The Apocalypse of Jesus Christ (III)

"The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:" (1:1 KJV)

The Book's Title & It's Significance

J.A. Seiss in his first lecture, continuing his analysis of these verses, wrote:

"What concerns the subject and contents of this book, I find for the most part in the name which it gives itself. It is the common rule with Scripture names, to express the substance of the things to which they are applied. The name of God expresses what God is; so the names of the Lord Jesus Christ, and all the leading names found in the Bible. Even those which the Church has given, are often wonderfully expressive and significant. Genesis is the generation of things; Exodus, the going forth from bondage; The Gospel, the very heart and substance of all God’s gracious communications — the good news. And when God himself designates this book The Revelation of Jesus Christ, we may rest assured, that it is the very substance and kernel of the book that is expressed in this title."

This is what was stressed in the previous posting in this series. The title of the book is "The Revelation (Apocalypse) of Jesus Christ" and that title defines the subject and content of the "book of Revelation." Further, as we have seen, "the revelation of Jesus Christ" means all the same as "the coming of Jesus Christ." The book of Revelation is therefore a book detailing that revelation or coming.

Wrote Seiss:

"What, then, are we to understand by “The Apocalypse of Jesus Christ?” There are certain books (adopted and held sacred by the Church of Rome, which we, however, receive only as human productions), which have a name somewhat similar to this in sound. You find them in some Bibles, between the Old and New Testaments, bearing the name of Apocrypha. But Apocrypha is just the opposite of Apocalypse. Apocrypha means something that is concealed, not set forth, not authentic; Apocalypse means something revealed, disclosed, manifested, shown. The verb apokalupto, means to reveal, to make manifest, to uncover to view. The noun apokalupsis, means a revelation, a disclosure, an appearing, a making manifest. The Apocalypse, or Revelation of Jesus Christ, must therefore be the revealment, manifestation, appearing, of Jesus Christ."

As we have seen, "revelation of Jesus Christ" does not mean "information coming from Jesus Christ." The genitive is objective, Jesus Christ being the thing revealed.

Since the coming again of the Lord Jesus Christ involves many things, so the Book of Revelation details those things. The second coming involves judgment, resurrection, etc., all connected with what in scripture is called "the day of the Lord," or "the day of the Christ," or sometimes simply "that day." It is also referred to as the "day of wrath," and "the hour of trial that will come upon all the earth." (Rev. 3:10) It is a time of harvest and of separating the righteous from the wicked. It is also called "the day of redemption," a time of not only when Christ "is revealed," but when the saints themselves are revealed, or experience an "apocalypse."

The Absence Of The Definite Article

There is no definite article "the" in Greek before "apocalypse." Thus the title simply is "Apocalypse of Jesus Christ." Or, since genitives generally function as adjectives, we could translate the title as "Jesus Christ's Apocalypse." Wrote Albert Barnes in his commentary:

"In the Greek, in this passage, the article is missing - ἀποκάλυψις apokalupsis - a Revelation, not ἡ hē, the Revelation. This is omitted because it is the title of a book, and because the use of the article might imply that this was the only revelation."

I think the absence of the definite article is further proof that the words "revelation of Jesus Christ" are  1) a title to the vision John sees and describes, and 2) denote the second coming, appearing, or revelation of Christ from heaven to earth.

The Gift Of Christ's Apocalypse 

Wrote Seiss:

"Notice now its derivation and authorship. The text represents it as the gift of God to Christ. It is called “The Apocalypse of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him.” Some understand this gift in the sense of signified, made known to; and so put themselves under the necessity of explaining how this could be without compromising our Lord’s Divinity. This is the first difficulty engendered by the departure from the proper scriptural meaning of the word Apocalypse." 

Though it is not to be doubted that the Father gave the man Christ Jesus information or messages to deliver to men, yet Christ as divine, as God, was not informed of anything, for he already knew all things. Christ, in his human nature, "grew in wisdom and stature," but such is not true of his divine nature. The comments by Seiss should lead men away from interpreting "revelation of Jesus Christ" as "revelation from Jesus Christ."

