REVELATION LESSON 1

    Before we go into the first chapter and verse of Revelation, I
would like to acquaint you with the penman.

    I believe that God Himself is the author of the Bible. That
includes the book of Revelation, but the penman was the apostle John.

    John was the beloved of Jesus. He and James were the sons of
Zebedee, the sons of thunder.  John was one of the younger of the
disciples. He loved Jesus so much that John was known as the disciple
of love. He would lay his head on Jesus' chest. He adored Jesus. It
seems that Jesus felt the very same way about John.  It was John that
Jesus entrusted his mother to.  Whenever three disciples went aside
with Jesus, as they did at the transfiguration, John was one of them.
John was there at the Garden of Gethsemane, waiting while Jesus
prayed.  John loved Jesus so much, that he was never very far from
Jesus. It seemed that this great love that John had for Jesus helped
him to understand the person of Jesus more than any other disciple.

     In the book of St. John, John shows Jesus as God manifest in the
flesh. The first few words say, St.  John 1:1 "In the beginning was
the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God."

     The four gospels show Jesus as a Lion, Calf, Man, and Eagle.  The
Eagle is symbolic of God. This is the message that John brought in his
gospel, that Jesus was in fact God who took on the form of flesh and
dwelt among us.

     John knew Jesus better than any of the other disciples. He even
 knew Him better than Paul knew Him. There was something very special
 about John's relationship with Jesus.  John was the one who called
 Jesus the Lamb of God.  John's mother knew of this closeness and even
 asked Jesus for James and John to sit on His right and left hand in
 His kingdom.  Jesus answered her and said that these positions were
 not His to give. John was the only disciple present at Jesus'
 crucifixion (that the Bible mentions).

     John penned several books in the Bible besides Revelation.  St.
John, of course, is by his pen; and First, Second, and Third John are
his, as well.

     Second John is even a mystery today. So much discussion surrounds
this little book, because no one knows for sure who it was addressed
to.

     Was it a woman that John knew from his age?
     Was it all women in general?
     Was it Christian ladies of all ages?
     Was it written to the church?
     Was it written for our day to some woman prophetically?
     Only John and God know.

     So many people are carried away with Paul's writings (and they
are wonderful), but my favorite penman is John. John knew Jesus
personally. He walked and talked with Jesus as He ministered here on
the earth. John saw the miracles. He was there when Jesus taught the
Sermon on the Mount. He had first hand knowledge.

     Paul had a brief encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus,
but his other knowledge was by revelation. He was carried into heaven
for a brief encounter as well, but most of his knowledge of Jesus came
when he was three years in the wilderness studying and communing with
God in prayer.  Paul's writings are not to be diminished in any way,
but John's writings seem to understand the purpose of Jesus' ministry
more than anyone. He knew Jesus' mission.  John understood that Jesus
was the perfect sacrifice; that Jesus' blood would be sufficient to
destroy death and sin. John knew that Jesus was God the Word.

     The Lord, in his three years of ministry here on the earth,
seemed to be with Peter, James, and John even more than with any of
the other disciples. The thing, that really stands out, is that John
was so bold for Jesus that he was banished to the Isle of Patmos.
John was so devoted, that even though there was no other one there, he
was in the Spirit on the Lord's day.

     Many writers think that John had been fasting for seven days when
he received the information for Revelation. There is really no mention
of this in the Bible, however.

     Just the name of the manuscript gets me excited. The Revelation
of Saint John the Divine and The Revelation of Jesus Christ our Lord
Given by Saint John the Divine are just two names that this book took
on in various Bibles.

     John was not just an ordinary man that walked the earth. He was
one who had touched and felt physically and even emotionally the Lord
Jesus.

     One of the unusual things about the book of Revelation is that it
is the only book in the Bible that contains a promise to everyone that
reads it, and all that hear it will be abundantly blessed.  The early
church read the book of Revelation in its entirety every time they
met. There was a curse spoken at the end of Revelation to anyone who
tampered with the contents of the Bible. Some of the Scriptures in
this book were for John's time.  Most of the Scriptures in this book
were for future events, especially the end of the Gentile age, the end
of the world, the 1000 year reign of Christ on the earth and all of
eternity in heaven.  You will notice that the number seven, which
means spiritually complete, is all through Revelation.  We will also
see in Revelation a restoration to man of the blessings of the garden
of Eden in heaven. We will see again the tree of life and the water
present.  We will see access to the tree of life, which was lost in
Genesis, restored in Revelation. The book itself says that it is the
Revelation of Jesus Christ. The chain of information came from Father
God to Jesus, then to Jesus' angel, then to John, and John was to
write it down, and give it to Jesus' servants.  This book was probably
penned around 96 A.D. There is no proof of an absolute date. It is
just as alive today as it was when it was written. So it doesn't
matter when it was written.

     We must remember, and I stress again, that John was banished to
the Isle of Patmos, off the western coast of Asia Minor, because of
his boldness in speaking of Jesus Christ. He loved Jesus more than he
feared punishment from the authorities.

     Alone, with no other believers to share with, John had been left
out there to die. The authorities assumed that there was nothing he
could do out there to promote this Jesus. How wrong they were. He
wrote the book of Revelation which would witness for him until the
Lord returns.  His witness is even stronger today than when he walked
upon the earth.  We must look at and understand the symbols we see to
truly understand this book.  Revelation is easily understood if the
Holy Spirit of God reveals to us the symbols within.

