Revelation

Join Prophet Russ in this chapter by chapter in-depth study of the last and probably the most controversial book of the Bible. Come expecting change and be propelled into a new understanding of the significance of this important book.

In Revelation 1, We join John, the apostle in exile on the island of Patmos. There under extreme conditions, he experiences an encounter that ultimately shapes our understanding of God and His purposes in a profound way for all humanity. In studying the book of Revelation, we want to allow this book to speak to us in its own voice. There is so much contention over the contents of Revelation that few undertake to read it and fewer still to comprehensively teach it to others. Our endeavor then at the outset will be to lay aside any preconditioned attitudes or doctrinal approaches we may have that would hinder us in ascertaining the heart of God in this writing.

Let us remember that this is the revelation of Jesus more than it is anything else. That word in v. 1 is “apokalypsis,” and it means the “revealing” or “manifestation” of Jesus. According to v. 1, it is that which the Father gave to Jesus that He sent by his angel to give to John who commits the same to writing. John wrote the apokalypsis” from the isle of Patmos whence he had been banished after the Roman’s failed attempt to execute him by boiling him in oil. Patmos was a remote penal colony reserved for political prisoners at the time. John is the only apostle who did not die a martyr’s death.

John declares that we are blessed to read and to hear the words of this prophecy and to keep the things written therein for they are at hand. This book then is not given for the purposes of controversy or contention among competing views of the end times. It is included in the canon by the leadership of the Holy Spirit to bless us and not detract from us or to discourage us in any way. We are to read and to hear (or accept) the message conveyed herein. It is one thing to read it but quite another to accept it. Accepting the words of this book is more than delving into unfruitful conjecture. We are to receive it with simplicity without the need to fully understand all that is contained therein other than to realize that more than anything else it unveils Jesus to us more importantly than conveying eschatological truth.

Whatever can be said of this book and its disclosure of the throne of God there is a little-explored dimension of understanding that emphasizes for us that it unveils not only a timeline of God but also that which is present and in the now on the inside of us. Christ is enthroned in our heart. The Father lives within us for we are His temple. Jesus lives in our heart by faith. The Holy Spirit as the seven Spirits of God make their home in us and as we learn of what John saw we learn of something on the inside of us regarding that kingdom that Jesus speaks of in Luke 17:20-21.