The Bible Recap - Day 362 (Revelation 1-5) - Year 3

Starting point is 00:00:00 Hey Bible readers, I'm Tara Lee Cobble, and I'm your host for the Bible recap. John, maybe the Apostle, wrote the book of Revelation on the Island of Patmos. It was a tiny prison island, kind of like Alcatraz. The church was still undergoing lots of persecution at the time, and in fact, church history tells us Rome first tried to burn John alive in oil, but he survived. And since they couldn't figure out how to kill him, they exiled him to Patmos. This letter, he wrote, is a singular revelation, not plural, not revelations. John tells us in verse 1 that this is the revelation of Jesus. Some believe that means the book is revealing Jesus to us, and others believe that means Jesus is the one doing the revealing. While some others think it could actually be both, because if Jesus is revealing something to his people, his body, then that also tells

Starting point is 00:00:53 us more about Jesus himself. So as we read this book, just like with all our books from day one and Genesis one, we're going to look for Jesus and what we learn about him. And by the way, verse three says, we'll be blessed if we read this book aloud and pay attention to it. That is the first of seven blessed are statements in this book. Be on the lookout for them. They're called the seven Beatitudes of Revelation. John wrote this letter to seven churches,

Starting point is 00:01:17 some of whom we've met already. And his message is first and foremost to them in their immediate context. Jewish teaching and culture love numbers and symbols. So while this book still has a lot to offer modern readers, most scholars warn against trying to treat it like a combination lock where you can connect the numbers in just the right way to unlock some kind of secret hidden information about the future.

Starting point is 00:01:37 The stated purpose of this book is to reveal something. When you're trying to reveal something to your reader, you don't hide it and bury it in code. That means you can take a deep breath because the pressure is off for you to figure out how and when the world ends over the course of the next four days reading. Whew! I also want to encourage you to watch the video overviews we linked to in the show notes. In case you missed the one from yesterday, we'll link to it again in today's show notes. These will be really helpful in filling in any gaps from the recaps because we're moving

Starting point is 00:02:03 through this at a fast clip. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the word eschatology, it refers to the end times. So now I'm going to throw another big word at you. Eschatological. That's the adjective form. There are a handful of eschatological views in Orthodox Christianity, and if you want to learn more about these viewpoints, check out the links in the show notes. There's a PDF, a quick guide, and a database with loads of info.

Starting point is 00:02:26 Eschatology matters, but just know that God-fearing, Christ-exalting, spirit-filled people consistently disagree on this. Since it's an open-handed issue, by which I mean, our eschatological views aren't foundational to our understanding of who God is or what it means to know him, try to hold any of your ideas about the end times with an open hand, especially if you're new to studying revelation and you've gotten most of your information second hand. I'll try my best to keep my lens

Starting point is 00:02:52 from impacting the way I walk through this. My views have shifted over the years and there's always a chance they'll change again. There are a few things worth standing firmly on in Scripture, and I only wanna put my foot down firmly in those places where Scripture screams. In chapter 1, John has a vision of Jesus in all his power and glory, and he tells John to write to seven churches in Asia.

Starting point is 00:03:13 Some of these churches have fallen into sin, some are undergoing persecution, and some are thriving. He speaks to them in regard to their individual circumstances and offers warning, encouragement, and hope. These churches are represented by a seven-kandal lampstand, just like the menorah from the temple in Exodus 25. And Jesus Himself is in the midst of the lampstand, in the midst of the church. In Scripture, we see a lot of symbolism around the numbers 3, 7, 10, and 12. In their own way, each of these numbers symbolizes perfection and completion,

Starting point is 00:03:44 and you'll see that all over this book as well. Four times today, we encountered the sevenfold spirit of God. Some say this is a way of symbolizing the wholeness and perfection of God's spirit, and others say it points to different attributes of God's spirit. Perhaps, like we see in Isaiah 112, it says, The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom, and understanding the Spirit of counsel, and might, the Spirit of knowledge, and the fear of the Lord. Like we said, all of these churches are in different situations. You probably recognized yourself in one of them, and he gives different rebukes and encouragements,

Starting point is 00:04:17 but to all of them, regardless of circumstance, he mentions listening, obeying, and conquering. He says things like, to the one who conquers, I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. And the one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. Given the context, what do you think he means by conquering, defeating Rome and their persecutors? Hopefully by now you know that that's not what he's calling them or us to do. His call is to persevere in the faith, to overcome the temptations of the world, whether they're temptations to pursue earthly pleasures, or to escape hardship and persecution. To be a conqueror is to love better.

Starting point is 00:04:58 To be a conqueror is to keep loving God regardless of what life throws at you, blessings or challenges. In chapter 4, John gets a glimpse into God's throne room, with his throne surrounded by the 24 elders. Some scholars believe this is literal, and that these are the 12 apostles plus the 12 tribes of Israel. Other scholars believe this is symbolic, and it indicates that God is surrounded by all of his people, with the 12 tribes representing the Old Covenant family and the 12 apostles representing the new covenant family. Also in the room are four seraphim. If you are with us in the Old Testament, you may remember these creatures from the visions of Isaiah and Ezekiel. And you may have remembered our trick for distinguishing between seraphim and cheribim. Cheribim have four wings, and seraphim, which starts with an S, have six, which also starts with an S.

Starting point is 00:05:50 Cheribim typically serve as guards of holy places, and Seraphim typically praise God non-stop. So that's what they're doing in the throne room. That's what everyone is doing actually. There is a lot of base-falling and crown-tossing because it's the Lord. In chapter 5, John sees that God is holding a scroll sealed with seven seals. These kinds of scrolls issued by kings are usually a decree of their will, their plans. This scroll contains God's purposes for mankind. But no one can open this scroll, and John is despairing, until Jesus, the Lamb of God, shows up on the scene. He takes the scroll, then everyone in the throne room falls down to worship him.

Starting point is 00:06:24 Tomorrow we'll see what happens when he begins to open the scroll. I'll be honest, I was kind of dreading trying to recap Revelation. It's a daunting task, especially when you're trying to teach with an open perspective and not through one particular lens. But then I hit the verses where I saw my God shot and all of a sudden I was so excited about it. I couldn't stop smiling. It's in verses 1 17 through 18 where Jesus is talking and he says, Fear not. I am the first and the last and the living one.

Starting point is 00:06:52 I died and behold, I am alive forever more and I have the keys of death and hate ease. This book can feel scary, but some of his first words are fear not. Then he tells us who he is. If we first recognize who Christ is, then we can rightly understand and view what's going on in this book. Who he is, precedes everything, and who he is, underguards everything. We walk through this book with the king of glory at our side, and he is where the joy is. You may be listening to this episode at a different time than when it posted, and that's

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Starting point is 00:08:00 The Bible Recap is brought to you by D-group, discipleship and Bible study groups that meet in homes and churches around the world each week.

The Bible Recap - Day 362 (Revelation 1-5) - Year 3

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