THE REVELATION OF THE LIVING CHRIST
CRITICAL AND EXEGETICAL NOTES
Revelation 1:1. The revelation of Jesus Christ.—This may mean, “belonging to, or proceeding from, Jesus Christ,” or it may be the revelation concerning Jesus Christ; i.e., the partial unfolding of what He, as the living one, is doing, and will do, with His Church in the world. The mystery which has to be unfolded is this: for what purpose is the redeemed Church left in the world, and made subject to the varied influences of calamities, national changes, persecutions, and temptations? The revelation of the mystery is the present relation in which Jesus Christ is standing to His Church, and the purpose concerning it which He is outworking, and for which He is using these various, and apparently strange, instrumentalities. God gave unto him.—I.e., God permitted him to reveal so much as is in his book for the comfort and encouragement of the Church. The full mystery must ever be hid in God; but revelations may be made to men within limitations which the Divine wisdom provides. Under the Old-Testament economy, faithful souls were helped and cheered by partial disclosures of the Divine plans and purposes, through the agencies of the prophets; and in the New-Testament economy the discourses concerning the last things given by our Lord, the prophecies of St. Paul and St. Peter, and the Apocalypse of St. John, are analogous to the work of the older prophets. Shortly.—There can be no doubt that the apostle’s mind was full of the coming events of his own time, but these events are properly regarded as typical of the events which recur in every age, and are used by the Living Christ for the discipline of His Church. By His angel.—The visible agent in the Divine communication (Revelation 10:8, Revelation 17:7, Revelation 22:8, etc.). John.—The reason for calling himself “servant” rather than “apostle” does not appear; but that the author of the work is the beloved apostle seems to be beyond reasonable doubt. He is the apostle of Christ’s higher nature and living relations.
Revelation 1:2. Bare record.—Or had already borne record. The expression seems to refer to St. John’s earlier work of teaching, if not to the gospel and epistles he had written. (Some regard the Apocalypse as his first work.) Prophecy.—A term used in the sense of “disclosure,” as well as “foretelling.” A prophecy may reveal a meaning; the time element is not essential to it. “Any declaration of the principles of the Divine government, with indications of their exemplification in coming history, is a prophecy. The prophecy gives us the rule, with some typical application illustrative of its method of working; after history affords us the working out of various examples.”
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.— Revelation 1:1-3
The Mission of Prophecy.—We are familiar with the fact that God never brings judgments on either nations, families, or individuals, without giving them previous warnings, and opportunities of repentance. It is equally certain, though by no means so fully recognised, that God does not give rewards and blessings to His faithful servants without first cheering them with promises and prophecies. Hope is a most inspiring and ennobling grace, and in every age God has held before His people something to hope for. The assurance and prophecies of Old-Testament Scripture were the cheer of God’s saints through long periods of depression and anxiety. For them the curtain of the future was lifted, and they saw something of the good time coming. As we apprehend the conditions of the Christian Churches, and especially the Gentile Churches, in the days of St. John, we can recognise the grace shown in thus sending them this revelation of things that “must shortly come to pass.” The commotions of that age might well seem overwhelming. The persecutions imperilled the Church’s life. What could bring cheer to fainting hearts like this assurance that the Living Lord was working amid it all in behalf of His Church? and this prophecy that, out of all the conflict, and the stress, the Church would come purified and perfected, a bride fit for the Sinless One?
I. Prohpecy dispels all idea of chance as ruling the world.—It does not matter whether by chance is meant a series of accidents, or the outworking of fixed laws—prophecy, as a forthtelling and foretelling of things to come, makes it impossible to believe in chance, or mere law. There must be intelligence—and an intelligent One—discerning the future, and making it a moral power in the present. One verified prophecy would witness for the being of God.
II. Prophecy delivers from all fear of the schemes of men.—If we could only look down, we should only see what men were doing. Those early Christians might easily become hopelessly distressed as they watched the schemes of men in their day. Prophecy delivered them, by making them look on, and see how vain men’s schemes would prove, and how certainly God was making the very wrath of men praise Him. The future, unfolded before them, showed plainly that God knew “how to deliver the godly out of (men’s) persecution.”
