The Ultimate Victory

An Exposition of the Book of Revelation

Stanley M. Horton

• Publisher: Logion Press
• Year: 2016
• eBook ISBN: 9781607314387
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Studies

This work makes Christ's revelation to John applicable for today. Explains Revelations' interpretation, author, date, recipients, and literary characteristics.

Revelation 1

The believers who first received the Book of Revelation must have been excited over its prophecies. But the book still deserves attention and study since it promises blessing to whoever keeps its message. Its prophecies focus on Jesus and on the end of this age, revealing the climax and final triumph of God’s plan. It reminds us that the God who loves us enough to have sent Jesus to die for us on the Cross loves us enough to make every provision for us to share in His triumph and glory (compare Romans 5:8–9).

The book opens with the apostle John on the island of Patmos, writing to the seven churches of the Roman province of Asia. (In the southwestern part of Asia Minor, that great western promontory of Asia partially bounded by the three seas, Black, Aegean, and Mediterranean, this proconsul region of the Roman Empire is, of course, to be distinguished from the present day continent.) His reason and authority for writing come from a tremendous vision of Jesus as “one like unto the Son of man” (1:13). This identifies Jesus with the “one like the Son of man” who in the vision of Daniel 7:13–14 was given “dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him,” an identification that Jesus had used of himself during His earthly ministry (Matthew 26:64). Besides using language from Daniel, the description of the One John sees is also in language taken from Ezekiel, but some of that Old Testament description is applied to God the Father. By it John’s readers are reminded that Jesus is the revelation of the Father. (See John 14:9–11.) The command to write also comes from Jesus, who tells John what to say in the letters to the churches (chapters 2 and 3).

The Revelation of Jesus Christ Given to John (1:1–3)

¹The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: ²who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw. ³Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

The book’s own title is the key to its message: “The Revelation of Jesus Christ.” Matthew’s Gospel starts by drawing attention to Jesus as the son of David, the son of Abraham, and the One who fulfills God’s promises and prophecies given to Israel. Mark begins by calling Jesus the Son of God and goes on to show Jesus as the Son of God in action. Luke addresses his message to the Gentile Theophilus and then shows Jesus caring for people with all the tenderness and love of God. John, in his Gospel, goes back to the beginning when Jesus was with God in the work of creation and then goes on to show the power and deity of Jesus in order to confirm the faith of believers. The Acts and the Epistles show how Jesus continued to work in power and wisdom through the Holy Spirit in the Church, a work that continues today. The fitting climax to the whole New Testament revelation comes on Patmos when John is given a new, moving, dramatic picture of Jesus. “Revelation” (Greek, apokalupsis, “unveiling, disclosure”) lets us know that the book brings into the open truths about Jesus and the events leading to His return, including events not revealed in earlier prophecies.

At the same time, the book is not meant for the general public. It is meant for “his servants” (literally, “slaves”), that is, those believers who belong to Jesus and are fully committed to serving Him. The things it reveals, Jesus said, must begin to take place quickly, speedily, without delay. It is sent by His angel to John, also identified as “his servant,” or slave. Most slaves in John’s day were people taken captive in war. John and the other believers were taken captive by Christ, captured out of the armies of Satan, and made willing servants of Christ and the Church. Even so, as Jesus told the disciples at the Last Supper, He was not calling them servants or slaves, but friends. A master does not tell his slaves what he is doing, but a person does explain his plans to his friends. (See John 15:15.) That is, Jesus was treating John and the other believers as friends, revealing more of God’s plan to them. This revelation made known to John has been a blessing to believers throughout the history of the Church, especially in times of difficulty and trouble.

Though the word “apostle” is not used here, traditions coming from the Early Church confirm that the John who bore witness to the things he saw concerning the Word of God (the living Word, John 1:1, 14) and the testimony of Jesus was the apostle John, “the disciple whom Jesus loved” (John 21:20). Early Church writers testify that he ministered in Ephesus and died there near the end of the first century.¹

The “blessed” of verse 3 is the first of seven blessings, or beatitudes, pronounced in the book. The reference to reading (Greek, anaginoskon) means reading aloud. This implies reading it in the churches where the believers gather to hear. The blessing and happiness come to both the reader and the listeners who keep the words of this prophecy, that is, who pay attention and take its message to heart—for to hear also means to obey. That is, the blessing comes not on casual readers or careless hearers, but on those who lovingly obey the commands and injunctions found in this book.

