8. The Revelation: Its Supernatural Delivery, Its Human Author, Its Promised Blessing, Its Compelling Urgency

We continue our look at the central characteristics of The Revelation. Revelation 1:1–6 provide eleven specific characteristics that reveal the uniqueness of Revelation. We continue today at characteristics 6-9:

6. Its Supernatural Delivery

"...and He sent and communicated it by His angel" (Rev. 1:1f)

Revelation is unique in the New Testament because it is the only book sent and communicated by angels. As Jesus declared, “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things for the churches” (22:16). Angels were involved in the giving of the book of Revelation to John, just as they were in the giving of the Law to Moses (Acts 7:53; Galatians 3:19; Hebrew 2:2). Not only were angels involved in transmitting the book of Revelation to John, but they also play a prominent role in the scenes it portrays. Angels appear in every chapter of Revelation except 4 and 13. The words “angel” or “angels” are used seventy-one times in the book of Revelation—more than in any other book in the Bible. In fact, one out of every four uses in Scripture of those words is in the book of Revelation. This book thus serves as an important source of information on the ministry of angels.

7. Its Human Author

"...to His bond-servant John, who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw." (Rev. 1:1g–2)

The human agent to whom the angelic messengers communicated the book of Revelation is here identified as “His bond-servant John.” This was John the apostle, the son of Zebedee and brother of James. John wrote the book of Revelation while in exile on the island of Patmos (1:9).

The enormity of the visions John received on that barren island staggered him. Throughout his gospel, John never directly referred to himself. Yet here he bookends his vision with the statement, “I, John” (Rev. 1:9; Rev. 22:8)—an exclamation that expressed his amazement that he was receiving such overwhelming visions.

As he had loyally testified to the first coming of Christ (John 19:35; 21:24; 1 John 1:2; 4:14), so John faithfully proclaimed all that he saw concerning His second coming. The word of God expressed in the book of Revelation is the testimony about the coming glory of Christ given to His church and recorded by His faithful witness, John.

8. Its Promised Blessing

"...Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it..." (Rev. 1:3a)

The book of Revelation begins and ends with promises of blessing to those who read and obey it. In total, the book contains seven promises of blessing which we will cover tomorrow.

Reading, hearing, and obeying the truths taught in the book of Revelation are to be a way of life for believers. Revelation is God’s final word to man, marking the completion of the canon of Scripture (Rev. 22:18–19), and its scope encompasses the entire future of redemptive history (1:19). It is imperative that believers follow the truths it contains.

9. Its Compelling Urgency

"...for the time is near." (1:3b)

This phrase restates the truth taught in verse one. The Greek word for time here does not refer to time on a clock or calendar, but to seasons or eras. The next great era of God’s redemptive history is near. The imminent return of Christ has always been the church’s hope. Jesus commanded His followers to watch expectantly for His return (Luke 12:35–40). The apostles Paul, Peter, James, and John all wrote that the day of His return is near. (See, for example, Romans 13:12; 1 Peter 4:7; James 5:7–9; 1 John 2:18.)

7. The Revelation: Its Central Theme, Divine Source, Human Recipients, and Prophetic Character (Revelation 1:1b-e)

We continue our look at the central characteristics of The Revelation in Rev. 1:1. Revelation 1:1–6 provide eleven specific characteristics that reveal the uniqueness of Revelation.

2. Its Central Theme

"...of Jesus Christ" (1:1b)

While all Scripture is revelation from God (2 Timothy 3:16), the book of Revelation is of Jesus Christ. While this book is certainly revelation from Christ (22:16), it is also the revelation about Him.

Even a cursory glance through the book of Revelation reveals that Jesus Christ is its main theme. He is “the faithful witness” (1:5); “the firstborn of the dead” (1:5); “the ruler of the kings of the earth” (1:5); “the Alpha and the Omega” (1:8; 21:6); the one “who is and who was and who is to come” (1:8); and “the Almighty” (1:8). Eight references can be found in just the first chapter! (See additional references in 1:17, 18.) The book of Revelation reveals the majesty and glory of the Lord Jesus Christ in song, poetry, symbolism, and prophecy. In it the heavens are opened and its readers see, as did Stephen (Acts 7:56), visions of the risen, glorified Son of God.

3. Its Divine Source

"...which God gave Him" (1:1c)

The book of Revelation is the Father’s gift to the Son in a deep and marvelous sense. As a reward for His perfect, humble, faithful, holy service, the Father promised to exalt the Son:

Christ Jesus, … humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:5, 8–11)

Christ’s exaltation, promised in the last three verses of that passage, is described in detail throughout Revelation. The book of Revelation chronicles the Son’s inheritance from the Father, ending in the showing of the full glory of Christ.

4. Its Human Recipients

"...to show to His bond-servants" (1:1d)

To further exalt and glorify His Son, the Father has graciously granted to a special group of people the privilege of understanding this book. John describes those people as Christ’s “bond-servants,” from a Greek word literally meaning “slave.” The bond-servant was a special type of slave, one who served out of love and devotion to his master (cf. Exodus 21:5–6). This is why unbelievers find the book of Revelation such a mystery. It was not intended for them. It was given by the Father to the Son to show to those who willingly serve Him. Those who refuse to acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord cannot expect to understand this book. “A natural man,” explains Paul, “does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised” (1 Corinthians 2:14). The unbelieving skeptic finds Revelation as nothing but confusion. Yet for willing bond-servants of Jesus Christ, this book unveils prophetic truth about the future of the world.

5. Its Prophetic Character

"...the things which must soon take place" (1:1e)

Revelation’s emphasis on future events sets it apart from all other New Testament books. The first four books of the New Testament are about the past, especially the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ; the next twenty-two are about the present, especially the life of the church. Revelation, though it contains some information about the past (Revelation 1) and the present (Revelation 2–3), focuses on the future.

A dual emphasis can be found in Revelation. One emphasis is the portrayal of Christ in His future glory with the blessedness of the saints. The second emphasis is the judgment of unbelievers to eternal punishment. The profound and compelling truths in the book of Revelation result in both sorrow and joy.

Believers are not to try to set the “times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority” (Acts 1:7). Instead, they are to follow the Lord’s warning to “be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming” (Matthew 24:42). The knowledge that the events depicted in the book of Revelation are soon to take place should motivate Christians to live holy, obedient lives (2 Peter 3:14).

6. The Revelation: It's Essential Nature (Revelation 1:1a)

Many people are fascinated with the future. They faithfully read their horoscopes, seek out tarot-card readers, have their palms read, or consult psychics. All such attempts to discern the future, however, are in vain. God is the only One who knows and declares the future (Isaiah 44:7; 45:21; 46:9–10). Only in Scripture can truth about the future be found. The Old and New Testament writings provide glimpses of the future. The book of Revelation provides the most detailed look into the future in all of Scripture, unveiling the future history of the world, with the return of Christ and His glorious kingdom. Here is a preview of the future timeline of events according to the Bible [Adapted from Paul Benware, Understanding End Times Prophecy (Chicago, Moody, 2006), 201].

John begins his Revelation in 1:1–8 with two major sections. First, he presents the specific characteristics of this unique book (we will cover these in upcoming posts). Second, he provides a preview of the second coming of Christ (which we will discuss later). Let's begin with the characteristics of Revelation.

Many people are confused by the book of Revelation, viewing it as a bizarre mystery. However, far from hiding the truth, the book of Revelation reveals it. It tells how everything ends. Just as the creation account was written in clear detail, God has given a detailed record of the ending. Verses 1–6 provide eleven specific characteristics that reveal the uniqueness of Revelation.

