The A, B, Come and See Revelation

A commentary on the Book of Revelation

Elder James Stroud

• Publisher: Covenant Books, Inc.
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN: 9781644689851
• eBook ISBN: 9781644689868
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Commentary

From the most seasoned theologians to the newest Bible study student, A, B, Come and See Revelations enlightens each reader by demystifying one of the most complicated books of the bible. Bible scholars have tediously dedicated decades to the sole study of the book of Revelation, which has left many perplexed and unresolved. This is understandable because, although Revelations begins and ends like an ancient letter and identifies itself as prophecy, it contains edicts from the risen Christ—a sevenfold series of seven-part visions, hymns, hope for the faithful, condemnation for the unbeliever and is saturated with visually unimaginable supernatural and inexplicable beings. Occurrences are neither chronologically bound nor explicitly revealed by locations. However, author James Stroud provides a scriptural elixirby not simply relying on the book of Revelations itself, but he responsibly and exhaustively researches historical texts, maps, Greek and Hebrew manuscripts, ancient linguistics, along with other key components to bring clarity and relevancy to each passage. This author proves to be an expert in transforming what has been most often identified as a book of doom and gloom into an easy-to-decipher book revealing messages of encouragement, hope, and infinite love. In his thorough cross-referencing and deciphering of Old and New testament symbolism, it is made quite apparent that A, B, Come and See Revelations will lead you into the revelation of Jesus Christ. This book will quickly become a favorite staple in your reference library.

Chapter 1

“The 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” (Revelation 1:1).

Two days before his death, Jesus the Christ (Yahshua Ha Mashiyach) foretold his disciples of a time of great trial and visitation upon the earth. He assured them that

Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away. But the day and hour knows no man, no, not even the angels which are in heaven, nor the son, but the Father. Take heed, watch and pray: for you know not when the time is. (Mark 13:31–33)

After his death, burial and resurrection, Jesus the Christ was seated “At the right hand of father. (Psalms 110:1)

In this exalted position, Jesus had received all the power in heaven and earth, and all of his glory restored by the father.

And Jesus came and spake unto them saying, “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.” (Matthew 28:18)

And now, o Father, glorify me with thine own self, with the glory which I had with you before the world was created. (John 17:5)

For in the beginning was the word (logos), and the word was with God, and the word was God. (John 1:1)

In the earthly tabernacle as the “Son of Man,” he could not speak of himself, but the father which sent him consecrated within him what to say, and he was totally obedient to his father’s will.

For I have not spoken of myself, but the father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. And I know that his commandment is everlasting life. (John 12:49–50)

Nevertheless, in that state of exaltation, he’s been “given a name which is above every name.” Every knee must one day bow before him, and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:9–11). He and the father are one. What the Father knows, so must the son know. “For every good and perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the father of lights, whom is no variableness, nor shadow of turning” (James 1:17). God as Father veiled his face for three hours as the sins of humanity were placed upon the lamb of God as he hung on a rugged cross at Golgotha. As King of kings and Lord of lords, the father removes the veil (Apo Kalumma) and now finalizes the written word through his divine revelation to his son.

He sends it by an angel, who makes it known to his servant John. “Angels are ministering spirits sent by God to curate for those who shall be heirs of salvation” (Hebrews 1:14).

John had both seen and touched the Word of God made flesh. It was John whose head rested on the chest of Jesus in the upper room, the night before he would be offered as the last Passover lamb of God. None of the apostles but John stood with the women at the foot of the cross who, looking up, beheld his pierced feet and hands. John perhaps recalled Jesus earlier promise: “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth will draw all men unto myself.” It was John the Beloved whom Jesus, looking down from the cross in agonizing pain, would commission to care for his mother. It was John, on the Isle of Patmos, who would now be commissioned by God to “bare record of the word of God and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw” (Revelation 1:2).

The Triune Blessing

Revelation 1:3 states, “Blessed is he that reads and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things that are written therein: For the time is at hand.”

We are blessed whenever we read, hear, and keep the words written by John. Paul writing to Timothy admonishes the saints to “study to show themselves approved unto God, workman who need not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). Faith will come as we hear the words of this prophecy. “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). To read and hear but not keep what is written is likened to one who beholds himself in a mirror and, after beholding the flaws of a Christ-less life, turns away from the mirror, goes his way without attempting to make any change or remorse. (James 1:23–24). Without realizing that the end of all things is near. Daniel’s revelation was “closed up and sealed til the time of the end” (Daniel 12:9), but John is told by the Christ: “Time is at hand” (Revelation 1:3).

