Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to him, to shew to his bondmen what must shortly take place; and he signified [it], sending by his angel, to his bondman John,
The book's opening line names its author, its subject, its channel, and its audience in one breath. Each link shapes how we read the rest: why God gives it to Christ, why an angel brings it in signs, why it goes to servants and not to the world.
The Word "Revelation"
The title itself sets the tone. The word means an uncovering of what would otherwise stay hidden:
It is "the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to Him." That is, the unveiling of things to come. The plain meaning of the word revelation, or apocalypse, is unveiling. Of course the unveiling of these future things all hangs on the unveiling of Jesus Christ in His glory. But the main meaning is simpler. God gave Jesus this revelation of things to come so that He might show it to His servants.
Not everything Christ makes known here was already covered elsewhere in Scripture. One writer notes what this book adds:
The revelation of Jesus Christ in this book is of a different character to that which we get in the epistles. This goes beyond the scope of what is unfolded there.
Given by God to Christ
That God "gave" a revelation to Christ has troubled readers. Commentators point to the place Christ took as Man:
It is evident that the Lord Jesus is viewed here, not in His place of closeness as the only Son at the Father's side, but in a place of some distance... Something similar appears in the Gospel of Mark. One striking line there has puzzled many (Mark 13:32): "But concerning that day or hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father." He is the servant Son of God all through that Gospel. A perfect servant does not know what his master does. He knows only what he is told.
What He receives is tied to what He has been through and what He is to inherit:
As the Only-Begotten He had no need of a revelation; in His deity He knows all the eternal purposes... But He, who is truly God, became man and took the form of a servant... He is the Man who passed through death. God raised Him from the dead and set Him at His own right hand. To Him God gave this revelation about the judgment of the earth and His own glory... And He makes this revelation known to His servants, because His own share with Him in all He received from God.
Shown to Servants
Kelly compares this word with a line in John's Gospel:
How very different is the tone of John 15:15 "No longer do I call you servants"... Of course they were servants also, and there is not a shade of incongruity. Still the difference between the two relationships is huge, and Revelation speaks to the lower one. I suppose the reason is partly this: in this book God is making known a course of events on earth, and the lower place fits that best.
The label also carries a practical test:
All believers are servants of Jesus Christ. But we must be servants in practice if we are to understand Revelation. A servant above all is obedient. So the measure of our obedience will be the measure of our understanding.
Sent and Signified by an Angel
The route the message travels is itself part of the message:
Another remarkable feature is the indirectness of the revelation. God gave it to Jesus, and Jesus signified it to John, not directly but through His angel. He did not simply state it: He "signified" it... He gave it to John in signs, and that sets the character of the book. This prophecy does not come in plain speech, as elsewhere. It comes in symbols or signs. All this is meant to make us feel that there is reserve and distance in the way this revelation comes. It suits the sad falling away that had already begun in the church.
Signs invite guesswork, so one writer sets a guardrail:
Revelation is largely a book of signs (illustrative picture language). This does not mean we can interpret them as we please. A sign means what God intends by it. Scripture almost always explains the meaning of a sign somewhere, though not every time the sign appears.
Things That Must Soon Take Place
"Soon" is not a decoration on the sentence. It resists a favourite escape:
This word also warns the reader not to take the attitude the Jews took when Ezekiel prophesied to them. Then they said, "The vision that he sees is for many days from now, and he prophesies of times far off" (Ezek. 12:27). Our hearts have a deep habit of dodging the force of the Word of God. We do not deny it. We push it so far into the future that we can safely ignore it.
One writer sets this book against the sealed prophecy of Daniel:
This book is not a sealed one in the sense in which Daniel was told to seal his prophecy. Then the time was distant; now it is at hand.
Summary
- God — the source. Every communication in the book starts with Him, not with John's imagination.
- Christ — the receiver. He receives it as the Man whom God raised and exalted, in the servant place He took in grace. What He receives, His own share with Him.
- Angel — the channel. God sent it in signs, not in plain face-to-face speech. That method keeps reserve and distance.
- Servants — the audience. Not the world, and not the curious: obedience is the measure of understanding.
- Soon — the timing. Daniel's prophecy was sealed; this one is open, because the time is near. So do not push it into a future far enough away to ignore.