Greetings to the Seven Churches in Asia (1:4–6)

⁴John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne; ⁵and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first-begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, ⁶and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

John treats the whole Book of Revelation as a letter and thus sends the book with greetings to the seven churches in the Roman province of Asia (located in what is now part of Turkey). Most, if not all, of these churches were founded during Paul’s ministry in Ephesus. Though Paul did not travel through the province while he was staying in Ephesus, Ephesus was a center, and from it “all which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks. … So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed” (Acts 19:10,20).

All these churches were in key cities of this province of Rome. By looking at a map it is easy to see a geographic sequence, about fifty-mile intervals beginning at Ephesus and continuing in a regular pattern to the other churches. These churches were probably representative of all the churches in the province. Their problems were also representative of situations that developed among what was probably the third generation of believers. That Jesus is concerned about more than these seven is seen by the fact that He included a message to all the churches at the end of each letter to the individual churches (see 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22).

John’s greeting in verses 4–6 combines the New Testament greeting of grace and the Old Testament greeting of peace, both coming from the one true and eternal God who is and was and is to come, the God who has no beginning and no ending, the God who ever lives. But John does not stop there. The source of grace and peace is the entire Trinity. Grace and peace come from the seven Spirits, that is, from the sevenfold manifestation of the Holy Spirit, probably a reference to the sevenfold Spirit on the Messiah prophesied in Isaiah 11:2 as well as to the sevenfold lamp in Zechariah 4:2,6,10. (The mention of the seven Spirits here anticipates the further revelation of the Spirit in Revelation 4:5 and 5:6.) Others take this to be a reference to seven angels (Revelation 8:2).

Then John gives special attention to the fact that this grace and peace come through the work of Jesus Christ, who is identified in three ways in verse 5. First, He is the “faithful witness.” In his Gospel, John tells us that Jesus declared, or unfolded, the Father and His grace and truth to us (John 1:14,18). He is a true witness (John 5:31–37). He came to bear witness to the truth (John 18:37). And from the Book of Romans we know that Jesus communicates the fullness of divine love to us (Romans 5:5–11).

Second, Jesus is the “first-begotten of the dead.” That is, He is the first to be resurrected with a new body that is immortal and incorruptible, never to decay, deteriorate, or die. The term “first-begotten,” or “firstborn” (NIV), also speaks of rulership. Jesus takes the place of leadership which, according to ancient custom, belongs to the heir. (See Psalm 89:20,26–27 where God promises to make David His firstborn “higher than the kings of the earth.” See also Colossians 1:15–18 where the Bible uses the same terminology to declare the priority and lordship of Jesus as the highest Ruler and Lord of all; compare Exodus 4:22; Deuteronomy 28:1; Romans 14:9; 1 Corinthians 15:20.) Through His grace and truth He makes us joint heirs with Him (Romans 8:17) and sharers of His triumph.

Third, Jesus is the “prince of the kings of the earth,” for He will be King of kings and Lord of lords (1 Timothy 6:15; Revelation 17:14; 19:16).

John is not satisfied with merely repeating the words “grace” and “peace,” however. He draws attention to their reality by breaking out in praise for Christ’s great love that caused Him to cleanse us from our sins by means of His own blood shed on Calvary (v. 5), thereby introducing a theme prominent throughout the Book of Revelation (5:6; 7:14; 12:11)—redemption through the blood of Christ as God’s Lamb. John knew the reality of the continuous cleansing that is ours as we keep walking in the light (1 John 1:7). Because of that cleansing we are already, in God’s eyes, what God has always wanted His people to be: “kings and priests unto God.” When God delivered Israel out of Egypt and brought them to himself, He told them He wanted them to be His own people in a special way and that His purpose was for them to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. (See Exodus 19:4–6.)

God’s purpose for the Church is the same as that for Israel. We are a spiritual temple, a holy priesthood, a chosen generation (a choice race, or people, whose characteristics depend on what is received from God, not on what is inherited from parents), a royal priesthood (a body of kings who minister as priests to God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus), a holy nation (including both saved Jews and saved Gentiles; Ephesians 2:12–20), and a people who are God’s own possession in a special way (1 Peter 2:5,9). By His grace through faith we enter into this royal priesthood of all believers and have access to the very Holy of Holies of God’s presence. (See Hebrews 10:19–20.) This is our position now, and we have the promise that we shall reign with Him when He comes (2 Timothy 2:12). No wonder John cries out that our Lord deserves glory and dominion “for ever and ever.”