III. Prophecy occupies the thought and heart of men with comforting considerations.—The best relief from the strain of what is, may be found in meditating on what shall be. We must live in our to-day for the doing of our duty. We may live in God’s to-morrow for the comfort and good cheer of our souls. There are lessons to be learned from the past. There are fears to be felt in the present. But there are hopes to cheer us in the pictures of the future God graciously gives. It is not healthy to dwell on the future as a mere storehouse of good things which we are going to enjoy; but it is healthy to dwell on the future as the time of the full and manifested triumph of the Lord Jesus Christ. And that is the prophecy of this book.
IV. Prophecy of what is to be acts as a persuasion to men to seek what must be now, if they are to share the good prophesied.—See Revelation 1:3. All God’s good things are ours—only on conditions; and those conditions are to be met now, in our present relations. There are endurances of present tribulation; steadfastnesses under present strain, witnesses amid present opposition; maintenances of loyalty, even at cost of suffering; and personal purities to keep while surrounded with defiling Paganism; and the prophecy of what is to be inspires to persistent endeavour. The prophecy that says we shall walk with Christ in white is a present incentive to getting white and keeping white. The revelation given to the Church through St. John is really a prophecy, and intended to have on the early Christians the usual moral power belonging to all Divine prophecies.
SUGGESTIVE NOTES AND SERMON SKETCHES
Revelation 1:1. Revelation of Christ in the Church.—The action of Christ is seen throughout the book. It is Christ who bids John write to the Seven Churches; it is Christ who opens the Seven Seals (Revelation 6:1); who reveals the sufferings of the Church (Revelation 6:9); who offers the prayers of the saints (Revelation 8:3); and delivers the little book to John (Revelation 10:1-11). Thus it is seen that, though the rise and fall of earth’s history is included in the revelation, it is a revelation also of a living person. It is not the dull, dead, onward flow of circumstances, but the lives of men and nations seen in the light of Him who is the light of every man, and the life of all history; and thus we learn that “only a living person can be the Alpha and Omega, the starting point of creation and its final rest.” The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of this prophecy as of all others.—Bishop Boyd Carpenter.
The Christian Hope.—From the beginning of its history, humanity has lived in a state of expectation, of disquieting fears, and of glorious hopes. “The seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent’s head”—this prophecy contains already an indication of the formidable struggles which are impending, and of the assured final victory. This expectation concentrated and purified itself in the heart of the people of Israel, which was ever attracted towards the future, and whose fervent aspirations were met on their upward way towards heaven by the prophecy which was descending from thence to meet it. Through Jesus this Divine aspiration became that of the Church; and the book of the Apocalypse is the precious vessel in which this treasure of Christian hope has been deposited for all ages of the Church, but especially for the Church under the Cross.—F. Godet, D.D.
For the life of St. John, see Introduction to his epistles.
ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 1
Revelation 1:1 A Legend about John.—The following is narrated by John Cassian, a hermit of the fifth century, and it is also told by St. Anthony and others. In his old age the apostle used to find pleasure in the attachment of a bird which he had tamed—a partridge. One day, as he held it in his bosom, and was gently stroking it, a huntsman suddenly approached, and, wondering that one so illustrious should take such a trivial amusement, he asked, “Art thou that John whose singular renown has inspired even me with a great desire to know thee? How, then, canst thou occupy thyself with an employment so humble?” The apostle replied, “What is that in thy hand?” He answered, “A bow.” “And why dost thou not always carry it bent?” “Because,” he answered, “it would in that case lose its strength; and when it was necessary to shoot, it would fail, from the too continuous strain.” “Then let not this slight and brief relaxation of mine, O young man, perplex thee,” answered the apostle; “since without it the spirit would flag from the unremitted strain, and fail when the call of duty came.”—Biblical Things.