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Revelation 1:1 – Christ Revealing or Revealing Christ?
“A revelation of Jesus Christ” (1:1a). Is this about Christ revealing, or about revealing Christ? Grammatically it can be either way, that Jesus is the object or the subject. The more I read, the more I am seeing that one of the interpretive methods for understanding Revelation is seeing Jesus as the explanation for almost everything. “Be faithful until death” (2:10) is encouraging because Jesus did that which is why He “holds the keys to death and Hades (i.e. the grave)” (1:18); plus so much more.
“…that God gave him to show his slaves what must soon take place” (1b:1). Several times Jesus is coming (2:5), but this “soon” event is declaring the book of Revelation is about revealing Christ. Notice how the book’s end fits this: “He who testifies about these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!” (Revelation 22:20). What must soon take place, takes place because of Jesus coming.
“…He sent it and signified it through His angel to His slave John, who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, whatever he saw” (1c:1-2). The end of chapter 1 is clearly revealing Jesus Christ (1:11-20).
Revelation is about Jesus Christ revealing, and of that we interpret like a parable in that both visions and parables have one main point (usually), and are not to be dissected allegorically (e.g. Origen on The Good Samaritan). That includes what John must write concerning “what you have seen, what is, and what will take place after this” (1:19). However, what we must do diligently, is see how Jesus’s life, as presented in the gospels, and how He is described in Revelation, is our interpretive model for Revelation. That’s because Revelation reveals Jesus Christ.
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