Livingstone - Revelation

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Life Application Bible Commentary: Revelation

Copyright 2000 by The Livingstone Corporation. All rights reserved.

Contributing Editors: James C. Galvin, Ed.D., and Ronald A. Beers

Cover photograph of bridge and path copyright by Alyn Stafford / iStockphoto. All rights reserved.

Cover photographs of woman with a laptop and man holding a pen copyright by Dan Wilton / iStockphoto. All rights reserved.

Cover photo of man reading copyright by Ronnie Comeau / iStockphoto. All rights reserved.

Interior illustration of gemstone copyright 2004 by Tracy Walker. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com.

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. NKJV is a trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Scripture quotations marked NRSV are taken from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

(No citation is given for Scripture text that is exactly the same wording in all three versionsNIV, NKJV, and NRSV.)

Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the Holy Bible, King James Version.

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

TYNDALE, Life Application, New Living Translation, NLT, and Tyndales quill logo are registered trademarks of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data

Revelation / Bruce B. Barton[et al.]; general editor, Grant Osborne.
p.cm.(Life application Bible commentary)
Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-8423-2874-6 (sc : alk. paper)
1.Bible. N.T. RevelationCommentaries. I.Barton, Bruce B. II.Osborne, Grant R.
III.Series

BS2825.3.R45 2000
228'.077dc21 99-048751

Build: 2020-09-11 10:42:42 EPUB 3.0

The Life Application Bible Commentary series provides verse-by-verse explanation, background, and application for every verse in the New Testament. In addition, it gives personal help, teaching notes, and sermon ideas that will address needs, answer questions, and provide insight for applying the Word of God to life today. The content is highlighted so that particular verses and phrases are easy to find.

Each volume contains three sections: introduction, commentary, and reference. The introduction includes an overview of the book, the books historical context, a time line, cultural background information, major themes, an overview map, and an explanation about the author and audience.

The commentary section includes running commentary on the Bible text with reference to several modern versions, especially the New International Version, the New Revised Standard Version, and the New Living Translation, accompanied by life applications interspersed throughout. Additional elements include charts, diagrams, maps, and illustrations. There are also insightful quotes from church leaders and theologians such as John Calvin, Martin Luther, John Wesley, and A. W. Tozer. These features are designed to help you quickly grasp the biblical information and be prepared to communicate it to others. The reference section includes an index and a bibliography.

Hollywood studios produce spectacular displays for movie-theater entertainment. With computer-generated images and other high-tech tricks, movies present special effects that seem almost beyond comprehension. Aliens and dinosaurs come to life; explorers travel faster than light; animals and trees dance, sing, and talk. Viewers marvel at the show, then return to reality as the credits roll.

Thats great entertainment. But we know its not real. Now flip to the back of your Bible, to the last bookRevelation. As you read, you soon will become immersed in a fantastic display of sights, sounds, colors, and images. If you feel overwhelmed and amazed, think of what the original witness to these events, John, must have felt as vision after vision assaulted his senses. No adjectives can adequately describe this multimedia show. Trumpets, thrones, lightning, thunder, lampstands, awful creatures, millions of majestic angels, a mighty chorus, fiery horses, plagues, terrible bowls... one scene follows another, moving steadily and decisively toward the ultimate finale.

This is a story of martyrs and battles, of demons and angels, of things to come. Revelation reveals God and his plan for the future. And its true.

John the apostle, son of Zebedee and Salome and younger brother of James.

In a book filled with obscure images and vague allusions, one thing comes through loud and clear: the name of the author. At the very beginning, Revelation identifies its source: This is a revelation from Jesus Christ... to his servant John (1:1 NLT ). The statement asserts that Jesus Christ himself gave this revelation to a man named John.

The early church fathersincluding Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, and Hippolytusuniformly identified this John as the apostle of the same name, the one who abandoned his fathers fishing nets to follow Jesus (Matthew 4:21-22). It is clear from the Gospels that the apostle John was very close to Jesus. Jesus singled out Peter, James, and John to accompany him to Jairuss home to witness the resurrection of Jairuss daughter (Mark 5:37-43). Then, on two separate occasions, Jesus asked the three men to go away with him to a secluded place to spend time in prayer. At the first of these occasions, John witnessed the dazzling transfiguration of Jesus as he was joined by two heavenly guests, Moses and Elijah (Luke 9:28-31). The second occasion came during that agonizing night Jesus spent in the Garden of Gethsemane before his arrest (Matthew 26:36-38). John also helped make preparations for the Last Supper (Luke 22:8). What a great privilege to have been such a close confidant of the Lord Jesus himself!

Apparently, Johns proximity to the Master made him quite bold. He didnt shrink from asking Jesus if he could sit in a place of honor in the coming kingdom (Mark 10:35-37). John even offered to call down fire from heaven to wipe out a Samaritan village that had rejected Jesus (Luke 9:54-55). In each case, Jesus reined in the misplaced enthusiasm of this Son of Thunder (see Mark 3:17). Yet Johns clear loyalty to his Lord and Savior should be admired. His love for Jesus motivated him to stay close in the darkest hour. On the day of Jesus crucifixion, John stood at the foot of the cross, where Jesus entrusted him with the care of Jesus earthly mother (John 19:26-27). No wonder John humbly described himself as the disciple Jesus loved (John 13:23; 19:26; 20:2; 21:20-24).

It is certainly understandable, therefore, that Jesus would appear to this beloved apostle at a later date, to entrust him with a very special message for the church (Revelation 1:9-19). So, near the end of his life, John received a vision from Christ, which he recorded for the benefit of the seven churches in Asia and for Christians everywhere, throughout history.