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| − | [[The New Testament]] > [[Revelation]] > [[Revelation 1|Chapter 1]]
| + | #REDIRECT [[Rev 1:1-3:22]] |
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| − | | [[Jude 1:21-25|Previous (Jude 1:21-25)]] || || [[Rev 1:6-10|Next (Rev 1:6-10)]]
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| − | == Questions ==
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| − | ===Verse 1===
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| − | * What does it mean that this is a revelation "of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him"? Does this mean that this vision was first given to Christ?
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| − | * Why is Revelation capitalized in this verse?
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| − | * Who are the servants mentioned here?
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| − | * Who is the angel sent here, and who is the "he" that sent him?
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| − | * What is "signified" by the angel here? The vision? What does it mean to be signified?
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| − | * Which John is the servant here? John the Baptist? John the Beloved? Some other John? How can we figure out the answer to this?
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| − | ===Verse 2===
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| − | * How did this John "bare record of the word of God"? Is this the same record of the word reported in the opening of the Gospel of John?
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| − | * What is the testimony of Jesus Christ? Later in [[Rev 19:10]] we read that the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of revelation; does that change how we see this here? What is the connection between testimony and revelation, or between testimony and the Book of Revelation?
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| − | * Who is the "he" that saw at the end of this verse?
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| − | == Lexical notes ==
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| − | * ''Click the edit link above and to the right to add lexical notes''
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| − | == Exegesis ==
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| − | ===Verse 1===
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| − | The ambiguity of the first part of this verse suggests two totally different but equally valid interpretations: the "of" might mean on the one hand that what follows is a revelation in which the Christ Himself is unveiled, or it might on the other hand mean that what follows is a revelation that Christ Himself had (while in the flesh, apparently). While Latter-day Saints are most likely inclined to assume the former, the remainder of the verse suggests the latter: "which God gave unto ''him''," to--it seems it must mean--Jesus Christ. Since John is not mentioned until the end of the verse, it seems rather clear that John only saw what Jesus had Himself seen. The best reading of this first verse suggests that this book is so difficult and yet so absolutely vital because it embodies (or at least includes) a revelation given to Jesus Christ.
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| − | If the Revelation is indeed a revelation had by Christ while in the flesh, one might justifiably ask if any other reference (somewhere other than in the Book of Revelation) exists in scripture. There may be, in fact, a hint. Looking carefully at the stories of Jesus' baptism, there may be a suggestion that this book records a revelation Jesus had in connection with that event. According to Matthew's account: "Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him" ([[Matt 3:16]]). Immediately upon rising up out of the water, the heavens were opened to him and he was given to see a vision. Matthew mentions next, and in the same verse, that "he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him." If this experience is to be understood as connected to the event represented in Abraham's facsimile no. 2, fig. 7, then it appears that the reception of the Holy Ghost in the form of a dove is something like an endowment experience, for there Abraham receives from God "the grand Key-words of the Priesthood." After the voice of God Himself pronounces Jesus His Son (the temple/revelation overtones of which are plentiful--the Lord even quotes there a temple psalm, [[Ps 2:7]]), Matthew says: "Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit" ([[Matt 4:1]]). The phrase sounds, if extracted from the context somewhat, as if Jesus was taken up into heaven for a time. The remainder of that verse makes it clear that the Spirit sent Him into the wilderness (the desert) to be tempted, but Mark's telling of the same experience suggests that more still is at play. As he writes: Jesus "was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered unto him" ([[Mark 1:13]]). No clearer summary of (at least the first half of) Revelation could be written. There may be some reason to believe that the revelation called The Revelation was the experience of Jesus Christ Himself at His baptism. All of the above might well be confirmed on totally other grounds. J. Massyngberde Ford, in the current Revelation volume of the Anchor Bible Commentary, argues that the Book of Revelation has peculiar connections to John the Baptist, though it was written/compiled by John the Revelator (the interesting hints of some connections between John the Baptist and John the Revelator are confirmed in LDS scripture in D&C 93, where the record of John the Baptist is quoted at some length, though its connections to John 1 are abundantly evident).
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| − | The above comments must not be understood, however, to suggest that the present revelation was not given to John. As this first verse goes on to make clear, the revelation was also "sent and signified," specifically "by his angel," to "his servant John." In other words, if the revelation was indeed had in the first place by Jesus Christ, then what this verse amounts to saying is that Christ then gave it to others, initiated them into His own mysteries and visions, and that by the ministering of angels. The context in which John was given to see the vision becomes vital: in prison, suffering for the testimony of Jesus, he is given the same thing Christ had had. The meaning of the revelation on the whole is thereby enriched.
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| − | ===Verse 3===
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| − | It is often pointed out that the pairing of "readeth" and "hear" in this verse suggests the revelation was originally intended to be read in a liturgical setting. In other words, not unlike other epistles in the New Testament, this one was written to be read in the churches as part of the ritual of the Eucharist. Other details in the Revelation confirm that (see verse 4, but also [[Rev 22:20]]).
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| − | ===Verse 4===
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| − | ''A letter.'' As this verse makes absolutely clear, the book of Revelation is a letter, an epistle, with a very specific audience. Chapters [[Rev 2:1|2]] and [[Rev 3:1|3]] make explicit that very particular historical peoples are in question, with very real situations being faced. And this epistolary character of the book of Revelation does not end with chapter 3; rather, it extends to the last chapter of the book. In other words, Revelation is an epistle, and it apparently ought to be read alongside, say, the epistles of Paul, rather than as a book of explicit predictions concerning last-days events. The book is undeniably a book of prophecy, but apparently a prophecy in the sense Paul understood (see [[1 Cor 13:8]]). The prophecy itself is undercut by its charitable character, by the situation in which it was written (details suggest that the epistle entire serves the purpose of uniting John and the saints in the seven churches in a single liturgical celebration of the Lord's supper: see [[Rev 1:10|verse 10]], [[Rev 1:12|verse 12]], and especially [[Rev 22:20]]). While this does not absolutely undo the predictive nature of the book of Revelation (see [[Ether 4:16]]), it certainly suggests that it not be read as in absolute terms. The book of Revelation apparently must be read historically, contextually.
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| − | == Related links ==
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| − | * [http://thinlyveiled.com/barker/revelation.htm Preface] to Margaret Barker's book ''The Revelation of Jesus Christ: Which God Gave to Him to Show to His Servants What Must Soon Take Place.''
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| − | ----
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| − | {|
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| − | | [[Jude 1:21-25|Previous (Jude 1:21-25)]] || || [[Rev 1:6-10|Next (Rev 1:6-10)]]
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| − | |}
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