Here are some notes for Revelation 1:
Chapter 1
Chapter 1 has four distinct divisions:
·
Introduction
o Verse
1-3
·
Salutation
o Verse
4-8
·
Christ and His Glory
o Verse
9-18
·
The instruction to write
o Verse
19-20
Introduction:
Verse 1
“[This is] the revelation of Jesus Christ [His unveiling
of the divine mysteries]. God gave it to Him to disclose and make known to His
bond servants certain things which must shortly and speedily come to pass [a]in
their entirety. And He sent and communicated it through His angel (messenger)
to His bond servant John,” (AMP)
This is a single revelation. The word translated as
revelation is the Greek word, Apokalupsis (strong 602) which means an
uncovering, unveiling or a disclosure. Apokalupsis refers not only to the thing
shown and seen but to the interpretation or unveiling of the same.
The Amplified Bible Translation of this verse shown above
brackets this as Christ’s “unveiling if the divine mysteries”.
This revelation is given to Christ by God. This, for me
is a difficult concept. I understand this as God unveiling this revelation to
the human mind of Christ while he was on earth. I am not certain if that is
exactly correct but this concept seems to make the scripture make the most
sense to me. In John 17:8 Christ says the following in a prayer, “for the words
which Thou gavest me I have given them; and they received them, and truly
understood that I came forth from Thee and they believed that Thou didst send
me.” (NASB) . It seems that He is talking about a revelation here. Also it
seems that he is saying that His purpose is to pass the revelation on to us.
In his commentary, Matthew Henry writes : “Our Lord Jesus
is the great trustee of divine revelation; it is to him that we owe the
knowledge we have of what we are to expect from God and what he expects from
us.”
Regarding revelation see Daniel 2:28 : “However, there is
a God in Heaven who reveals mysteries and he made known to King Nebuchadnezzar
what will take place in the latter days. This was your dream and the visions in
your mind while on your bed” (NASB).
As with the revelation to Nebuchadnezzar, these things
are relevant to us and must “shortly take place”.
The Greek word which is translated to “bondservant” in
this verse is the word Doulos (strong 1401). Doulos means slave. It is a little
more than just that though. Slave here is not a temporary relationship. Slave
in this sense is a permanent relationship role. The Strong’s Concordance says
of the slave, “his will altogether consumed in the will of the other”.
This revelation was given to Christ for the benefit of
us, His bondservants or doulos.
This message was to John by an angel. The Greek word
translated “Angel” here is Aggelos. Literally this means messenger. But, it
does not mean a human messenger. It is a created spiritual angel sent to
deliver an announcement or proclamation to John.
Verse 2
“who bore witness to the Word of God and to the testimony
of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw” (NASB)
The Greek word
that is translated “Word” here is very interesting. It is the Greek word Logos
(strongss 3056).
The Lexical Aids to the New Testament in the Hebrew-Greek
Keyword Bible states about Logos: “Logos, when it refers to discourse is
regarded as ordinary linking and knitting together in connected arrangement of
words of the inward thoughts and feelings of the mind. The animals produce
sound, laloun, while God and human beings and those that have intelligence
produce thoughtful expressions logoun. ”
In John 8:43, Christ says to the Pharisees , “Why do you
not understand what I am saying ? It is because you can not hear My Word.”
The Greek word that is translated “what I am saying” is
different from the one translated as “My Word”.
“My Word” is Logos. What I am saying is lalia (stongs
2981) which simply means talking or to talk.
The Pharisees did not understand what Jesus was saying
because they did not understand His Logos or the interconnected thoughts and
feelings of God’s mind. In other words they did not understand because they did
not believe in Him. Jesus being the manifestation of God in the flesh was the
Logos or Word of God.
The Greek word that is translated “testimony” here is the
Greek word Maturion (strong’s 3142).
It is literally a form of witness. The “testimony” here
is based on direct knowledge coincident with reality.Ver
Verse 3
"Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand." (KJV)
Blessed is translated from the Greek word Makarios (Strong's 3107). The Lexical Aids to The New Testament in the Key Word Study Bible makes the following comments regarding Makarios:
"Makarios differs from happy because happy is the person who has good luck...The blessed person is the one whom God makes fully satisfied, not because of favorable circumstances but because He indwells the believer through Christ."
"Makarios is the one who is in the world yet independent from the world; His satisfaction comes from God and not from favorable circumstances."
In Luke 11:28 the same Greek word is translated to blessed. Christ says, "On the contrary, blessed are those who hear the word of God and observe it" (NASB)
Later in the book of Revelation, using the same translation of blessed, Christ says, "And behold, I am coming quickly, Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book" Revelation 22:7 (NASB).
The one who is blessed here in Revelation 1:3 are those who read, hear and keep the words of prophecy contained in this book. But, what is prophecy?
The Greek word that is translated to prophecy here is Propheteia (Strong's 4394). In the context that it is used in this verse, it simply means that which is foretold.
We are to hear the words of the prophecy and keep the things that are told in the prophecy. The verse goes on to indicate that the "time" is at hand (or near).
The Greek word that is translated to the English word "time" here is Kairos (Strongs 2540). This Greek word makes the translation a little difficult. There is really no direct English equivalent for the Greek word Kairos.
In English the word time is really chronological time. It is simply a progression of moments. We measure this in seconds, hours, days, months, years, decades, centuries, etc.
Kairos is kind of like a season... but that is not it precisely either.
The Lexical Aids to the New Testament in the Hebrew-Greek Keyword Study Bible makes this observation: "Kairos, however, implies not the convenience of the season but the necessity of a task at hand whether the time provides a good convenient opportunity or not."
Kairos is also translated to the English word "time" in Romans 13:11.
"And this do knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer than we believed" Romans 13:11 (NASB)
The Greek word that is translated to prophecy here is Propheteia (Strong's 4394). In the context that it is used in this verse, it simply means that which is foretold.
We are to hear the words of the prophecy and keep the things that are told in the prophecy. The verse goes on to indicate that the "time" is at hand (or near).
The Greek word that is translated to the English word "time" here is Kairos (Strongs 2540). This Greek word makes the translation a little difficult. There is really no direct English equivalent for the Greek word Kairos.
In English the word time is really chronological time. It is simply a progression of moments. We measure this in seconds, hours, days, months, years, decades, centuries, etc.
Kairos is kind of like a season... but that is not it precisely either.
The Lexical Aids to the New Testament in the Hebrew-Greek Keyword Study Bible makes this observation: "Kairos, however, implies not the convenience of the season but the necessity of a task at hand whether the time provides a good convenient opportunity or not."
Kairos is also translated to the English word "time" in Romans 13:11.
"And this do knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer than we believed" Romans 13:11 (NASB)
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