Bible Study of Revelation (1)
Introduction—the revelation of Christ and the testimony of Jesus
Revelation is a book of prophecy (1:3; 22:7), for the revelation it contains is in the nature of prophecy. Most of the
visions refer to things to come. Even the seven epistles to the seven churches in chapters two and three, in the sense
of signs, are prophecies regarding the church on earth until the Lord’s coming back. Although this book is a book of
prophecy, it is not prophecy merely in words, but in visions revealed to the seer. In the eyes of God, all the things
prophesied in this book have already transpired and all have been shown to the seer in vision after vision.
In Revelation, two main things have transpired. The first is that the testimony of Jesus has been accomplished for
eternity. Have you not seen the New Jerusalem? The apostle John saw it nearly two thousand years ago. Do you
believe that you are in the New Jerusalem? If we appear to be crazy for saying this, we are crazy according to the
Bible. The New Jerusalem, the ultimate consummation of God’s work through the centuries, has been completely
built up, and we are in it! According to the last two chapters of Revelation, the building of the New Jerusalem has
been accomplished. This first item is on the positive side.
On the negative side, a second main thing has transpired—Satan, the enemy of God, has been dealt with. In the
eyes of God and even in the eyes of our brother John, Satan has been cast into the lake of fire (20:10). Satan, the
serpent, is in the lake of fire, and we are in the New Jerusalem. Have you seen this? If we have seen that Satan is in
the lake of fire, we shall not beg God to deal with him. Rather, we shall praise Him that the enemy has been dealt
with. Whenever Satan troubles us, we must tell him, “Satan, you are in the wrong place. You should not be here.
You belong in the lake of fire. Go back there and do not come here again.” Have you ever done this? We all must do
it.
The Bible is always consistent, even in the matter of Satan, God’s enemy. In Genesis 3, Satan came to humanity in
a very subtle way, coming in the form of a serpent. In Revelation, Satan is deliberately called “the old serpent”
(12:9; 20:2). In the book of Genesis, the serpent was not so old, but in the book of Revelation, he has become old,
at least six thousand years old. With a definite intention, the book of Revelation purposely calls him “the old
serpent.” At the time of the book of Revelation, however, Satan is not only “the old serpent”; he has also become a
dragon (12:9; 20:2). According to Revelation, this dragon is firstly cast out of heaven and down to the earth (12:79). Then, after three and one-half years, he is bound and cast into the abyss (20:1-3). In Revelation 20 we see that,
still being somewhat useful in the hands of God, the Lord will release Satan from the abyss at the end of the
thousand years (20:7). After his release, Satan will try his best to damage humanity, “to deceive the nations which
are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to war” (20:8). But, shortly afterward,
according to 20:10, the Devil will be cast into the lake of fire, which is his destiny and destination. The book of
Revelation has been closed because it exposes Satan, disclosing his destiny and destination. But now, at the end of
time, we believe that the Lord will open up this book and open up our hearts, spirits, and eyes that we may clearly
see that God’s enemy is now in the lake of fire. Hallelujah, Satan, the old serpent, is in the lake of fire and we are in
the New Jerusalem!
One of the main aspects of this book is that God is recovering His right over the earth to make the whole earth His
kingdom (11:15). When Christ came, He brought in the kingdom of God with Him (Luke 17:21; Matt. 12:28). This
kingdom has been enlarged into the church (Matt. 16:18-19), which will bring in the consummation of the kingdom
of God to the whole earth. On the one hand, the kingdom of God today is in the church, but on the other hand the
kingdom of God is coming through the overcoming believers (12:10). Then Christ and the overcoming believers
will reign over all the nations in the millennial kingdom (2:26-27; 12:5; 20:4, 6).
The redemption through Christ’s blood has not only made us a kingdom to God but also priests to Him (1 Pet. 2:5).
The kingdom is for God’s dominion, while the priests, being those who express God’s image, are for God’s
expression. This is the kingly, royal priesthood (1 Pet. 2:9) for the fulfillment of God’s original purpose in creating
man (Gen. 1:26-28). This kingly priesthood is being exercised in today’s church life (5:10). It will be intensely
practiced in the millennial kingdom (20:6), and it will be ultimately consummated in the New Jerusalem (22:3, 5).
