17When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.
19“Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. 20The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angelse of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches. (Revelation 1)
Thoughts: The key to interpreting this book is found in 1:19. He is writing about two things- what he sees now and what will take place later. So some of what John sees pertains to the Roman empire period, and some of it pertains to the end of the world. It implies there are similarities between the Roman time and the time of the end. If you stand on top of Mt. Mitchell- the highest mountain in the Appalachians, and look east on a clear day, you can see Charlotte- about 100 miles away. It may seem that this big city is closer than it really is- and that one mountain a mile away is close to the city a hundred miles away. Prophecy may seem to merge the near present to the far future. At no time does this imply there is no future/predictive/supernatural element to these words of prophecy that are to be sealed up for later. Yet there is also a present meaning for John and his colleagues.
Prayer: Lord, give me grace to not add anything or take away anything from your Word. Rather, Help me to listen to its present and its future.
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