Book Of Revelation Essay Research Paper ContentsContents

Book Of Revelation Essay, Research Paper

Contents

Contents…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..1

Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………………………………2

The Risen Christ………………………………………………………………………………………………………..2

Christ Directs the Churches………………………………………………………………………………………….4

Christ the Lamb…………………………………………………………………………………………………………5

The Wrath of Christ……………………………………………………………………………………………………7

The Return and Reign of Christ…………………………………………………………………………………….8

Conclusion……………………………………………………………………………………………………………….9

Bibliography……………………………………………………………………………………………………………10

Introduction

The Book of Revelation is the perennial culmination of the New Testament canon. It is a work of profound theology, but overall, it is the Revelation of Jesus Christ (Revelation 1:1) and any commentary cannot neglect this fact; it fills all understanding of the book. Christ is present in visual representations, in titles used of Him, and functions ascribed to Him (Guthrie, 1987, p. 39).

The risen Christ

The portrayal of Jesus in the Book of Revelation is dramatically different to that of the gospels. No longer is the second person of the Trinity restricted, having surrendered temporarily the voluntary use of His divine attributes (Philippians 2:5-8). Rather than being one who thirsted (John 19:28), hungered (Matthew 4:2) and sweat drops like blood (Luke 22:44), the Christ of Revelation is unparalleled (Guthrie, 1987, p. 41) and stands in the midst of the seven Churches:

“Dressed in a robe reaching down to His feet and with a golden sash around his

chest. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes

were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and His

voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In His right hand He held seven

stars, and out of His mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was

like the sun shining in all its brilliance (Revelation 1:13-16).”

Jesus’ mission on earth has been accomplished. Just before finally dying on the cross He declared, “It is finished” (Revelation 19:30). At this time He cancelled the code that was against us (Colossians 2:14) and disarmed the powers and authorities, making a public spectacle of them (Colossians 2:15). Having done this, in Revelation, He is revealed as having wrested the keys of death and Hades (Revelation 1:18). As Jesus explains to John, He is the First and the Last. He is the Living One. He was dead, but behold, He is alive for ever and ever (Revelation 1:17-18). As Wilson (n.d., p. 74) comments, “Christ’s was not the resuscitation of the body – it was complete victory over death.”

Jesus humbled Himself and took upon Himself the nature of a servant (Philippians 2:7). He clothed Himself in the likeness of sinful flesh (Romans 8:3), being found in appearance as a man (Philippians 2:8). But now, just as Christ prayed that the Father would glorify Him with the glory He had with the Father before the world began (John 17:5), God has exalted Him to the highest place and given Him the name that is above every name (Philippians 2:9).

Not only is Jesus the First and the Last, He is the faithful witness, the first-born from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth (Revelation 1:5). He is the Bright Morning Star (Revelation 22:16). He is the Alpha and the Omega, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty (Revelation 1:8), the Beginning and the End (Revelation 22:13). Since alpha and omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, it is not difficult to imagine that these last titles are equivalent in meaning with “the First and the Last”. What is interesting, is the fact these are also the sole designations of God which appear in Revelation (1:8; 21:6). Christ possesses the fullness of deity (Colossians 2:9), but these designations express more than this mere fact. Bauckham (1993, p. 27) explains:

“In the form, ‘the first and the last’, the designation derives from Isaiah, where it

occurs, as in Revelation, as a divine self-designation: ‘I am the first and the last;

besides me there is no god’ (44:6); ‘I am he; I am the first, and I am the last’

(48:12; cf. also 41:4). . . . the designation encapsulates the understanding of

the God of Israel as the sole Creator of all things and sovereign Lord of history,

which. . . . [Isaiah] so magnificently expounds and asserts polemically against

the idols of Babylon. Unlike human-made gods, this God is the utterly

incomparable One, to whom all nations are subject, whose purpose none can

frustrate (cf. Isa. 40:12-26). It is precisely this exclusive monotheistic faith that

determines the prophetic outlook of Revelation. Hence the unique importance

of the designation: ‘the Alpha and the Omega’. God precedes all things, as their

Creator, and he will bring all things to eschatological fulfilment. He is the origin

and goal of all history.”

This is the risen Christ in the Book of Revelation; this is the risen Christ for the rest of time.

Christ directs the Churches

Jesus directed John to write to the angels of each of seven prominent Churches in the Asia Minor of the time

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