Revelation 1:1-3

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, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.

Ἀποκάλυψις Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἣν ἔδωκεν αὐτῷ ὁ θεὸς δεῖξαι τοῖς δούλοις αὐτοῦ, ἃ δεῖ γενέσθαι ἐν τάχει, καὶ ἐσήμανεν ἀποστείλας διὰ τοῦ ἀγγέλου αὐτοῦ τῷ δούλῳ αὐτοῦ Ἰωάννῃ, ὃς ἐμαρτύρησεν τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τὴν μαρτυρίαν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ὅσα εἶδεν. μακάριος ὁ ἀναγινώσκων καὶ οἱ ἀκούοντες τοὺς λόγους τῆς προφητείας καὶ τηροῦντες τὰ ἐν αὐτῇ γεγραμμένα, ὁ γὰρ καιρὸς ἐγγύς.

The Prologue

I hope readers won’t feel intimidated with the Greek text above; it is not necessary for readers to be able to read the Greek. I have included it for those who are keen to compare the English text with the Greek, and to double check the assertions or suggestions that I will provide.

This opening to the book of Revelation can act both as an introduction to the entire book as well as a narrower introduction to the broader introduction of Revelation 1:1-20. These three verses provide a hermeneutical framework that helps readers to interpret the rest of Revelation.

The Revelation of Jesus Christ

The entire book of Revelation is a “revelation” of Jesus Christ, that is, it is a revelation about Jesus and from Jesus. He is both the subject of the revelation as well as the author of it.

Verse 1 also provides the method of communication of this revelation: God the Father gave the revelation to Jesus, who in turn sent an angel to John, who then will write down the revelation for the rest of God’s servants.

John is described as one who “bore witness” to the word of God and to the “witness” of Jesus. Verse 1 specifies that this act of bearing witness extends to all that he “saw”, that is, the entire set of visions that he saw (i.e. the entire book of Revelation). The word μαρτυρίαν (martyrian) can mean “legal witness” as in a court of law, bringing a legal charge against someone. In the context of Revelation, we shall see that this meaning of “legal witness” makes the most sense, that is, Jesus is bringing a legal charge against His old wife, adulterous Israel. This legal charge of adultery is accompanied with judgment or legal punishments according to the Law of God, which takes the form of the various judgment images described later on in the book of Revelation.

The book of Revelation is also described as a prophecy. Commentators have recognized that Revelation is not only an apocalyptic letter. Rather, the book of Revelation can be categorized as an apocalyptic-prophetic-epistolary letter, meaning it contains elements of each genre. Readers will encounter these particular elements as we go through the text of Revelation. However, we are called to recognize that the events in the book of Revelation are considered prophesies in some sense, that is, Revelation describes things that will take place in the future (for John’s immediate audience).

In fact, in these three verses alone, the nearness of the prophesied events is emphasized twice. Revelation contains “the things that must soon take place” (ἐν τάχει, en tachei), which does not mean speedy in the sense that the events will be fulfilled in a speedy manner. Rather, it means that the time at which the events will take place is soon to come, near. This is confirmed in verse 3 when John states that “the time is near” (γὰρ καιρὸς ἐγγύς, gar kairos engys).

Contra Beale, this does not mean that the events will start to be fulfilled in the near, immediate future of John’s audience. Rather, it makes more sense to take the simple meaning of the text, that is, the events described therein will be fulfilled in full in the near, immediate future of John’s audience, unless context tells us otherwise (i.e. the releasing of Satan after the millennium).

Furthermore, there is a benediction for those among John’s immediate audience who read aloud the words of Revelation (the ones who took on the role of “readers” in the early church), and those who hear and keep what is written in it. It is only possible to keep what is written in it if in fact the words written therein are soon to be fulfilled in their entirety. The text does not state that these events will start or begin to be fulfilled in John’s time. Rather, the simple straightforward meaning of the text is that the events therein will be fulfilled in full in John’s time, unless stated otherwise.

Last but not least, the word translated as “made it known” is ἐσήμανεν (esēmanen), which is better understood as “signified”, that is, communicated using signs and images. Therefore, readers ought not to commit the error of strict literalists who interpret the words of Revelation in a wooden literal manner. On the other hand, readers ought not to commit the error of those who interpret all the words of Revelation in a symbolic or allegorical manner, such that John is not able to communicate short-term time indicators without readers somehow interpreting them as being long-term time indicators. The context in Revelation is key to assist readers in determining whether certain words are to be understood in a literal manner, figurative manner, or sometimes both (having both an immediate, historical fulfillment and a end-time, consummate fulfillment).

The above should be helpful for readers in being equipped to interpret the rest of the book of Revelation.

Soli Deo gloria!