REVELATION: The Bottom Line: The Last Days

Chapter 1

The Deity of Christ

The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants, things which must shortly come to pass: and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:

Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.

—Revelation 1:1–2 (KJV)

The Apostle John begins to write those things which are given to him by an angel. Angels frequently serve as God’s messengers. In fact, the word messenger can be substituted for angel, as it is synonymous.

Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophesy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand. (Revelation 1:3 KJV)

John to the seven Churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;

And from Jesus Christ who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be the glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. (Revelation 1:4–6 KJV)

This is the affirmation of the deity of Christ and his lordship of the heavenly kingdom. The book of Revelation focuses on events, which are soon to happen and will usher in the fulfillment of God’s promise of his eternal kingdom. Other books throughout the Bible coincide with its teachings with prophesies from the Old and New Testament and many of the parables of Jesus.

One of these speaks of the husbandmen.

Hear another parable: there was a certain householder, (God the Father), which planted a vineyard, and hedged it roundabout, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and went into a far country:

And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruit of it.

And the husbandmen took his servants, (the prophets), and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another.

Again, he sent other servants more than that the first: and they did unto them likewise.

But last of all he sent unto them his son saying, they will reverence my son.

But when the husbandmen saw the son, (Jesus), they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance.

And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, (Golgotha), and slew him.

When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen? They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, (Christians), which shall render him the fruits in their season. Matthew 21:33–41 (KJV)

Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him, even so, Amen. (Revelation 1:7 KJV)

When Jesus returns, it will be a worldwide event, but who were those that pierced him?

After Jesus had been tried by the chief priest and elders of the Jews and found, according to them, guilty of blasphemy, Jesus was delivered to Pontius Pilate, the governor. After Pilate interviewed him, he perceived that Jesus had been brought to him because of envy.

During the feast of Passover, it was the custom to release to the people a prisoner, whomever they wanted released.

But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus. The Governor (Pilate) answered and said unto them, Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you? They said, Barabbas.

Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him let him be crucified.

And the Governor said, Why, what evil hath He done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified.

When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult, (riot), was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it.

Then answered all the people, and said, his blood be on us, and our children. (Matthew 27:20–25 KJV)

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! (Matthew 23:37 KJV)

These words have echoed in sorrow down through the centuries. Many people believe that the Jews have lost their place in God’s heart and future plans, but God has promised many times in the scriptures to ultimately restore the remnant of his people unto himself. The following quote from the prophet Zechariah is but one example.

And it shall come to pass in that day, that I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourned for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. (Zechariah 12:9–10 KJV)

The great realization!

All Jews will see their Messiah, and many will believe. Many non-Jews will realize who Jesus is and grieve for their unbelief.

I am the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. (Revelation 1:8 KJV)

This verse parallels the Lord’s description of himself in Isaiah 41:4 and Revelation 22:14. Included in this title is the name which the Lord revealed to Moses, wherein Moses said unto God with the following words Christ gives mankind a clear definition of himself and his position.

But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again, the high priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? And Jesus said; I Am: and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power and coming in the clouds of heaven.

Then the high Priest rent his clothes, and saith, what need we any further witnesses?

Ye have heard the blasphemy: What think ye? And they all condemned him to be guilty of death. (Mark 14:61–64 KJV)

John introduces himself.

I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the Kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the Word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. (Revelation 1:9 KJV)

It is Patmos, a bare island in the Aegean Sea, to which John was banished during the reign of Domitian AD 95 for the witness of the gospel. Twenty miles south of Samos and twenty-four miles west of Asia Minor, Patmos is divided into two nearly equal parts—a northern and a southern—by a very narrow isthmus, where on the east side are the harbor and the town. On the hill to the south, crowning a commanding height, is the celebrated monastery which bears the name of John the Divine. Halfway up the ascent is the cave or grotto, where tradition says that John received the Revelation.¹

He continues,

I was in the spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven Churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea. (Revelation 1:10–11 KJV)

To understand the designation of Sunday as the Lord’s Day, we look at the day of Pentecost, from the Greek word Pentecost meaning fifty or the fiftieth day exactly from the Passover. Beginning with resurrection Sunday plus seven Sundays equals 50 days; equals Pentecost. And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high (Luke 24:49). This corresponds with Shabuoth the Jewish holiday.

The whole ceremony was the completion of that dedication of the harvest to God as its giver and to whom both the land and the people were holy which was begun by the offering of the wave sheaf at the Passover. The interval is still regarded as a religious season.

