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Revelation!

 What a mysterious and amazing book! And yet it has NOT been 'sealed up' as the book of Daniel was!

"I (Daniel) heard but did not understand, so I asked,
'My Lord, what will the outcome of all this be? '
He replied, "Go your way, Daniel,
because the words are closed up and sealed
until the time of the end. ...' " Daniel 12:8-9


"and then he (the angel) told me (John),
'do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book
because the time is near. ... " Rev. 22:10
 

Obviously God Really expects us to read and understand Revelation, this important book of prophecy. In fact, we are even told this in the very first chapter, in Revelation 1:3.

"Blessed is the one (that includes you and me!)
who reads the words of this prophecy,
and blessed are those who hear it
and take to heart what is written in it,
because the time is near."
Rev. 1:3

PROPHECY? What is Prophecy? Well, it is simply history that hasn't happened yet! And, since it hasn't happened, this often makes fitting the pieces of the puzzle into their proper places sometimes confusing. Now with 'ordinary' history, which is history which HAS already happened, things are much easier to understand because we can use our 'retro- specto -scope' and see the big picture in context. But, looking forward, with our ‘pro-specto-scope', to see the big picture of events which have not yet happened, well that is harder to do.
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And that is one of the reasons why we are asking you to please not jump ahead and do the lessons in this course out of sequence. It will be challenging enough to understand what God is telling us as we go through the Book of Revelation in sequence. But, if we start jumping around just to study topics which are 'interesting', we are very likely to NOT understand correctly , since we will not be seeing the events or topics in context or in the sequence that God has so carefully laid out for us.

The Lord Jehovah God knows everything and He has graciously informed us of the things about which we need to know. So, instead of leaving us clueless and in the dark about events, many of which are soon to occur, He has provided us with this and many other prophecies in the Bible.
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Actually, there are several other books in the Bible which should be studied in order to better understand the Book of Revelation. The books of Daniel, Zechariah, Isaiah, Ezekiel, 2 Peter,
2 Thessalonians, Jude, and many others contain much additional information and many other prophecies which expand upon, explain, clarify, and illustrate many of the events and happenings in Revelation. But, unfortunately, we don't have time to include all of those other sources of information. Indeed, it would take a lifetime or more to really adequately study all the many other prophecies which God has given.

Since we are trying to keep this study of Revelation as short and concise as possible, please know that, in so doing, we will only be able to skim the surface, see the highlights, and get the big picture of what God is telling us about our future.
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But, even in this short and condensed study, there will still be a LOT that we can and will learn.
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Then, after you have been grounded in the basic facts and information in Revelation, you will better understand the many other prophecies in other books of the Bible where God further reveals and elaborates on His plans.

But, you must first have the foundation! And the book of the Apocalypse (Revelation) is God's big picture, His unveiling, His disclosure, His blueprint of History, past present, and future. Therefore, this course is intended to be your foundation.

How will we DO this study?

Well, instead of my ‘spoon-feeding' you or ‘lecturing' you with what "I think" or with what "others say", you will be given assignments and you will actually have the joy of reading the entire (yes, gasp, the entire!) Book of Revelation. Then you will be able to determine for yourself what it is that God is telling us about History -- past, present, and future.
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From time to time, I'll tell you what "others think" about various passages and their interpretations. Then, as you actually read the text of Revelation for yourself and do the assignments, you will be able to see for yourself what God is saying and you will be better equipped to decide which "views" are correct, incorrect, or inconclusive.

This, after all, was God's original intention. God wants us to know for ourselves what He is revealing and unveiling. How do we know that? Well, look at Verse 1 of Revelation! It says:

This is the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God (The Father) gave Him (Jesus)
to show his servants (that's you and me!) what must soon take place.
 

And, there are other places in the Bible which assure us that God wants us to know His purposes and plans.
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Read the following statements from the Bible (niv), and, as you read, underline the words or phrases that assure you that God really wants you to know His plans:

Daniel 2:22----He (God) reveals deep and hidden things.
He knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with Him.

Amos 3:7 ----Surely the Sovereign LORD does nothing
without revealing His plan to His servants the prophets.

John 15:15 ----I (Jesus) no longer call you servants,
because a servant does not know his master's business.
Instead, I have called you friends,
for everything that I learned from My Father
I have made known to you.

Ephesians 1:9-10----And He (God) made known to us
the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure,
which He purposed in Christ, to be put into effect
when the times will have reached their fulfillment
--to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.
 

Since God obviously wants us to know about the future, and since He has promised us a blessing for reading the words of this prophecy, let's read and study it !
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So, get your Bible and some colored pens or pencils. You may use ANY version of the Bible you prefer. I'll be mainly using the KJV and the NIV, though from time to time will refer to other versions.
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If you don't have a Bible, and you have access to the Internet, you can go to BIBLE GATEWAY on the Internet and download Revelation. Bible Gateway has the complete Bible in several versions and in several languages. WOW ! So, get your printout from there, or use your own Bible.
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Ok! Do you have your Bible or a printout and colored pencils or pens? Great! Then let's begin!

