Summer at Trinity

Pulling Back the Curtain

AudioWatch on YouTube

Many open the book of Revelation expecting confusion or fear. But God opens it with a promise of blessing. In this first message of an eight-week study through Revelation 1–3, Pastor David Rose pulls back the curtain on what this book actually is: a revealing of who Christ is, what He has done, and what He will do.

Revelation chapter one lays the foundation for everything that follows. Watch or listen in as Pastor David lays out three truths from this opening chapter that set the stage for the rest of the book.

Key Takeaways

  • Jesus gives Revelation to be a blessing. (Revelation 1:1-3)
  • Jesus clarifies His identity with the message. (Revelation 1:4-8)
  • Jesus has a clear purpose for the Revelation. (Revelation 1:9-20)

Further Study

Take a minute to read Revelation 1:1–20 aloud.

  1. Verse 3 pronounces a blessing on three groups of people. Who are they, and what is each one doing?
  2. What does it mean that the blessing is tied to “keeping” what is written, not just reading or hearing it? How does that change the way you’d expect to feel about this book?
  3. List every description of Jesus you find in verses 4–5 (for example: “the faithful witness”). What does each one tell you about who He is?
  4. Verse 5 says Jesus set us free “by His blood,” not by our good works. Why does this matter for how we read the rest of Revelation, a book often associated with judgment?
  5. John describes himself as a “partner in the affliction, kingdom, and endurance that are in Jesus” (v. 9). What do affliction, kingdom, and endurance have to do with each other in this verse?
  6. When John sees Jesus, he falls down “like a dead man” (v. 17). What is Christ’s first response to John? Why might that order, holiness first, then “don’t be afraid,” matter?
  7. In verse 18, Jesus describes Himself as “the living one” who “was dead” and is “alive forever and ever,” holding “the keys of death and Hades.” What practical difference does it make that the one speaking to John has already defeated death?
Quote
To Him who loves us and has set us free from our sins by His blood, and made us a kingdom and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” (Revelation 1:5–6, CSB)