Salutation to the Seven Churches

Revelation 1:4–6 states,

John to the seven churches, which are in Asia [minor]: 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. And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten from 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 and has made us kings and priests unto God his father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever.

Amen.

John’s salutation to the seven churches is a salute to the Ecclesia, the universal body of Christ. Jesus revealed to his disciples that he was the rock that the church would be built upon; and the very gates of hell would not prevail against it (Matthew 16:16–19). The Apostle Paul in his first epistle to the Corinthians writes, “No other foundations can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” The number seven is figuratively used here as it is throughout the prophecy, the denomination seven denotes completeness and perfection. “God rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made” (Genesis 2:1–2). Grace and peace are fruits from God and through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lived and died and yet is alive forever more and will come again to establish his kingdom. The seven spirits before his throne represents his presence everywhere at the same time. The psalmist King David asked these questions, “Whither shall I go from thy spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence?” (Psalms 139:7–8).

Jesus Christ is the faithful witness and first begotten of the dead (1 Corinthians 15:20–23). He came in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin condemned sin in the flesh (Romans 8:3). Through the shedding of his blood, we have remission of our sins through faith in him (Hebrews 9:22) and eternal life (Romans 6:23) and have elevated to the positions of kings and priests before God the father. “To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen” (Revelation 1:6).

The Announcement of the Second Advent

Revelation 1:7–8 states,

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

“I am alpha and omega, the beginning and the ending,” saith the Lord, “which is, which was, and which is to come, the almighty.”

The evening before his crucifixion, Jesus assured his disciples he would go and prepare a place for them, that where he is, they would be also, and if he left, he would come again and receive them (John 14:3). The announcement of his coming will be joy unspeakable for the believers, who’ll be caught up to meet him in the air, and ever reign with him (1 Thessalonians 4:16–17) but for the unprepared, it will be a time for weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 8:12; Matthew 25:41; Revelation 20:15).

Jesus is the alpha and omega, the author and finisher of our faith, which is alive yet was dead, and which is to come, the Almighty God (Revelation 1:8).

Pre-vision Setting

Revelation 1:9–11 states,

I 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. I was in the spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as a trumpet, saying, I am alpha and omega, the first and the last. And what you see, write in a book, and send it unto the churches which are in Asia (minor); unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.

Like any warrior of renown who has been humbled by numerous scars, as well as wounds suffered in battle, John realized that we as good soldiers are never alone. He needed not to be reminded that suffering is akin to the cause, and it is that very cause that unites us as brethren—companions in tribulation.

“It is the tribulation that worketh patience, and patience experience, and experience hope; and hope maketh not ashamed” (Romans 5:3–4). John, like Paul, his companion in suffering, was “not ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ.”

It was this boldness, this total commitment to Christ, that would not allow the aged John to bow to the demands of an ungodly roman dictator and a host of cloned puppets. The words that Christ had uttered in response to Pilates play on power now magnified his stand for the gospel he was willing to die for.

Just as Jesus assured Pilate that “He had no power against him, unless it were granted from above” (John 19:11), neither Emperor Domitian nor death itself would separate the man and the mission. His refusal to bow led to his banishment on the Isle of Patmos, a small island located in the Aegean sea, approximately thirty miles off the coast of Asia minor, opposite the first church Ephesus. John was aware that to be in the flesh was to be unfruitful but to be under the control of the Ruach Ha Qodesh, the Holy Spirit, was life. Life is attached to the divine placenta (God), and Jesus Christ, the true vine, is the unbiblical cord that receives the true manna from above reveals it to his servants below. It was the aged John in the spirit in “the day of the Lord” (John 21:22; 2 Peter 3:10; Isaiah 2:12) that heard a great voice, distinct as the utterance of a trumpet.

That same trumpet had thu...

Table of contents

• Prologue
• Chapter 1
• Chapter 2
• Chapter 3
• Chapter 4
• Chapter 5
• Chapter 6
• Chapter 7
• Chapter 8
• Chapter 9
• Chapter 10
• Chapter 11
• Chapter 12
• Chapter 13
• Chapter 14
• Chapter 15
• Chapter 16
• Chapter 17
• Chapter 18
• Chapter 19
• Chapter 20
• Chapter 21
• Chapter 22