1. Its Essential Nature

"The Revelation..." (1:1a)

The Greek word for “revelation” appears eighteen times in the New Testament. In Luke 2:32, Simeon praised God for the infant Jesus, describing Him as “a Light of revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of Your people Israel.” Simeon exulted that the Messiah had been made visible to men. Paul spoke in Romans 8:19 of the transformation of believers in glory as “the revealing of the sons of God.” Both Paul (1 Corinthians 1:7) and Peter (1 Peter 1:7) used the word to refer to the revelation of Christ at His second coming.

Revelation shares several significant divine truths. It warns the church of the danger of sin and instructs it about the need for holiness. It reveals the strength Christ and that believers have to overcome Satan. It reveals the glory and majesty of God and depicts the reverent worship that constantly attends His throne. The book of Revelation reveals the end of human history, including the final political setup of the world, the career of Antichrist, and the final battle of Armageddon. It reveals the coming glory of Christ’s earthly reign during the millennial kingdom, the great white throne judgment, and depicts the eternal joy of the new heaven and the new earth. It reveals the ultimate victory of Jesus Christ over all human and demonic opposition.

Yet overarching all those features, Revelation communicates the majesty and glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. It describes in detail the events associated with His second coming, revealing His glory that will blaze forth as unmistakably as lightning flashing in a dark sky (Matthew 24:27).

5. The Four Main Interpretive Approaches to The Revelation

Revelation’s picturesque images, mysterious symbols, and apocalyptic language make it one of the most challenging books in Scripture to interpret. There are four main interpretative approaches to the book.

The preterist approach views Revelation not as future, predictive prophecy, but as a historical record of events in the first-century Roman Empire. The preterist view thus ignores the book’s own claims to be a prophecy (Rev. 1:3; Rev. 22:7; Rev. 22:10; Rev. 22:18–19). Nor were all the events predicted and depicted in Revelation fulfilled in the first century. The second coming of Christ described in chapter 19 obviously is yet to occur. But the preterist view requires that one see the words about Christ’s second coming as fulfilled in the destruction of the temple in A.D. 70, even though He did not appear on that occasion. Nor is there any persecution in the first century that fits the description of the horrific events depicted in chapters 6–19.

The historicist approach finds in Revelation a record of the sweep of church history from apostolic times until the present. Historicist interpreters often resort to allegorizing the text in order to find in it the various historical events they believe it depicts (e.g., the fall of Rome to the barbarians, the rise of the Roman Catholic Church, the advent of Islam, even the French Revolution). Not surprisingly, such a subjective, arbitrary, and whimsical approach has given rise to a myriad of conflicting interpretations of the actual historical events in Revelation. Like the preterist approach, the historicist view ignores Revelation’s own claims to be a prophecy. It also robs the book of any meaning for those first-century believers to whom it was addressed. And it removes the interpretation of Revelation from the realm of literal, historical hermeneutics, leaving it at the mercy of the allegorical and spiritualized meanings invented by each would-be interpreter.

The idealist approach sees depicted in Revelation the timeless struggle between good and evil that is played out in every age. According to this view Revelation is neither a historical record nor a predictive prophecy. Like the first two views, the idealist view ignores Revelation’s claims to be a prophecy. It also, if carried to its logical conclusion, severs Revelation from any connection with actual historical events. The book is thus reduced to a collection of myths designed to convey spiritual truth.

The futurist approach sees in chapters 4–22 predictions of people and events yet to come in the future. Only this approach allows Revelation to be interpreted following the same literal, grammatical-historical hermeneutical method by which non-prophetic portions of Scripture are interpreted. As previously noted, proponents of the other three approaches are frequently forced to resort to allegorizing or spiritualizing the text to sustain their interpretations. The futurist approach, in contrast to the other three, does full justice to Revelation’s claim to be a prophecy. The futurist approach is often criticized as robbing Revelation of any meaning for those to whom it was written, since it views much of the book as describing events in the distant future. In reply John F. Walvoord notes:

Much of the prophecy of the Bible deals with the distant future, including the Old Testament promises of the coming Messiah, the prophecies of Daniel concerning the future world empires, the body of truth relating to the coming kingdom on earth as well as countless other prophecies. If the events of chapters 4 through 19 are future, even from our viewpoint today, they teach the blessed truth of the ultimate supremacy of God and the triumph of righteousness. The immediate application of distant events is familiar in Scripture, as for instance 2 Peter 3:10–12, which speaks of the ultimate dissolution of the earth; nevertheless the succeeding passage makes an immediate application: “Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent …” (2 Peter 3:14). (The Revelation of Jesus Christ [Chicago: Moody, 1966], 22)

Anything other than the futurist approach leaves the meaning of the book to human ingenuity and opinion. The futurist approach takes the book’s meaning as God gave it. In studying Revelation, I will take this straightforward view and accept what the text says. It is nearly impossible to consider all the interpretive options offered by people holding the other three views, so we will not try to work through that maze of options. Rather, we will take the book as it comes in the normal fashion of language.

4. The Revelation - When Was It Written?

Two main alternatives have been proposed for the date of Revelation: during either the reign of Nero (c. a.d. 68), or that of Domitian (c. a.d. 96). The earlier date is held primarily by some who adopt the preterist interpretation of Revelation (more on that in a future post). It is based largely on questionable exegesis of several passages in the book and attempts to relegate its prophetic fulfillment entirely to the period before the destruction of Jerusalem in a.d. 70. Those who hold to the early date see in Jerusalem’s destruction the prophesied second coming of Jesus Christ in its first phase. External evidence for the earlier (Neronian) date is almost nonexistent.

On the other hand, the view that the apostle John penned Revelation near the end of Domitian’s reign was widely held in the early church. The second-century church father Irenaeus wrote, “We will not, however, incur the risk of pronouncing positively as to the name of Antichrist; for if it were necessary that his name should be distinctly revealed in this present time, it would have been announced by him who beheld the apocalyptic vision [the book of Revelation]. For that was seen no very long time since, but almost in our day, towards the end of Domitian’s reign” (Against Heresies, 5.30.3). The church fathers Clement of Alexandria, Origen, Victorinus, Eusebius, and Jerome also affirm that Revelation was written during Domitian’s reign. The testimony of the early church that Revelation was written during Domitian’s reign is difficult to explain if it was actually written during Nero’s reign.

Revelation was written during a time when the church was undergoing persecution. John had been exiled to Patmos, at least one believer had already suffered martyrdom (Rev. 2:13), and more persecution loomed on the horizon (Rev. 2:10). The extent of the persecution under Domitian appears to have been more widespread than that under Nero, which was largely confined to the city of Rome. Thus, the persecution of Christians referred to in Revelation fits better with a date during Domitian’s reign.

The condition of the seven churches to whom John addressed Revelation also argues for the later date. As seen in Ephesians, Colossians, and 1 and 2 Timothy, those churches were spiritually healthy as of the mid-sixties, when Paul last ministered in that region. But by the time Revelation was written, those churches had suffered serious spiritual decline. Ephesus had left its first love, and most of the rest had been infiltrated by false doctrine and sin. Such a decline would have taken longer than the brief period between the end of Paul’s ministry in Asia Minor and the end of Nero’s reign. In a similar vein, some have argued that the lack of any mention of Paul in the letters to the seven churches implies an interval of at least a generation between his death and the writing of Revelation (Guthrie, New Testament Introduction, 954 n. 1).

