‘Apocalypse? How can Good News come out of inescapable consequence,’ you ask?
I’ll answer this mystery as our series progresses, but first please accept my invitation to subscribe to my February 2021 series for Scripture’s answers to some of our most difficult questions.
The END in the beginning
Those enticed by mysteries will sometimes peek at the end of the book for clues of the unraveling of its plot. Rather than beginning this brief series from Chapter 1, Verse 1, or simply summarizing a ‘Sparks Notes’ approach to one of Scripture’s most important books; allow me to quote just part of one verse from an early section to encourage you (perhaps) for now.
Then the kings of the earth and the eminent people.. and the wealthy and the strong.. hid themselves…
Revelation 6:15 excerpt NASB
I did not want to go there — to this Book of Revelation. For after enduring the heated discussion of this month in SHAKEN! and I wanted nothing to do with recent controversary or judgment because I’ve had enough of it already. (How about you?)
The current crises [yes, plural, i.e. COVID, Political unrest, etc.] seem to hold yet more bad news, not good; yet somehow a verse from Revelation comforted me. NO, I claim no special insight into the great mysteries of this Book, but as I read this verse my spirit settled in peace with the promised punishment of the wicked.
The END Revealed + Fear of the Judge!
I’m no king and certainly not eminent in any way — not wealth or strong — hardly fit to judge Kings, Premiers, Presidents, Popes, Prime Ministers, Senators, Representatives, Governors, or any others of the rich and powerful of this land or nations beyond our shores. NO, I do not expect ANY of these to send solutions only the Lord God can accomplish.
Yet I take comfort in Christ Jesus, that HE will return in the end and judge those who have taken what they want for the most part from your life and from mine.
Before we move on though, you’d better read the rest of this verse so that you will know why I was so SHAKEN to reveal it to you.
15 Then the kings of the earth, the nobles, the generals, the rich, the powerful, and every slave and free person hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains.
Note that WE THE PEOPLE, those ruled also will want to hide from the Lord on the Day of Judgment!
And they said to the mountains and to the rocks,
“Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb,
because the great day of their wrath has come! And who is able to stand?”
The Revelation of Jesus Christ to the Apostle John 6:16-17 CSB
And they had as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in Hebrew is Abaddon, but in Greek he has the name Apollyon.
The Revelation of Jesus Christ to John 9:11
Light from Darkness
What do you believe about light and darkness, about good and evil, about God and the opponents of the LORD?
John begins his gospel much like Genesis with contrasts between light and darkness and introduces evidence of the presence of Christ and the Spirit of God.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…
That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it.
John 1:1,5 CSB
John compares Jesus to light, God’s answer to formlessness and darkness. Moses illustrates darkness in the beginning (Genesis) as chaos prior to God’s intervention by creation.
2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness covered the surface of the watery depths, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. 3 Then God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness.
And the Spirit of God moved like the wind over the gathering wave of a deep unending sea.
Light and darkness, good and evil, God’s plan and chaos: always separated. The Apostle John makes this separation very clear to the church as he writes in his third letter:
3 John 1:11 Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God.
Choose Light or descend into darkness?
We like the Apostle John because he points us toward Christ’s love for the world. His gospel emphasizes Jesus’ love with little mention of the devil.
Some christians and others of this twenty-first century doubt the existence of the devil or question the influence, if any, of Satan and demons. We think we know these influencers of evil from other books of the Bible and tend to dismiss demons and devils.
John’s gospel is all about the Light.
John 1:9 The true light that gives light to everyone, was coming into the world.
Yet Jesus cautions us, pointing to contrasts between light and darkness, good and evil, and yes, between following Him or the prince of darkness.
Jesus spoke to them again: “I am the light of the world. Anyone who follows me will never walk in the darkness but will have the light of life.”
“I have come as light into the world, so that everyone who believes in me would not remain in darkness.
John 8:12 & John 12:46
These warnings against darkness from the Son of God ought to be enough, yet the prince of the world would tempt us to worldliness.
These warnings from John’s gospel do not differ from those of the Prophets.
Woe to you who long for the day of the LORD! What will the day of the LORD be for you? It will be darkness and not light.
Amos 5:15 CSB
Revelation – ἀποκάλυψις apokalypsis
When we think of young John, the loving faithful follower of Jesus, we forget that he lived a long life as the only surviving Apostle. Rome finally banished John to Patmos where he received a terrifying apocalypse from the risen Christ.
Orazio Fidani, Saint John the Apostle, c. 1640-56
God judges the world; that is, those of the world who have turned away from the only Savior, our Lord.
