Day 1

The book of Revelation begins in the Gospels. Matt, Mark & Luke recorded Jesus “Olivet discourse,” which was His comprehensive sermon on the end of the world & the second coming. (Matt24, Luke 21 & Mark 13.) These serve like a table of contents to the book of Revelation. John did not record this sermon, because divine inspiration knew that he was to receive an expanded version. As we begin we should note the writings of John, which include: his Gospel, 3 letters and the Apocalypse (or unveiling / revealing). If the book says it is the Revelation of Jesus Christ then we would expect it to show us an insight into its author (Jesus) as revealed to John. This is exactly what we will get over the next few months. – an amazing picture of Jesus – who He is, how He cares for us and His church, what He is doing now and what he will do in the future.
If all of John’s writings were in one book this is what we would get: His Gospel is about the man who was God, His letters are about the God who became man & the book of Rev talks about the ultimate victory through the God-man. The letters give us His humanity (Jesus), the gospels his divinity (Christ), the Revelation gives us the heavenly High Priest who cares for us as individuals and the church as His body on earth. John uses the term “paracletos” to refer to both the Holy Spirit (John 15:26) & Jesus (1John 2:1). Thus we have both “advocating & comforting us.” One on earth and one in heaven! How fitting that Revelation then pictures Jesus dressed as the High Priest (intercessor/ advocate) wandering amidst the churches of the ages on earth. Do you get the idea that the whole Trinity & all the Angels of Heaven are on your side?

Postscript:

I am using marginal notes from my Bible, written notes from seminars I have run and other sources. Most of this “gathered” material is now unidentifiable.  For this reason, I can only acknowledge persons and not actual quotes etc. Therefore, for this resource I am indebted to DRs: Pauline, Stefanovic, Maxwell, Ford, Shea, Strand and many other commentaries I have read over the years. 46 years of study in one of my favorite books in the Bible! My prayer is that I can make this wonderful book comprehensible and easy to understand for you. May God bless our journey together over the next few months.