The Prologue (Revelation 1:1-4)

If we were asked regarding which was the most confusing book of the Bible, it is likely that most would say it was the Book of Revelation. Yet we can see from the prologue that there is a blessing attached to it, which means that it is unusual for us to suggest that a book that promises blessing should be obscure.

Part of the problem, I would suggest, is that we misunderstand the point of the book (it is about Jesus) and we fail to recognise that it is composed in a certain type of literature generally called apocalyptic (in some places, it is not designed to be read literally, but instead uses different methods to get its points across to readers). We will see those methods as we make our way through the book. And we might be in for a few surprises.

But the most important point is to remember that the book is about Jesus, so we should mainly focus on that detail. As Horatius Bonar, in his book on Revelation, pointed out regarding Jesus: ‘We find Him everywhere – in description, in song, in symbol, in prediction; in things past, present, and to come. Here Christ is all and in all. This last book completes the “unveiling” which was begun in the Gospels and carried on through the Epistles. The last fragment of the veil is here taken from his face. We see him as he is, on the Father’s right hand, on the throne, through the rent veil. The heavens are opened, and we see him (as Stephen did) in his present glory and in the glory of his second coming.’

Sometimes we imagine that the preface to a book can be skipped over. Yet often a preface is where an author mentions the origin and purpose of the book. And that is the case with regard to the Book of Revelation. In its prologue we find that the author is not John. Instead he is the equivalent of an earthly scribe. Instead the author is heavenly in origin.

The point of the book is to reveal the future. This does not mean that every statement is about the future, but it does indicate that Jesus wants his people to be future-orientated. We know some of the events described in the book, such as the ascension of Jesus in chapters 4 and 5, happened about sixty years before John received it. Regarding the future, when Jesus describes the current states of the seven churches to whom the book is sent, he indicates that there will be both short and long term consequences for them. And when he refers to hostile powers, he mentions both short and long term outcomes. The short term details will happen soon and not last long; the long term details will happen soon and last for ever. From our perspective, some predictions have been fulfilled (the seven churches), and others wait to be. We have to remember that God’s time is not the same as ours. After all, Peter tells us that with God one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day.

Where did the book come from?

The originator of the book is said to be God the Father, who gave it to Jesus, who then gave it through an angel to the apostle John. In some ways, this description sheds light on the greetings found at the commencement of New Testament letters which say that blessings come from the Father and the Son. It looks as if this was the way those books came to the human writers. They were from the Father and the Son.

Since the book comes from the Father, we should deduce that it is a family book for his children. He sent it for their encouragement and comfort, and I would suggest that he wanted them to have comfort for four reasons. The first was the role that Jesus has as the Mediator in the working out of God’s purpose; the second is that God the Father is fully aware of their current circumstances (and by implication, the circumstances of all of his people in any period); the third is that they will face powerful opponents who cannot defeat him; and the fourth is that eventually they will have a wonderful future in a new world.

The revealer of the contents

John informs us that the Father gave the contents of the book to Jesus, who is here described in his role as the Mediator. The Father gave the details to Jesus after he had returned to heaven.

This description of Jesus as the recipient of revelation from the Father does not highlight a weakness in him or a deficiency in his person. He always is the eternal Son of the Father. Instead, it points to the great dignity that has been given to him as the exalted Saviour. The reception of this book reminds us that in him abides great wisdom and upon him lies great responsibility. What we can say is that Jesus as the Mediator understands the descriptions of himself in this book and that as the Mediator he has the ability to achieve them.

The role of John

An angel delivered the details to John. This angel, and other angels, are mentioned several times in the Book. We should observe that the angel is described as Jesus’ angel, that although a powerful being, he is only a servant of Jesus. In fact, three different servants of Jesus are mentioned here: there are believers in general, there is John the apostle, and there is the angel. We can be sure that the angel was delighted to perform the task.

Many decades had gone by since John had seen Jesus. He had the privilege of witnessing Jesus ascend to heaven; he could recall how he had used to lean on the breast of Jesus. No doubt, he had often been asked, ‘What was Jesus like?’ John would have done his best to answer that question. And he may have been asked, ‘What does he look like now?’. Prior to receiving this book, he could have replied, ‘He is great, but I don’t know how to depict him.’ John would not have had to say such a thing again because he was now going to bear testimony to the glory of Jesus. Of course, John may yet ask us, ‘Did you read the book that Jesus gave to me to pass on?’

It is likely that one reason the revelation was sent to John was because he was the last of the apostles, and he possessed the authority to say if a book belonged to the Word of God. This is what he did, and it is included in our canon of scripture. Because John was an authentic apostle, he wanted to ensure that people understood the book in three ways. First, it was a message from God the Father (the word of God); second, it was a message from and about Jesus Christ (the testimony of Jesus); and third, it was a prophecy, not only focussed on the future, but a message for the people of God in the present.

From his own self-description, we can see that John was a faithful servant of Jesus. He limited his testimony to all that he saw. It is not surprising that later in the book, he warns about adding to or taking from its words. I suppose we can say that he also passed on everything that he saw because he recognised that what was said about Jesus was wonderful, and that it was important for believers to know about his present dignity and glorious intentions as well his past achievements.

The recipients

In John’s description of the recipients, it is evident that he has a church gathering in view because he refers to an individual who would read the letter aloud. Here we have a reminder that in the early church there were not personal copies of the scriptures belonging to each believer. Instead, the scriptures were read, and not necessarily by the pastor. Whoever the reader was, he had a wonderful role in stating the revealed will of God.

The reader was someone who used his natural talent for the glory of God and for the benefit of others. Because he dedicated his talent to God, he would be blessed while he exercised it. Horatius Bonar summed up the blessing when he wrote that ‘Into him as well as out of him flow rivers of living water’.

The others in the gathering are described in two ways. First, they hear the word of God and, second, they obey it. No doubt, those who would hear and keep it are later described in the letters to the seven churches as the overcomers. We can say that the proof that we have heard it is that we obey it.

Both the reader and the listeners are described as blessed, and we may wonder why that would be the case. I would suggest that the answer is that they were going to discover wonderful truths about their master, Jesus. They would be informed about details of his glory and assured regarding his intentions.

Some lessons

God uses different types of literature to convey his message. In the book, there are letters for churches, there is symbolism, there are allusions to the Old Testament, there is poetry, there are songs, there are visions, there are illustrations that use existing creatures and there are illustrations that use mythical creatures (dragons and creatures with several heads). We can learn from this that truth can be expressed in a wide variety of ways.

God wants his people to use consistent logic in a spiritual manner. The logic does not change, even although circumstances will change constantly. In each situation that they will face, believers are to look at what is happening and deduce that Jesus is working out the eternal plan of the Father.

The prologue is very clear that believers must think about Jesus. There are many ways even in this book itself of thinking about him: he searches the churches, he has ascended to the heights, he will defeat the devil, he will host the marriage supper of the Lamb, he will be the future Judge and he will yet make all things new.

A fourth application is that believers should love the book of Revelation.