Paul nowhere mentions the heretical sect known as the Nicolaitans that plagued the churches at Ephesus and Pergamum (2:6, 15). But by the time of Revelation the sect had become so notorious that John could simply name it; the Nicolaitans were evidently so well-known to his readers that no description was necessary. That again implies a long time gap between the time of Paul and the time Revelation was written.

Laodicea, one of the seven churches, was devastated by an earthquake about A.D. 60. For the rest of Nero’s reign, the city was involved in reconstruction, and could hardly be considered “rich … wealthy” and having “need of nothing” (3:17). A date during Domitian’s reign would allow time for Laodicea to regain its wealth.

There is evidence that the church at Smyrna was not founded until after Paul’s death (about A.D. 67 [Guthrie, New Testament Introduction, 954]). It could hardly have begun, grown to maturity, and declined in the brief interval between the apostle’s death and the end of Nero’s reign at about the same time.

A final reason for preferring the late (A.D. 95–96) date for Revelation is the timing of John’s arrival in Asia Minor. According to tradition, John did not leave Palestine for Asia Minor until the time of the Jewish revolt against Rome (A.D. 66–70). Placing the writing of Revelation during Nero’s reign would not allow sufficient time for John’s ministry to have reached the point where the Romans would have felt the need to exile him (Thomas, Revelation 1–7, 22). G. R. Beasley-Murray notes that

John’s banishment as a Christian preacher … reflects a policy of active hostility on the part of the state towards the Church. It cannot be shown that such legal measures were taken by the state against Christians prior to the later years of Domitian. The Revelation reflects a situation in which the cult of the emperor was a contemporary force and was bidding to become world-wide. Nero’s persecution had nothing to do with this issue. (The Book of Revelation, The New Century Bible [London: Oliphants, 1974], 38)

The weight of the evidence clearly favors a date for the writing of Revelation in the mid-nineties, near the end of Domitian’s reign. This is critically important, because it eliminates the possibility that the prophecies in Revelation were fulfilled in the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. This will have a significant impact on how we interpret The Revelation. More on that next time.

3. The Author of The Revelation: John the Son of Zebedee

 

Four times in Revelation the author identifies himself as John (Rev. 1:1; Rev. 1:4; Rev. 1:9; Rev. 22:8). Until the third century, the early church unanimously affirmed this John as the son of Zebedee, one of the twelve apostles and author of the Gospel According to John and the epistles of John.

Writing early in the second century (ca. A.D. 135), Justin Martyr declared, “There was a certain man with us, whose name was John, one of the apostles of Christ, who prophesied, by a revelation that was made to him, that those who believed in our Christ would dwell a thousand years in Jerusalem; and that thereafter the general, and, in short, the eternal resurrection and judgment of all men would likewise take place.”1 Since Justin lived in Ephesus, one of the seven churches mentioned in Revelation, his testimony is especially significant.

Dating from about the same time as Justin (ca. A.D. 100–150) is the gnostic writing known as the Apocryphon of John. It cites Revelation 1:19, attributing it to John the brother of James and son of Zebedee.

Another second-century affirmation that the apostle John penned Revelation comes from Irenaeus. He introduced a string of quotations from Revelation with the statement, “John also, the Lord’s disciple, when beholding the sacerdotal and glorious advent of His kingdom, says in the Apocalypse.” Irenaeus’s words are valuable because he was a native of Smyrna, another of the seven churches John addressed in Revelation. Interestingly, as a boy Irenaeus had been a disciple of Polycarp, who in turn had been a disciple of the apostle John.

Also writing in the second century, Clement of Alexandria noted that it was John the apostle who had been in exile on Patmos. Obviously, it was the John who had been exiled to Patmos who penned Revelation (1:9).

Other early testimony to the apostle John’s authorship of Revelation comes from Tertullian (Against Marcion, 3.24), Origen (De Principiis, 1.2.10; 1.2.7), Hippolytus (Treatise on Christ and Antichrist, 36), and Victorinus, author of a third-century commentary on Revelation (in his comments on Revelation 10:3).

Such strong, early, and consistent testimony to the apostle John’s authorship affirms the book’s internal claims and clearly confirms his hand in its writing.

The differences in style between Revelation and John’s other inspired writings noted by critics still form the main line of argument for those who deny that the apostle wrote Revelation. While those differences do exist, because the nature of the material is so different, they are not significant enough to prove that the apostle John could not have written Revelation. Some of those differences can also be explained by the different literary style of Revelation. And it is also possible that John used an amanuensis (secretary) when he wrote the gospel and the epistles (as Paul did; Rom. 16:22)—something he could not have done while writing Revelation in exile on Patmos.

Despite the differences, there are striking parallels between Revelation and the apostle John’s other writings. Only the gospel of John and Revelation refer to Christ as the Word (John 1:1; Rev. 19:13). Revelation frequently describes Christ as the Lamb—a title elsewhere given to Him only in John’s gospel. Both the gospel of John and Revelation refer to Jesus as a witness (John 5:31–32; Rev. 1:5). Revelation 1:7 and John 19:37 quote Zechariah 12:10 differently from the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament) but in agreement with each other. Commenting on the similarities between Revelation and John’s other writings, Donald Guthrie writes, “It should be noted, incidentally, that in spite of linguistic and grammatical differences the Apocalypse has a closer affinity to the Greek of the other Johannine books than to any other New Testament books” (New Testament Introduction, 940).

The arguments of some ancient and modern critics notwithstanding, the traditional view that the apostle John was the John identified as the inspired author of Revelation best fits the evidence. The strong testimony of the church almost from the time Revelation was written, the similarities between Revelation and John’s other writings, the absence of any credible alternative author, and the improbability that two prominent men named John lived at the same time in Ephesus argue convincingly for apostolic authorship.

2. The Names of Jesus in Revelation

One thing you need to know entering in the book of Revelation is that it is preeminently the “Revelation of Jesus Christ” (1:1). The Revelation describes Jesus Christ by many titles:

• The faithful witness (Rev. 1:5)
• The firstborn of the dead (Rev. 1:5)
• The ruler of the kings of the earth (Rev. 1:5)
• The Alpha and the Omega (Rev. 1:8; Rev. 21:6)
• The first and the last (Rev. 1:17)
• The living One (Rev. 1:18)
• The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands (Rev. 2:1)
• The One who has the sharp two-edged sword (Rev. 2:12)
• The Son of God (Rev. 2:18)
• The One “who has eyes like a flame of fire, and … feet … like burnished bronze” (Rev. 2:18)
• The One “who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars” (3:1) The One “who is holy, who is true” (Rev. 3:7)
• The holder of “the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, and who shuts and no one opens” (Rev. 3:7)
• The Amen, the faithful and true Witness (Rev. 3:14)
• The Beginning of the creation of God (Rev. 3:14)
• The Lion that is from the tribe of Judah (Rev. 5:5)
• The Root of David (Rev. 5:5)
• The Lamb of God (Rev. 5:6; Rev. 6:1; Rev. 7:9–10; Rev. 8:1 and others)
• The “Lord, holy and true” (Rev. 6:10)
• The One who “is called Faithful and True” (Rev. 19:11)
• The Word of God (Rev. 19:13)
• King of kings, and Lord of lords (Rev. 19:16)
• Christ (Messiah), ruling on earth with His glorified saints (Rev. 20:6)
• The root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star (Rev. 22:16)

Far from being a mysterious, incomprehensible book, Revelation’s purpose is to reveal truth. The very title in the first verse, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ,” introduces this fact. Even the Greek word translated “Revelation” can be translated “an uncovering” or “a disclosure.” It is used in the New Testament to speak of revealing spiritual truth (Romans 16:25), the revealing of the sons of God (Romans 8:19), and of Christ’s manifestation at both His first (Luke 2:32) and second (2 Thessalonians 1:7; 1 Peter 1:7) comings. In each case, the word describes something or someone formerly hidden, but now made visible.

