Letter to the Seven Churches–Introduction

Outline: Seven Churches – Intro
Text: Revelation 1:9-20
Discussion audio (56 minutes)

We enter into John’s first vision as the scene is set for the letter to the seven churches of Asia. The imagery and allusions John employs find their basis in Jewish literature (Old Testament as well as intertestamental writings and traditions), Greco-Roman religious mythologies (the goddess Hekate, cosmology), and Greek literature (Greek drama form). John uses imagery and forms familiar to his audience in order to find common ground with as many as possible.

Perhaps the point John is attempting to communicate to his audience is that Jesus is the one, universal God that walked among his people, walks among them today, and will always walk among them, whatever troubles they may face and have to endure.

Prologue

Outline: Prologue
Passage: Revelation 1:1-8
Discussion audio (39 minutes)

In our discussions yesterday, the most surprising and difficult concept to grasp in this passage was the concept of temporal terms that John uses: soon, near. Traditionally we’ve known that at least some of the things described would indeed take place within a few years of their writing, but we assume that most of what was written was about a future taking place after an indeterminate number of years. But for John and his audience all of what was written was to take place now and in the imminent future.

Another concept that requires a change of perspective is the Second Coming. For most Christians this is something that takes place at the very end of time. John, however, frequently uses the present tense verb when he writes about Jesus’ coming. It appears then, that for John, the Second Coming is not just about something at the end of time, but something that has already taken place and continues to take place all of the time.

A few more things to note in this passage:

• John employs terms used in the Old Testament to describe God and applies them to Jesus. Perhaps there was confusion in the churches of Asia Minor regarding the true identity and nature of Jesus. John wants to make it absolutely clear that Jesus is fully God.
• John employs terms used in the Old Testament to describe Israel and applies them to the Church. “Israel” is not a national or a racial term, but a theological term. It means “people who belong to God as his special people.” Interpretation of Revelation can get very convoluted if this concept is not held clear – that Israel and the Church are one and the same.
• The death and resurrection of Jesus is a key theme in Revelation – “the firstborn of the dead,” “by his blood.”