Foundations in understanding The Book of Revelation

Please consider the message to the angel of the church of Ephesus (Rev. 2:1-7).

Notice that the prophetic types and shadows do not exist, nor do the metaphors that are used to seal but those explained in Chapter 1 at Rev. 1:20 as well as those that are commonplace among the saints. Additionally, similes do not exit as well as other linguistic devices that typically seal scripture. This literal part of the BofR (Ch. 2-3) is as I have formerly pointed out, the unsealed portion of the book and is addressed in Rev. 22:10 as the prophecy of this book. Not that there are no other prophecies in the BofR, but as has been pointed out to me, the other prophecies in the BofR are found in other books of scripture. However, this prophecy in Chapters 2 and 3 is not found in other scripture to the best of my knowledge and it is therefore exclusive to the BofR as the prophecy of this book; not found in other books of scripture.

1) To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds "the seven stars in his right hand" (this metaphor is explained in Rev. 1:20 and is not used to seal the words), who walks among "the seven golden lampstands" (this metaphor is explained in Rev. 1:20 and is not used to seal the words).


    2) I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. (The apostles of today are not special witnesses to the life of the Savior. They were not there when Jesus was upon the earth).
        3) I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary.
            4) But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.
        5) Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your "lampstand" (again, this metaphor was explained in Rev. 1:20 and not used to seal the words) from its place, unless you repent.
    6) Yet this you have: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
7) He who has an ear, let him hear what "the Spirit" (this metaphor is commonplace and is not used to seal the words) says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of "the tree of life" (this metaphor is explained throughout scripture and at Rev. 22:2. In other words, it is not a metaphor that seals scripture but one that is so commonplace that everyone is expected to know it), which is in the paradise of God.’


Examples of sealing scripture are: a beast rise up from the sea (v. 13:1), the name of the beast or the number of his name (v. 13:17), he that sat on the white horse, red, black, and pale (vv. 6:2, 4, 5, 8). In other words, the entire Book of Revelation is a sealed book, except, Chapters 2 and 3 that are the unsealed portion of the book.

boraddict! You are having quite the time lately, with falls, family, and such.
Foremost, if you get blurry vision or start to get a headache, PLEASE go to the ER and get evaluated!
I am praying for no serious after effects; and for miracles of redemption for your family.

I have been thinking about the Book of Revelation and wondering if some hidden passageway is to be found that might provide a more accurate interpretation. But I do not think one exists; and for that reason it appears to me that most interpretations of the BofR are in fact creditable, and some more so than others.

To me it seems that the more literal type of interpretations should maintain that approach throughout as should the metaphorical. Because the mixing of these two approaches presents a hodgepodge effect like texture on a celling that has been repaired a few times. Those imperfections become highlighted in the light of day. Like that.

For example, if "Death and Hell" from Rev. 6:8 is literal then we see in that verse that those who follow the philosophical approach of death and hell do in fact go to death and hell because that is who they are; the spiritually dead that go to hell. However if the verse is taken metaphorically then "death and hell" are the two individuals as found in Rev. 20:10 to be cast forever into the lake of fire as stated in Rev. 19:20 and Rev. 20:14, along with anyone holding to that ideology (Rev. 20:15). In both cases the wicked go to hell but in the second case their leaders are emphasized.

Another example is the dragon from Rev. 12:3. Are we to believe that this is literally a dragon? It could be, because after all China celebrates the dragon quite frequently.

So the BofR can be taken literally and I for one would like to see a highly skilled interpretation along that line of reasoning. The problem is that most of those types go off into superstitions and things not backed by science.

The metaphorical interpretation however can go a multitude of ways based upon the level of knowledge by it's author. Like for instance the "clouds" in Rev. 1:7 Could mean warfare or storms, of even the 144,000 from Rev. 14:1 upon whom He from Rev. 1:7 is riding in Rev. 14:14. That is one of my personal favorites but there are any number of credible interpretations of that metaphor.

