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Revelation
Craig S. Keener
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Revelation
Craig S. Keener
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About This Book
The NIV Application Commentary helps you communicate and apply biblical text effectively in today's context.
What can we know about the book of Revelation? What should we make of its visions of apocalyptic horsemen, horns with faces, flying angels, and fantastic beasts? Most important, what meaning does it hold for us here and now, and how can we apply it to our lives? Craig S. Keener shares perspectives on Revelation and helps us strengthen our hope in the future while living out our faith wisely in the present.
To bring the ancient messages of the Bible into today's context, each passage is treated in three sections:
- Original Meaning. Concise exegesis to help readers understand the original meaning of the biblical text in its historical, literary, and cultural context.
- Bridging Contexts. A bridge between the world of the Bible and the world of today, built by discerning what is timeless in the timely pages of the Bible.
- Contemporary Significance. This section identifies comparable situations to those faced in the Bible and explores relevant application of the biblical messages. The author alerts the readers of problems they may encounter when seeking to apply the passage and helps them think through the issues involved.
This unique, award-winning commentary is the ideal resource for today's preachers, teachers, and serious students of the Bible, giving them the tools, ideas, and insights they need to communicate God's Word with the same powerful impact it had when it was first written.
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Theology & ReligionSubtopic
Christian MinistryText and Commentary on Revelation
Revelation 1:1–3
THE REVELATION OF Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. 3Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.
Original Meaning
THESE OPENING VERSES declare the ultimate authors of the revelation (God the Father and Jesus), its subject matter (“what must soon take place”), its intended audience (“his servant[s]”) and its messengers (the angel of Christ and John). Because the introduction sets the stage for the rest of the book, we, like many other commentators, treat Revelation 1 (and to some extent the letters to the seven churches) in greater detail than much of the rest of the book.
The Revelation of Jesus Christ (1:1a)
THE TITLE AND subject of this book is “the revelation of Jesus Christ.” Ancient writers often included titles on the outside of their scrolls, but by the middle of the second century some scribes began transcribing earlier writings into codexes, which are essentially the kind of books we use today.1 Consequently, titles that often originally appeared on the outside of documents now appear in our works as the opening line of the document;2 this is presumably the case with the Revelation.
A more difficult question, however, is how the word “revelation” relates to the name “Jesus Christ”: Does the entire phrase mean “the revelation about Jesus Christ” (a Greek construction called an “objective genitive”) or “the revelation from Jesus Christ” (a “subjective genitive”), or both?3 If it means the former, Jesus will be the subject of the book of Revelation from start to finish; if the latter, then other issues may be central in the book. On the one hand, the former position is accurate theologically—Jesus is certainly the central figure in the book. The book’s judgments reflect his Lordship (e.g., 6:1, 16; 8:4–6); resemblances to the plagues in Egypt remind us that Jesus is greater than Moses and greater than the original Passover lamb. The book opens with a direct revelation of Jesus to John (1:13–20) and from the start promises that its climax will be the revelation of Jesus from heaven (1:7; 19:11–16).
On the other hand, the context and the structure of the book, as well as the customary function of both apocalypses and titles, appear to offer stronger support to the latter proposal. The revelation addresses “what must soon take place” (1:1) and is conveyed from the Father to Jesus to an angel to John to the churches; hence, it comes from Jesus. Likewise, the seals, trumpets, and bowls, which fill much of the book, detail impending judgments on the world. This is typical subject matter for apocalyptic writings, although John clearly emphasizes Jesus much more than other apocalypses emphasized any character who might be vaguely compared with him. A “revelation” could focus on the Lord himself (2 Cor. 12:1) or, as we think here, on his message (Rom. 16:25). Finally, book titles often listed the purported author, as in “the book of the words of Tobit” (lit. trans. of Tobit 1:1); or “the word of the LORD that came to Hosea” (Hos. 1:1). Jesus Christ is the author, not merely the subject; he revealed his message through his angel to John.
In the final analysis, however, the original, Greek-speaking audience of the book may not have worked as hard as we do to differentiate the two concepts (the grammar itself does not clarify any difference). The message is from Jesus Christ, but ultimately Jesus is the focus of everything in the New Testament, whether directly or indirectly. His purposes in history also reveal his character and invite us to worship him.
The Agents of Revelation (1:1b–2)
JOHN AND THE angel. Authors of most traditional Jewish apocalypses used pseudonyms borrowed from famous ancient servants of God, perhaps because many of their contemporaries believed that prophecy was no longer as active in their own day. By contrast, John seeks no famous name from earlier centuries, instead openly stating his identity.4 That he does not need to qualify which John he is may suggest that he is the most obvious John among the early Christians, namely, John the apostle, son of Zebedee, who had personally known Jesus in the flesh (cf. John 21:22).5 Until the mid-third-century writer Dionysius, the external evidence for Revelation among orthodox Christians is unanimous, and even detractors admit that this evidence is some of the best available for any New Testament work.6
Though he is an apostle, however, he does not identify himself in terms of his authority over the churches; rather he identifies himself as a “servant of God,” a title often applied to the Old Testament prophets (cf. Jer. 29:19; 35:15). This title can reflect honor as well as submission: In the ancient world the servant of a powerful master like Caesar might hold more prestige than even a Roman aristocrat.7 But John does not exalt himself; as a servant of the Lord Christ, he writes to his fellow servants (1:1), his companions in suffering for Jesus (1:9). Likewise, in contrast to a few apocalyptic seers like one who identifies himself as “Ezra” (4 Ezra 10:38–39; 13:53–56), John does not attribute his revelation to any special merit of his own.
