Introduction and Overview

Introduction

• The Revelation is the Revelation of St John the Beloved, the Son of Zebedee, the Theologian, the Virgin
• He is called the Theologian because he focused on the Divinity of Christ in the Book of Revelation, the Epistles and the Gospel
• He lived in the time of Domitian at the end of the 1st Century and wrote Revelation between 85-100 AD and was exiled to a place called Patmos
• The first Revelation he saw was on the Lord's Day (Sunday)
• St John was very old, he was separated from his congregation and his church, he was in exile - he was in bad shape. But God gave him consolation with the Revelation - so the Book of Revelation for the Church becomes a book of comfort
  • To show us (symbolically) the beauty of the heavenly kingdom
  • The joy of heavenly kingdom
  • To see Christ
• Revelation has a different structure - John sees something in heaven, then sees something on earth, then something in heaven, then something on earth... so he is going up and down and up and down. And at the last chapter he sees the new heaven 
• First Chapter shows us Christ in His Glory and asks John to write. Last Chapter shows us Christ in His Glory and al of His children surrounding Him, and ends with the words "Lord come quickly"
• Book of the Rites of the Church - through our rites, we live in the Revelation of St John and we bring heaven on earth
  • Even though we only read it once on Apocalypse
  • Lights
  • White clothes
  • Red color
  • Praises
  • ⲑⲱⲕ ⲧⲉ ϯϫⲟⲙ
  • Incense
• St John represents the person who has one foot on earth and one in heaven - at one point he is sad because he sees the suffering of the Church on earth, and at the next point he is happy seeing the glory of God and the believers in heaven
• Seven
  • Angels, pots, plagues, etc.
  • Seven means "completion" and seven refers to our life on earth
  • Eight refers to "eternal life" (7 + 1)
  • 24 priests, 144,000 
• Book of Praises
  • All praises we have come back to Revelation
  • We see all of the characters in heaven - 4 creatures, 24 priests, angels, etc. and all of them are praising
  • At one point (Revelation 14) we read about harpists playing the harps and singing a song and St John writes "no one could learn that song except the 144,000 who were redeemed from the earth" - so not everyone could learn it because they weren't used to praising on earth. But those who were used to it, could do it
• Who is going to heaven?
  • Those who are attaching themselves to God and focusing on Him and living a life of repentance
  • Those who are puffed up in pride, not repenting, living their life on earth without a thought for God... not so much
  • The point of the plagues and the wars and all of that is to encourage people to repent before they happen!
• Role of angels
  • Pray for us
  • Send us messages of comfort
  • Protect us
  • Battle the demons for us
• St Mary
  • Symbol of the Victorious Church
  • Defeated the Beast

