Revelation | 1:1-3 | 1:4-8 | 1:9-16 | 1:17-20 | 2:1-7 | 2:8-11 | 2:12-17 | 2:18-29 | 3:1-6 | 3:7-13 | 3:14-22 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8-15  | 16-22 | PDF |

Join us as we study through Revelation verse by verse. Our Bible study guides contain discussion questions, verse by verse commentary, and applications which can help you or your small group get the most out of this book as you grow in understanding and obedience.

Revelation 1:1-3 Bible Study Guide With Questions – Introduction To Revelation

I. Prologue (1-3)

Discussion Questions

• Why is this called the “revelation of Jesus Christ?”
• What does this phrase tell us about the theme of this book?
• What does this mean that God gave this revelation to Jesus?
• What was Jesus supposed to do with it?
• What was John’s role in this?
• What was God want us to testify of?
• Why do you think there is an emphasis on reading this aloud?
• Who will receive the blessing mentioned in verse 3?
• What is the focus of how we should approach a study of the book of Revelation if we then want to receive this blessing?

Cross-References

Acts 22:15 – For you will be a witness for him to everyone of what you have seen and heard.

Isaiah 43:10 – “You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord, “and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me.

Acts 4:20 – For we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.

Joshua 1:8 – This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

1 Timothy 4:13 – Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching.

Verse by Verse Commentary

1. The revelation of Jesus Christ – The very first sentence contains the theme of the book of Revelation. What is it a revelation of? It is a revelation of Jesus. A revelation means to reveal something, to uncover it, to show it off. A monument, movie, or book can have a revelation when they are unveiled and shown to the world. A person has a revelation when he becomes aware of something he never knew before.

So this book is the revelation of Jesus. He will be revealed for all to see. Jesus was made visible in part at His first coming. At His second coming, He will be made visible for “every eye” to see Him. And every single person in the world will see Him in His power and glory as He truly is.

That is an exciting thing! Now we have faith in Jesus. We believe in Him as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Our faith is currently based on something we do not see. But when Jesus is revealed, we will be able to see Him. Our faith will be validated. No longer will people mock. No long will people deny Jesus’ existence.

Thus the focus of the book of Revelation is not on the Antichrist, the mark of the beast, the judgments, or the angels. It is Jesus. Currently He is working behind the scenes. He is interceding for us at the right hand of God. But then He will unveiled. Everyone will know Him as the Creator, the King, the Savior, the Lion of Judah, the Alpha and the Omega.

Application: As you go through this book, let your focus be on Jesus. We are His followers. Let us fix our eyes on Him. Do not be distracted by debates on lesser points of eschatology. Yes, study those and seek to understand. But do so with an emphasis on how these things point to and glorify Jesus. Our hope should be that at the end of this study we have a deeper understanding of our Lord and Savior and a closer walk with Him.

2. Which God gave Him to show to His servants – God the Father presented to God the Son the record of Jesus’ future glory. In Philippians 2:5-11 Jesus’ humility in submitting to the incarnation is described. And finally it says that “every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord.” Revelation is the detailed story of how exactly this future exaltation will take place.

The purpose of this revelation is primarily for our benefit, His servants. Being God, Jesus knew this from eternity past. Now He is entrusted with the task to pass on this revelation to His followers so that we can know the things that are going to happen.

Reflect: Why is it important for believers to know the prophesies described in Revelation about what is to come? How should it affect our lives now?

3. The things that must soon take place – Many Bible passages describe us being in the last days or the last hour.

The last days is a period of time encompassing the whole church age in between Jesus’ first and second coming. We don’t know how long these “last days” will last, but they are typified by increasing evil and rebellion toward God. Because God didn’t set any specific time period for the last days, they could end at any time.

We must remember that to God a day is as a thousand years and thousand years as a day (2 Peter 3:8). The events in the book of Revelation are fixed. God knows the exact hour when they will occur. And history is speeding toward this epic climax. For our part, God designed it to be unknown and imminent so that every generation would live with that expectancy and readiness required.

At the same time, we know that people will mock and believe that this return will never happen because of the time it takes to happen.

2 Peter 3:4 – They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.”

Thus we should not surprised that He seems to tarry. For we also know that He waits because He wants more people to enter into His kingdom first (2 Peter 3:9).

4. Being a witness – We see that God entrusted the revelation to Jesus who then sent an angel to tell John, whose role it was to then testify to us. God often works in this way. He entrusts the message to His people and wants us to then pass it on to others. Whenever a person is part of that process, it is a great blessing.

John took his role as a witness very seriously. Throughout his writings, he often refers to the fact that his goal is to faithfully pass on the things he is an eyewitness account to.

1 John 1:1-3 – That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.

John was greatly privileged to have a first row seat of Jesus’ first coming. And now he is blessed with a vision of the second coming. In both cases, he was responsible to pass on what he saw and heard.

Application: In like manner, God wants us to testify of Him to those around us. We have witnessed answers to prayer, providence, and life transformation due to the gospel. Let us tell others.

From the above verse we see that every person, even new believers are expected to tell others of what God has done in our lives.

Are you doing this? Do you regularly share testimonies of God’s goodness to your circle of friends and family?

5. Blessed is the one – This is the only book in the Bible that is accompanied by a blessing for those who read and follow it.

Reflect: Why do you think this special blessing is given for the book of Revelation?

One possible reason for the special blessing for this book is that God knows it is difficult and hard to understand. Because of this many believers may be tempted to skip this book and focus on others which are simpler. However, this blessing is an important reminder that studying this book is well worth the time. It is a challenge, but a rewarding one!

6. The blessing is for those who read, hear, and keep it – Note that the blessing is not given to those who only read it. You must read, hear, and keep it. It is possible to read or listen to Revelation without really hearing it. To fully hear something we have to pay attention to it. We have to listen with our heads and our hearts. It is not about hearing the sound of the words, but about taking it to heart.

That is made even more clear with the admonition to “keep” what is written. This verse is very important and we should not take it lightly. It will guide the entire approach of this study of Revelation.

The goal is to keep it. Obedience to the principles within is what brings the blessing. Many people may approach Revelation from an academic perspective, seeking to find the keys to interpret the mysteries within. We should seek to accurately divide the word of truth by correctly interpreting even difficult to understand passages.

However, interpretation is a means to the end. And the end goal is not merely correct interpretation. We must not seek to pat ourselves on the back with our skillful looks at the text. The goal is application. The purpose of our study is to obey what we find within. We want to grow in our understanding of Jesus. Seeking to grow our faith and holiness, we focus on Christ. This is a revelation of Him.

Therefore the study on Revelation should above all be a practical one. At every moment during our investigation of this book we should ask ourselves, “what do I need to obey from this passage?”

Application: As we study through this book of Revelation, let us focus in on Christ. It is about Him and His final victory. As we do this, it will give us hope.

Revelation Bible Study Guide – If this study is helpful, you can download the whole Revelation study PDF, get the paperback from Amazon, or also get the 7 Churches in Revelation study.

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