Revelation 1:4

JOHN'S VISION OF CHRIST.-- Revelation 1:4-18.

GOLDEN TEXT. --. am he that liveth, and was dead; and behold,. am alive forevermore. -- Revelation 1:18. TIME. --About A. D. 96. On the Lord's day. PLACE. --The Island of Patmos, in the Eastern Mediterranean. HELPFUL READINGS. -- Matthew 17:1-13; Matthew 24:29-32; Daniel 7:9-14; Hebrews 4:12. LESSON ANALYSIS. --1. Lord's Day Worship; 2.. Present Savior; 3. The Lord's Message.

INTRODUCTION.

John, the Apostle, the author of the lessons that we have studied for nearly nine months, is also the author of the Book of Revelation. There can be no reasonable doubt that he was banished to Patmos and wrote the Book of Revelation during the reign of Domitian, about the year A. D. 96. So Irenæus, the pupil of Polycarp, the pupil of John, declares, and so for ages the church believed without dissent. No other view would have ever been suggested had it not been for. system of interpretation that could only be satisfied by making him predict the destruction of Jerusalem, which took place A. D. 70. This view holds that he was sent to Patmos by Nero at the time Paul was put to death. On the other hand it is almost certain that he did not go to Ephesus until Paul had died, and that he had been long at Ephesus before he was exiled to Patmos. There is no real ground for not concluding that Domitian exiled him, that he was in Patmos in A. D. 96, and then wrote Revelation, the last book of the sacred canon.

It was. time of persecution and be was himself an exile when the Lord unrolled the curtain of the future, revealing the future struggles, trials, and triumphs of the church. He wrote in order that the saints, when the dark waves of persecution and sorrow rolled over them, might be enabled to look beyond and see the brightness of the coming morning.

Patmos, where John wrote, is. rocky island in the South Ægean Sea, within sight of the Asiatic shore, and of the provinces in which the Seven Churches were located. The first three verses are introductory. They declare that this book is, 1.. Revelation of Jesus Christ; 2. Made to John; 3. Of things that would shortly come to pass; 4.. blessing is pronounced upon those who read, those who hear, and those who keep the words of this prophecy. May all our readers, so enter upon the study, that they shall enjoy this blessing!

John to the seven churches in Asia.

The writer introduces himself. The seven churches knew and revered him. For more than twenty years that portion of Asia had been the seat of his labors. Since the death of Paul no man was so loved by these churches. The term Asia, is not used in the sense in which we use it. The Roman province of which Ephesus was the capital, was called the province of Asia. The rulers were called Asiarchs, or as it is in the Common Version, "the chief of Asia." See Acts 19:31. The seven churches are named in verse 11, and were the chief churches of that region. Seven were probably selected because seven is the perfect number, and the seven represented all the characteristics of the whole church. The reader will find that the number seven has an important place in Revelation.

Grace be unto you.

The usual form of salutation in addressing. church. See Romans 1:7.

From him which is, and which was, etc.

Who is from everlasting to everlasting. He fills the present with his presence, has always filled the past, and will always fill the future.

And from the seven Spirits, etc.

There has been much discussion of this passage.. think the key is found to it in John's use of the number seven. There are seven churches, seven candlesticks, seven angels of the churches, seven seals of the sealed book, seven trumpets, seven vials, etc., etc. The number in all cases denotes fulness, completion, perfection. Here,. suppose, it is to denote the fulness of the Spirit. The Spirit proceeds from the throne of God. Other views have been held by very respectable authorities, but this appears to me to be less objectionable than any other.