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The Truth about Jesus and Apocalypticism
Jesus, the Key to Understanding the Book of Revelation |
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By the Late Dr. Lillie S. McCutcheon |
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THE TITLE
Every author is aware of the necessity of choosing an interesting title for his writings. How wisely John chose the inscription, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ” (Rev. 1:1). In the Fourth Gospel, John refers to the Lord as the Son of God, the divine Teacher, the Bread of Life, the great Intercessor, and the crucified and resurrected Christ. He depicts many other portraits of the humble Galilean, but nowhere in the Bible is He revealed in such glory and majesty as in the Revelation. Here He is magnified as “King of Kings,” “Lord of Lords,” “Eternal Victor,” “Alpha and Omega,” and the “Glorified Christ.” How incomplete the Scriptures would be if they were bereft of these portraits!
THE AUTHOR
God Himself is the Author of these last paragraphs in Holy Writ, even as “all scripture is given by inspiration of God” (Rev. 1:1; 2 Tim. 3:16). John was chosen of God to be a pen in the Master’s hand. Indeed, who would be better qualified to reveal the Christ?
John, the beloved disciple, he who leaned upon Jesus’ bosom, was the most intimate, earthly friend of our Lord. This faithful disciple had already served as God’s scribe to pen the Fourth Gospel and three epistles bear his name.
John had heard Christ say, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” He heard Him cry, “Follow me”; “Thy sins be forgiven thee”; and many other sayings revealing Christ as God incarnate. His presence at the Transfiguration prepared him to behold even more glorious splendor. Years had now passed since he last saw Christ as He departed through the clouds at Mt. Olivet. Imagine the thrill in the soul of the sainted apostle when this same Jesus appeared to John on the Isle of Patmos!
He was no longer in the seamless garment of the poor, but clothed in the rich vestures of heaven. Searching for words to describe the Christ, John penned, “. . . 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, as 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” (Rev. 1:13). No wonder John fell at the feet of Christ in fear as he beheld Him whose “countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength” (Rev. 1:16).
It was not a dream! The Master spoke! His words were the familiar entreaty, “Fear not.” How often John’s soul had been strengthened by those two words. Christ assured John that He was the same Lord Who was dead but is alive forevermore, and has the keys of hell and death (Rev. 1:18).
John was commissioned to write the things he had seen, things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter.
John participated in divine worship—the highest act humanity is privileged to experience. True worship opens the sanctuary of the soul, and the infinite God communes with finite men. The eyes of the soul become as sanctuary lamps aglow with the glory of Christ’s majesty. Pure hearts where the Holy Spirit fire is aflame and prayer ascends as incense. The human intellect becomes a chancel where God performs a divine miracle and the will of man is surrendered unto his Lord. Mortal lips are made a pulpit to proclaim an immortal faith. The tongue becomes an organ to render perfect praise. Let our prayer ever be, “Lord, teach us to worship in the Spirit that we too may see the Christ.”
WHEN AND WHERE THE BOOK WAS WRITTEN
At the time of the writing of the Revelation, sixty-three years had passed since Jesus had been crucified. These were years of persecution, trial and death for many of the followers of the Christ. A portion of the first century had been a trail of human blood. Of all the apostles, John alone was exempt from the death of a martyr. In the year AD 95-96, the tyrant, Domitian, banished John to the lonely Isle of Patmos, sentencing him to hard labor in the lead quarries there.
Patmos is sometimes called the “brown gem” of the Aegean Sea—not because of its beauty, but because of the great events which transpired there. This island is some sixty miles off the coast of Asia Minor. It is barren and desolate, only ten miles long, and narrows in the middle to almost an isthmus. A range of mountains rising to the height of eight hundred feet provides a grand stage for the visions of John. Visiting Patmos today, you would find the eleven-hundred-year-old monastery of St. John erected on top of these mountains. The trumpets, which sounded there, still echo in the Scriptures.
According to historical records, John was recalled from exile when Domitian was silenced by death, and the humane Nerva ascended the throne as emperor. The aged apostle, too feeble to continue public ministry, often pastored in the humble quarters of his home. John died and was buried at Ephesus after completing a life of approximately one hundred years.
LANGUAGE AND PURPOSE
While it was no doubt written with letters of the Greek alphabet, the Revelation is an amazing combination of symbols and word pictures. This is a language based on analogy. For example, a lion is a symbol of courage; a lamb, a symbol of meekness; a bear depicts cruel, bloodthirsty character-istics. The book also includes sacred objects, such golden candlesticks, altars, etc. To symbolize great spiritual truths, Jesus many times used this manner of conveying thought in His parables. He spoke of “the vine and the branches.” He referred to Herod as a “fox.” He compared the righteous to sheep and the ungodly to goats.
The interpretation of words can become very confusing. The same word may be used in a number of ways with varied renderings. However, symbols do not change in meaning. The lion delineates courage and power in the twentieth century as much as it did hundreds of years before Christ when Daniel used [it in] prophecy.
Another reason for the veiled language of symbols was to assure safety for the early Christians. No man could be charged in court because he had written or read symbolic literature. Understood by the Christian, its meaning was hidden from the enemy; thus, these writings were preserved.
In this manner God fulfills His purpose for the book. In ages of despair it gave courage and hope of eternal victory to millions suffering persecution and death. Today it is our lamp in a sin-darkened world. It warns the reader of dangerous periods in the destiny of the church.
The truth in its pages challenges the church of today to engage in the final conflict of the ages. Here the Christian will find a new edge for his sword of the Spirit. Faith becomes strong in the promise of final victory. Love will overcome hate. Light will put out the darkness. Good will overcome evil. Truth will destroy error. Satan will be defeated and Christ, the Conqueror, shall forever reign. This the prophecies proclaim!
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