Revelation unveils truths about Jesus Christ, clarifying features of prophecy only hinted at in other Bible books. This clarity is sometimes obscured by a rejection of literal interpretation in favor of an allegorical or spiritual approach. Such approaches attempt to place Revelation’s account in the past or present rather than the future. But once the plain meaning of the text is denied, readers are left to their own imagination, leaving the truths of this book lost in a maze of human inventions. As we will see through our study in the book of Revelation, a literal approach provides the most accurate handling of this inspired portion of Scripture.

1. Introduction to a New Study: The Book of Revelation

Today, we begin a new months-long study of the book of Revelation. I am excited to share this journey with you because I am at a point in my life when I have finally grappled with the Bible's view of eschatology (the part of theology concerned with death, judgment, and the final destiny of the soul and of humankind) and how it is revealed in places like Daniel, Ezekiel, Matthew 24-25, and The Revelation. After spending some years fleshing out what the Bible says about Theology Proper (doctrine of God), Bibliology (the doctrine of the Bible),  Soteriology (the doctrine of salvation), ecclesiology (the doctrine of the Church), and other core doctrines, I finally began to grapple with this doctrinal loci and what I have found is crucial and important for Christians to understand. The late British prime minister Winston Churchill once described the former Soviet Union as “a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.” Many Christians view the book of Revelation in much the same way. Bewildered by its mystifying symbolism and striking imagery, many believers and church leaders avoid serious study of the book. Such shortsightedness deprives believers of the blessings the book promises to those who diligently read it (1:3; 22:7).

Those who ignore Revelation miss out on a rich treasure of divine truth. Revelation takes a high view of God’s inspired Word. It claims divine inspiration for itself (1:2), and 278 of its 404 verses allude to the Old Testament Scriptures. Revelation reveals God the Father in all His glory and majesty, describing Him as: holy (4:8), true (6:10), omnipotent (4:11), wise (7:12), sovereign (4:11), eternal (4:10)

Revelation also details the depths of man’s sinfulness. Despite experiencing the final outpouring of God’s devastating judgment on unbelieving humanity, people will nevertheless harden their hearts and refuse to repent. Scripture contains no clearer summary of redemption than Revelation 1:5: “Jesus Christ … loves us and released us from our sins by His blood.”

Some who study Revelation primarily seek evidence to support their own views regarding the end times. However, Revelation teaches much more than prophecy. While the book is a rich source of truth about the end times, Revelation also portrays Christ’s ultimate victory over Satan, depicts the final political setup of the world, and describes the career of the final Antichrist. It also discusses the rapture of the church (3:10) and the seven-year time of tribulation. It explains the three and one-half years of the great tribulation (7:14), the second coming of Christ, the climactic battle of Armageddon, the thousand-year earthly kingdom of Jesus Christ, the final great white throne judgment, the final state of the unbelievers in hell (the lake of fire), and the redeemed in the new heaven and new earth.

But the book of Revelation is preeminently “the “Revelation of Jesus Christ” (1:1). Revelation also affirms the full deity of Jesus Christ. He possesses the attributes of God, including sovereignty (1:5), eternity (1:17–18), and the right to judge who lives and who dies (1:18; 2:23). He also receives worship (5:13) and rules from God’s throne (22:1, 3). Revelation affirms His equality of essence with God the Father by applying Old Testament passages that describe God to Jesus Christ.

I hope you will join with me in this interesting study and an imminently important book of the Bible - the last book - The Revelation. I can assure it will be a fascinating and revealing journey into the heart of Christ, the Sovereignty of God, and the future of planet Earth and its peoples.

Good Work in God's Fields (Hebrews 6:7-8)

"Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God" (Hebrews 6:7).

The author provides an analogy of growth and judgment for his readers. Man is made of earth, and so the crops that grow from the land symbolize the outflow of a person’s life. God sends the rain of the Spirit upon the church, and true believers gradually produce crops that He, as the Divine Harvester, finds useful. Some people, however, drink the rain of God’s bountiful energy but only produce thorns and thistles. Such fields will be burned over and a new crop will be planted.

The author, as he considers his audience, is persuaded that they are a good crop. Yes, they have failed to grow in a steady and strong manner. Yes, they have been cultivating immaturity rather than pressing on. In spite of this, they have been doing some good works, and God is gracious. He will not overlook their good works.

Verse 10 tells us that the good work that God approves consists of helping other believers. We might expect him to say that they do the good works of going to Bible studies or worship, but God wants to see us show affection toward the other members of His bride. At the Last Judgment, Jesus will judge people based on how they treated His bride (Matthew 25:31–46). This is because good deeds done toward the brethren are good deeds done to Him.

Whether we take the threats of Hebrews 6 as hypothetical or real, it is important to note that these threats are issued in a context of encouragement and comfort. God comforts His people, speaking tenderly to Jerusalem (Isaiah 40). God sends warnings to shake us up, not to discourage us.

The author of Hebrews adds a pastoral note in verse 11, saying that he wants them to get back to work so that they do not lose their assurance of salvation. When we stop growing, we lose touch with God. Our assurance is only as strong as our faith. When bad things happen to us, we lose our assurance if we have not been spending time with Him. If we want to make our hope in Him more certain, we must endeavor to grow, and this means we must be active in doing good works to the brethren.

Grow, grow, grow, grow, grow. That is what God is hammering us with in Hebrews. Ask God to show you ways you can take the exhortation to growth more seriously.

Are You Growing or Dying? (Hebrews 6:4-8)

"It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened … if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance" (Hebrews 6:4–6).

The last two “elementary things” the author mentions are the resurrection from the dead, which establishes that Jesus has entered God’s rest and we will follow Him, and eternal judgment, which establishes that some day God will call us to account.

The author issues a great threat. He says it is impossible for people who have entered the kingdom, if they fall away, to be brought back. There are several ways of taking this statement. One is to say that it is impossible for men but possible for God, but this interpretation has no root in the context.

Another avenue of interpretation is to say that the author is setting forth an hypothesis. In this view, nobody who is truly in the kingdom will ever fall away, but if they did, nothing could be done for them. This interpretation sees the author encouraging his congregation to persevere, especially since he is persuaded that they are truly saved (v. 9).

The third view is that the people who might fall away are people who have experienced a real deliverance and have entered the kingdom in a covenantal sense, but who are not of the elect, not fully regenerate, and thus not destined to persevere. This view takes note of the context, which discusses the people who were delivered from Egypt but rebelled and died in the wilderness. This view says that those who fall away have committed blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Thus, this interpretation sees the author issuing a serious warning to his readers, even though he has high hopes that none of them will actually fall away.

If we read the description of those who might fall away, in verses 4 and 5, we can see how they can fit both the hypothetical interpretation and the real-threat interpretation. Whichever interpretation of this particular paragraph is right, two things are certain: (1) true believers cannot fall away, and (2) there are people who come into the kingdom and then apostatize. Such people, by rejecting Christ, join hands with those who crucified Him and affirm that He deserved to die (v. 6). Such people deserve their condemnation.

