Rev 01

Your Story

What kind of a communicator are you? Do you usually ask for things directly or do you use other methods? Has your style changed throughout time? 

What kind of a communicator do you think God is? How has He spoken to you in your experience? Do you believe organized religions always speak for God? Why not?

Listen

Revelation 1:1-20 read silently, by one person or multiple people – as preferred by your group.

Understand

How does John identify Revelation chapter 1, verse 1? What can we expect to learn from this book, as stated in this introduction?

• The word signified, in the Greek, means “to show by signs or symbols.”  Real events are spoken of through symbols.  Unless clearly spoken otherwise, most things in the Bible are understood literally.  In contrast, the book of Revelation is usually best understood symbolically.

Context is huge when trying to understand the Bible. Written in the first century AD, John addressed church members who would have been aware of the Hebrew scriptures.  Three quarters of the book have direct or indirect allusions to the Old Testament.  Throughout this study we will refer to other parts of the Bible for greater understanding of Revelation. 

• What can we learn about Jesus from verses five and six?  What are we to Jesus and what would He like us to become, according to these verses? 

Verse seven contains an underlying theme of the book. What do you think that is? Jesus’ return.  In verse seven, notice the verb tense – is/am coming versus will come.  What can you draw from that distinction? 

• Revelation 1:9,10 introduces us to the human author, John. What do you know about John’s background?  Where was he when he wrote this message?  How do you think he felt to receive a message from God now? John was a disciple of Jesus who was now imprisoned on the island of Patmos, a prison on an island. John was one of the disciples who had followed Jesus on earth. Many years had passed since that time. Historians place the book of Revelation around the year of 95 A.D., so that means John was an old man.  John had probably been a pastor figure for the churches discussed in the first section of Revelation.  

• In verses eleven through seventeen, John first hears and then sees something (a pattern that will repeat in Revelation). What does he hear? Then what does he see? How clear is this style of communication?

Let’s talk about the description of Jesus for a moment. Some parts of these verses echo other descriptions of God (Dan. 7:9 and Eze. 43:2). In contrast to the view of Jesus portrayed in the Gospels, how does He present Himself now?

• Now Jesus speaks to John in verses 17 through 20. Jesus mentions having the keys of Hades and Death. At that time, Hades was a term that described the unseen realm. What does it mean to you personally that Jesus has this power?

•  In verse nineteen, what time period does Jesus tell John he will be writing about? So, we can take this as a key to understand that the prophecies of Revelation will cover past, present and future as well.

Symbol Alert – Revelation 1:20 contains the meaning for two symbols, stars and lampstands. The stars are angels, and the lampstands are churches.

Look Back

Exodus 28:2-4 briefly describes the outfit of a high priest in the Jewish temple of the Old Testament. In Revelation 1, Jesus is dressed similarly.  Exodus 27:21 tells us that it was the job of the priest to care for the lampstand every day, to trim its wicks and fill it with oil so that it could give light.  

In Revelation 1, Jesus is helping the churches to give light more effectively. How is a church like a lampstand? How could my life give light to others?  What would that look like for me?  Most importantly, who is responsible for my ability to give light? 

His Story in my life

Luke 1:26-38 tells the story of another person who received a message from Jesus about things that would soon take place. What was this person’s attitude? How was she able to have that response?

In Revelation 1, John directly encounters Jesus. What was John’s response when he saw Jesus? And what was Jesus’ response to John? What does Jesus’ description of Himself mean to you? What can you take for this week and maybe share with someone else?

Connection Activity (Optional)

Imaginary Ball Pass – Everyone can divide into circles of no more than ten. One person in each circle begins to pass an imaginary ball to the person next to them, who will continue the ball around the circle. The first time the ball goes around, it should be very light. The second time, very heavy. Talk about what must happen for this exercise to work