The bottom line is that the BofR is a sealed book with no definitively clear interpretation. And, the only part of that book that is not sealed is the messages to the seven churches in Chapters 2 and 3. In fact, the vision was to be sent to the seven churches (Rev. 1:11) but included is a message from the Savior in Chapters 2 and 3. These are two separate things. One is a vision and the other is a message from the Savior. Since the interpretation to the vision is sealed and the message from the Savior is not, then Chapters 2 and 3 are the sayings of the prophecy of this book (Rev. 22:10). As unbelievable as that sounds, if we as a people do not have a common interpretation of the BofR then it remains sealed. However, we can have a common interpretation of Chapters 2 and 3 and it is quite literal with only a few metaphors that are commonly understood.

The other possibility is that the book is sealed until the time is at hand (Rev. 22:10, 1:3). If that is the case then it does not matter how much we consider the BofR because we simply will not understand it. So I personally do not like this option and prefer my position that the unsealed portion being Chapters 2 and 3 is correct.

Understanding Rev. 1:1

Please notice that four are referenced in this verse:

1) "The revelation of Jesus Christ,
2) which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place.
3) He made it known by sending his angel
4) to his servant John,"

Please notice the line up of these four as follows"

Jesus Christ (right), God (center), his angel (left), John

As you can see, if these four are looking at you then Jesus Christ is to the right hand of God, and the angel is to the left hand of God. Lastly, John is to the left hand of the angel. This placement is an important point of consideration because Jesus is always to the right hand of God. And for this reason then we can say that the verse is designed to present the faces of the four to us; that they are looking at us.

Another interesting aspect of this verse is the use of the word "his" in three different places: 2) "his" servants, 3) "his" angel, and 4) "his" servant John. If we say that the word "his" refers to Jesus Christ then the verse can be written as:

1) "The revelation of Jesus Christ,
2) which God gave him to show to his (Jesus Christ's) servants the things that must soon take place.
3) He made it known by sending his (Jesus Christ's) angel
4) to his (Jesus Christ's) servant John,"

However, if we consider the verse as saying that "his" refers to God, then the verse has this appearance"

1) "The revelation of Jesus Christ,
2) which God gave him to show to his (God's) servants the things that must soon take place.
3) He made it known by sending his (God's) angel
4) to his (God's) servant John,

I merely point this out to highlight the profound nature of the verse and that both scenarios exist at the same time. That "his" refers to both Jesus Christ and God; that his angel is both Jesus Christ's angel and God's angel; and that John is both Jesus Christ's servant and God's servant.

Consequently, his servants are those serving both Jesus Christ and God. Further clarification to this is given in Rev. 14:1 wherein the 144,000 are standing with Christ having God's name in their foreheads. They belong to the Father via the fact that they have his name in their foreheads and they stand ready to serve at the command of the Lamb of God.

Another interesting thing to consider about the verse is derived from it's chiasmus form as follows:

"The revelation of Jesus Christ,
    which God gave him
        to show to his servants the things that must soon take place.
    He made it known by sending his angel
to his servant John,"

I hope that you can see the multiple configurations the most obvious of which is that the revelation of Jesus Christ to his servant John. This is clearly outlined in Chapter 1 wherein John is told by the Savior to write to the seven churches (Rev. 1:10-11). The second parallel shows that God gave Jesus and he made it known by sending his angel, and this is most profoundly outlined in Chapter 5 wherein "a strong angel" converses with John about the opening of the seven seals (Rev. 5:1-7). And lastly we see the servants are to be shown what must soon take place and this begins in Chapter 6 where it is highlighted that John is to "come and see" (Rev. 6:1, 3, 5, 7).

Another thing that I would like to point out about the verse chiasmus is the central position that pertains to the servants of God and Jesus Christ as follows:

Jesus Christ,
    God,
        his servants (chiasmus center),
    his angel,
his servant John

This placement of his servants holding the central position of the very first verse of the very first chapter of the book sets the tone of the book. That not only is the book to them but it is also about them. The entire revelation revolves around them; and this becomes self evident as we go further into the book with statements like: "come out of her my people" (Rev. 18:4) and "his Bride has made herself ready" Rev. 19:7, etc.

