APOCALYPSE: Interpreting Scripture by Christ and His Gospel
The revelation of Jesus Christ… Revelation 1:1
I’ve encountered a great many Christians in several countries and many states in the U.S. since the Lord saved me by His amazing grace back in June 1985. Some of those countries include the Philippines, Indonesia, Japan, China (Hong Kong), and the Republic of Palau. In the United States, I’ve broken bread with Christians as far west as Scammon Bay, Alaska, as far east as Mechanicsville, Virginia, as far south as Pensacola, Florida, and as far north as Fairbanks. No matter where I’ve lived or traveled, generally, the first thought which comes to mind when the book of Revelation is mentioned is the prophetic end of time, the return of the Lord Jesus, the final judgment, the resurrection of the dead, and the re-creation of the new heaven and earth.
While Revelation contains those elements, there’s more to the book’s contents than that. Granted, it is the best part of the gospel therein, and we all look forward to that blessed event in our King’s return; however, there is one subject far more grand, far more glorious, which defines the Revelation— the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ, Himself.
Yes, it’s all about Him. It says so in the first five words in English, translated from the first three words of the original Greek manuscripts, αποκαλυψις ιησου χριστου (apocalupsis iesou xristou). So what does “apocalypse” mean? Moreover, what does it mean with regard to Jesus Christ?
Apocalypse, or revelation, means a disclosure; a discovery of something unknown, or a further uncovering of something known to some extent, yet further clarified. Now, my definition of the word may sound a little confusing because the signs, visions, symbolisms, and spiritual allegories have astonished and bewildered many for nearly two thousand years, but please bear with me. This disclosure, in the last book of the Bible, is somewhat of a synopsis of the gospel unveiled progressively through the previous sixty-six books. Revelation is the summary at the end of the book, so to speak.
The entire Bible is a progressive revelation of God’s redemptive plan through His one and only Son. From the creation account, through the creation of man and his subsequent fall, and the pronouncement of God’s gracious redemption of man by the virgin birth of a male Child (Gen 3:15), the divine plan of God throughout the historical record, poetry, and wise writings of the prophets, revealed a little more, bit by bit, of the truth concerning the Messiah to come.
When the Messiah finally came, fulfilling more than three-hundred prophecies concerning His miraculous birth, righteous life, earthly ministry, atoning death on the cross, resurrection from the dead, and ascension into heaven, the apostles and prophets with whom He committed His gospel message further clarified the message of the Scriptures, revealing who Jesus of Nazareth was, what He came to do in redeeming the souls of sinners, His interceding ministry while He rules upon a heavenly throne, and culminating in His promised return, the resurrection of the dead, the final judgment, and the eternal regeneration in the new heaven and earth.
ESCHATOLOGY
“Eschatology” is a theological word most closely associated with the book of Revelation. It merely means the ‘study of last things,’ derived from the Greek word εσχατος (ES-xat-os), which means “last” or “end.” While many may connect this word with end-times events, and with the book of Revelation in particular, this word is important for the interpretation of the book of Revelation because of its end, or ultimate purpose for everything God has accomplished and recorded in the pages of Scripture. It’s not merely the what and when of God’s divine plan, it more importantly sets our attention on the why of God’s plan and design for creating the heavens and the earth in the first place. The first question of Charles Spurgeon’s A Puritan Catechism deals with the why of mankind’s creation: “What is the chief end of man?” It is asking the ultimate goal or principle purpose for man’s existence. In other words, why was man created? The answer to that question states: “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever.” If this was man’s prime reason for being, how could he glorify God as a mortal sinner who deserves eternal damnation for the sins he has committed against an infinitely holy and good God? The answer is simple.
Just as God spoke the universe into existence, He spoke to fallen men through the prophets (Heb 1:1), many of them writing down what they heard as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit (2 Pet 1:21). In the fullness of the time, however, God sent His Son (Gal 4:4), and spoke to men through Jesus (Heb 1:2). When Jesus came, He gave us the key to the dilemma of how a condemned sinner could glorify God and enjoy Him forever. The Lord Jesus said,
“You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about Me…” John 5:39
By stating that He was the Answer to the question of salvation, by this same statement Jesus identified another great, grand, and glorious truth— the entirety of the Old Testament Scriptures was about Him. The book of Revelation states the same, giving us the title for this commentary:
For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. Revelation 19:10
Moreover, the apostle, Peter, also tells us that the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ to redeem sinners was God’s plan before He even said, “Light be!” (Gen 1:3),
knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. He was foreknown before the foundation of the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of you 1 Peter 1:18-20
Interestingly, in this pre-creation glimpse of God’s eternal plan, Peter also makes use of the term “last times,” the Greek εσχατου των χρoνων (ES-xat-ou tōn XRON-ōn). Here, Peter speaks to us of the when of end-times, which we’ll take a look at in the next chapter.