness "into the kingdom of the Son of his love; 14 in whom we have our redemption, the forgiveness of our sins. . . ." (Col. 1:13,14). Moreover, we are priests of God the Father. Every Christian is a priest--a go-between, approaching God in behalf of, not only his own needs, but those of his fellow Christians and the world.

To Christ will be ". . . the glory and the dominion for ever and ever." And at this point the Apostle John chimes in and to these sentiments utters a fervent "Amen," which means "May it be thus!"

According to verse 7 Christ will come with the clouds: "Behold, he cometh with the clouds; ..." This is stated by Jesus himself and is also made known by the angels who stood by the disciples as Jesus ascended (Acts 1:10,11).

When Jesus comes in fulfillment of this promise at the end of the Tribulation, ". . . every eye shall see him." Of course this means that every mortal living at that time will see Christ as He comes in power and great glory. Jesus expressed the same thought in Matthew 24:30. John also informs us that "they that pierced him" shall likewise see Him. This means that those who clamored for the death of Christ, as well as those who actually did the executing, will--from Hades where they have been ever since their death--see Christ coming in power and great glory. That is what the Lord Jesus said to Caiaphas, when the latter asked Him if He were the Son of God, the Messiah of Israel (Matt. 26:63,64).

John was eager for the Lord Jesus to return. This is seen by the fact that, when the revelation was made known that Christ is coming back, he ejaculated; "Even so. Amen."

The introduction to the Book of Revelation closes with a profound statement by God the Father concerning Himself: I am the Alpha and the Omega, saith the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty" (1-8). The Father, the Self-existing One, who sent this message to the churches, is the One who inhabits eternity: "For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy: I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit. . . ." Isa. 57:15). He who is the Almighty Sovereign, seated upon the throne of the universe, has sent the message of the Book of Revelation through "Jesus Christ ... the faithful witness" to all of His servants in order that they might understand the future and might conform their lives to His eternal plans and purposes.

May we in faith, doubting nothing, accept His will for our lives and be governed accordingly!