Apokalupsis

     Usually when I study through a book of the Bible, I will spend a couple of weeks on the survey part of studying. That would be when I try to really get a grasp of what all the different sections or segments of the book are and, more importantly, see how they relate to one another. For this study through Revelation though, I am not going to focus nearly as much time on this aspect of Bible study as I could/would/should. If I were studying through Revelation to master -- to the best of my abilities -- the concepts and events that it contains, I would linger over this area of digging into the Word much longer. However, even though I should do this if I were to thoroughly understand and interpret Revelation as it is possible for me to do and as I really wish I could be doing, that is not my purpose in studying (see "Purpose" tab at top for an explanation). Therefore, I feel it is more needful right now for me to take a topical approach to Revelation that greatly redirects my focus of study. So, with that said, I am now going to dive into the text praying that the Lord would enlighten my eyes to see first His glory and also our instructions.

     The book of Revelation starts off with "The revelation...". The Greek word for revelation is apokalupsis, it's a noun that is derived from the Greek verb apokalupto. Both words are very similar in meaning, they've got to be since one derived from the other. The verb apokalupto can be further broken down into two parts: apo which means "from" and kalupto which means "to cover, conceal". If you put these two words together, you get "from cover, concealment" or in other words to unveil or expose something which was previously hidden, covered up, or concealed. We are getting a chance to look at and understand something which was before hidden from us, we had no knowledge of it. It would be like living in a house for twenty years, and then being shown a secret room that had remained, up until that time, in secrecy. That is basically what is going on in the book of Revelation.

     When Revelation was delivered to the churches it was, for them, the unveiling of something new. They, like the owners of the house in the example above, were familiar with the setting -- Jesus, Paul, Peter, and Jude had all written about Christ's Second Coming -- but yet this was something new. If you were to look at the chronology of the authorship of the N.T. books, you would see that the books which John wrote are unique. They are unique because all five of them (Revelation, John, John, John, and,uh, John) were written roughly 15-20 years after the rest of the N.T. canon had been completed. The believers at the time were familiar with other end times references that Paul, and especially Peter and Jude, had made, but Revelation was different.

     There are two main areas in which Revelation stands out from the crowd. First off, it's just plain huge compared to the other areas of Scripture which deal with eschatology (the study of end times). I mean, Peter only devoted a chapter to it, and Jude's only got one chapter to work with, so he was only able to devote a matter of verses. Paul's writings on the subject were more spread out and so were Jesus', but even if they were all brought together, they still wouldn't amount to a whole lot more than maybe a chapter or two. Revelation on the other hand, dedicates a whopping 19 chapters to this topic!

     Not only is Revelation set apart by its sheer size, but it is also different in subject matter and focus. This is where the Greek words above come into play. Peter and Jude wrote along the same lines, even overlapping at times, and their purpose was to show believers the end of false teachers, how dangerous they were, how to identify and expose them, and how to counteract and eliminate their venomous influence on the church (2 Pet. 3:10, Jude 14-15). Christ and Paul were at another corner of the end times triangle, their references to the end times had mainly to do with using those times to encourage and drive believers to a higher spiritual standard of living. To live life with a goal in mind, of finishing the race well, of completing their God-given courses (See Matt. 10:22, 24:4-14; Rom. 6:21; 1 Cor. 1:7, 4:5).

     Revelation, on the other hand, occupies the third corner, it is separate. Peter and Jude showed the judgment of God in the end times, Christ and Paul showed how we ought to live in light of the coming end times, but Revelation shows Christ glorified by the end times. You see, there is a difference in who is being related to the end times, Peter/Jude have the false teachers and Christ/Paul have believers. Revelation, though, uses the end times as a huge arrow pointing upward at the glory -- the expression of the sum of all Christ's attributes -- of the Lamb once slaughtered for our sake but now and for evermore enthroned on high at God's right hand.

     Remember back at the beginning of this post, the first two English (one Greek) words of this book? They were "The revelation", now we will complete this phrase: "The revelation of Jesus Christ". Back to apokalupsis, the noun form. We saw that it's from the verb apokalupto, you know, the movement from obscurity to manifestation. Apokalupsis isn't the only word used in the N.T. in reference to Christ's Second Coming, there are two others: epiphaneia and parousia. Ephiphaneia means simply to appear, to have an appearance; Paul is the only person in the N.T. to use this word to describe Christ's Second Coming. The second word parousia means to come, to arrive. It usually refers to a specific coming, it isn't a very general word, it's got a specific meaning when it is used. Of these three words which have been used to refer to the Second Coming, apokalupsis is the most profound and carries with it the greatest weight. It not only means to arrive or appear, it means to arrive or appear and then understand the significance of that appearance and coming. The significance of this word being in its noun form though is the fact that the noun form makes it definitive. Revelation is not just a record of the end time events, but it is an understanding of Christ's glory in His Second Coming, part of which is shown through those events. That is the main reason they are there, not only for our understanding of what is to come, but to show the glory of Christ. Applied here it not only means to know that Christ is going to make an appearance or to know what the events surrounding His return will be, but to see all of these things through glasses tinted with Christ's glory. We must not become so bogged down in the details of what, where, when, why, and how that we miss the Who. The purpose of the book of Revelation is to show us the events encircling the return of Christ in such a light as to shine forth the splendor of His glory.

     As I grow through the reading of God's Word and through fervent prayer, I ask that you would join me as I travel through this book and that we would be able to join with those in heaven singing praise to Christ:

19:6b-7a - "Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory..."