I am kind of feeling that this morning as I start re-studying Revelation for what seems like the umpteenth time. If you grew up a Seventh-day Adventist, it was reinforced in you to know what this book says and what it is about, and for good reason. However, I have to admit to being more than a bit curious... was I reading it correctly? Is everything I thought I knew and read really what was there, or have I believed what has been preached to me, or what I was hoping was there?
It may seem a minor thing now, but here's an example.
This morning I started over. I went in on Revelation 1:1-3. Now, what I want it to read (or what I want it to say) is, "The Revelation of Jesus Christ..." OK, it does say that, but whenever I have read it, I have read it to say "This book reveals Jesus." In English this makes perfect sense, and it could indeed be what is being revealed. However, upon closer examination, I am not sure this is what it actually says.
I had to go back to my undergraduate Greek studies to dig deeper on this, which isn't easy for someone who hasn't sat in such a class for over 20 years (thank goodness for blueletterbible.com!). Just a look at that first phrase is revealing. We get the word "apocalypse" from the same word we see in the beginning of this verse. However, we have really distorted its meaning. "Apocalupsis," as it would sound in John's language, means to "lay bare/naked," or to "reveal." It can mean a "disclosure of truth," or even "instruction." Whatever is being revealed in this book is something that wasn't seen before, and could be "instructions" that hadn't yet been given.
It is the revelation "of Jesus Christ." Not to repeat what has already been said, but I always read this in English and assumed it was revealing Jesus. But "of Jesus Christ" doesn't quite match up this way. "Christ" means "anointed" in John's language (and remember, he wrote this, not us). "Jesus" means "YHWH (Yahweh) is Salvation." YHWH was the ultimate, transcendent, most mysterious Name for God in the Jewish Scriptures (what we now know as the Old Testament). Here's the thing, though. "Christ" is a proper noun in the "genetive" form in Greek grammar. "Jesus" is in the "dative" form, and the way it is used associates this name with "Christ." So "Christ" is really the one we need to understand here to get what is being said.
What does "genetive" mean? It can be used in a possessive sense: "Carys is the daughter of James." If this was written in Greek, "of James" would be genetive possessive. Another alternative: "James went away from the house." So, the genetive can follow pretty much any preposition (recall English class... over a cloud, through a cloud, under a cloud, from a cloud, etc.).
So, when we read Revelation 1:1, it seems the best (or safest) way to read it is that this is the revelation that belongs to Jesus, or that it is coming from Jesus. It could perhaps be revealing Jesus, but that may not be exactly what John was trying to say when he wrote this stuff out.
After reading and studying through this again, here's a few takeaways I get from it.
- We need to let Jesus reveal whatever He wants to reveal to us.
I may want Jesus to tell me what I want Him to tell me. I may want His Word to fit my life. But it has to be the other way around. I cannot dictate His message to me. His message must tell me what I should do, how I should change, what I should believe, etc. His word isn't for my convenience or biases. It is for for me to obey.
We should remember that the churches John wrote to were followers of Jesus. I tend to think that John assumed that Jesus was revealed to them already. The messages to the first seven churches seem to be fairly instructive around what they should already have known about Jesus and following Him. So, the question may not always be, "How is Jesus revealed?" but may be "What is Jesus revealing? What is He instructing us to do?" It may be that He is revealing Himself. I wouldn't want to dismiss that Jesus's revealing of Himself is a major theme. However, I would hate to make that so much of what this has to be about that I miss something else.
- This is a credible revelation.
In Jewish thought, the witness of two or more people is what made it credible (see Deuteronomy 17:6; 19:15; John 8:17). So, when John writes that this is from God, to Jesus, through His angel, to His servant, we can see multiple sources. When John writes that He bore witness to the Word of God and the Testimony of Jesus (Jesus's bearing witness), and it adds up to all that He saw that makes up this book, anyone who read this in his day (assuming they are Jesus's followers) would have assumed the credibility of this revelation.
- Attentiveness + Responsiveness (to what Jesus Christ wants to reveal to us) is what brings a blessing (or happiness) to anyone who reads it and to anyone who hears it.
John was pretty clear. Pay attention to this. Make it important in your life! Respond to what you read and hear. Obey the instructions Jesus is giving here. You will be blessed and happy for doing this, because everything you read in here about what's soon to come is really soon to come! Jesus instructs His followers on what to do and how to live because of what is coming. It's not about escaping danger. It's about being blessed. In our context today, it's not about knowing which individual specifically fits which prophecy, or what event specifically fits this thing or that thing we read. It is still about reading, hearing, taking it seriously, obeying, and being blessed!
Let Jesus tell us what He wants to tell us. Believe in its credibility. Pay attention. Respond. That's what this introduction teaches me.
How about you?