The Hope of the Church (1:7)

⁷Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

With the thought of Christ’s power and dominion, John immediately interjects the hope of the Church (i.e., “he cometh with clouds”). Most of those he is writing to are former Gentiles who, like the believers in Thessalonica, have “turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; and to wait for his Son from heaven” (1 Thessalonians 1:9–10). Even though John is nearing the end of a long life, that hope is still bright for him. Jesus’ coming with clouds would be a fulfillment of Daniel 7:13, a prophecy Jesus identified himself with. (See Matthew 26:64.)

In verse 7, John looks ahead to the time, which he sees in more detail in chapter 19, at the end of the Tribulation when Jesus will come in the clouds: the very same Jesus that John and the 120 had seen ascend into heaven (Acts 1:11). At this coming, the “kindreds” (nations, peoples, tribes) of the earth “shall wail,” beating their breasts in terrible mourning because of Him. This is not God’s desire or purpose. The promise to Abraham was that in him and in his seed (the greater Seed, Jesus) all the families, tribes, and nations would be blessed. But because of the world’s rejection of God’s way and plan, Jesus will have to return “in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ” (2 Thessalonians 1:7). It is clear from this that the Church will not be on the earth at the time of this return in judgment. We shall already be with Him. It is the people who are left behind at the Rapture who “shall wail because of him.”

Now, in this age, we have the privilege of obtaining salvation and receiving the baptism in the Holy Spirit. But once Jesus returns in His final triumph over the armies of the Antichrist, there will be nothing left for unbelievers but a baptism of the fires of judgment. Then John adds a “Yes, truly!” It is not that he wants to see that judgment come upon the world, but with this double affirmative he confirms that the prophecies are indeed true. The victory and the rulership are truly the Lord’s.

The Mediator of Our Hope Responds (1:8)

⁸I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

Verse 8 concludes the book’s introduction and salutation with a response from the One who is praised in verses 5 and 6, the coming One of verse 7. He is indeed the coming One, but He is more. In verse 4, God the Father is described as the coming One, the eternal One. Here, Jesus so describes himself. He is “Alpha and Omega”—the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, that is, the beginning and the ending—thus declaring himself as having no beginning or ending.

There is a sense also in which Jesus is always the coming One. In the Old Testament the word translated “visit” is often used of God coming in blessing or in judgment. The New Testament lets us know that our Lord Jesus is the one Mediator between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5), and He still comes to us. In fact, wherever even two or three gather in His name, He is among them (Matthew 18:20). But this passage gives special emphasis to His future coming in triumph. All that God revealed himself to be in the Old Testament we see revealed in Jesus in the New Testament. And He is coming again as the full revelation of the omnipotent, Almighty God.

The Voice Like a Trumpet (1:9–11)

⁹I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. ¹⁰I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, ¹¹saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.

Besides identifying himself as a slave of Jesus, John identifies himself as a “brother,” that is, a fellow member of the family of God with the believers in the churches in Asia. He receives this revelation of Jesus Christ while he is an exile and a prisoner—not for any guilt of his own, but because of the “Word of God,” that is, John’s faithful proclamation of it, and the “testimony of Jesus Christ,” that is, John’s determined witness to Him. This witness is shared by those who also endure persecution and distress but steadfastly remain under the rule of Jesus. Jesus is not only with John, He is the very sphere in which John lives. Consequently, the reality of the presence of Jesus helps both him and his fellow believers in Asia bear up under Roman persecution.

The place of John’s exile is not pleasant. Patmos is a rocky, treeless, ten-mile-long island, about sixty miles southwest of Ephesus. John may have been sentenced to hard labor in the quarries. But he does not feel sorry for himself. He is in Jesus and under His rule, not Rome’s.

Not only is John in Jesus, he is a Spirit-filled believer, and he is “in the Spirit on the Lord’s day.” “In the Spirit” is another important phrase in this book, indicating special activity of the Holy Spirit (4:2; 17:3; 21:10). The “Lord’s day” could mean Sunday, but here it more likely means that the Holy Spirit projected John into the future Day of the Lord that the Old Testament prophets foresaw.

While John i...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• Foreword
• Outline of the Book of Revelation
• Introduction to the Book of Revelation
• Revelation 1
• Revelation 2
• Revelation 3
• Revelation 4
• Revelation 5
• Revelation 6
• Revelation 7
• Revelation 8
• Revelation 9
• Revelation 10
• Revelation 11
• Revelation 12
• Revelation 13
• Revelation 14
• Revelation 15
• Revelation 16
• Revelation 17
• Revelation 18
• Revelation 19
• Revelation 20
• Revelation 21
• Revelation 22
• Endnotes
• Selected Bibliography
• Scripture Index
• Subject Index