SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 1/3/2015
9:58 AM
My Worship Time Focus: The
Essential Nature
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Revelation 1:1a
Message of the
verse: In today’s SD we will
actually begin our study of the book of Revelation by looking at a part of the
first verse. I believe that it is
essential to take our time in the first part of any book that we study because
we will better understand the book if we understand it’s beginning, and this is
especially true in this study.
One of the things that people want to know is what is
going to happen in the future, and so they go to different places, and do
different things to find out what the future holds. God has warned us in His Law about doing some
things that people now do to try and find out what the future holds. Way back in the book of Genesis we find that
in what would become Babylon that they built a tower into the heavens that some
think was to reach heaven, but many Bible scholars call it a “ziggurat.” This was used to chart the stars and today in
newspapers and on the internet we see astrological descriptions of what will
happen to people who were born under a particular astrological sign. This was the beginning of something that we
will look at in the 17th and 18th chapters of Revelation
as we will see the destruction of “Religious” and what I will call “Governmental”
Babylon. God destroyed the beginnings of
Babylon by confusing the languages, and this slowed mankind down from doing
these things for a while, but because of computers and other technological
advances we are almost back in the same place as mankind was then. My point in all of this is the one of the
reasons for doing things like this was to know what the future holds and people
still want to know what the future holds.
When I was a little boy my mother told me what she knew
about the end of the world, and what she told me was only partly true as far as
what the Bible has to say about the end of the world. She said that winter would turn into summer
and summer would turn into winter and then after that the whole world would
burn up. You can imagine that this
frightened me very much, and I have never forgotten what she said. 2 Peter 3:10-12 tells us that the earth will
be burned up and we will also be looking at this at the end of Revelation.
As we begin to look at the book of Revelation we will see
that God will show us what will happen in the future. As John did what the Lord told him to do and
that is to write down the things that he saw in the visions he actually saw
exactly what will happen in the future, and this will happen exactly as he saw
it happen. John MacArthur calls his
sermon on the first verses of Revelation “Back to the Future.” I actually think that movie title was popular
when he preached through the book of Revelation.
It would probably help us
to see the outline that is in MacArthur’s commentary on the book of Revelation
because I will probably follow it as se study this book.
Outline
I.
The Things
Which You Have Seen (1:1-20)
a.
The Prologue
(1:1-8)
b.
The Vision of
the Glorified Christ (1:9-18)
c.
John’s
Commission to Write (1:19-20)
II.
The Things
Which Are (2:1-3:22)
a.
The Letter to
the Church at Ephesus (2:1-7)
b.
The Letter to
the Church at Smyrna (2:8-11)
c.
The Letter to the
Church at Pergamum (2: 12-17)
d.
The Letter to
the Church at Thyatira (2:18-29)
e.
The Letter to
the Church at Sardis (3:1-6)
f.
The Letter to
the Church at Philadelphia (3:7-13)
g.
The Letter to
the Church at Laodicea (3:14-22)
III.
The Things
Which Will Take Place After This (4:1-22:21)
a.
Worship Before
God’s Heavenly Throne (4:1-5:14)
b.
The Tribulation
(6:1-18:24)
c.
The Second
Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ (19:1-21)
d.
The Millennium
(20:1-10)
e.
The Great White
Throne Judgment (20:11-15)
f.
The Eternal
State (21:1-22:21)
Now
we will look at the first two words in the book of Revelation which will tell
us about its essential nature.
The Revelation (Rev. 1:1a): “The
Revelation.
Many
people have been afraid to look at and study and many pastors have been afraid
of preaching from the book of Revelations.
Afraid is a key word here as these people are afraid of what they think
is symbolism that is found in this book.
However as we look at these first two words we will see that the word “Revelation”
is the Greek word “Apocalypses” and this word is “seen eighteen times in the
New Testament, always, when used of a person, with the meaning ‘to become
visible.’” Let us take a look at Luke
2:32 “A LIGHT OF REVELATION TO THE GENTILES, And the glory of Your people
Israel."” These words were spoken
by Simeon to the parents of Jesus as he had been waiting to see the Lord’s
Salvation, the Messiah for he was promised he would not die until he saw
Him. What Simeon is saying in this verse
is that the Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ would be made visible to men. Let’s look at Romans 8:19 “For the anxious
longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God.” This verse speaks of creation longing for
those who have been born-again to receive their glorified bodies, and this will
happen at the Rapture of the Church for those who are in the Church. Both Paul and Peter speak of the revelation
of Jesus Christ in their writings and this is the same word used as the title
of Revelation. I want to take a moment
to quote what the English/Greek dictionary has to say about this word: “1) laying bear, making naked
2)
a disclosure of truth, instruction
2a)
concerning things before unknown
2b)
used of events by which things or states or persons hitherto withdrawn from
view are made visible to all
3)
manifestation, appearance
Now as we look at the meaning of “things before unknown”
we will see this as we study the book of Revelation as it contains “truths that
had been concealed, but have now been revealed.” We mentioned that out of the 404 verses in
Revelation 278 relate to things written in the Old Testament.
As we study this book we will see that the Apocalypse
reveals a lot of divine truths, and a sample of them is that it reveals the
danger of sin in the church, and it also instructs believers to live a holy
life. Of course it also speaks of things
that will happen in the future and if you look at the outline you will see some
of those things. John MacArthur writes “But
supremely, overarching all those features, the book of Revelation reveals the
majesty and glory of the Lord Jesus Christ.
It describes in detail the events associated with His second coming,
revealing His glory that will one day blaze forth as strikingly and
unmistakably as lightning flashing in a darkened sky (Matt. 24:27).”
Spiritual meaning
for my life today: I think that one
of the most wonderful things for me to find in the Bible is to know what will
happen to me in the future, and I don’t mean everyday future, but what will
happen at the “end of the world” future.
However as I look at the book I will also see a wonderful picture of our
glorified Christ and this is something that will last longer than living on
this earth.
My Steps of Faith for Today: To love the Lord with all of my heart, soul,
mind, and strength, and to better understand His love for me.
Memory verses for the
week: 2 Peter 1:5-7.
5 Now for this reason also,
applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your
moral excellence, knowledge, 6 and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your
self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, 7 and in your
godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.
Answer to yesterday’s Bible
question: “Jesus” (Mark 2:27).
Today’s Bible question: “At the time of Christ what was the country
between Judea and Galilee called?”
Answer in our next SD.
1/3/2015 11:24 AM
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