A Biblical Vision, Part II: Mastering the New Testament Witness to Christ

Ses s i on 7: The Reve l at i on of John: The Consummat i on of Al l Th i ngs i n Chr i s t 235

III. Principles and Implications for New Testament Study

A. Principles

Revelation is the most appropriate conclusion that one could imagine for biblical literature as a whole.

~ Leland Ryken. The Literature of the Bible . p. 356.

The Christian community should always live under the expectancy of the imminent coming of the Lord. No man knows the day nor the hour (Matt. 24.36) and no one can set dates or calculate the time of his coming; but every generation must be awake as though the coming of Christ was at the threshold (Matt. 24.42-44). The biblical warnings involve a spiritual and moral tension of expectancy and perspective.

~ George Eldon Ladd. A Commentary on the Revelation of John . p. 290.

I am waiting for the day when all things–both things in the heavens and those upon the earth–shall be summed up in Christ. On that day the word of God will be fulfilled in that Christ is all. Let me challenge you. How can you expect Christ to be all if today you do not know Him as your all? Even now Christ will become all our things. God has given His Son to us; God has given himself to us. So that Christ must be all to us today. There should not be any division between Christ and things. Nothing is spiritual, only Christ is. He is all and in all. The reality of this must begin to evidence itself now in the Church and with us. May we declare today that Christ is all and that He is in all.

~ Watchmen Nee. Christ, the Sum of All Spiritual Things . New York: Christian Fellowship Publishers, 1973. p. 95.

1. The revelation and unveiling of the person of Christ . Above any other thing, the Revelation of John is a revelation, an unveiling of the greatness and glory of Jesus Christ as Sovereign and exalted Lord of all.

a. Rev. 1.17-19 – When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, [18] and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. [19] Write