I don't think the author has saved people in mind here. The phrase “once enlightened” is often taken to refer to Christians, and the accompanying warning taken to indicate the danger of losing their salvation if “they fall away” and “crucify again for themselves the Son of God.” But there is no mention of their being saved and they are not described with any terms that apply only to believers (such as holy, born again, righteous, or saints). This problem arises from inaccurately identifying the spiritual condition of the ones being addressed. In this case, they were unbelievers who had been exposed to God’s redemptive truth, and perhaps made a profession of faith, but had not exercised genuine saving faith. In 10:26, the reference once again is to apostate Christians, not to genuine believers who are often incorrectly thought to lose their salvation because of their sins.

Real Christians cannot remain static in the wilderness forever. Eventually, God will shake them up, and they will begin to grow again toward maturity, toward God’s rest. If a “Christian” refuses to grow, he will die in the wilderness. Evaluate yourself: Are you growing or dying?

Outgrowing the ABCs (Hebrews 6:1-3)

"Therefore let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God" (Hebrews 6:1).

The author of Hebrews now tells his congregation that they should leave behind the elementary teachings and press on to maturity (compare Hebrews 5:12). He does not mean that they should forget the basics, but rather that they should build on what they know. They should stop reciting the alphabet as it were and learn to put letters together into words.

He lists six elementary doctrines. It is interesting to note what he thinks these six fundamentals are. First, repentance from dead works. These are works done in the sphere of death, apart from God. Even if such works are morally good, they are still spiritually dead, because they are done from a wrong attitude. For these Jews, dead works might include their old practice of offering sacrifices as bribes to God instead of offering them out of a spirit of gratitude. They have turned from corrupt Judaism to Christianity, which is the true fulfillment of what the old covenant really taught. Second, faith in God. They now no longer trust themselves or their works to achieve a right standing before God. They trust in Him alone.

Third, instruction about baptisms. This is something many modern believers don’t think is all that important. The Old Testament, however, is full of baptisms. The world was created out of water in Genesis 1. Noah’s Flood and Israel’s Red Sea crossing were baptisms. Each time someone crossed the Jordan into the land it was a baptism. There were many baptisms in the Levitical system. Moreover, in the New Testament there were a variety of baptisms: the baptism of John, the new covenant baptism of Jesus, and the baptism of the Spirit.

Fourth, the laying on of hands. In the old covenant, the offerer laid his hands on his sacrifice, identifying it with himself. In Acts, the Spirit is sometimes transferred by the laying on of hands, and some associate this with what later came to be the rite of confirmation in the church. Others associate it with the rites of healing and of ordination. This doctrine shows us that God channels His grace not only directly but also through believers to one another.

Evangelicals are at home in the areas of doctrine and emotional experience, but they are strangers to ritual. The Bible, however, has a lot to say about rituals like baptism and “manual imposition” (the laying on of hands). If you don’t know much about these “elementary things,” make a study of them.

Training in Wisdom (Hebrews 5:12-14)

"But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good and evil" (Hebrews 5:14).

When God created Adam, He placed him in an orchard and told him to pay especial attention to two trees. One was the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Adam was not to eat of the Tree of Good and Evil. By resisting the temptation to partake of that tree, Adam would gradually learn more and more what good and evil entail. In this way, he would become prepared to rule as a glorified “Melchizedekian” priest-king over the world.

We must spend many years in apprenticeship to become rulers, learning practically how to distinguish good and evil in a variety of circumstances. This is what Jesus did, as He “learned obedience” and “became perfect.” In the same way, the Hebrew Christians were to mature in their knowledge of good and evil to become teachers and leaders in the church.

We learn the ins and outs of distinguishing good and evil by using our moral abilities. An interesting verse, 1 Chronicles 12:32, speaks of the “men of Issachar, who understood the times and knew what Israel should do.” These men had become mature. First of all, they knew the Bible inside and out. Second, they had studied their times and had wrestled with the problems of the day, both at the level of their personal lives and also in terms of their society. As a result, they “knew what Israel should do.” They were equipped to provide Godly leadership.

This is what the author of Hebrews exhorts his readers to do. They must know the Bible thoroughly, and they must constantly apply it to various situations in life. If they do this, they will grow in wisdom and readiness to lead.

We live in one of the greatest periods of ignorance the church has ever seen. The “evangelical, Bible-believing” church in the United States is characterized by people who pursue happy experiences, and whose knowledge of the Bible is limited to junior high school level fill-in-the-blank booklets. They don’t study the “Mosaic Law” for its wisdom in social issues. They have no idea of what is in the Prophetic Books. They know only a smattering of the Gospels and Epistles. And they are not making progress and having influence in our society.

Too many Christian publishers shy away from books of theology because there is a small market. Most books are baby food “how-to” books, with stories beginning each chapter. Are you ready to become truly serious about learning and applying the Bible? If so, read more theology books of depth!

The Call to Maturity (Hebrews 5:9-14)

"In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food!" (Hebrews 5:12).

The Hebrew Christians were supposed to be moving through the wilderness and entering more and more into the rest of God. They were supposed to become more and more “Melchizedekian,” in the sense that they were to be mature leaders. Unhappily, they were being tempted to turn back to the Egypt of the old covenant.

The author of Hebrews has laid out the plan of maturity before them, but now he must exhort them to get back on track. They should have become teachers by now. Just as Christ, from His position of complete maturity, reaches back sympathetically to help us along the way, so mature Christians should be helping weaker Christians along the way. But this was not the case among these Hebrew Christians.

After all, these Jews had been brought up in the faith and knew the Old Testament well. They should have been far advanced in experiencing the rest of God and the maturity of the faith. Sadly, they had been wandering in the wilderness to a great degree, and so they needed an exhortation.

These Christians had become “slow to learn.” They had become lazy. They were not interested in learning the details of the righteous law of God. They were not interested in mastering God’s hymnal, the psalter, and making it their own. They were not interested in becoming thoroughly familiar with the proverbs so as to become wise. And they were not interested in seeing how Jesus in His work fulfilled all that the old covenant had laid out by way of prophecy and typology.

The author rebuked them. They should have grown some teeth as Christians and been ready for solid food. Instead they were like babies on milk. Possibly this imagery is designed to remind us of the land of milk and honey, the land promised under the old covenant. These Hebrew Christians were not making progress beyond the childhood of the old covenant into the maturity of the new covenant. They were still looking back to the land of milk, which had been appropriate for them when they were children, but which they should have outgrown.

Hebrews is one of the most theologically packed and complex books of the New Testament. The author says his book is mostly baby food. Measure yourself by whether Hebrews seems like baby food to you, or whether it seems like pretty tough meat. Hear and respond to the author’s call to repentance and maturity.

Learning Obedience (Hebrews 5:5-11)

"Although He was a son, He learned obedience from what He suffered and, once made perfect, He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him" (Hebrews 5:8–9).

If Jesus was the incarnate Son of God, and was sinless, how could He learn obedience to God through suffering, and how could He become perfect? There have been heretics throughout church history who have answered that question by saying that Jesus was a mere man, a sinner like you and me, who was possessed by God and made our Savior through adoption. We have already seen that Hebrews 1 flatly contradicts that idea. So then, what does the author of Hebrews have in mind?

What he means is this: Though Jesus was perfectly obedient in His heart, He learned what this meant practically by living the life of a man on earth. He learned what it is like to obey God when the crowds love you as well as when they hate you. He learned what it is like to obey God when God sends you to the cross. In this way, He learned what obedience means by what He went through. This is why He can sympathize with us when He takes us through the same things.

But how could He become perfect? To answer that we have to distinguish two meanings of perfect. On the one hand, Jesus was always perfect in the sense that He was morally pure and sinless. On the other hand, in the Bible the word perfect often means “mature, seasoned,” and that is what it means here. Jesus was made complete by finishing the work God put before Him.