Wrote Seiss:

"People take it as denoting a piece of information, and so represent Christ in a state of ignorance respecting the sublimest results of his mediatorship until after his ascension into heaven. The incongruities of such an acceptation should teach men better. The Apocalypse of Christ is the future reappearance of Christ, clothed with the honours and crowned with the triumphs which are to characterize that forthcoming, and not the mere knowledge or description of these things. And it is that Apocalypse, with all its glorious concomitants and results, that God has, in covenant, given to Christ; — given to him as the crowning reward of his mediatorial work, as the Scriptures everywhere teach."

"The Apocalypse of Christ is the future reappearance of Christ." Yes, indeed! If you miss that, you miss from the start and are headed in the wrong direction, a direction that will lead you further away from a correct understanding of this capstone of revelation.

Wrote Seiss:

"The promise of the victory of the woman’s Seed involved this gift. Hannah’s song speaks of it as strength and exaltation which the Lord bestoweth upon his anointed. God’s promise to David of a son whose kingdom is to be established forever embraces it. It is the great theme of the second Psalm, where God says to his son: “I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession — thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.” It is in Isaiah’s pictures of Messiah, in Jeremiah’s prophecies, in the words of the annunciation to Mary, in Christ’s own parables, and in all the writings of the Apostles. Because Christ “made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men, and humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross, God hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” We are told that there was joy set before Christ as the reward of his sufferings and death, and that it was “for the joy that was set before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame.” And whatever else may be included in that exaltation or that joy, highest and greatest of all is a future Apocalypse, when “the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, and he shall sit upon the throne of his glory.” This, then, is what God “gave to Jesus Christ,” in promise, when he commenced his work, in its earnest, when he raised him from the dead and received him into glory; and thus gave what constitutes the substance of this book."

Again, it is failure to understand this fact about the Book of Revelation that causes misinterpretation and misunderstanding of it. "The Apocalypse" is not only a title denoting what are the contents of the visions given to the apostle John, but a term synonymous with the second coming or reappearing of the Lord Jesus Christ. Further, "the Apocalypse" is a gift of the Deity to the incarnate Son, being "the reward of his sufferings and death."

Wrote Seiss:

"The revelation of Christ is a gift from God to him, not as he is in his divinity, but rather in his humanity, as the man Christ Jesus. The first person in the Trinity is not giving to the second person the gift of "the revelation." Rather, it is the whole deity, especially the Father, who gives to the incarnate Son this glorious gift. This fact should keep us from interpreting "the revelation of Jesus Christ" as information communicated by or from Christ. Shall we say that the Father gave information to the Son for the purpose of giving it to us? Surely, this is not the meaning of the text. The arguments thus far presented disprove it."

All the evidence proves the veracity of what Seiss here says. Those who deny it must show how the evidence is false.

This gift of the Father to the incarnate Son is in turn given or shared with the saved, with the Lord's people. The second coming, with all the glories connected with it, is a gift that Christ shares with his redeemed.

Whether "revelation of Christ" means 1) information coming from Christ, or 2) appearing or coming of Christ can only be determined by the context; First, by the immediate context, Second, by the book of Revelation as a whole, and Third, to the scripture as a whole, or how the term is used elsewhere in the NT.

What truth the Father communicated to the Christ, the Christ communicates with his followers. Jesus state this fact many times. But, this is not what Christ is saying to the apostle John.

Four Apocalypses

First, there are the two apocalypses of the Christ. One has occurred, He has come and appeared once.

Second, there is the apocalypse of the sons of God.

Third, there is the apocalypse of the Man of Sin, or Antichrist

Two apocalypses of Christ, one of the sons of God, and one of the Antichrist.

But, more on this in the next several postings.