Introduction to Revelation
Introduction to Revelation
I want to remind you that this study will be somewhat ad-hoc. I’m doing this as I have time and energy for it. To ensure that you do not miss any of the segments, please subscribe to my email by selecting “Subscribe” from the menu on my website at LarryEiss.com
As we begin our journey through this wonderful book, it is imperative that we examine the introduction carefully. We need to understand what to expect as we venture into this unique prophecy.
Revelation 1:1-2
“The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated (KJV—signified) it by His angel [or messenger] to His bond-servant John who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, everything that he saw.” (NASB 2020).
As we saw earlier, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ” is rightly understood to be the title of this work. The original language here is interesting. The notes in the NET Bible point this out.
“The phrase “the revelation of Jesus Christ” could be interpreted as either an objective genitive (“the revelation about Jesus Christ”), subjective genitive (“the revelation from Jesus Christ”), or both. In Revelation 1:1 and 22:16 it is clear that Jesus has sent his angel to proclaim the message to John; thus, the message is from Christ, and this would be a subjective genitive. On a broader scale, though, the revelation is about Christ, so this would be an objective genitive. One important point to note is that the phrase under consideration is best regarded as the title of the book and therefore refers to the whole of the work in all its aspects. This fact favors considering this as a plenary genitive.”
--Biblical Studies Press, The NET Bible First Edition Notes, (Biblical Studies Press, 2006), Re 1:1.
The focus of our study then is the Lord Jesus Christ, the Message and Messenger of God. This revelation is from and about Jesus Christ.
From the first words:
“The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place.” Revelation 1:1 (NASB 2020)
To the last:
“He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen.” Revelation 22:20–21 (NASB 2020)
Next, I want us to be sure to notice this portion of the text, “He sent and communicated (KJV—signified) it by His angel.” The word translated “communicated” in the NASB here is translated “signified” in the KJV. In Greek the word is “σημαίνω” (semaino) and it means, “to give a sign, to signify, indicate.”
--Joseph Henry Thayer, A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament: being Grimm’s Wilke's Clavis Novi Testamenti, 1889, 573.
The book of Revelation is a book of signs and symbols. It indicates, signifies, and provides symbols for the characters and events about which it speaks. When we try to understand literally those things presented symbolically, we are required to perform all sorts of gymnastic twisting to make things fit together.
Of primary importance then, is that we remember that Revelation is a book of signs and symbols and should not be taken too literally. I cannot stress this enough, so I’ll be reminding us a lot along the way. We will not be contorting ourselves to superimpose specific nations and events onto what is written.