Adam was created morally perfect, but Adam was supposed to persevere in faithful obedience to God. If Adam had persevered, he would have been crowned with glory and honor. In the same way, the Second Adam had to persevere in obedience before being rewarded with rule over all humanity and creation. Hebrews 5:10 tells us that Jesus did indeed finish His course, and was rewarded by being made a Great High Priest after the order of Melchizedek.

Melchizedek, as we shall see, is both priest and king. He rules the Promised Land of God’s rest, which we reach after we pass through the wilderness. What the author of Hebrews is saying is that we too will enter into a subordinate rulership, under Christ, when we have finished our course. But first, we must learn obedience.

As you look back over your life, can you see how Christ has led you through tough times to teach you obedience and make you more mature? Can you see that you entered into a time of greater maturity as a result? If and when you have been through these things, like Christ, help others going through them now.

The Sufferings of the Priest (Hebrews 5:5-11)

"During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the One who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverent submission" (Hebrews 5:7).

Remember that the author of Hebrews is exhorting his readers to persevere through the wilderness of trial and temptation so that they can enter the Promised Land of rest with God. He has told them that Jesus, their Captain, will help them by making them living sacrifices, so that they will die more and more to sin and live more and more to righteousness. He is now showing them why they can trust Jesus, and why Jesus is the fulfillment of the old covenant order. When they understand this, they will be less tempted to fall away and go back to the old covenant system. He argues that Jesus is the Ultimate Priest, and that He sympathizes with their pain.

In Hebrews 5:7, he says that Jesus offered the priestly sacrifices of prayer and petition, with loud cries and tears, to the God who could save Him from death. When was this? Commentators are agreed that we see it in the Garden of Gethsemane, when Jesus cried to God to take the cup of death from Him. It was not mere physical death that Jesus feared; rather, it was the spiritual death of separation from God that He feared. We can extend this to the cross, for on the cross Jesus cried to God for three hours, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” Jesus felt the pain of spiritual death, separation from the blessed presence of God. Because Jesus has experienced death in its ultimate, most horrible form, He is able and more than willing to comfort those “who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death” (Hebrews 2:15).

Hebrews 5:7 goes on to say that God honored Jesus’ prayer because of His godly fear and reverence for God the Father. Jesus submitted to the cross and to the experience of separation from God, but we see from this that God never actually forsook Him. He experienced forsakenness, but He was never actually forsaken. This is a lesson for the Hebrew Christians and for us as well. We may go through “dark nights of the soul” and feel forsaken, but we will never actually be forsaken as long as we fear God and cling to Him. We will eventually come to the land of God’s rest if we hold fast to Jesus.

There are many forms of suffering, but the worst is feeling deserted by God. Sometimes when horrible things happen to us, at just that moment God seems to flee. When this happens, understand that you follow in the footsteps of the Master. He is pruning you in order to make a new and better servant.

The Call of the Priest (Hebrews 5:1-5)

"No one takes this honor upon himself; he must be called by God, just as Aaron was" (Hebrews 5:4).

Hebrews 5:1 says that a high priest is selected from among men but appointed by God. In the old covenant, we see that God called Aaron to serve as high priest without consulting the congregation. In the local synagogues, however, the people elected their elders and pastors, as we do today. Still, the congregation does not appoint the man to serve as pastor. That is something God does. Thus, when our pastors challenge us about some sin or duty, we must not act as if they answer to us, as if they are our servants. Rather, they must answer to God, for they are His servants.

Hebrews 5:5 says that Christ (the Messiah) did not take upon Himself the honor and glory of being a high priest, but was called and appointed by God to that position. The author of Hebrews cites Psalm 2:7 as proof. It is interesting that Psalm 2 deals with God’s appointment of a king, but the author of Hebrews applies it to the appointment of a priest. We discussed Psalm 2:7 in April when we dealt with Christ’s sonship and kingship in Hebrews 1:5. [See the lessons for April 8, 9, 12, and 13.] Here we are dealing with His priesthood.

The high priest was a king in this sense: He presided over the house of God, over the church, just as the king presided over the land, over the nation. The High Priest wore glorious robes and a crown, like a king. Indeed, long before there was a king over the land of Israel, there was a high priest over the center of the land, the house of God. Thus, in a real sense, the high priest was the spiritual ruler of Israel. Just as the Davidic kings were the “sons of God” by appointment to rule, so were the Aaronic high priests.

The Aaronic high priest took off his robes of glory and honor when he offered the sin offerings for himself and for the people and put them back on when he was finished (Leviticus 16:23–24). In the same way, the Messiah was destined for glory and honor, but during His earthly life, He set them aside in order to accomplish our salvation. Now that He has finished the work, He has entered into His glory, and from that position on high He extends help to us.

Those who are called by God to serve as pastors have a most terrifying job. God says that such men are to be accorded glory and honor, largely because of the great task they have been called to perform. Consider whether you honor and glorify your spiritual leaders in the way the Bible says to do.

The Work of the Priest (Hebrews 5:1-4)

"Every high priest is selected from among men and is appointed to represent them in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins" (Hebrews 5:1).

Having mentioned that Jesus is our Great High Priest, the author of Hebrews now intends to develop that theme at length, so that we can have confidence in trusting Jesus to lead us through the wilderness of trial and temptation to the rest of God.

The high priest appointed in Exodus and Leviticus was taken from among men to represent them to God. He was assisted by the other priests (and after the Davidic revamping of the priesthood, by the twenty-four chief priests as well), but he was in charge of the whole operation. He represented men before God and spoke God’s words to men. He also maintained God’s house (tabernacle and temple), putting bread and wine on the table, trimming the lamps, etc. Thus, he served God as an exemplary human being.

Because of Adam’s sin, nobody was allowed to go into God’s house and perform these services, and nobody was fit to represent man before God. The Aaronic priesthood symbolized the true Melchizedekian priesthood that Jesus would perform. The sacrifices offered by the high priest can be divided into two groups: gifts and offerings for sin. The sin offerings, which reached their climax on the Day of Atonement, focused on atonement for sin. The other offerings, including the whole burnt offering and the peace offerings, focused on man’s gifts to God.

According to Leviticus 4, the sin sacrifices were offered for sins committed in “inadvertency.” This means sins committed in a state of confusion, sins of being led astray. The sin offerings did not cover for high-handed, premeditated sins; such sins required that the sinner publicly confess his sin and bring a trespass offering. Later, the author of Hebrews will take this up. For now, he says that the high priest could deal gently with those who committed sins of wandering because he himself was subject to the same kinds of weakness. Indeed, on the Day of Atonement, the high priest offered a bull for his own waywardness before offering a goat for the waywardness of the people. Jesus can deal even more gently with us because He resisted an even greater kind of temptation to sin, as we have seen.

Your pastor probably prepares himself for worship by confessing his own sins before he leads the congregation to confess theirs. We are all priests now in a sense, leading each other in worship. As a mother, a father, a teacher, a boss, an elder, do the same.

The Temptations of Jesus (Hebrews 4:11-16)

"For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin" (Hebrews 4:15).

The author of Hebrews says that Jesus was tempted in every way, just as we are. How are we to understand this, and what does it mean for us?

Some have said that since Jesus did not inherit Adam’s sinful nature, and was God Himself, He could not be tempted. How Jesus could be tempted, being God, is a mystery, but it is no mystery how He could be tempted as a man. Adam, after all, did not have a sinful nature when Satan tempted him in the Garden. Jesus was tempted by Satan in the wilderness while He was starving for forty days.