The book of Revelation also presents a wonderful and marvelous consummation of the church. In this book we see
God’s economy, Christ’s redemption, and the church’s testimony. Without Revelation, we could read the Epistles
again and again without realizing that the church is Christ’s testimony. In which of the Epistles do we see the
churches shining as lampstands in the dark night? Only in the book of Revelation do we see this. In Revelation, the
churches firstly are the shining lampstands. Eventually, in eternity, the church will be the New Jerusalem, a golden
mountain. This is the wonderful consummation of the church. The present situation is a lie, and we should not
believe it. Do not just say, “How evil is the Catholic Church and how pitiful are the Protestant churches.” We must
look at the other side, the eternal side, where we see the New Jerusalem. Even today, during the dark night, we have
the shining lampstands.
The Conclusion of the Entire Bible
As the last book of the Bible, Revelation is the conclusion, completion, and consummation of the entire divine
revelation, the whole Bible. The Bible needs such a conclusion. The seeds of most of the truths of the divine
revelation were sown in Genesis, the first book of the Bible. The growth of all these seeds is progressively
developed in the following books, especially in the books of the New Testament, and the harvest is reaped in the
book of Revelation. For example, in Genesis is the seed of the serpent, and in the book of Revelation there is the
harvest of the serpent. Hence, most of the things covered in this book are not absolutely new, but refer back to the
foregoing books of the Bible. In Genesis is the seed of the divine revelation, in the following books is the
progressive development of the divine revelation, and in Revelation is the harvest of the divine revelation.
Therefore, we all must get into this book and know it. If we do not know this book, we cannot be clear about God’s
revelation. In our travels, we often are not clear about the way, the road, until we have reached our destination.
After we have reached our destination and look back upon the way we have taken, we become very clear. In
Revelation we arrive at the destination of the whole Bible. Having arrived at this destination, we can understand
this divine Book.
The Revelation of Christ—Unique and Ultimate
The whole Bible reveals Christ. As the conclusion, completion, and consummation of the Bible, the book of
Revelation especially is “the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1:1). Although this book also reveals many other things,
the focus of its revelation is Christ. Several aspects of Christ, such as the vision of Him as the High Priest in the
midst of the churches, caring for them in love yet with a judging attitude (1:13-16), the vision of Him as the LionLamb in the midst of God’s throne and of the four living creatures and in the midst of the twenty-four elders of the
universe, opening the seven seals of God’s universal administration (5:1—6:1), and the vision of Him as Another
Mighty Angel coming down from heaven to take possession of the earth (10:1-8; 18:1) have never been unveiled as
they are in the book of Revelation. In this book, the revelation of Christ is unique and ultimate. In the Gospels,
Acts, and Epistles we do not see that Christ has seven eyes, but this is revealed in the book of Revelation (5:6).
Christ, our Savior, has seven eyes. How terrifying! This revelation of Christ is unique. In Luke 4:22 we are told that
“words of grace” proceeded out of Christ’s mouth, but in Revelation 1:16 a sharp two-edged sword proceeds out of
His mouth. Moreover, in his Gospel, John says, “Behold, the Lamb of God” (1:29), but in Revelation one of the
elders says, “Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah” (5:5). Hence, the revelation of Christ in this book is unique. In
no other book is Christ unveiled as He is in Revelation. The first item of the contents of Revelation is this unique
Christ.
The Testimony of Jesus—Particular and Consummate
On one hand, this book gives us “the revelation of Christ,” and on the other hand, it shows us “the testimony of
Jesus,” which is particular and consummate (1:2, 9; 12:17; 19:10; 20:4). The testimony of Jesus is the church.
Revelation presents the revealed Christ and the testifying church. In this book we have a particular and consummate
record of the church. In no other book are the churches revealed as they are in the book of Revelation. The
lampstands in chapter one, the great multitude of the redeemed in chapter seven, the bright woman with her manchild in chapter twelve, the harvest with its firstfruits in chapter fourteen, the overcomers on the sea of glass in
chapter fifteen, the Bride ready for marriage and the fighting army of Christ in chapter nineteen, and the New
Jerusalem in chapters twenty-one and twenty-two are all the testimony of Jesus. The testimony of Jesus is the
spirit—the substance, the disposition, and the characteristic—of the prophecy (19:10). Christ is the Witness (1:5),
the testimony, the expression of God, and the church is the testimony, the expression of Christ. As such, the church
is the reproduction of the testimony, the expression of God in Christ. The particular revelation of the church in this
book is very crucial, and we all must see it.