Revelation: A strategy for seeing..

Today I began our new preaching series ‘Living Life with Heaven’s Perspective’ based on the Book of Revelation, and I shall be using this blog to post some of my preaching notes, plus information referred to in passing while preaching.

Revelation is a book to be understood - that’s the whole point of the last book in the Bible, and revelation in general. Revelation is to reveal! ‘Apocalupto’ means to uncover, to draw back the curtain. What is needed, amid all the confusion over Revelation, is a strategy for seeing, and that’s what this morning’s message was all about.

Revelation is a book to be seen. It is, for the large part, a vision or series of visions, and visions need to be seen and interpreted. The phrase ‘I saw..’ occurs again and again. How then should we interpret it? How do we go about finding the ‘correct’ meaning for the images and symbols presented to us?

Revelation is the last book in the Bible! Apart from stating the obvious, what I mean is that in it John, under the Holy Spirit’s guidance draws together many strands of Biblical images and expectations into their fulfillment here in Revelation. John’s mind is saturated in Scripture (518 references in total) and he draws widely from Genesis to the Prophets. Revelation only makes sense in the light of the Old Testament - and that’s where we should look in seeking to interpret symbols & prophecies - not to science fiction.

Numbers count in Scripture. Numbers carry significance in the Bible and in Revelation in particular. That need not mean that they don’t carry a literal meaning as well.
7 is the number of completeness, being the Sabbath, celebrating the completed work of Creation Gen 1, Lev 8
4 seems to be a number that expresses the completeness of the created world, i.e. there are references to the 4 corners of the earth (ch7:1, ch20:8), the 4 winds (ch7:1), the 4 living creatures (ch4)
6 is the number of man, created on Day 6. Gen 1
12 is the number of completeness in terms of God’s people in the OT., there being 12 tribes forming 1 nation.
Add the 12 Apostles, and you have 24 elders (ch4 etc) speaks of the heads, or foundation of both Israel and the church, 12 tribes plus 12 apostles.
144,000 It is suggested that this is the whole company of God’s people.

Revelation exposes Satan as a counterfeiter. Many of the symbols & images begin to make sense when we realize this. For instance, there is a counterfeit trinity. Satan counterfeits God the Father by producing a counterfeit “son”, the Beast ( Rev 12:3 & 13:1). Then there a counterfeit Holy Spirit - in Rev 12:11-18. another beast comes out of the earth (13:11). This beast is later identified as “the false prophet.” (16:13) The false prophet works “miraculous signs (13:13) reminiscent of the miraculous signs worked by the Holy Spirit in the book of Acts. Through miraculous signs, the Holy Spirit draws people to worship Christ. Analogously the false prophet promotes worship of the Beast. The Beast has 10 crowns on his head (13:1). In 19:12 Christ has many crowns on his head. The beast has blasphemous names (13:1), Christ has worthy names (19:11-13,16). The beast has great power (13:2), Christ has divine power and authority (12:2,10). The beast experiences a counterfeit resurrection and receives worship. He puts his mark of ownership on his followers as opposed to the seal of the Spirit - and so on. Other counterfeits: the prostitute as opposed to the Bride of Christ etc

The Controlling Centre of Revelation is Jesus Christ and his Kingdom. Right from the start, in chapter 1, we are introduced to Jesus Christ, no more veiled by his humanity as he was when walking this earth. Now he is all glory! He is awesome - really awesome, so much so that John falls down as if dead. This is the One at the centre of Revelation; this is the One who presides over world history, and is the One who is coming in the clouds!
It seems to me that this is the biggest key in interpreting the Book of Revelation and getting heaven’s perspective (which our materially focussed generation so badly needs) - we need to see Jesus for who he is, awesome in splendour.
Only when we encounter his majesty will we discover his mercy; only as we glimpse of his glory will we appreciate his grace.

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last,..” Revelation 1:17

Next week ‘The Church as you’ve never seen it before’

Goff