Learn to read the Bible's scariest book. It's not the End of the World. It's a message of hope to Christians struggling to stay faithful in a faithless culture. Week 1 is an introduction and analysis of Chapter 1. Hear the lesson at jrforasteros.com or search for the podcast on iTunes under JR. Forasteros.

1. The Revelation to John
Welcome!
Please take one of each of the papers
laid out by the sink!

2. Experiences with the Text
• Introduce yourself
• What experience do you have with the Revelation?
• What do you hope to gain from this study?

3. Reading the Revelation
• Put away our lenses
• Principle: The Text can never mean what it never meant.
• A brief history of Inspiration

4. Reading the Revelation
"The revelation of 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, who testified to the
word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw.
Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of the prophecy, and blessed are those who
hear and who keep what is written in it; for the time is near."
-- Revelation 1:1-3 (NRS)

5. Reading the Revelation
“Revelation” = Apokaluyj (Apocalypsis)
It means “to unveil” or “an unveiling”
"The revelation APOCALYPSIS (unveiling) of 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, who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that
he saw.
Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of the prophecy, and blessed are those who
hear and who keep what is written in it; for the time is near."
-- Revelation 1:1-3 (NRS)

6. Reading the Revelation
An apocalypse is a genre of revelatory literature with a narrative framework in which a
revelation is mediated by an otherworldly being to a human recipient, disclosing a
transcendent reality which is both temporal, insofar as it envisages eschatological
salvation, and spatial, insofar as it involves another, supernatural world.

7. Reading the Revelation
An apocalypse is a genre of revelatory literature with a narrative framework in which a
revelation is mediated by an otherworldly being to a human recipient, disclosing a
transcendent reality which is both temporal, insofar as it envisages eschatological
salvation, and spatial, insofar as it involves another, supernatural world.

8. Reading the Revelation
An apocalypse is a genre of revelatory literature with a narrative framework in which a
revelation is mediated by an otherworldly being to a human recipient, disclosing a
transcendent reality which is both temporal, insofar as it envisages eschatological
salvation, and spatial, insofar as it involves another, supernatural world.

9. Reading the Revelation
An apocalypse is a genre of revelatory literature with a narrative framework in which a
revelation is mediated by an otherworldly being to a human recipient, disclosing a
transcendent reality which is both temporal, insofar as it envisages eschatological
salvation, and spatial, insofar as it involves another, supernatural world.

10. Reading the Revelation
An apocalypse is a genre of revelatory literature with a narrative framework in which a
revelation is mediated by an otherworldly being to a human recipient, disclosing a
transcendent reality which is both temporal, insofar as it envisages eschatological
salvation, and spatial, insofar as it involves another, supernatural world.

11. Reading the Revelation
An apocalypse is a genre of revelatory literature with a narrative framework in which a
revelation is mediated by an otherworldly being to a human recipient, disclosing a
transcendent reality which is both temporal, insofar as it envisages eschatological
salvation, and spatial, insofar as it involves another, supernatural world.

12. Reading the Revelation
An apocalypse is a genre of revelatory literature with a narrative framework in which a
revelation is mediated by an otherworldly being to a human recipient, disclosing a
transcendent reality which is both temporal, insofar as it envisages eschatological
salvation, and spatial, insofar as it involves another, supernatural world.
In other words:
Jesus comes to show John what God is doing behind the scenes
to rescue and redeem creation.

14. The Power of a Picture

15. The Power of a Picture

16. Reading the Revelation
"The revelation APOCALYPSIS (unveiling) of 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, who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that
he saw.
Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of the prophecy, and blessed are those who
hear and who keep what is written in it; for the time is near."
-- Revelation 1:1-3 (NRS)

17. Background,
History & Culture

18. The World of the Revelation

19. The Structure of the Revelation
1. Seven Letters to Seven Churches (Chapters 1-3)
2. The Heavenly Throne Room Vision (Chapters 4-11)
3. The Cosmic War (Chapters 12-22)

20. The Revelation of Jesus Christ
Revelation 1:10-20

21. For Next Week
Read chapters 1-3.
What stands out to you?
What’s the most confusing?
What’s the clearest?
BONUS: What connection do you notice between chapter 1 and the seven letters?