SYNOPSIS - Jesus is the key that unlocks the book of Revelation and all other prophetic texts - John 1:14-18.
The prologue to the gospel of John presents Jesus as the logos, the great and final revelation of God. It sets him in contrast to the earlier revelation given by Moses. The word that “became flesh” in him now “tabernacles among us” - He is the true “tabernacle” in whom the presence and glory of Yahweh dwell, not in any manmade structure, whether a stone building in Jerusalem or a tent carried by priests in the Wilderness.
- (John 1:14-18) – “And the Word became flesh and pitched his tent among us, and we gazed upon his glory — a glory as an Only-begotten from his Father. Full of favour and truth…Because out of his fulness we all received, even favour over against favour. Because the law through Moses was given, favour and truth through Jesus Christ came into existence. No one hath seen God at any time: An Only Begotten God, The One existing within the bosom of the Father, He hath interpreted him.” – (The Emphasized Bible).
The fullness, grace, and the truth of God are all found exclusively in His Son. Moses “gave the law,” however, “Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” It is Jesus alone who has seen God and is, therefore, fully qualified to “interpret.” In the Greek clause, the verb rendered “interpet” has no object - The statement is open-ended; quite simply, “Jesus interprets.” Yahweh has declared His full and final “word” in him, not on Mount Sinai.
Likewise, in the book of Hebrews, the “word” spoken by God in the Son is His finished word. In contrast, the “word” spoken previously “in the prophets” was partial and incomplete. Unlike all the prophets before him, the Son “achieved the purification of sins” and sat down at God’s right hand to inherit a “name” vastly superior to that of angels, Moses, Aaron, and all of his other predecessors:
- (Hebrews 1:1-4) – “Whereas, in many parts and in many ways of old, God spake unto the fathers in the prophets, At the end of these days, He hath spoken unto us in his Son — whom he hath appointed heir of all things, through whom also he hath made the ages; Who being an eradiated brightness of his glory, and an exact representation of his very being, also bearing up all things by the utterance of his power, purification of sins having achieved, sat down on the right hand of the majesty in high places: By so much becoming superior to the messengers, by as much as, going beyond them, he hath inherited a more distinguished name.” – (The Emphasized Bible).
In the book of Revelation, Jesus is the sacrificial Lamb who alone is “worthy” to take the Sealed Scroll and to open its seals. In doing so, he commenced unveiling and executing the contents of the Scroll, a process that will end in nothing less than the New Creation. Therefore, in Revelation, all creation declared him “worthy” to receive all power, glory, and authority, for “by his death he redeemed men and women from every nation to become a kingdom of priests for God” - (Revelation 5:6-12).
The vision received by John on Patmos is a “revelation of Jesus Christ.” He is the one to whom it belongs, and he gives it to his servants and provides them with the interpretations of its contents. The “slain Lamb” is the one who possesses all authority, including the “keys to Death and Hades,” and all this based on his Death and Resurrection. The glorious “son of man,” is the one who “opens and no man shuts” - (Revelation 1:1, 1:17-20).
Jesus Christ, the “faithful witness and the firstborn of the dead,” is the key that unlocks the book of Revelation and all other prophetic texts. He possesses the “Sealed Scroll” and unseals it for his servants. Thus, unlike the book of Daniel, Revelation is an unsealed book - (Daniel 12:1, Revelation 22:10).
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