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In
all of Scripture, the Book of Revelation is one of the most important,
but maybe the least understood by the multitudes of Yahuweh's
people. The Title in both Greek and English means "the
Unveiling" or "the Revealing," so we get the idea from the title that
something "hidden" will be "revealed" in the text.
The first three verses of the opening chapter tell us what the
"message" of Revelation is: It is the message Yahuweh gave to Yahushua
Messiah, in order that Yahushua might show to His Servants those things
which will shortly come to pass.
The Two-part Message of
Revelation
The entire message of
Revelation can be seen as a two-part message. The
first part consists of detailed warnings given to the Believers,
wherein Yahushua reveals various major shortcomings in the doctrines and
practices of the New Testament Believers, along with the remedies.
These shortcomings are not minor in nature, but as we can see by the
language used, these are serious issues, and appear to have eternal
consequences. The warnings addressed to the called-out people in the 7 cities in Revelation, appear to parallel
the warnings given in the Parable of the Ten Virgins. Both sets of warnings deal with
issues of deciding who will be among the Bride, and who will not; and both address what one's inheritance will consist of.
These warnings are given in a prophetic perspective, and they apply to
the last days of preparation of the Bride, immediately prior to any
judgments. Thus the warnings serve as an aid to preparation for the
Bride, and can serve as a "checklist" for the Bride's assessment of her
"readiness."
The second part of the message can be seen as a prophetic panorama of
"things to come," seen as one great panorama of future events, with
various time periods depicted as separate scenes within the
panorama.
Many today are in disagreement as to whether the events seen in
Revelation are to be taken "literally," or taken spiritually or
"metaphorically." This disagreement and time wasting over
this issue is not necessary. In the proper time, Yahushua will reveal
which of those things are to be taken literally, and which ones are to
be taken spiritually or symbolically. Our primary task today is to
prepare ourselves, and to pay close attention to the warnings
given.
The Prophetic Purpose of
Revelation
Notice in the opening
passages the following verse:
Blessed is ... he that readeth ... they that
hear ... and
keep those things which are written
therein (Revelation 1:3a)
Here we see that some are singled out by saying they are "Blessed" –
language used by Yahushua to speak of those closest to His
heart. These are the ones to whom the message is addressed,
that it might become "profitable" to them.
Thus the messages to the 7 churches are to be taken in a "prophetic"
way – applying the "now" meaning to each and every message, regardless
of which of the seven "churches" it appears to be addressed
to.
It likewise in the opening passages of Revelation that we see
part of the prophetic purpose of the Book of Revelation. In the verse
above, we see "they that hear" are Blessed. In many other passages in
Revelation, we are told that the Bride is to develop "ears to
hear." We also see above that the Bride is to prepare herself
by "keeping those things that are written" in the messages.
We conclude that the warnings in Revelation are to be heard very
carefully, and obeyed or carried out to the last detail.
Now let's notice one other passage:
"...If therefore thou shalt not
watch, I
will come on thee as a thief,
and thou shalt not know what hour I will come upon
thee." (Revelation 3:3b)
In this passage, we see one other part of the prophetic purpose of the
messages – that of encouraging the Bride to "watch" for the Bridegroom
to return.
The entire Book of Revelation is presented as a prophetic picture of
future events, presented in a panoramic view spanning some time
period. This panoramic view is given specifically for the
Bride, so that she might understand, and be about the business of
watching at the proper time, so as to help her to be aware of the
timing of the Bridegroom's appearing.
Revelation is further intended to be a part of the vision the
Bridegroom is giving to the Bride, with the intent of drawing her ever
closer, and for the purpose of giving her hope in the midst of great
despair that will occur just prior to the time of the King's bringing
in of the Kingdom.
Thus we see that the Book of Revelation is to be viewed in a prophetic
way, whereby everything written in all the messages is for all of
Yahuweh's people, regardless of location, or in which century they lived.
We have mentioned the purpose of the Book of Revelation. Now
let's confirm the intended recipient of these messages.
Who Is Revelation Written
To?
What Men Say
Many Bible Teachers today
have created various views of who the message
of Revelation is addressed to, and various "camps" have sprung up
around these views. Some say the Book of Revelation was
written to 7 churches in 7 geographical locations. The plain
context agrees with this idea, but we must not limit ourselves because
of geography. Scripture contains within itself many levels of
fulfillment.
