Revelation 1-22

July 11, 2021

Lord’s Day Worship

Sean Higgins

Revelation 1-22

Series: Centers and Circumferences #65

Introduction

I really, always, do not understand making no final comments on how a series through a book of the Bible has changed, or at least affected, the preacher. This applies to commentaries as well as to verse-by-verse teachers. It took me 64 sermons to work through the book of Revelation, and that ought to have accomplished something. (This, obviously then, makes the 65th sermon, so one short of the dreaded 66…6). We started on the second Sunday of September 2019, and how much is different since then, around us, in us.

At the start of the series, and there is a good portion of you who’ve joined us long after the start, I shared that there are typically four views on Revelation.

The Preterist believes that most of Revelation was fulfilled at the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70.

The Historicist believes that Revelation has been being fulfilled throughout church history.

The Idealist believes that Revelation has been being fulfilled in history in more symbolic ways.

The Futurist believes that most of Revelation has not yet been fulfilled, but will be in the future.

The thing that all the approaches must reckon with is that things haven’t happened just like they’re described in John’s visions. One of the related issues to answering that question is hermeneutical, that is, how to read the prophetic words. I committed myself to two rules; 1) I wouldn’t patronize anyone by saying “If you just read your Bible” and 2) I would try not to make my case using the word “literal” hardly ever, even if we did work through how best to interpret the words/images. I think I succeeded.

I started as, and am still a futurist. But with the help of 2020, and in light of some of the visions John saw, I do believe we see patterns today that will be uber-fulfilled later.

Some things really stood out to me. Having read Revelation probably a few dozen times, I had more impressions of the cataclysmic judgments, of star-falling, sky-crashing, sun-dimming, mountain-falling, smoke-rising images dominating the Apocalypse. And those are part of the unveiling. But there are some other things.

First, I have been impressed by all the different names/descriptions of God, especially of the Father and Son, in Revelation. The Apocalypse uncovers quite a theology proper (by my account 40 something different names and combinations):

Him who is and who was and who is to come (1:4, 8; 4:8)

the faithful witness (1:5; 3:14)

the firstborn from the dead (1:5)

the ruler of kings on earth (1:5); King of the nations (15:3); Lord of lords and King of kings (17:14; 19:16)

Him who loves us (1:6)

Him who has freed us from our sins

Alpha and Omega (1:8; 21:6; 22:13)

the first and the last (1:17; 2:9; 22:13)

the beginning and the end (21:6; 22:13)

the Almighty (1:8; 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 16:7, 14; 19:6, 15; 21:22)

the living one (1:18; 7:2)

Him who holds the seven stars in His right hand (2:1; 3:1)

Him who walks among the seven golden lampstands (2:1)

Him who died and came to life (2:8)

Him who has the sharp two-edged sword (2:12)

the Son of God (2:18)

Him who has the seven spirits of God (3:1)

the holy one (3:7)

the true one (3:7)

Him who has the key of David (3:7)

the Amen (3:14)

the beginning of God’s creation (3:14)

Holy, holy, holy (4:8); the Holy One (16:5)

Him who is seated on the throne (4:9, and many others; 7:10)

Him who lives forever and ever (4:9, 10; 10:6; 15:7)

the Lion of the tribe of Judah (5:5)

the Root of David (5:5)

the root and descendent of David (22:16)

the Lamb (standing as though it had been slain) (5:6; 7:10)

Sovereign Lord (6:10)

He who created heaven and earth and sea and all that is in them (10:6)

the Lord of the earth (11:4)

the God of heaven (11:13; 16:11)

a male child who is to rule all the nations (12:5)

sitting on a white horse called Faithful and True (19:11)

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