Lesson 1 of a class on the Book of Revelation scheduled to be taught by Dale Wells at Palm Springs Church of Christ on January 7, 2009.

1. Lesson 1
The Alpha and the Omega (1)
A Book to be Understood
Amen! Hallelujah! – A Study of the Book of Revelation
By Dale Wells
Text: Rev 1.1-8; Rev 22.8-12

2. Revelation is a book to be
understood
Rev 1:1-3 WEB This is
the Revelation of Jesus
Christ …
Apocalypsis – an
“unveiling”, “revealing”,
or “disclosure”
The book is not a
“mystery” (mysterion),
but a “revelation”

3. The difference between “mystery”
and “revelation”
Eph 3:1-7 WEB … by revelation the mystery was
made known to me … it has now been revealed …
that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, and fellow members
of the body, and fellow partakers of his promise in
Christ Jesus through the gospel …
What was once a “mystery” is now a “revelation”
A mystery isn't understood till revealed. Once
revealed, it is no longer a mystery
In Revelation, a mystery was also revealed
The book begins with a blessing on the attentive,
obedient reader and hearer

4. “Blessed” (makarios) – the word of
the Beatitudes
Mat 5:3-12 WEB “Blessed are the poor in spirit …
Blessed are those who mourn ... Blessed are the
gentle … Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after
righteousness ... Blessed are the merciful ... Blessed
are the pure in heart … Blessed are the peacemakers
… Blessed are those who have been persecuted for
righteousness' sake ... “Blessed are you when people
reproach you, persecute you, and say all kinds of evil
against you falsely, for my sake ...”
The Beatitudes describe the character Jesus expects
No one thinks they are unattainable
Neither are the blessings in Revelation unattainable

5. "Blessed is he who reads"
Rev 1:3 WEB Blessed
is he who reads and
those who hear the
words of the prophecy,
and keep the things that
are written in it...
Ho anaginooskon – “the
one reading aloud”
 Apparent in blessing
“those who hear”
 Envisions one reading to
a congregation

6. “Blessed are those who hear”
Akouoo with a genitive
noun meant “hear”
With the accusative, as
here, it meant
“understand”
Jesus intended the
message to be
understood

7. An example of “hear” vs.
“understand”
Accounts of Paul's
experience seem
contradictory
 Act 9:7 KJV And the men
… hearing a voice …
 Act 22:9 KJV And they
that were with me …
heard not the voice ...
Modern translations
clear up the confusion
 Act 9:7 WEB The men …
hearing the voice ...
 Act 22:9 WEB “Those …
with me … didn't
understand the voice …

8. “Blessed are … those who … keep
the things … in it”
Terountes means “observe”, or “obey”
 God intended people to “understand” and “obey”
the book, so he must have written one they could
understand and were capable of obeying!
Why is the book misunderstood?
 People misunderstand the book because of faulty
assumptions they bring to the text, not because of
what the text, itself, says

9. Popular approaches to Revelation
Some see it as a “summary of history”
 They see the Catholic Church, Reformation, Luther & Calvin
 Philip Melanchthon, Luther’s contemporary, took this approach
 Recent authors are Albert Barnes and John Hinds
 Each reapplies history to put himself in the last days
Some believe it only deals with the end of time
 Authors since 1948 think we are in the last moments of time
 Each rewrites when time proves him wrong
Something is wrong with an approach that rewrites
interpretation every time history disproves it

10. The time frame is set by two phrases
Dei genesthai en tachei - “which must happen soon”
 Rev 1:1 WEB … the Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God
gave him to show … the things which must happen soon...
 Rev 22:6 WEB He said to me, “… The Lord God … sent his
angel to show … the things which must happen soon.”
Some believe that en tachei means “certainly”
 Not so! Tacheoo always means “quickly”.
 Act 22:17-18 WEB “… while I prayed … I fell into a trance, and
saw him saying to me, 'Hurry and get out of Jerusalem quickly,”
 Gal 1:6-7 WEB I marvel that you are so quickly deserting him
who called you in the grace of Christ to a different gospel …
 2Ti 4:9 WEB Be diligent to come to me soon...
Readers of Revelation understood that the fulfillment
would be soon - from their point of view, not ours!