But how can this be a temptation “like ours”? When we are tempted, we find a friend of sin within ourselves. We have a sinful nature that responds positively to external temptation. Jesus did not have this inner magnet toward sin.

Consider this though: Jesus did not come to deal just with our actual sins, grievous though they are. He came to deal with the root of our sin, with original sin. He came to undo the sinful work of Adam. Thus, He faced temptation at the same place as the root of our temptations. By remaining faithful at this place, He unravelled the complete tapestry of our sin.

In this way, He was tempted just as we are, tempted to renounce God’s way and go His own way. The greatest temptation Jesus faced was in the Garden of Gethsemane, when God told Him to go to the cross, and Jesus prayed that it might not be so. But when God told Him that there was no other way, Jesus obeyed. He made it through the wilderness and entered God’s rest.

These Jewish Christians were going through another wilderness experience. They were being tempted to go their own way. They faced martyrdom, and they were tempted to fall away. If they fell away, they would not enter God’s rest. But Jesus would help them if they trusted Him and His wisdom in wielding the knife of sacrifice as Great High Priest. Jesus knows what it is like, because He has been through it Himself. His victory is sure, and all we must do is faithfully endure.

Make sure you can explain how Jesus’ endurance of temptation makes Him able to help you in the midst of yours. Then apply this doctrine to your life. In whatever particular temptations you face, seek Jesus’ help and strength, not your own.

What We Give and Receive in Gathering Together in Worship

What are some of the unique blessings of gathering together for worship? What have we missed when it was not available? It is not simply a matter of what we have not received personally. Our responsibility is to give just as much as receive. Primarily we give worship to God and also receive spiritual blessings. The Lord’s people are also meant to strengthen one another as one body, we are not meant to “go it alone”. One coal taken out of the fire cannot preserve its heat like those that are together in the fire. We need each other and there are many mutual duties we owe to one another as we gather for worship more publicly and fellowship more privately.

Much has been written recently about the importance of gathering together physically, there are many aspects to consider. One of these is our mutual duty, giving and receiving from one another. There is a lot more involved in coming together than simply occupying the same location as individuals. We are able to consider one another and edify one another in provoking each other to love and good works as we obey the command to gather (Hebrews 10:24-25). We are required to be helpful and a support to each other (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12). 

Gathering together also strengthens us in a time of difficulty, darkness and discouragement. We read of this in Malachi 3:16-17 and of God’s special approval, reward and promise. As John Brown of Wamphray asks, “would not this encourage Christians to meet together? What will do it, if this will not do it?”

As John Brown of Wamphray (1610-1679) also observes gathering together for worship has often brought rich spiritual blessings in the experience of believers. When the Holy Spirit blesses such gatherings in this way they receive “life and quickening grace” and have often “found their souls revived and their hearts enlarged, their eyes enlightened, their drooping spirits encouraged, their feeble knees lifted up, their doubts answered and cleared, and their souls lifted up in the ways of the Lord, and strengthened to turn the battle to the gate and to stand against corruption”.

John Brown goes on to speak of some general comprehensive “one another” duties required of Christians, which will necessarily require their meeting together or show it to be necessary.

They are commanded frequently to love one another (John 13:34 and 15:12 & 17; Romans 13:8;1 Thessalonians 4:9; 1 John 3:11 and 4:7 & 12; John 13:35; 1 Thessalonians 3:12). Just as love in other communities necessarily effects frequent assembling together, Christian love draws Christians together for the ends and purposes which love spurs them to do to each to other.

They must be kindly affectioned one toward another (Romans 12:10) as parents to their children. Is it not an ordinary thing to see parents and children together?

They must be of one mind and of one mouth (Romans 15:5-6; 2 Corinthians 13:11; 1 Corinthians 1:10; Philippians 1:27 and 2:2, 10; 1 Peter 3:8). And how is this possible unless they meet together to communicate their minds to each other and to pray to God for light in any point of difference?

Gathering together therefore helps to nourish union, standing fast in one Spirit, striving together for the faith of the Gospel (Philippians 1:27). No doubt we can encourage one another by engaging together in the same worship but these duties also require an individual interest in each other. In the following updated extract John Brown of Wamphray focuses on twelve “one another” duties emphasised in the New Testament need us to come together and interact with each other.

1. GIVING AND RECEIVING ENCOURAGEMENT TO LOVE AND GOOD WORKS

They must consider one another so provoke unto love and to good works (Hebrews 10:24). And this will necessarily imply their familiarity with other and assembling together frequently to provoke to love and good works.

2. GIVING AND RECEIVING EXHORTATIONS

They must exhort one another (Hebrews 10:25 and Hebrews 3:13). Can this be done if they cannot confer together and assemble for this purpose?

3. GIVING AND RECEIVING COMFORT

They must comfort one another (1 Thessalonians 4:18 and 5:11). They must meet together and speak together for this purpose and pray that God would bless the means and press home the words of comfort.

4. GIVING AND RECEIVING EDIFICATION

They must edify one another (1 Thessalonians 5:11). And is it possible for them to do this duty and live as strangers to one another? This duty of edifying one another is a very comprehensive thing. It necessarily implies the saints assembling frequently together so that one may be helpful, strengthening and encouraging to another.

5. GIVING AND RECEIVING INSTRUCTION

They must admonish one another (Romans 15:13). This means to press or urge a thing on the mind of another and so instruct them aright as children are instructed. This requires that they must often be together for this purpose.

6. GIVING AND RECEIVING IN SINGING PRAISE

They must teach and admonish one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs (Colossians 3:16) and can this be done unless they assemble together?

7. GIVING AND RECEIVING PRACTICALLY

They must be kind (literally useful or profitable) one to another (Ephesians 4:32) and this requires that they must not be strangers to each other.

8. GIVING AND RECEIVING IN SERVING ONE ANOTHER

They must serve one another in love (Galatians 5:13). That is, they should in love spend themselves for one another for their spiritual advantage and does this not require assembling together?

9. GIVING AND RECEIVING IN ACCEPTING ONE ANOTHER

They must receive one another (Romans 15:7). that is, receive with affection and embrace, one another: And must they then be frightened of the company of one another? And not rather receive other into their intimate fellowship?

10. GIVING AND RECEIVING IN SUBMISSION

They must be subject to one another (Ephesians 5:21; 1 Peter 5:5). Everyone should be ready to give, and to take reproofs to and from one another as well as to do service to each other as we are called to. This requires that they must not live as strangers to each other.

11. GIVING AND RECEIVING IN PRAYER FOR EACH OTHER

They must confess their sins to one another and pray for another (James 5:16).

12. GIVING AND RECEIVING IN SPIRITUAL GIFTS

They must minister their gifts to one another (1 Peter 4:10).

The Sacrificing Priest (Hebrews 4:11-16)

"Therefore, since we have a Great High Priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess" (Hebrews 4:14).

Does it make you nervous to think of God wielding the knife of sacrifice and cutting you apart in order to make you holy? Don’t be afraid. The Priest who wields the knife is Jesus Himself. He is the one who sees everything and who takes up the scalpel to cut away our sins.

That is the point the author of Hebrews makes next. To understand it fully, we have to think back to Leviticus 16. The Aaronic high priest on the Day of Atonement offered the fullest form of the sin offering. He took the blood and put it on the third and highest altar, the mercy seat. When blood is displayed, God’s wrath is appeased (Exodus 12:21–23). Blood is first put on the horns of the courtyard altar, and this opens the way to the altar of incense in the outer room of the tabernacle. Then blood is put on the altar of incense, which enables incense to be offered. Finally, blood is sprinkled on the highest altar in the inner room, the Holy of Holies. That altar is called the place of propitiation (appeasement), or the mercy seat.

