I will bring the actual scriptures to you as literally, historically and grammatically as they were written by the 40 inspired writers of the Holy Bible (KJV). In addition, I will share our beliefs and why we believe them; However, I urge you to be as the Bereans at Thessalonica were and search the scriptures daily to see if what was said is true. (Acts 17:11)
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Additional Comments:
*In Rev 1:19..John was instructed to :”Write the things which thou hast seen, (Jesus Christ, Chapter 1) and the things which are, (the Churches, Chapters 2 and 3) and the things which shall be hereafter; ( Chapters 4 thru 22)” This outline of Revelation is unique to its pages. (emphasis added)
*The number of "Sevens" in the books of the Bible are numerous but none so much as in Revelation. I think one will find there is an inexhaustible supply of ‘sevens’ in this book. As the number “SEVEN” has a meaning of completion, we get the feeling that a final completion of all things is truly coming.
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Revelations,
the Series: Chapter 1:7-11
Revelation is the only book in the bible that offers a blessing to those who read and understand its pages.
Today, we will continue in our Bible Study of the Book of Revelation written by John of Patmos. Revelation is the ancient Greek word apokalupsis (apocalypse). The word simply means “a revealing, an unveiling.”. It is important to note that Revelation is singular and is NOT the Revelation of JOHN but rather the unveiling of Jesus Christ.
Rev 1:7-8.."Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.v8..I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty."
"Behold,
he cometh with clouds"1;
When
Jesus comes back for the second time, He will be surrounded by clouds
as He was when He ascended to Heaven. John actually sees Jesus in
the clouds in Rev 14:14 and was at the Mt. of Transfiguration.
His
2nd coming was described by the two men
that
stood by them in white apparel;
These
were not angels but MEN. Could they be the same as the two Witnesses.
We will dig this out a little later in the chapters of Revelation.
"Which
also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven?
this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven,
shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven."
(Acts
1:9-11)
"and
every eye shall see him, and
they also
which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because
of him."
“every eye” refers to the entire earth. An idiom where every person that is alive on earth will see him coming in the clouds. (Mat 24:30) including those that crucified Him, the Nation of Israel. The whole earth shall dread to see Him coming for a large part of them have denied Him all their lives. This also to my understanding relates to the geocentricity of the earth however, this is another study!
"I
am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord,
which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty."
The Alpha and
Omega, the
first and last of the Greek language refers
to the Hebrew
language where the “Aleph”
and “Taw”
are the first
and last letter of the Hebrew alphabet. The Hebrew “Aleph” is the
root of our Alphabet. We also we
see two of
the seven titles
used to
describe Jesus
Christ as will
be seen again
in chapters 2 through
20. Here
again we see
the outline of Revelation (Which
is,(Jesus
Christ)
Which was,(the
Churches)
Which is to come, (chapters
4 through 22).
Rev 1:9-11.. "I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. V10.. I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, v11.. Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea."
John not only confirms that he is part of the Church (Body of Christ) that you and I are a part of but also gives us his location during his writing of Revelation. John was exiled to Patmos by the Roman Emperor Domitian (81-96 AD) who was the brother of Titus, who in 70 AD had destroyed Jerusalem.2
I
was in the Spirit :
Each
of us
are
eternal through
a spirit which is the ‘true us’
and
a mortal
container (our body) which consist of flesh, bone and blood (only
the Bone will be accepted in Heaven)3
While
this was not a ‘Walk in the Spirit’ as Paul
stated
in Galatians
5:16, John
did find himself in the spirit on
the Lord's day,:
I ask you to answer to yourself. Just what the Lord’s day is? If you said “Sunday” you would be wrong! God began creation on day one and rested on the seventh day. In those days, the cycle of the moon (30 days) determined the month, and the days were counted one through thirty with a week division being “one” through “Seven”. The Sabbath was always on the “seventh day” on God’s calendar (the number “Seven” means completion). The Roman calendars began around 700 BC and eventually had twelve months with 354 days. Yet not until around the second to the fourth century AD, were the days of a week named. Although Sunday was the first day of the week, it was named “[dies] Dominicus (Dominica)”, I,e., “The Lord’s Day” with Saturday being named for the Sabbath. There is also a curious European Calendar where Monday is the first day and Sunday the seventh?
and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,: This will correspond to scripture(s) that describes God’s commands as the sound of a trumpet.4 From the next line we know it is the voice of Jesus Christ. Nine out of ten Churches will try to relate the this trumpet and the trumpet of 1 Thes 4:16..”For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:”, with the last trumpet found in Rev 11:15. These are two different trumpets,sounds. We will discuss this in depth when we get to chapter 11.
Saying,
I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: Again,
a title for Jesus Christ..
In this first chapter of Revelation, how many titles of Jesus Christ are there? I’ll leave that for you to find in your study of Revelation Chapter 1.
What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; There are thirty-three “I Saw's in the Book of Revelation. I believe this is a fail-safe against the things that John saw as being spiritualized although nine out of ten churches do so with the entire book of Revelation.
unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea." : The question of WHY these Seven Churches when there were numerous other churches surrounding them. These were actual churches during the time of John ( Write those things which ARE!)
. I have included a link to map of these churches from (www. Bible.ca)5.
WHY these seven churches and WHY are they given in this specific order? In the coming articles about chapters two and three, I believe we will find the answers.
“to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” (Rev 1:6)
*The
Authorized King James Edition (1611, 1769) was used exclusively as
other versions are somewhat different depending upon the year of
their printing.
*All verses in the Bible are: “All
scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for
doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness:” (Note: we have placed all scripture in RED
for your convenience)
*Thus God is considered
the author of all 66 books through 40 writers including those of
Psalm 2.
*Because none of us know when our time on this
earth is at an end; it is paramount that
you know exactly where you are in your walk with Jesus Christ. Since your justification/salvation is not determined by the Church you attend or the amount of good work you do, etc.; I urge you to make sure of your personal relationship with Jesus Christ in the privacy of your own time.
1
Cor 15:3-4.."For
I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how
that Christ died for our sins according
to the scriptures; And that he was
buried, and that he rose again the third day according
to the scriptures:"
**We welcome your comments and questions**
Please
keep them precise and clean!
_______________________________________________________________
References:
1. Rev 14:14-16; Psa 97:2; Isa 19:1; Dan 7:13; Mat 24:30, 26:64; Mark 13:26, 14:62; Luke 21:27; Acts 1:9-11; 1 Thes 4:17
2. The Wars of the Jews, Flavious Joscephus
3. 1 Cor 15:50
4.1 Cor 14:8;Mat 24:31;Heb 12:19;Rev 1:10, Rev4:1, Rev 8:2,6,13, Rev 9:13
5. https://www.bible.ca/maps/maps-ancient-churches-bible-70AD.jpg
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Sources:
1.
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
2. Blue Letter Bible
3. The King James Edition
4. Koinonia Haouse
6. The Antiquities of the Jews, Books I through XX, Flavious Joscephus
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This
article was originally published in the
7/24/2020,
'Sharing God's Word' @ Justifiedends.blogspot.com