11. The time is at hand
Ho gar kairos engus – “for the time is at hand”
 Engus means “in hand” or “within reach”
The use of “the time is at hand”
 Rev 1:3 WEB Blessed is he who reads … those who hear …
and keep the things … written in it, for the time is at hand.
 Rev 22:10 WEB He said to me, “Don't seal up the words of
the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand.
This same expression is used elsewhere
 Mar 1:14-15 WEB … Jesus came … saying, “The time is
fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand! …”
 Rom 10:8-9 WEB The word is near you...
 Phi 4:5 WEB The Lord is at hand.
No text uses engus of something far away

12. Reasons for interpreting the book in
light of its time:
It was a “revelation” to its readers, not a “mystery”
It was intended to be read, understood and acted on
Its time of fulfillment was close at hand
Picture yourself as a Christian in Pergamum
 Antipas has been executed for his faith. You may be next!
 A messenger comes with John's letter.
 Do you want to know what to expect in 2000 years? No!
 You want to know if you’re going to be alive tomorrow! If not,
what then? Was it worth it for Antipas – or for you?
 You don’t care about 21st
Century writers. You want to know
what’s going to happen to you and what God is doing about it!
A message to early Christians about their concerns!

13. Keys to understanding Revelation
All literature is not read alike
 Elizabeth Barrett Browning vs. Edgar Allen Poe
 William Shakespeare vs. Stephen King
 Newspaper vs. poetry; biography vs. prophecy;
history vs. a math textbook
 They are not interpreted the same way
Revelation is written in apocalyptic style
 Makes heavy use of symbols
 Imagery that is not intended to be taken literally

14. What if I told you that yesterday, I
saw a vision
I saw what looked like a living creature
 It had four legs, but it stood up on two, like a man. It had a
prominent nose. It was brown with long ears
I saw another living creature
 It looked like a bird without wings. It was blue and had two
legs with three toes on each foot
The first creature sat astride a red cylinder
The first creature sped toward the second creature
The second stepped aside as the first sped past
Who are the two creatures?

15. Read Revelation the way you watch
animations – use your imagination
7-headed dragon, 7-
headed beast, lamb
with 7 horns and eyes,
prostitute on a beast
Don’t let details distract
you from the picture
Let the picture grab
your imagination and
you will understand it
Revelation uses
symbols extensively
 Some are self-evident

16. Consider John's description of one
like a son of man in Rev 1:13-18
Robe and gold sash
Hair like white wool
Eyes like a flame of fire
Feet like brass
Sword out of his mouth
Face like the sun
I am the first and the
last, and the Living one
I was dead, and … I am
alive forevermore
Who is it?
This is clearly Jesus!

17. Look at the description of the Lamb
of God in Rev 5:5-6
Lion of Judah
Root of David
He who opens the book
and its seven seals
Lamb standing, as
though it had been slain
Who is it?
It has to be Jesus!

18. Consider the vignette about two
witnesses in Rev 11:6
Shut up the sky that
it may not rain
Who’s the picture?
Elijah!
Turn water into
blood and strike the
earth with plagues
Who’s the picture?
Moses!

19. A radiant woman gives birth to a
unique child in Rev 12:1-5
Clothed with the sun
Moon under her feet
Crown of twelve stars
Pregnant and in labor
Gives birth to a son who
is to rule the nations
Who’s the woman?
Mary!
Who’s her child?
Jesus!

20. A conquering king rides in on a white
horse in Rev 19:11-16
Faithful and True
Eyes are a flame of fire
Many crowns
Covered with blood
“The Word of God”
Sword out of his mouth
Rules with a rod of iron
King of Kings and Lord
of Lords – Who is it?
Jesus – the woman’s
son grown up!