Yet, the high priest never progressed beyond this. The blood on the mercy seat did not enable him to enter into the Holy of Holies and remain there. Rather, he had to back out and not enter again for another year. Jesus, however, was more than the high priest, and His blood was worth more than the blood of bulls and goats. Jesus is Great High Priest of the order of Melchizedek, not Aaron. His blood cleansed the way into the Holy of Holies permanently, enabling Him to take His seat on the throne.

Now that Jesus has made it to the throne, He turns around and offers us a hand so that we too may run our lesser race. He knows what it feels like to go under the knife of God, and now that He wields the knife, He does so with sympathy. He makes no mistakes. He makes us perfect sacrifices. We can trust Him. Under His guidance, and thanks to the sacrificing sword of His Word, we can make it through the wilderness and enter into the same rest He has entered. And when our suffering under His knife seems too intense, we can go boldly before the throne of grace and find mercy and grace to help us (Hebrews 4:16).

Have you ever been under His knife? Are you under it now? Find encouragement to persevere from Hebrews 4:11–16. Discern how this passage tells you to think and feel about your sufferings, and strive to do what it encourages you to do.

The Eyes of God (Hebrews 4:13)

"Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account" (Hebrews 4:13).

In Genesis 1 we repeatedly read the refrain, “And God saw what He had made, and it was good”; that is, He judged it good. Seeing is judging. When Eve saw that the forbidden fruit was good to eat and beautiful to the eye, she was judging correctly (Genesis 2:9), but her subsequent actions were nevertheless wrong. When Adam blamed Eve for his sin, he was seeing and judging wrongfully.

Later in the Bible, we see God’s eyes patrolling the earth and evaluating all things. This is pictured in amazing imagery in Ezekiel 10:12 and Revelation 4:8, where the cherubim who guard God’s throne are full of eyes, and in Zechariah 4:10, where God’s eyes roam the earth.

God sees all, and His Word penetrates everywhere He sees. He sees our inmost parts, our “soul and spirit,” and His Word weighs them and cuts us apart at that innermost place. We don’t need to speculate on which parts of us are “soul” and which are “spirit,” because the Bible does not say. Rather, the idea is that of sacrifice: just as the priest cuts the animal apart, joints and marrow, so God cuts us apart, soul and spirit.

Hebrews is an epistle of warning. Jewish Christians were being pressured and tempted to go back into the sacrificial system of the old covenant. The author of Hebrews repeatedly warned them not to do so, but to persevere in the kingdom. They were going through a wilderness time, a time of testing. The ancient Israelites failed their test, and did not enter God’s rest. The author wanted them to persevere and to survive the ordeal, which would come to an end when Judaism was destroyed in A.D. 70. Part of his message to them was that God was watching them.

Another part of his message was that they didn’t need the animal sacrifices with literal swords and knives, because they had the Word of God and they had the privilege of being living sacrifices. Unlike under the old covenant, God’s altar can now be approached by believers, and we also get to be the sacrifices. Fiery trials may lie ahead, but these are just God’s way of perfecting His offerings.

The destruction of Jerusalem brought to an end most of the pressure and temptation faced by the early Jewish believers. God saw their trials and brought rest and deliverance (physical and spiritual) to His people. Until He delivers you, ask God for strength to persevere in whatever your circumstances.

The Living Word of God (Hebrews 4:6-13)

"For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12).

We come today to one of the most famous verses in the Bible: Hebrews 4:12. Let’s look at it in some detail. First of all we notice that it is introduced by the word for. The author has been telling us to pay close heed to God’s word of promise and threat: the reward of rest if we are faithful, the curse of restlessness if we are not. Now he gives us a reason to pay heed: because God’s Word is alive and active. God’s Word is never idle and cannot be ignored. It always causes things to change. It provokes us, either to obedience or to rebellion.

The second person of the Godhead is called the Word of God, and here the Word is said to be alive. Clearly, in this context, the Word of God refers to the written Scriptures, but we can see from the fact that Jesus is also called the Word, and from the fact that the written Word is “alive,” how closely they are linked. When we confront the written Word, we confront Jesus. We cannot be neutral. Indeed, Jesus is pictured as speaking forth the two-edged sword of His Word in Revelation 1:16, 2:12, and 19:15.

The Scriptures are a sword, not a mace used to beat people or an axe used to hack people. Rather, they are a sword with which to cut people apart. In a word, the sword of the Scriptures sacrifices us. That is why it is said to cut apart “joints and marrow,” language that seems to imply the act of cutting up the animal sacrifice. God’s Word makes us living sacrifices.

The sword is double-edged. What is clear about this image is that the sword cuts no matter how it is used. It always cuts, for it has no blunt side. Beyond this, some have speculated that the two edges are God’s eternal Word and His temporal words, or perhaps the Old and New Testaments—but there is no biblical foundation for those opinions.

More likely is the suggestion that the two edges imply that the Word brings life to some and death to others, just as Jesus’ parables illuminated some and confused others (Matthew 13:10–16). In fact, the sword of the Word brings judgment to all men, but to some of us it is a sacrificial death that leads to new life, while to others it is a word of total judgment (John 12:48).

God’s Word brings judgment. Believers find salvation through God’s righteous judgments. Our daily dying to sin brings about daily rising to righteousness. Thus, we do not avoid God’s judgments, we embrace them. With this in mind, read Psalms 9 and 25 and celebrate God’s justice.

The Ultimate Sabbath (Hebrews 4:1-13)

"For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken later about another day" (Hebrews 4:8).

We come now to Hebrews 4, which continues a theological argument begun in Hebrews 3. The author points out that God has promised rest to His people, but that the people who were delivered from Egypt never entered that rest. The whole point of the Exodus was to deliver the Israelites from a situation of bondage and labor, where they were engaged in endless state-centered public works for Pharaoh, into a situation of liberty and rest, where they would joyfully work for God and for their own families. But because of their unbelief, those people did not enter that rest. They refused to conquer Canaan and they died in the wilderness.

Now the author goes further. He makes the point that we still have the fullest expression of that rest ahead for us. He begins by saying that God’s promise of rest still stands. It is His Sabbath-rest. He entered it after finishing His work in Genesis 1, and He invites us to join Him in His own rest when we have finished ours. He points out that if Joshua had given Israel the promised rest—when the faithful second generation did conquer the land—there would not have remained this later Davidic prophecy of entering rest in the future. But in fact, Joshua’s conquest of Canaan was only a type, a foreshadowing, a dim reflection of the greater conquest to come. Thus, the promise of entering rest remains.

Verse 3 says that those who believe have already joined God in His rest, while verse 11 exhorts believers to enter the rest by doing good works. This is not a contradiction. In theology, we call this the “already but not yet” of the kingdom of God. Jesus Christ finished His work, as a human being, and as a man entered into God’s rest. In union with Him, we have also entered God’s eternal Sabbath. Yet, each of us also has a life to live, and we must live that life in obedience to God, faithfully trusting Him and doing what He says, and repenting when we sin. Thus, each of us must strive to enter into Christ’s rest, day by day, by putting our faith in His finished work. By doing this we also strive to enter God’s rest when we die and finish our earthly work.

Each Lord’s Day is a sabbath, a reminder that God has entered His rest after Creation, that Jesus has entered His rest after redemption, and that God’s faithful people will enter their rest when they have completed their course. With this concept informing your mind, plan to do your duty to the Lord this week.