Do you fear the uncertainty of darkness?
Consider the uncertainty of death!
Should God punish sin?
Dare you consider the darkness of death, experienced by your soul?
“Go and pour out the seven bowls of God’s wrath on the earth.”
Revelation 16:1
Last Judgement – Michelangelo
10 The fifth [angel] poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness.
People gnawed their tongues because of their pain
11 and blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains and their sores, but they did not repent of their works.
Judgement! And punishment, even after death.
No redemption from sin, no help from the beast or false prophet.
Certainly no post-death incarnation into a new or different body, not even that of a lowly animal. (Such selfish idolatry of those lost souls who strictly adhere to such ancient lies or worship false gods.)
The fifth angel blew his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from heaven to earth. The key for the shaft to the abyss was given to him. 2 He opened the shaft to the abyss, and smoke came up out of the shaft like smoke from a great furnace so that the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke from the shaft.
The Dragon Thrown Out of Heaven
7 Then war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels also fought, 8 but he could not prevail, and there was no place for them in heaven any longer.
You with eyes to see, souls seeking the Light of salvation: observe the terrible intensity of the battle between good and evil – Satan’s opposition to the Lord God and Christ Jesus. It is a battle to the death for our souls!
Yet by the mercy of the LORD’s Sacrifice of love on the Cross for you, Christ Jesus purchased victory eternal over the dragon of darkness.
9 So the great dragon was thrown out—the ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the one who deceives the whole world. He was thrown to earth, and his angels with him.
The many names of the evil one
He hides in the shadows of darkness and speaks lies to false prophets. We know this dark imitator of light by many names, confusing even more our blurred vision of his subtle evil.
The great dragon – δράκων from familiar imagery of Greek mythology to John’s audience. The ancient serpent – ὄφις , a familiar reference to the cunning tempter in Eden , a clear reference to original sinחַטָּאָת.
John clarifies the identity of the enemy with two additional names more familiar to us, first: the devil – διάβολος diabolos in the familiar Greek, which means slanderer or accuser. He is known as the tempterπεῖρα, one who would bring you to a trial or terrible experience. It is a word from a root word πέραν meaning, ‘to pierce,’ which contains significant symbolism in the war between good and evil, between Christ and Satan.
John’s second identification is the most familiar and most feared: Satan. The contemporary name in the Greek, Σατανᾶς Satanas, also known to fellow Jews, believers along with John, as Satanשָׂטָן.
Revelation 16:10 refers to Satan’s princely throne as ‘throne of the beast,’ θηρίον thērion, implying his wild, venomous nature, even brutal, savage and ferocious, sometime illustrated as a bestial man.
Is is any wonder that the evil one wants man, created in the image of God, to dismiss him as myth?
More names of the prince of darkness
While relating the prophesy known as the fifth trumpet, John refers to Satan as: ‘the angel of the abyss; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in Greek he has the name Apollyon.’
Then war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels also fought, but he could not prevail, and there was no place for them in heaven any longer.
Revelation 12:7-8
Though Satan rules the darkness and entices sinners to turn against Christ Jesus and bow down at the throne of darkness, dare you doubt the consequence of the war between good and evil?
Satan and the false prophet are defeated and punished.
The saints then reign with Christ.
The Lord reigns over a new creation and a new Jerusalem.
The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will worship him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 Night will be no more…
Revelation 22:3b-4a
The Apostle John pleas to his beloved churches, to beloved saints who claim Christ. The commandment of God is love, as Christ has loved us.
This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light, and there is absolutely no darkness in him.
NEW: Introduction to September 2018 series on talkofJesus.comChristian Social Witnessby Roger Harned.
God’s Love Through John: Jesus Loves You is one of several series & more than 650 searchable posts published since 2013 . Please add your comments & share via social media. Blessings. Roger
John, Messenger of God’s Love
This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who wrote them down. We know that his testimony is true. – John 21:24
True? You could ask to know about the Lord God or about the Messiah Christ Jesus, but some will always ask of the Gospel, “Who says?”
It’s a fair question, since many deceivers have gone out into the world making false claims about God.
For our best answer we need to think of John in two entirely different contexts. First as the youngest Apostle of Jesus Christ and lastly, much later as an Elder. The one testifying to the Truth is the last surviving Disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Who is John and why does he give us Good News about Christ Jesus?
Our visualization of Jesus and John shows an unparalleled love of a father or teacher for His nearest follower. Therefore, we cannot think of John without thinking of love in the Person of Christ Jesus.