The big elephant in the room with respect to this verse (v. 1:1) is the statement "to show his servants the things that must soon take place." There are perhaps several reasons for saying this in this way, like: providing some reassurance to the early saints that the end is near, or that they would see tribulations prior to the Savior's return. However, from our perspective here in the last days the language does not seem to fit; because, "soon" when John wrote those words was 2,000 years ago. Another possibility is that when considering God's timeline "soon" is several thousands of years; and in this case 2,000 years. So there are countless explanations for using the language that to us implies in the next few years; soon. And, I do not know if one explanation has more validity than the others. But to me, "soon" refers to the time that when we see the end times approaching then the events of the BofR is soon at hand. 

Understanding Rev. 1:3

First of all, please notice that it is part of a three-verse-set comprising Rev. 1:1-3. But before we get to that, please look at this verse in chiasmus form as follows:

"Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy,
    blessed are those who hear
and (blessed are those who) keep what is written in it, for the time is near."

I added the parentheses and insert in the third part to help clarify what the verse is saying. That is, of the three conditions that are to read, hear, and keep; the verse is saying that those who "hear" have the central position and the emphasis of the verse. It is anyone's guess as to why those who hear are more inclined to be favored in the verse, but it makes me think of Isa. 6:9 wherein those who hear do not understand. However, since Rev. 1:3 states "blessed are those who hear" then it seems to be saying blessed are those who hear and understand. And that is where the true dichotomy lies; because, to the best of my knowledge, no one really understands the Book of Revelation.

If that is the case and no one understands this book, then it can be truly stated that the time is near (Rev. 1:3) but not at hand (Rev. 22:10). Because, when the time is at hand, then we will understand parts of the book if not all of the book. We will see the things that are spoken of in the book as they come to pass, and at that time we will understand. It is like some prophecies are easier to see when the events described therein have past. Such was the case when Jesus walked with the two and explained scripture to them (Luke 24:25-27). It was easier to understand after the events described had transpired.

Thus, Rev. 1:3 is saying (IMO), blessed are those who understand for the time is near. However, when the prophesized events transpire, blessed are those who remember the words of this book because it will be then that they understand.

Understanding Rev. 1:7

This verse is the bold stand alone declarative statement in the introduction that Jesus' coming. The obvious link to the harvest is the metaphor "clouds" linking to Rev. 14:14. In other words, Verse 1:7 is the sledge hammer in the room with power and judgment at it's core. So here we have in the BofR introduction in clear unambiguous terms that Jesus is coming, and this must have been a great reassurance and comfort to the saints of the early church. I would speculate to say that the verse's purpose here in the introduction was just that.

"Behold, he is coming with the clouds, (Rev. 14:14-16)
    and every eye will see him, (Rev. 19:5-9)
        even those who pierced him, (Rev. 20:11)
    and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. (Rev. 11:18-19, 16:18-21)
Even so. Amen."

Keep in mind that those with "eyes to see" are the saints, and those who pierced him are the wicked that flee.

Understanding Rev. 1:9

To me this is the best verse of Chapter 1. Because, John states that he is our brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom, and patience of Jesus Christ. That is a lot! It shows that John is writing to the saints of the early church that were in tribulation. Reassuring them that they are in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ; thus, they are at the Savior's command. Secondly, we are also at the Savior's command as we wait in tribulation in the patience of Jesus Christ.

I would also like to point out the number 4 that is a reoccurring theme throughout the book. As in, 1) brother, 2) companion, 3) kingdom, and 4) patience, as mentioned above. After these four things the verse turns to other points of interest; that John was at the isle of Patmos, for Lord Jesus, and to live till Jesus comes. Please notice these items in the verse chiasmus as follows:

"I, John, your brother
    and partner in the tribulation
        and the kingdom
            and the patient endurance that are in Jesus,
        was on the island called Patmos
    on account of the word of God (John 1:1)
and the testimony of Jesus." (John 21:22-24)

It does not get more beautiful than that. Wow!