      Revelation is not a horror story as many believe. To the
Christian there are wonderful promises of a fantastic future. It is
only a horror for those who have decided for all of eternity to refuse
the free gift of salvation that Jesus offers to whosoever will. In
many of the books, it is indefinite who says some of the things, but
in Revelation it is Jesus speaking and He is the Truth.  Jesus not
only knows the end from the beginning, He is the Alpha and the Omega,
the Beginning and the End. There is nothing before Him and nothing
after Him.

     Many people believe that the things in Revelation have already
happened. Many others believe that the things in Revelation are not
even real, that they are a vision and we are not supposed to take it
literally . There are others (and I am one of them) that believe it is
current, happening now, and in the very near future.  I really will
not argue with anyone about any of this.  All I can relate is what it
means to me, and that is what I will attempt to do in this study with
the guidance of the Holy Spirit of God.

     In Revelation, it appears to me, that our Lord is pulling the
curtain aside and allowing us to see what He really is and what He
expects from us. Many people call this the Apocalypse which means the
revealing.

     Revelation is written in symbols so that people can not
understand with their mind but must have faith. So many things in the
Bible are veiled to the nonbeliever.  So many people look at the Bible
literally, but to truly understand, we must understand it through the
Spirit. The veil in the temple was torn from the top to the bottom
when Jesus died on the cross. This signifies that Jesus has opened the
way to the Father for us. God the Father is no longer unreachable.
Jesus opened the way to Him for us.  Now we pray to the Father in the
name of Jesus. We need no other go between. The Holy Spirit of God
reveals the Scriptures to the believer. He is our Teacher and Guide.

     There are so many ways to study the scriptures such as types and
shadows. This looks at the Holy City as a type of the Lamb's wife.  We
will look at these scriptures a dozen different ways. I believe in
this study God will reveal Himself to us.

     Jesus in the Scriptures calls Himself the Alpha and Omega, the
Genesis, and Revelation. He was promised in Genesis and the
fulfillment takes place in Revelation. We will see throughout this
study, as we will throughout the entire Bible, that for every blessing
God promises, there is a warning of curses, if we do not follow the
Lord.

      We will touch on the 144,000 which some denominations base their
 entire belief upon. This 144,000 are physical Israel, in my opinion,
 and we will see also the large number of people around the throne in
 heaven when this 144,000 are here upon the earth.  Those in heaven
 are the believers (beyond number) who have on white robes washed in
 the blood of the Lamb of God.  My own personal belief is that
 Christians will be raptured at about the middle of the seven years of
 tribulation.  Revelation, as well as the whole Bible, is of no
 private interpretation. Revelation is not a horror story for the
 Christians. Revelation tells us of the wonderful provisions made for
 the believers. We read about the tree of life, and the river of water
 which flows from the throne of God.

     What was shown to John in this vision is shown to all believers
by John's written account. St.  John the Divine makes us realize that
not only did John speak the message God gave him, but actually
describes God 's very nature in Revelation. There is no question in my
mind that this John is the very same who walked with Jesus.

     "Revelation" means the unveiling of Divine mysteries.

Christ is both the Mystery and the Revealer of the mystery. The
Revealer is God the Son.

     Read the following scriptures from the pen of John to better
understand how well John knew Jesus.  John was the only penman who
called Jesus "The Word" and "The Lamb".  The name "Word is in St. John
1:1, and we see Jesus as "The Lamb in St. John 19:13.

     Read St. John 1:29,36 and Revelation chapters 6, 8, and 12.

     Memorize St. John 1:1 and St.  John 1:29.













                        REVELATION 1 QUESTIONS


1.  Who is the author?
2.  Who is the penman?
3.  Who was John's brother?
4.  What was he and his brother called besides sons of Zebedee?
5.  John was known as the disciple of -----.
6.  Who did Jesus entrust his mother to?
7.  This great love that John had for Jesus helped him to understand
    the--------of Jesus.
8.  In St. John, Jesus is shown to be -----.
9.  In the four gospels, Jesus is shown as what symbolically?
10. What is the eagle symbolic of?
11. What sacrificial animal was Jesus called, by John alone?
12. What did John's mother ask Jesus to do that Jesus said He could
    not do?
13. What books did John write?
14. What did John have, that even Paul did not, pertaining to Jesus?
15. What three disciples spent the most time with Jesus?
16. Why was John banished to the Isle of Patmos?
17. What did John do on the Lord's day?
18. What do we see restored in Revelation that was taken away in
    Genesis?
19. Trace the message backwards from John to its origination.
20. What had the authorities assumed would happen when they banished
    John?
21. Rather than a horror story, what is Revelation to the believers?
22. What does Alpha and Omega mean?
23. What is another name that Revelation is called?
24. What does it mean?
25. What is God allowing us to see when He pulls the curtain back?
26. Tell how the curtain in the temple was torn?  Why?
27. God promises blessings if we obey and --------if we do not.
28. What does John show us about God?
29. What does Revelation mean?
30. Who is the Revealer?
31. Write out St. John 1:1.
32. Write out St. John 1:29.
33. In your own words tell what stands out to you in this lesson.