THE MEANS OF GOD’S REVELATION

Revelation 1:1—3 (contd)

THIS short section gives us a concise account of how revelation comes to us.
(1) Revelation begins with God, the fountain of all truth. Every truth which we discover is two things–a discovery of the human mind and a gift of God. But it must always be remembered that we never create the truth; we receive it from God. We must also remember that we can receive it in two ways. It comes from earnest seeking. God gave us minds, and it is often through our minds that he speaks to us. Certainly, he does not grant his truth to those who are too lazy to think. It comes from reverent waiting. God sends his truth to those who not only think strenuously but also wait quietly in prayer and in devotion. But it must be remembered that prayer and devotion are not simply passive things. They are the dedicated listening for the voice of God.
(2) God gives this revelation to Jesus Christ. The Bible never, as it were, makes a second God of Jesus; rather, it stresses his utter dependence on God. ‘My teaching’, said Jesus, ‘is not mine but his who sent me’ (John 7:16). ‘I do nothing on my own, but I speak these things as the Father instructed me’ (John 8:28). ‘I have not spoken on my own, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment about what to say and what to speak’ (John 12:49). It is God’s truth that Jesus brings; and that is precisely why his teaching is unique and final.
(3) Jesus sends that truth to John through his angel (Revelation 1:1). Here, the writer of Revelation was a child of his time. At this point in history, people were particularly conscious of the transcendence of God. That is to say, they were impressed above all with the difference between God and the world–so much so that they felt that direct communication between God and human beings was impossible and that there must always be some intermediary. In the Old Testament story, Moses received the law directly from the hands of God (Exodus 19—20); but twice in the New Testament it is said that the law was given by angels (Acts 7:53; Galatians 3:19).
(4) Finally, the revelation is given to John. It is most uplifting to remember the part that individuals play in the coming of God’s revelation. God must find someone to whom he can entrust his truth and whom he can use as his mouthpiece.
(5) Let us note the content of the revelation which comes to John. It is the revelation of ‘the things which must soon take place’ (1:1). There are two important words here. There is must. History is not haphazard; it has purpose. There is soon. Here is the proof that it is quite wrong to use Revelation as a kind of mysterious timetable of what is going to happen thousands of years from now. As John sees it, the things that it deals with are working themselves out immediately. Revelation must be interpreted against the background of its own time.

Barclay, W. (2004). The Revelation of John (3rd ed. fully rev. and updated., Vol. 1, pp. 27—29). Louisville, KY; London: Westminster John Knox Press.

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