The Beginning of the End - Revelation 1

1:1-6 - We’re finally finishing up the New Testament after over 5 years! Just starting this last book of Revelations, I’m hoping to be finished with it by the end of the year. I’ve always just imagined that the book of Revelation is a guide to the last days, but the IM says, “The message of Revelation is the same as that of all scripture: there will be an eventual triumph on this earth of God over the devil; a permanent victory of good over evil, of the Saints over their persecutors, of the kingdom of God over the kingdoms of men and of Satan.” That’s pretty optimistic for a book that is considered to be about all the horror that will befall the people at the end of the world. The IM also quotes the Prophet Joseph Smith saying, “The book of Revelation is one of the plainest books God ever caused to be written.” So if we keep this in mind as we go through it, then hopefully we’ll find it profitable. The first part of chapter 1 has an extensive JST which indicates that these are “the Revelation of John, a servant of God, which was given unto him of Jesus Christ.” He commends “they who read, and they who hear and understand the words of this prophecy.” John notes that the first bit of the book is “to the seven churches in Asia.” In an overview of the beginning chapters of this book, the IM summarizes as, “John saw a vision of Jesus Christ. He wrote individual messages to the seven churches in Asia; these messages include praise, admonitions, and promises to the faithful Saints in each branch.” As to why the “seven churches in Asia” are the main audience at the beginning, the IM explains, “The first three chapters of the book of Revelation were specifically addressed to seven branches of the Church in Asia Minor. It is unclear why these particular churches were singled out. While other branches of the Church had been established in Asia (such as at Pisidian Antioch), these seven may represent the Church as a whole (the number seven being symbolic of completeness)… They may also have been among only a few branches that were still faithful and had not succumbed to apostasy and persecution.” John praises “him who loved us, be glory; who washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God, his Father.” The IM quotes President Joseph F. Smith as teaching, “The object of our earthly existence is that we may have a fullness of joy, and that we may become the sons and daughters of God, in the fullest sense of the word, being heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ, to be kings and priests unto God, to inherit glory, dominion, exaltation, thrones and every power and attribute developed and possessed by our Heavenly Father.” It’s kind of hard to keep this perspective in this life with so much other stuff going on, but it’s nice to be reminded of it sometimes. 1:7-20 - Verses 7 and 8 have a significant portion of JST that changes a lot of the meanings. John notes that when Jesus comes again, “he cometh in the clouds with ten thousands of his saints in the kingdom, clothed with the glory of his father.” When I read this, I wondered if the number 10,000 was concrete or if it was a concept like “there’s so many people it looks like a really big number.” Also when I read it this last time I noticed that the word “thousands” is plural, so maybe it just means all righteous people regardless of number. Because I’m pretty sure that I’ve heard before that it’s all the righteous dead and living who will be caught up to meet Him when he comes again. Verse 8 also has a JST where the Lord says “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, the Lord, who is and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.” I’ve heard the “Alpha and Omega” thing a bunch of times, but I really like the Jeffery R. Holland’s take on it, as quoted in the IM which says, “As (Jesus) was in the beginning, so will he be when this world ends. As Omega, a name taken from the last letter of the Greek alphabet, Christ is the terminus, the end cause as well as the end result of mortal experience… These letters from the Greek suggest the universal role of Jesus from the beginning of the world to its end. But he ought to be Alpha and Omega in the particular as well- our personal beginning and our individual end.” I love that this makes it not only a universal “Jesus is the end and the beginning,” but that it makes it personal, he created the world for us, made the plan of salvation possible, and is our ultimate judge and advocate at the end. As for the title “Almighty,” the IM has an interesting take on it saying, “The title ‘Almighty’ is the English translation of the Greek word Pantokrator, which suggests one who rules and regulates all things. One theme of the book of Revelation is that even though God’s people in all ages face persecution and trouble, God does indeed govern all things and will one day put an end to all evil.” It’s comforting to know that the God who loves us more than anything is in charge of the universe and that everything will shake out in the end for our good. But that doesn’t mean that it’s any less difficult encountering difficulties in our daily life. John identifies some of his trials at the time, being “in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.” It seems like this is where John starts describing the vision he received while he “was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet.” This voice commanded him to write what he was about to be shown and send it “unto the seven churches which are in Asia.” When John turned to see who was speaking to him, he “saw seven golden candlesticks; and in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, and white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.” I always imagined that if Jesus were to appear to me, he would show up looking like just a chill guy, no shining or fierceness or anything like that, just a regular guy. It’s interesting to think about, who Jesus appears to, what he looks like at the time and why. What’s interesting here is that John has known Jesus pretty much his whole life, so when He shows up here, this is a guy that John knows very well, but even with all this background, when he sees Jesus, “I feel at his feet as dead.” Jesus comforts him telling him to “fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and behold I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.” The IM made a chart with the different symbols and what the possible meanings could be. For verse 18, “keys of hell and of death,” the IM pairs with “keys that unlock the doors of (overcome) spiritual and physical death.” Jesus is the only one who has the ability to save us from physical death through the resurrection and spiritual death through the atonement. The IM also pairs this verse with 2 Nephi 9:10-13, which is very long but part of verse 12 connects the two quite nicely, saying, “wherefore, death and hell must deliver up their dead, and hell must deliver up its captive spirits, and the grave must deliver up its captive bodies, and the bodies and the spirits of men will be restored one to the other; and it si by the power of the resurrection of the Holy One of Israel.”