The Pentecost is the only one of three great feasts that is not mentioned as the memorial of events in the history of the Jews; but such significance has been found in the fact that the Law was given from Sinai on the fiftieth day after the deliverance from Egypt. Compare Exodus 12 and 19. In the Exodus, the people were offered to God as living first fruits; at Sinai, their consecration to him as a nation was completed.²

The arrival of the Holy Spirit, the promised Comforter on the day of Pentecost, is made clear from the events of the day recorded in the acts of the Apostles. Just as the appearance of God on Sinai was the birthday of the Jewish nation, so Pentecost was the birthday of the Christian church.³

Acts 2:2–4 describes the decent of the Holy Spirit on that day.

And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.

And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.

And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

This was the birthday of the church and began the age of grace, which occurred on the seventh Sunday after the resurrection of Jesus and established the first day of the week as the day of worship.

The Lord’s day, the weekly festival of our Lord’s resurrection and identified with the first day of the week, or Sunday of every age of the church. Scripture says very little concerning this day; but that little seems to indicate that the divinely inspired apostles, by their practice and by their precepts, marked the first day of the week as a day for meeting together to break bread, for communicating and receiving instruction, for laying up offerings in store for charitable Purposes, for occupation in holy thought and prayer.

However, it is in error that some people call Sunday, Sabbath. The seventh day of the week was named the Sabbath by God and remains so.

John continues,

And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;

And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.

His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;

And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; And his voice as the sound of many waters.

And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.

And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold,

I am alive forevermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter;

The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the Seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven Churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven Churches. (Revelation 1:12–20 KJV)

When John turned to see who spoke, he beheld the presence of Christ, his description is similar to the words of Daniel 7:9 and 10:6.

Jesus is no longer the meek and humble servant, spit on and whipped, hung on a cross between heaven and Earth bearing on his royal head the crown of thorns, symbolizing the curse on the earth and mankind in Genesis 3:17–19.

¹ Smith’s Bible Dictionary, 1996, pg. 486

² Smith’s Bible Dictionary, 1996, pg. 363

³ Smith’s Bible Dictionary, 1996, pgs. 499–500

Chapter 2

The Message to the Churches: Beware

Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks;

I know thy works, and thy labor, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars:

And hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name’s sake hast labored, and hast not fainted.

Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.

Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.

But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolations, which I also hate.

—Revelation 2:1–6 (KJV)

Having had a great beginning as a Christian witness in the idolatrous city of Ephesus, this church was now a church of empty form; a thing that the Apostle Paul saw beginning to happen several years before, which he spoke of in his letter to the Ephesians, wherein several times he addresses the necessity of a love relationship with Christ.

For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,

That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;

That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,

May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;

And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:14–19 KJV)

The Nicolations, who in a time of persecution, when eating or not eating of things sacrificed to idols was more than ever a crucial test of faithfulness, persuaded men more than ever that it was a thing indifferent. Also mingling themselves in the orgies of idolatrous feasts, they brought the impurities of those feasts into the meetings of the Christian church. And all this was done; it must be remembered, not simply as an indulgence of appetite but as a part of a system supported by a doctrine, accompanied by a boast of a prophetic illumination.⁴

Even though the doctrine of a church is correct, if the love of Christ is not in the hearts of the membership, it will not yield the fruit of the Spirit.

Every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. (Matthew 7:19 KJV)

Today, there is no church at Ephesus. The whole place is now utterly desolate, with the exception of a small Turkish village at Ayasaluk.⁵

The candlestick of the church of Ephesus has been removed.

Christ continues:

He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. (Revelation 2:7 KJV)

Salvation is not dependent upon being a member of any particular church body. Jesus is telling us not to follow in the cold ritualism that is found so frequently within church organizations but to depend on a personal relationship with God through the Holy Spirit with which we shall see the fulfillment of the Lord’s promise to us of eternal life.

And unto the Angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;

I know thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, (but thou art rich) and I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan.

Fear none of these things which thou shalt suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.

He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death. (Revelation 2:8–11 KJV)

Jesus speaks of an era of increased tribulation for his church, persecution unto death. Is this something new? Satan has warred against God and his people from the beginning. The prophets of the Old Testament were persecuted and nearly all the disciples of Christ, including Paul, were beaten, stoned, imprisoned, and/or crucified for their witness. Christ was not only speaking to the early Christians but