Revelation1:1 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: 1.Revelation. Gr. apokalupsis, “an unveiling” (see p. 715). “The Revelation of Jesus Christ” may be thought of as John’s own title to the book. This title categorically denies the charge that the Revelation is a sealed book and thus cannot be understood. It contains a message God purposed that His “servants” on earth should “hear” and “keep” (v. 3). This they could not do unless they first understood it. Of Jesus Christ. In Greek, as in English, this phrase may be understood as declaring the Apocalypse to be either a revelation from Jesus or one that reveals Him. The context seems to imply that the former interpretation is the primary one here, for it is the revelation “which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants.” At the same time the truth of the second meaning must not be overlooked, for this book is pre-eminently one that reveals Jesus in His heavenly work after the ascension. In this sense the Revelation is, in fact, complementary to the Gospels. They record Jesus’ ministry on earth; the Revelation reveals His work in the plan of redemption since that time. Compare on ch. 19:10. Concerning the names Jesus and Christ see on Matt. 1:1. Gave unto him. Since the entrance of sin all communication between heaven and earth has been through Christ (see PP 366). Servants. Gr. douloi, “slaves” (see on Rom. 1:1). Early Christians commonly referred to themselves thus. Shortly come to pass. In one way or another the thought that the various events foretold in the book of Revelation were to take place in the not distant future is specifically stated seven times—“things which must shortly come to pass [or, “be done”]” (chs. 1:1; 22:6), “the time is at hand” (ch. 1:3), and “Behold [or, “surely”], I come quickly” (chs. 3:11; 22:7, 12, 20). Indirect references to the same idea appear in chs. 6:11; 12:12; 17:10. John’s personal response to these declarations of the soon accomplishment of the divine purpose was, “Even so, come, Lord Jesus” (ch. 22:20). The concept of the imminence of the return of Jesus is thus both explicit and implicit throughout the book. The second coming of Christ is the great climactic event of the age-long conflict between good and evil that began when Lucifer challenged the character and government of God. Statements in the Revelation and elsewhere concerning the imminence of Christ’s return must be understood against the background of this great conflict. God might justly have annihilated Lucifer when, in obdurate impenitence, he persisted in rebellion. But divine wisdom deferred the extermination of evil until the nature and results of sin became fully apparent to the inhabitants of the universe (see PP 41–43). At any one of various critical points in the history of this world, divine justice could have proclaimed, “It is done” and Christ might have come to inaugurate His righteous reign. Long ago He might have brought to fruition His plans for the redemption of this world. As God offered Israel the opportunity to prepare the way for His eternal kingdom upon the earth, when they settled the Promised Land and again when they returned from their exile in Babylon, so He gave the church of apostolic times the privilege of completing the gospel commission. Another such opportunity came with the great second advent awakening of the 19th century. But in each instance God’s chosen people failed to take advantage of the opportunity thus graciously accorded them. Encouraged by inspired counsel, the Advent Movement, after 1844, expected Christ to come very soon. When, toward the end of the century, Jesus had not appeared, the Advent believers were repeatedly reminded that the Lord might have come “ere this” (see 6T 450; 8T 115, 116; 9T 29; DA 633, 634; GC 458). When challenged as to why time had continued longer than her earlier testimonies seemed to indicate, Ellen G. White replied, “How is it with the testimonies of Christ and His disciples? Were they deceived? … The angels of God in their messages to men represent time as very short. … It should be remembered that the promises and threatenings of God are alike conditional” (Selected Messages, book 1, p. 67). Thus it seems clear that although the fact of Christ’s second coming is not based on any conditions, the repeated statements of Scripture that the coming was imminent were conditional on the response of the church to the challenge of finishing the work of the gospel in their generation. The Word of God, which centuries ago declared that the day of Christ was “at hand” (Rom. 13:12), has not failed. Jesus would have come very quickly if the church had done its appointed work. The church had no right to expect her Lord when she had not complied with the conditions. See Ev 694–697. Thus the statements of the angel of Revelation to John concerning the imminence of Christ’s return to end the reign of sin are to be understood as an expression of divine will and purpose. God has never purposed to delay the consummation of the plan of salvation, but has ever expressed His will that the return of our Lord be not long delayed. These statements are not to be understood in terms of the foreknowledge of God that there would be so long a delay, nor yet in the light of the historical perspective of what has actually taken place in the history of the world since that time. To be sure, God foreknew that the coming of Christ would be delayed some two thousand years, but when He sent messages to the church by the apostles He couched those messages in terms of His will and purpose with regard to that event, in order to make His people conscious of the fact that, in the divine providence, no delay was necessary. Consequently, the seven statements of the Revelation concerning the nearness of Christ’s coming are to be understood in terms of God’s will and purpose, as promises conditionally set forth, and not as utterances based on divine foreknowledge. In this fact, doubtless, is to be found the harmony between those passages that exhort to readiness for the soon coming of Christ and those time prophecies that reveal how far ahead lay the actual day of the Lord. Signified. Gr. sēmainō, “to indicate [or, “attest”] by a sign,” “to announce,” “to reveal,” “to make known,” “to explain.” Angel. Gr. aggelos, “messenger.” Angels frequently function as bearers of divine revelations (see Dan. 8:16; 9:21; Luke 1:19, 26; etc.). The present angel has been identified as Gabriel (see on Luke 1:19). John. That is, John the apostle (see pp. 715–720; cf. on Mark 3:17). The Revelation is the only book by John in which he identifies himself by name (see Vol. V, p. 891; cf. 2 John 1; 3 John 1).
Posted on: Sun, 11 Aug 2013 18:24:57 +0000
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