Here are some questions based on last Sunday’s sermon text (Revelation 1:1-3), in case they’re helpful to you for personal growth or group discussion…

• [1] “The revelation of Jesus Christ…” This book is both the revelation given by Jesus, and the revelation about Jesus. Are you interested in hearing from Jesus? in learning more about Jesus? How would you rate this interest level compared to your interest in other important things in your life? Do you consider the knowledge that Jesus gives us about himself to be relevant to your life in any way? If so, in what way(s)?

• The Greek word for “made known” seen here in verse 1 can perhaps be better translated “signified.” It is related to the word used in the Gospels for the “signs” Jesus performed—miracles that symbolized something about him. John is indicating that this revelation is being communicated through the use of symbolic language. When you encounter symbolic language in the Scriptures, what resources do you rely on for understanding it? How do you come to know what the symbols are referring to and what they mean? What do you think is the purpose or value of communicating in symbols, rather than in more straightforward language?

• “The things that must soon take place…” (Also v. 3, “for the time is near.”) John considers the contents of this revelation to be imminently relevant to the churches to whom he is writing. It is controversial, but probably the best way to understand Revelation is to see it as a pastoral letter written to prepare the church to endure increasing Roman and Jewish persecution, and for the fallout from the “world-shattering” cataclysm of the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in AD 70. This is what Jesus issued such dramatic warnings about in the Gospels (see Matthew 23-24; Mark 13; Luke 19:41-44). Have you considered Revelation from this angle before? How do you think we can be helped today by prophecies about events already faced by God’s people 2000-2500 years ago, like the destruction of Jerusalem by Rome or by Babylon before it (the subject of many OT prophecies)? If Revelation is meant to help the church endure real, historical persecutions, false teachings, and temptations to spiritual apathy, how do you think it might apply to you in your life?

• [2] Read John 21:24 and 1 John 1:1-3. Verse 2 here could be a reference to the fact that John is the same one who wrote the Gospel of John (and the three Epistles), and some would argue that Revelation is something of a sequel to John’s Gospel. What difference do you think it makes whether the Apostle John is also John the Seer?

• [3] Have you read Revelation in its entirety? Go ahead and do so—all at once is best. (If you can, grab and friend or family member, and read it aloud together, alternating chapters.)