READING SOMEONE ELSES MAIL.......................
1 The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2 who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. 3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.
Greetings and Doxology
4 John,To the seven churches in the province of Asia
Before John got into the figurative language , metaphors, imagery , visions, dragons, Scorpions, world burning, Moon becoming blood red and the Sun being darkend ect....... We find the Prologue and Salutation of Johns letter. In other words, there is nothing "spiritual" or difficult to define in a Prologue or Salutation of any letter.
Vs. 1 The revelation of Jesus Christ. Revelation means to unveil.........unhide, to make known ect............that is so funny because today in Christianity most don't even like reading Revelation because they have a hard time understanding it. That is very true on two fronts. #1 because when they read it, it does not line up with what they have been taught and #2 The literary forms used 2000 years ago are foreign to us today. Ill give one example. If I were living in the first century and made this statement " Its raining cats and dogs" those guys/ladies would look at me like I was out of my mind or they would inquire as to the meaning of that phrase.
It is no different for us reading their mail (books of the bible). Example : Ezekiel made reference to Israel's enemies saying "the sun will be turned to darkness and the moon blood red" . If you were a Jew in the Old testament or even a couple thousand years later and you heard Jesus or the Apostles mention the same phrase.......................it would stimulate your mind to recall what happened to Israel's enemies long before. The sun and moon did not change literally........................but figuratively to display the utter destruction brought on Israel enemies.
Fast forward to Jesus day..................He used Ezeikels terms and at his second appearing in 70AD His enemies were utterly destroyed.
vs. 1 continued.............show his servants what must soon take place. what must soon means exactly that. It wasn't going to be a protracted "Parousia Delay" 2000 and counting.........it was to take place SOON.
vs. 3 "because the time is near" The time is not negotiable, it isn't dependent on anyone's acceptance of the Gospel it is NEAR.
vs. 4 "to the seven churches in the Province of Asia". This scroll was written to a group of believers in Asia. Not America, not Canada, not Iceland ect. In order to understand the meaning of the book, you have to understand who it was written too. You have to understand the history of these people and The great things that it would bring us today, namely the New Covenant/Gospel/Kingdom of God.
Read Revelation 22 and see the imminence that was communicated to those in Asia ( not to mention all the other chapters)