Revelation1:1

Translation

The revelation of

JESUS CHRIST

which

GOD

gave Him to show His bond-servants

what must soon become reality.

He made this revelation known by sending it through His angel to His servant

JOHN,

Paraphrase

The revelation of THE SPIRIT-ANOINTED SAVIOR which THE CREATOR AND OWNER OF ALL THINGS gave Him to show His bond-servants what must soon become reality. He made this revelation known by sending it through His angel to His servant TO WHOM GOD IS GRACIOUS,

Footnotes

1: Who is this written to?

To Christ’s bond servants. A “bond servant” was a slave who was given the opportunity to go free but had decided to remain a servant or slave. He was marked by poking a hole through the lobe of his ear. In the Old Testament the priests were consecrated by putting blood on their right earlobe, right thumb and right big toe. In this way they were saying to God “My ears are yours to hear and obey only you, my fingers and hands are yours to do only what you want, my feet are yours to go only where you want me to go.” Now think about that common phrase found in all the letters to the churches, “He who has an ear, let him hear.” The written form of this vision is intended for those who are bond slaves, and have dedicated their ears to hear (and obey) only God’s voice. They are the ones who will hear the message given by the Spirit to the churches.

What does “soon” mean?

Not only will Jesus win in the end, Jesus will win in the life of each follower who stays true to Him. The word “soon” refers to the application of this reality to each reader down through history. For the person suffering persecution, all He can see is the difficulty of the situation he is in, his commitment to follow God at all costs, and the reality that God is bigger than any problem. He cannot see the end of the story. Jesus was utilizing this vision to John to communicate to the believers suffering persecution that “You may be suffering persecution at this time, but you will soon see how this will work out. This persecution will not be too much for you to handle; it will be short-lived. So hang in there.”

Here is the purpose for the vision: Jesus is giving John this vision so he and his readers will know “what must soon become reality.” The same concept is expressed in Revelation 1:3, Revelation 1:19, Revelation 4:1, Revelation 22:6, Revelation 22:7, Revelation 22:10, Revelation 22:12, Revelation 22:20 . You will notice that all these verses point to things that will become reality “soon” or that the time is “near.” The idea that the vision we call Revelation is about the “end times,” as experts erroneously call them, is not expressed clearly in Revelation; it has been inserted by modern prophecy experts.

Most of us have been told all our lives that “soon” used in these passage, simply shows that God has a different sense of time than we do. However, that is an overly simplified view, based on the idea that Revelation only pertains to the “end times.” When we apply the words of Revelation to all persecuted believers it all fits together perfectly. The Greek word used here is often translated “about to” or “will soon.” But it has two emphases: immediacy, best expressed by the phrase “at the point of,” and surety, i.e. “it’s a sure thing.” I have tried to convey both these emphases above, since both would be an encouragement to people facing persecution. In the life of each persecuted believer Jesus is sure to act and He will act soon. It may not be to take that person out of pain and suffering, but He will indeed act. So I challenge you to undergo a paradigm shift in your thinking, and strive to see Revelation as a vision of encouragement to believers facing hard times for taking a stand for God and Jesus.