KALEO Notes on Revelation 1:1-8


Here are my teaching notes from KALEO last night as we covered the prologue of the book of Revelation.

  • 1:1:  Revelation is a book to be understood.  The title of the last book of the Bible is taken from the first verse.  The Greek term is apokalypsis, from which we get our English word apocalypse.  But the Greek term doesn’t mean apocalypse; it means unveiling.  The prefix (apo) means from. And the root word means “to hide.” So the term actually means to remove something from hiding, to reveal, to unveil, to disclose a mystery that has been hidden.  So the first phrase of Revelation tells us that God intends for us to understand this book. It is readable, understandable, and enlightening.  We can study it and figure it out.
  • 1:1-2: This is a book to be shared.  Note the channel of transmission: This material was given by God the Father to God the Son, and from God the Son to an angel; and from the angel to John; and from John to the seven congregations in Turkey; and from them to us; (and from us to those with whom we share it). This is a pass-along book, a book to be shared.
  • 1:3:  This is a book that blesses us.  Revelation is the only book in the Bible that contains a specifically-stated blessing for those who read and heed it.  This beatitude is repeated at the end of the book, as well (22:7).
  • 1:4:  This is a book that starts with greetings from the Trinity.
  • 1:5-6: This is a book that begins with a Doxology.
  • 1:7: This is a book that begins with a hymn.
  • 1:8: This is a book that begins with a declaration from Christ.

Notice how many different types of communication John packed into the prologue of this book: A title sentence, an explanation about its transmission, a greeting, and doxology, a hymn, and pronouncement.  The great theme of it all is the unveiling of Christ at the end of the ages.