21. The text explains the less obvious
symbols
What are the stars and
lampstands?
 Rev 1:20 WEB … The
seven stars are the
angels of the seven
assemblies. The seven
lampstands are seven
assemblies.
The lampstands are
churches and the stars
are their messengers

22. What about the dragon out to devour
the child?
Rev 12:9 WEB The
great dragon …, the old
serpent, he who is
called the devil and
Satan ...
In the Apocalypse, the
dragon is Satan

23. John sees a prostitute riding on a
seven-headed beast in Rev 17
Rev 17:18 WEB The
woman … is the great
city which reigns over
the kings of the earth.”
Rev 17:9-11 WEB The
seven heads are seven
mountains, on which the
woman sits. They are
also seven kings …
Rome sat on 7 hills and
ruled the world – the
prostitute is Rome

24. The Sea Beast in Rev 13:1-8
10 crowned horns
7 blasphemous heads
Power, throne, and
authority of the dragon
Blasphemes God
At war with the saints
Authority over nations
The prostitute is Rome
Rome rides atop the
Roman Empire
Roman Empire receives
its power from Satan

25. The Earth Beast in Rev 13:11-18
Looks like a lamb – a
religious figure
Speaks with the
dragon's voice
Dragon has been
identified with Satan
Forces people to
worship the first beast
(the Roman Empire with
its kings) on pain of
death

26. The Earth Beast is also called the
False Prophet in Rev 19:20
Worked signs in sight of
the sea beast
Deceived those who
received the mark of the
beast and worshiped his
image
Satan uses religion to
promote his agenda
Emperor cults (concilia)
enforced worship of the
emperors toward the
end of the 1st
Century

27. A puzzle to solve, not a mystery to
ignore
Start with what you
know
 Lamb is Jesus
 Dragon is Satan
 Prostitute is Rome
 Heads are emperors
Start there and the
picture comes together!

28. Revelation for Dummies
God Rules!
Jesus is Lord!
We win!

29. The symbolism of numbers
Apocalyptic literature
used numbers
symbolically
Four numerals are
oppositional pairs.
 7 stands opposed to 3 ½
 12 stands opposed to 6
Others are not paired
 1/3, 2, 4, 10, 1,000
Oppositional pairs are a
feature of Revelation

30. There are two lambs
The Lamb of God
 Rev 5:6 WEB I saw in
the midst of the throne …
a Lamb standing, as
though it had been slain
A lamb that speaks with
the voice of a dragon
 Rev 13:11 WEB I saw
another … He had two
horns like a lamb, and he
spoke like a dragon.

31. Two oppositional women
The prostitute
 Rev 19:1-2 NIV … God
… has condemned the
great prostitute …
The bride of the Lamb
 Rev 19:7 NIV Let us
rejoice and be glad and
give him glory! For the
wedding of the Lamb has
come, and his bride has
made herself ready.

32. Two who claim dominion
God on the throne
 Rev 4:2 WEB … Behold,
there was a throne …
and one sitting on the
throne
Dragon who attempts to
invade heaven
 Rev 12:7 WEB …
Michael and his angels
made war on the dragon.
The dragon and his
angels made war.

33. Two marks on people’s foreheads
The seal of God
 Rev 7:3 WEB Don't
harm the earth… until we
have sealed the
bondservants of our God
on their foreheads!
The mark of the beast
 Rev 13:16-17 WEB He
causes all … to be given
marks on their right
hands, or on their
foreheads …

34. Kings of the earth and the King of
Kings
Rev 17:12 WEB The
ten horns … are ten
kings …
Rev 19:16 WEB He
has … a name written,
“KING OF KINGS, AND
LORD OF LORDS.”
There are others, but
this gives you the idea
We’ll begin with
oppositional pairs of
numbers next week