Studies in Revelation, Part 2

You can find Part 1 here.

This is a verse by verse study of the whole book. Some verses will take the whole post, others will be grouped together.

I’m just going to dive in here, starting with the second verse of the first chapter.

Revelation 1:2, “…who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.”

Throughout the book of Revelation, the images, prophecies, symbols and creatures can be, for the most part, witnessed throughout scripture, from Genesis to Jude. Scripture can then interpret scripture, like with the poetic language of the Song of Songs.

Revelation 1:3, “Blessed is the one who reads the book of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it because the time is near.”

The blessing is for those who take the prophecy to heart, both readers and hearers. Before the 20th century, a majority of believers could not read, so they had the scriptures read to them. This is why the blessing extends to the hearers.  Although, if you haven’t ever done so, I encourage you to read the book aloud, even if it’s just to yourself. It’s powerful.

What does it mean to take the prophecy to heart? It means to study it, meditate on it, and most of all to believe it and apply it to one’s life.

There are seven blessings given throughout Revelation that would rest upon those who take these prophecies to heart. These can be found in here and in 14:13, 16:15, 19:9, 20:6, 22:7 & 22:14.

When it says, “…because the time is near,” it can mean anything from a few minutes to a few millennia and anything in between.

Revelation 1:4, “John, to the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from Him who is, and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before His throne…”

These seven churches are listed in verse 11. Presumably, seven copies were made of the entire Revelation and were read throughout the churches. This province of Asia is in what is now western Turkey. Each city mentioned was about a day’s walk from the subsequent city in a circular shape.

The grace and peace extended to the reader is directly from the Lord. The phrase, “who was, who is, who is to come,” is echoed from YHWH (see Ex. 3:14-15). These are all the possible definitions of the Name of God, and it’s most likely that the whole phrase is the definition of YHWH. Testimony (who was) assurance (who is) and promise (who is to come) all reside within the Name of YHWH.

The seven spirits, or seven-fold Spirit before the throne is seen in Isaiah 11:2:

Spirit of the Lord (YHWH). See above.
Spirit of Wisdom. (See Prov. 1:7, Prov. 8, and Job 28)
Spirit of Understanding. (Job 28:28; see also Prov. 3:5-6, 13-15.)
Spirit of Counsel. (See Prov. 8:14; Psalm 16:7, 73:24.)
Spirit of Power. (See Ps. 29; Gen. 1; Job 26:14)
Spirit of Knowledge. (See Prov. 24:3-6)
Spirit of the Fear of the Lord. (See Job 28)

The seven churches will need the seven-fold Spirit, given to us from Jesus, to survive the difficult times spoken of throughout this book. We need to pray for the Spirit to fill us to capacity and overflowing with wisdom, understanding, counsel, power, knowledge and the fear of the Lord.

The Lord gives freely and generously to all who ask (Matt. 7:11).

For more on the seven-fold Spirit, check out Zechariah 4.

Check back in a few days, and I will have Part 3. In the meantime, if you have anything to add, I’d love to hear your thoughts!

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