Others have said these 7 churches represent 7 church "epochs" or ages
within the last 2,000 years. Consequently these teachers focus on only
the last message to the seven churches, while ignoring the previous six
messages. In this view, each era was to be "represented" by one of
the messages, with the result that the testimony from the other six
messages was ignored, or considered irrelevant, at any given time. Now
let us see what the Book of Revelation says.
What Scripture Says
The clear and
easy-to-understand language of Scripture can be seen in
the verses of Revelation, revealing exactly who the Book of Revelation
is written to. Let's begin by noticing that in each of the messages to
the seven churches, there is an identical pair of statements, repeated
for each message. Notice this pair of statements in the message to
Ephesus:
"Unto the angel of the church of
Ephesus
write..."
(Revelation 2:1a)
"He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit
saith unto the
churches..." (Revelation 2:7a)
Here we see in the first statement the writing is addressed to the
"angel" or "messenger" of the Ephesus church in Rev 2:1a.
Near the end of the message, in the second statement, we are told that
this same message to Ephesus is the "Spirit saying unto the churches"
– plural! Thus we see the Spirit's "saying" is not limited
to those of Ephesus, but is for "the churches," or all of those that are called-out people (all the 'Born-Again' Believers) in every place and for all time.
Next, note the message is specifically directed to "they that hear and
keep" those things which are written therein. This phrase is
the equivalent of the Hebrew word 'Shema' or hearken, which means to
"hear and obey. The phrase "ears to hear" is a prophetic
hallmark of the Bride, used throughout Scripture, but implies not all
will have ears to 'hear' with obedience.
This same pair of statements is repeated, in identical fashion, for the
following six churches:
Smyrna - (Revelation
2:8a & 2:11a)
Pergamos - (Revelation 2:12a &
2:17a)
Thyatira - (Revelation 2:18a)
& 2:29a
Sardis - (Revelation 3:1a &
3:6a)
Philadelphia - (Revelation 3:7a
& 3:13a)
Laodiceans - (Revelation 3:14a
& 3:22a)
Every one of these messages to the seven churches is directed to "He
that hath an ear," so that these all become part of the Bride's
preparation checklist. Now let us note a few more passages
that detail the intended recipients of these messages.
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:
(Revelation 1:1)
Here we see the "Revelation" (hidden things revealed) are to be shown
"unto His Servants," further identifying the Bride. Now let's
notice another:
I Jesus have sent mine angel to
testify unto
you these things in the
churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and the
bright and
morning star. (Revelation 22:16)
Here, we see "these things" are to be testified "unto you in the
churches." Thus we conclude that all of Yahuweh's Word is for
"all" of His People. The idea that ALL of Scripture is for
ALL of Yah's people is seen throughout Scripture. Note a few
of these passages:
Thy testimonies have I taken as an
heritage
for ever: for they are the
rejoicing of my heart. (Psalms 119:111)
All scripture is given by inspiration of
God, and is profitable for
doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished
unto all good works. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of
Christ
ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit
of the
living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy
tables of the
heart. (2 Corinthians 3:3)
Notice this last passage reveals the New Covenant Promise: Yahuweh
promised to write the Torah (Law) on the heart of His people, by the
Spirit He would give them as part of this promise:
31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD,
that I will make a new
covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
32 Not
according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day
that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt;
which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them,
saith the LORD: 33 But this shall be the
covenant
that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the
LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it
in their
hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my
people. (Jeremiah 31:31-33)
Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one
of you in
the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye
shall
receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise
is unto you, and to
your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord
our God shall call. (Acts 2:38-39)
So the promise of "all Scripture" is ours for a heritage, and this
Scripture is to be written on our heart that we would have the desire
to walk in obedience to what is written on our heart.
Who was Revelation written to? It was written to all the
Believing ones, and specifically to "they that hear ... and keep those
things which are written therein."
Conclusion
The Book of Revelation is
a collection of messages giving detailed
warnings of how the Bride is develop ears to hear, and how she is to
prepare herself by keeping those things written in the messages.
Revelation is likewise a prophetic picture of future events, presented
in a panoramic view spanning some time period, written for the Bride,
that she might be about the business of "watching" at the proper time,
so as to know the time of the Bridegroom's appearing.
Lastly, the Book of Revelation is part of the vision the Bridegroom is
giving to the Bride, with the intent of drawing her closer, and of
giving her hope in the midst of great despair that will occur just
prior to the time of the King's bringing in of the Kingdom.
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