THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRISTBy Preston Eby
The book of Revelation is without doubt one of the most important and wonderful books ever written. It is a work of art, marvelous art, divine art. This remarkable book is written in the form of a drama and is skillfully divided into seven acts with seven scenes each. Scenes of glory surpassing fable are unveiled before us in this book. No other book takes us at once, and so irresistibly, into another sphere. Long vistas are here opened before us that carry us into other worlds and urge upon us the realities of our call into the high places of God’s Spirit and purpose. There is one revelation and one only in the whole book — the revelation of Jesus Christ. It is not the book of Revelations as many refer to it. The simple adding of an "s" totally distorts the true meaning of the book! It is not many revelations. Although many things are said in this book, there is only one thing that God is revealing, and that one thing is JESUS CHRIST! John did not reveal many revelations, though there were many visions shown him and many things spoken to him. All together made but one revelation.
I further exhort all who read these lines to never call this book the Revelation of Saint John. It is in no sense the Revelation of John! John’s part in this is that of a third party. The revelation is given to Jesus Christ by the Father as His very own state of being — Jesus is the revelation of the Father! The glory of this revelation of God in Christ was communicated to John through a very wonderful messenger, who was so wonderful that he showed John all these marvelous truths and realities in the form of dramatic symbols. It is a powerful series of spiritual revelation unrolled in pictures which John saw in spirit, and which he recorded, and to which he was led by the prophetic spirit. The messenger who showed John these things is none other than the spirit of prophecy which is the testimony of Jesus! (Rev. 19:10). This book is preeminently the revelation of Jesus Christ, for that is precisely what the true title of the book is!
The book opens up the unveiling of Jesus Christ in His person, in His church, in His sons, and in His kingdom. The book can be very confusing unless we find some sense of direction and guidance in it. To help in our meditations, let us take a look at the word "revelation" itself. It is more than a book in the Bible! It is more than a vision given to a man nearly two thousand years ago! Eventually it becomes an inner discovery, an activity within our very own consciousness, in the reality of our own experience, and this is the revelation that we are concerned with! It is not intended to be an outline of outer-world events because it is the revelation of a person, the God-man, the firstborn of many brethren, the beginning of the creation of God, even our Lord Jesus the Christ! Within the lives of those called to sonship Jesus Christ is now being raised up unto a revelation in and out from our inner-world, and I do not hesitate to tell you that it is from there that the prophecy will be fulfilled! All of creation groans, waiting for this glorious unveiling of THE SON in THE SONS!
One of the reasons that the book of Revelation has been so misunderstood is because men have thought it was the unveiling of external events that are in the future. It is not the unveiling of world events but the unveiling of a Person who has not yet been seen in all of His glory, beauty and majesty! Today He is like a statue that has the veil put over it, awaiting the day when the veil shall be removed and He shall be seen in all of His glory. Another reason people do not understand the book is because they read it looking for "a revelation." When it is "revelation" we are seeking in place of the REVELATOR, we will no doubt get our revelation but will miss the reality altogether! It is not a revelation, it is THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST! Should I send you a book titled SPANISH MADE SIMPLE, how many would expect to read in that book how to cook Hungarian Goulash? If the title says SPANISH MADE SIMPLE, what will you expect to learn out of this book? Why, how to speak Spanish, of course! Since the book of Revelation is the revelation of Jesus Christ, why is it that when theologians teach from it they teach about the beast, the mark of the beast, the antichrist, world wars, great tribulation, woes, sorrows, pestilences and devastations, but they never seem to come to THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST! Ah, yes, there are beasts and woes and tribulation in the book, but these are not the message — they are merely the things exposed by the unveiling of Himself — exposed to be dealt with and brought to nought! And sometimes they are the very instruments used to bring forth the unveiling!