John, son of Zebedee and his older brother James, son of Zebedee, both follow Jesus, as do Simon Peter and others.
‘Zebedee and Sons’ could have been the sign for their family fishing business. Simon also made his living as fishermen, perhaps even as a foreman for Zebedee and sons.
And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men. Mark 1:17
His Closest Friends
Who knows Jesus best among the Disciples? And which Disciple remains nearest to the rabbi who claims to be the Truth?
His inner circle, comprised of Peter, James and John.
True to the nature of the Lord, Jesus chooses humble followers. This Disciple is humble like Moses and a young man like the anointed David. This younger son of Zebedee the fisherman fits the role of an eager servant who loves his Lord and Master.
Young John learns the heart of Jesus and shares his love with us.
So the Lord calls these managers of a Galilean fishing cooperative to become ‘fishers of men.’ He includes Peter, James and John the younger brother in His inner circle of the Twelve.
The gospels also reveal that Salome, mother of John and James, followed Jesus. They all love Christ Jesus with an interpersonal familial love.
The Great Commission of Love
One of his disciples, the one Jesus loved, was reclining close beside Jesus. – John 13:23
Jesus then asks of His friends:
“As the Father has loved me, I have also loved you. Remain in my love. – John 15:9
After Jesus’ crucifixion and death all of them return home to their fishing business.
The disciple, the one Jesus loved, said to Peter, “It is the Lord! ”
John 21:7
When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he tied his outer clothing around him (for he had taken it off) and plunged into the sea. – John 21:7
John would have still been a young man and Simon Peter alive, of course, before the days of his own martyrdom.
Evidence of Truth
The truth and testimony of John’s Good News would have been recorded over several years during his own ministry well into old age.
Most scholars say it was written in the early 90’s. This means that the time span between the original writing of John and its earliest copy (fragment) is approximately 35-45 years.
Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry
The writer of the gospel of John was obviously an eyewitness of the events of Christ’s life since he speaks from a perspective of having been there during many of the events of Jesus’ ministry and displays a good knowledge of Israeli geography and customs.
The John Rylands papyrus fragment 52 of John’s gospel dated in the year 125-135 contains portions of John 18, verses 31-33,37-38. This fragment was found in Egypt. It is the last of the gospels and appears to have been written in the 80’s to 90’s.
John, Letters from the Elder
XVI. John
The “beloved disciple,” was brother to James the Great. The churches of Smyrna, Pergamos, Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicea, and Thyatira, were founded by him. From Ephesus he was ordered to be sent to Rome, where it is affirmed he was cast into a cauldron of boiling oil. He escaped by miracle, without injury. Domitian afterwards banished him to the Isle of Patmos, where he wrote the Book of Revelation. Nerva, the successor of Domitian, recalled him. He was the only apostle who escaped a violent death.
Fox’s Book of Martyrs
John’s three letters to the churches he fathers [mentioned above] are thought to have been written around in about AD 65, some than thirty years after Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection.
Research [cited above] indicates that John’s Gospel, recorded on scrolls over a period of years, was likely completed later than John’s letters. Prior to completion of his Gospel, letters would have been delivered to each church (in modern day Turkey). They in turn would be read to the congregation then delivered to the next church on the evangelical circuit.
When you want a brief, partial explanation of the Gospel the Disciple John, look to any of his letters. His letters convey the same great hope through the love of Christ Jesus, sometimes in the very words John later with record in his Gospel.
Christ will have the last Word
Île de Patmos, 1854 de Ivan Aivazovsky
The Revelation of Jesus Christ to John may have been written as late as the year 100, when John may have been 70-80 years old.
Jan Massijs – The Apocalypse of Saint John the Evangelist (1563)
I ask you, what demonstration of God’s love could be more encouraging to those who suffer for our faith than witnessing His judgment of evil?
John encourages believers in the churches, the same believers he had encouraged by letter. Yet he also warns against many sins. Consequently those who suffer read of a terrible apocalypse to come! For they will be saved by the Lamb of God.
4:4 After this I looked, and there in heaven was an open door. The first voice that I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.”
An Elder in heaven converses with John, encouraging believers who have been wronged.
Revelation 7:14 Then he told me:
These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation.
They washed their robes and made them white
in the blood of the Lamb.
He will guide them to springs of living waters,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
The Revelation of Jesus Christ to John 7:17b HCSV
God IS love. Jesus loves. John is the Disciple of love who best conveys God’s own love for you, for me and for those yet to be born again in spirit.
God’s Love Through John: Jesus Loves You
To be continued…
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