Your FIRST ASSIGNMENT is to

1. Read REVELATION CHAPTER 1 and ONLY Chapter 1.
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2. And, as you read, using a Blue or Red pen or pencil, mark every reference to Jesus by placing the symbol of a cross on His name. (As a 'hint', you will mark the words: Jesus, Christ, Jesus Christ, He, Him, Who, and any other words such as Alpha, Omega, etc. which are used to refer to Jesus.)
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3. Also, mark every reference to God (The Father) by circling, in blue, or by putting a Blue Triangle around every word referring to God (The Father). (Hint, some of these words will be God, Him, Who, etc.) Sometimes it will be hard to decide whether it is Jesus or God The Father who is being referred to. So, if you can't decide, put both symbols on the word, or put your 'best guess' using a pencil so you can erase it later if you change your mind. And, lest you despair, just know that even Theologians and Scholars differ concerning who is being referred to in some of these verses. So you will not be the only one who is scratching your head!
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4. After you have finished reading Chapter 1, and marking the Jesus and God the Father words, return here and there will be some questions for you to answer based on what you have read. So, pay attention to what you are reading as you mark.
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OK! You have your assignment...... you may begin reading and marking now.
 

Pause while you do this assignment

Finished with your assignment? Great ! Now, based on what you have just read, answer the following questions:
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To Whom was this Revelation GIVEN? (1:1, 1:4)__________________________________
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________________________________________________________________________

Who was the Revelation FROM? (1:1) __________________________________________
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Where did Jesus Christ get the information which He is relating in this Prophecy? (1:1)
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_______________________________________________________________________
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WHY was the Revelation given? (1:1, 1:3, 1:19)___________________________________
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_______________________________________________________________________
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_______________________________________________________________________
 

Where was John and what was he DOING when this prophecy was revealed to him? (1:9-10)
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____________________________________________________________________
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And, by the way? Who is this 'John' who is receiving this prophecy? Is it John the Baptist? Or John the Apostle? Or some other John? Well, the answer to that question is not really in the text of Revelation. So, I'll just tell you. Most Theologians agree that this is John the Apostle, the 'beloved apostle', who was one of the 12 Disciples (Apostles) of Jesus Christ. John also wrote the Gospel of John and the three smaller books bearing his name: 1 John, 2 John, and 3 John. So, whenever you read those books and see various terms such as "I (Jesus) am the door...." , etc., chances are pretty good that there is a correlation and relationship between the words in those books and in this book since they are written by the same author.

Why was John on the small (4 by 8 miles), rocky Island of Patmos (which was located about 50 or 60 miles southwest of Ephesus, off the coast of modern day Turkey, in the Aegean Sea, which is near the northeastern end of the Mediterranean Sea), worshiping on the Lord's day ? (1:9)
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Yes! It is because John had been exiled to the island of Patmos (a Roman penal colony) for preaching the word of God and speaking about Jesus. John, at the time this Revelation was given to him, was actually under arrest and in the prison (penal) colony on the Island of Patmos. He had been sent there by the Romans for the 'crime' of preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Oh, and FYI (for your information), most people believe that this revelation occurred to John in about 95 or 96 AD, approximately 60 or so years after Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection

You probably also noted, as you answered those questions after reading Chapter 1, that this Revelation was from Jesus Christ and was given to John and to the 7 churches in Asia. And, you also observed that Jesus had received this Revelation (Prophecy, unveiling, disclosure, Apocalypse) from God the Father. And, furthermore, you discovered that the reason this prophecy is being given is so that John and God's other servants (and that includes you and me as well as the 7 churches in Asia) would be aware of what is coming in the future.
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So, at the time of this Revelation, it was the Lord's day and John was worshiping the Lord Jesus Christ, whom he served. In fact, some of the things that John had been praying, or perhaps even singing, during his time of worship are given for us in Revelation 1:4b-7. John already 'knew' that Jesus was coming again because Jesus had told him this when He was here on earth and also because of the many Old Testament prophecies of which John was aware. Indeed, there are many places in the Old Testament where prophecies about Jesus had been given and this is one example, for, Rev. 1:7 is actually a quotation from Zechariah 12:10 which says: " ...they will look on me (Jesus), the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him (Jesus) ..."

But, we must continue on.
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As you marked the 'Jesus' words and the 'God the Father' words, you doubtless saw an amazing and rather detailed description of what Jesus looks like in His glorified post-resurrection body.
Yes, John had known Jesus as a man! And John also had known that Jesus was also GOD. But, now, at the time of this Revelation, John is actually seeing Jesus as God and in His resurrected form! Jesus is appearing to John in the appearance in which all of us will one day see Him !

So, your assignment now is to read Chapter 1 again and, as you read,
make a list which describes Jesus when He appeared to John at the time
this Revelation was given. Also include any terms which tell Who Jesus is,
what He does, or in any other way describe or refer to Jesus.

I will begin the list for you as an example: (And, as I do in the example below, you should also put the reference where you find your 'information' by what you write. This will help you find it more easily in the future. In fact, this is a good thing to always do when you make any list or record any information.)

JESUS CHRIST

(1:5) the faithful witness
(1:5) the first born from the dead
(1:5) the ruler of the kings of the earth
(1:5) loves us
(1:5) freed us from our sins by His blood
(1:6) has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve His God and Father
(1:6) to Him be glory and power for ever and ever
(1:7) is coming with the clouds.

Ok, you get the idea. Now you continue through the rest of chapter 1 (only Chapter 1). And
Please feel free to use a separate piece of paper for your list if there is not enough space here

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