As in 1:1 and elsewhere (10:9; 17:1, 7; 21:9; 22:6, 8, 16), apocalyptic literature often reports God’s sending revelations through angels;8 this is not surprising, since God had sent some revelations this way in the Bible (Dan. 9:21–22; Zech. 1:9, 14, 19; 2:3; 4:1, 4–5; 5:5, 10; 6:4–5). In ancient Jewish apocalypses, angels sometimes accompanied the person receiving the visions, providing oral explanations of the strange sights the person would receive in heaven.9
John’s testimony. John testifies “to everything he saw,” which was “the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ” (1:2). These titles are not surprising; the Old Testament employed the phrase “God’s word” not only for the written law but also for God’s revelation through his prophets (1 Sam. 3:1, 7). That the message is also called Jesus’ “testimony” means either John’s testimony about Jesus (19:10) or that Jesus himself (1:5; 22:20) testified of his message through his angel to John, who in turn testifies to others. “Testify” is often courtroom language—appropriate for John and other early Christians, who would face law courts (cf. 1:9; John 16:2); Roman law always permitted the accused to speak in his defense, and Christians could use their hearings as an opportunity to proclaim Christ regardless of the consequences (Mark 13:9). The language could, however, refer more broadly to any kind of public attestation. In time the term for “testify” (martyreo) even began to take on the meaning “martyr”; but while witness often invited martyrdom, it is unlikely that the term itself implied this as early as the book of Revelation.10
Those Who Read and Hear (1:3)
BEFORE PRINTING PRESSES were available, well-to-do people often “published” works especially in public readings, perhaps most often at banquets.11 But that the book of Revelation was read in churches alongside Old Testament Scripture suggests that the early Christians began treating it as Scripture then or soon afterward (cf. also 22:18–19).12 That one person would read the work (“blessed is the one who reads”) and the whole congregation would hear it (“blessed are those who hear it”) fits what we know of the time; even in urban areas, many people could not read much.
“Blessed are” is the familiar ancient literary form “beatitude,” which is especially prominent in the Hebrew Bible and Jewish texts (e.g., Ps. 1:1; Prov. 8:34).13 The “blessing” form itself is general, but the context specifies the blessings of the end (Rev. 21–22) for which only the listener will be prepared (“the time is near,” 1:3). In biblical idiom, “hearing” also often meant “heeding,” i.e., obedience (e.g., the Hebrew of Gen. 26:5; 27:8), but John allows no ambiguity, adding “take to heart” (lit., “keep”); one used this language for observing commandments. Though Revelation is not a collection of laws, its message provides us demands no less serious (Rev. 12:17; 14:12; 22:7).
Bridging Contexts
HOW DOES ONE apply a statement of authorship like “his servant John, who testifies to everything he saw” (1:1–2)? Two ways are possible, though the second may yield more profit than the first.
Identification. One way some readers approach texts like 1:1 is to identify personally with John’s calling and to contemplate what God has called them to do. Other readers object to this approach. After all, they respond, God does not reveal himself today the way he revealed himself to John. This objection relies on a disputed premise; most Christians today believe that God continues to speak and guide his church by the Spirit, and many believe in dramatic, supernatural revelations.14 Nevertheless, the objection does have some force in a more general sense: The vast majority of Christians agree that the “canon” of Scripture—the measure by which we evaluate all other revelation—is closed. Most of us believe that God still speaks, but most doubt that this requires an additional revelation so forceful as the book of Revelation today!
There is a difference, however, between claiming that our situation is the same as John’s and drawing an analogy between his situation and our own. (If we could not apply biblical principles by drawing analogies, much of the Bible could no longer speak to our contemporary situation.) Identifying with John’s calling does not violate the spirit of the text; John receives exactly the same title as other believers—a “servant” of Jesus Christ, which is precisely what this passage calls all other Christians (1:1). John himself recognizes that he is a sharer in the experiences of the rest of Jesus’ followers (1:9), and that all believers must share the same prophetic Spirit in proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ (19:10). In other words, John’s receptivity to the Spirit, humility as God’s servant, and obedience in speaking a less-than-popular message do provide a model for us.
Grasping the whole. But while it is valid for us as Christ’s servants to identify with John, another approach to the text also provides some necessary insight and balance. The first audience of Revelation, the seven churches of Asia Minor (1:4), would identify with the servants to whom God was sending his revelation of Jesus Christ more than they would identify with John himself. They would receive the mention of John first of all as a certification of the book’s authority, hence an invitation to pay careful attention to the rest of the book that would follow.
This means that in order to hear these opening verses the way the seven churches would have heard them, we mu...