Overview

• Revelation 1:1 "The Revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave Him to show His servants"
• Revelation 1:3 "Blessed is he who reads and who hears the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near"
  • Blessed is he who reads, who listens, who keeps
• Revelation 1:4 "John, to the seven churches which are in Asia"
  • John was the first Patriarch of Asia Minor - and he is writing the Revelation as a message to the seven bishops of the seven cities in Asia Minor
• Revelation 1:4 "who is and who was and who is to come"
• Revelation 1:5 "the firstborn from the dead"
  • Christ is the only one who rose from the dead and didn't die again
• Revelation 1:5 "To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen."
• Revelation 1:7 "Behold, He is coming with clouds and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him"
  • Those who died, those who didn't
  • Those who accept Him, those who don't
  • Those who are Christians, those who are not
  • Those who persevered and those who didn't
  • EVERY EYE will see Him
• Revelation 1:8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End" says the Lord, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty"
  • God is telling John: I am coming, all will see me, I am the beginning and the end - I made all things in the beginning, and I will end all things at the end
• Revelation 1:9 "I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ"
  • He is in tribulation with them even though he's far away
• Revelation 1:9 "was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ"
  • He's on Patmos and for what reason? The word of God and the testimony of Christ
• Revelation 1:10 "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet"
  • For a moment, he felt that he was in the end times when he heard the loud voice like a trumpet
• Revelation 1:11 "What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches"
• Revelation 1:12-17
  • "I saw"
  • Christ on the Throne, wearing white, wearing a royal crown, the words coming out of His mouth like a sword
• Revelation 2-3
  • Letters to the 7 churches
    • Ephesus - I am sad that you have lost your first love
    • Smyrna - I am happy because you are persevering - endure
    • etc.
  • 7 Churches represent 7 different spiritual states
    • Someone who likes to appear righteous but on the inside he's empty
    • Someone who doesn't take spiritual life seriously
  • God is telling them I know your works - you can't trick me
  • God gives them a treatment - what to do to return to the right way
  • God works in all of us, knowing our strengths and our weaknesses - and gives us guidance for our weaknesses
• Revelation 4 - Happy!
  • Open door in heaven
  • He saw the throne in heaven
    • Jasper
    • Sardius stone
    • Rainbow
    • emerald
    • 24 priests in white robes and crowns of gold
• Revelation 5 - Happy!
  • Sealed scroll that no one can open
  • Seven seals on it
  • Until the Lion of the Tribe of Judah (Christ) comes to open
• Revelation 6 - Sad!
  • Seven seals
    • White horse, victorious Church
    • Red horse, battles and wars
    • Black horse, heresy, etc.
    • etc.
• Revelation 7 - Happy!
  • After the shock of Revelation 6, God shows him heaven again - and those who are sealed and who are redeemed and they are praising God
  • "no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues"
• Revelation 8-10 - Sad!
  • Seventh seal reveals seven angels with seven trumpets
  • Seven trumpets come with plagues on the earth - one after the other - for the people to repent, but they don't repent
  • First Trumpet: Vegetation on the earth is struck with fire and hail
  • Second Trumpet: Seas
  • Third Trumpet: Waters
  • Fourth trumpet: Sun and moon and stars
  • Fifth Trumpet: Locusts
  • Sixth Trumpet: Angels of death
• Revelation 11 - Happy!
  • Two witnesses
  • Seventh Trumpet: Kingdom of God proclaimed
• Revelation 12-13 - Sad!
  • Woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, on her head 12 stars
    • Church that is wearing the Lord has a garment
    • St Mary clothed in the glory of being mother of God, St John the Baptist is the moon under her feet, 12 stars are the 12 disciples
  • Dragon, Beast of the Sea, Beast of the Earth
• Revelation 14 - Happy!
  • The Lamb stands victorious, surrounded by His followers
  • Angels proclaim the destruction of the beast and Babylon
  • The saints are victorious
  • The earth's harvest is reaped
  • The grapes of the earth are reaped
• Revelation 15-16 - Sad!
  • Seven bowls
    • Sores
    • Sea turned into blood
    • Waters turned into blood
    • Men are scorched with fire
    • Darkness and Pain
    • Euphrates is dried up
    • Earthquakes
  • Completion of the wrath of God
• Revelation 17 - Sad!
  • The angel explains one of the signs... and it's inexplicable
• Revelation 18-19 - Happy!
  • Fall of Babylon
  • Heaven exults over fall of babylon
  • Christ on a white horse
  • Beast and armies defeated
• Revelation 20
  • Satan bound for 1000 years, Christ reigns for 1000 years
  • We are living in these 1000 years right now when Christ reigned on the Wood of the Cross and bound Satan in Hades
• Revelation 21
  • "I saw a new heaven and a new earth"
  • All things are made new
• Revelation 22
  • "These words are faithful and true"
  • "Behold, I am coming quickly!"
  • "Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book"
  • "Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand"
  • "He who is unjust, let him be unjust; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still"
    • If someone wants to walk the wrong path after hearing all of these things, let them do it
    • If someone wants to repent and walk in the way of God after hearing all of these things, let him do it
  • "Blessed are those who do these commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life"
    • Brings us back to 1st Chapters of Genesis
  • "I am coming quickly"
  • Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!