Revelation 1:9-11 Outline

"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 and the testimony of Jesus. I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet saying, 'Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.'"

John's Commission

1. I, John,
1. Shock, not in gospel
1. Refers to himself as the "disciple whom Jesus [actually] loved"
2. Humble

Revelation 1:4-6 Sermon Notes

Notes on John MacArthur's sermon: Back to the Future, Part 2 (66-2)

I. Elements of Revelation
     A. Nature - Unveiling
     B. Theme - Christ
     C. Source - God
     D. Recipients - Christ's bondservants
     E. Character -Future prophecy
     F. Delivery - Supernatural
          1. Only book in the Bible conveyed by angels
          2. Most informative book about angels
     G. Human agent - John (I, John, 80+yrs, no mention of name in book of John)
II. Number Seven
     A. Number of completion - the book is finished, the Bible is finished, this is the end (of many things)
III. "the time is near" - often used in Scripture to mean "next, quickly, soon, following" not necessarily immediate (near and next, but it may be far enough off to cause many to doubt or scoff)
IV. "is, was, is to come" by ch. 16 "is, was" He has come

Revelation 1:1-3 Sermon Notes

Notes on John MacArthur's sermon: Back to the Future, Part 1 (66-1)

John's (Writer's) Introduction

I. Type of writing - "The revelation of Jesus Christ..."
     A. Many similarities to Olivet Discourse throughout book
     B. End times spoken about by Peter, John (elsewhere), James
II. Purpose - Apokalupsis
     A. Whenever used of person, means person becomes visible
     B. First used in Luke 2:28
     C. All of Scripture is a revelation, this is THE revelation OF JESUS CHRIST
     D. Despite complexity of book, it is about uncovering not veiling
     E. "A front-page story of the future of the world written by someone who was there"
III. Central Theme
     A. Revelation not FROM Jesus Christ, but ABOUT...
     B. First coming - humiliation, Second coming - glorification
     C. Christ is never seen humiliated or belittled
IV. Source
     A. Divine source - "... which God gave Him ..."
     B. What does Christ need God to give Him?
     C. Reward/inheritance of Christ
     D. Most wills or deeds are sealed or hidden, but this was given to Christ to us, we get to see it
V. Prophetic
     A. "... the things which must shortly take place ..."
     B. Gospels - what took place, Acts - history of church, Epistles - explanation of doctrine and its application (gospels/acts applied)
     C. Revelation is the future, prophecy of the future