The Revelation of Jesus Christ as Told to His Servant John: A Verse-by-Verse Study

By JR. Carleton Fletcher Burrows

Revelation revealed!

Revelation made easy!

Have you ever wanted to read the book of Revelation with understanding, but the thought of even beginning seemed too daunting? Or you've tried but found it to be overwhelming?

When John wrote the book of Revelation as it was dictated to him by Jesus, it was meant to be understood by th

• Language: English
• Publisher: Trilogy Christian Publishing
• Release date: May 31, 2022
• ISBN: 9781685562755

JR. Carleton Fletcher Burrows

At age forty, Carleton gave his life to our Savior, Jesus. Forever changed, his appetite for a closer relationship with God was insatiable. At age forty-two, he was called by God into the ministry. While working full-time in Washington, DC, he attended Washington Bible College in Lanham, Maryland. He would say that, like Moses, he wandered for forty years in the wilderness. Carleton went on to pastor, mentor, and lead Bible studies, a favorite of attendees being the book of Revelation.

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The Revelation of Jesus Christ as Told to His Servant John

A verse-by-verse study

Carleton Fletcher Burrows, Jr.

Trilogy Christian Publishers

Tustin, CA

Trilogy Christian Publishers

A Wholly Owned Subsidiary of Trinity Broadcasting Network

2442 Michelle Drive

Tustin, CA 92780

The Revelation of Jesus Christ as Told to His Servant John

Copyright © 2022 by Carleton Fletcher Burrows, Jr.

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the American Standard Version of the Bible. Public domain. Scripture quotations marked ESV are taken from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Bible. Public domain.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without written permission from the author. All rights reserved. Printed in the USA.

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Trilogy Christian Publishing/TBN and colophon are trademarks of Trinity Broadcasting Network.

Cover artwork by Caran Burrows Leahy

For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Trilogy Christian Publishing.

Trilogy Disclaimer: The views and content expressed in this book are those of the author and may not necessarily reflect the views and doctrine of Trilogy Christian Publishing or the Trinity Broadcasting Network.

Manufactured in the United States of America

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available.

ISBN: 978-1-68556-274-8

E-ISBN: 978-1-68556-275-5 (ebook)

Contents

Introduction v

Chapter One 1

Chapter Two 16

The Church in Ephesus 16

The Church in Smyrna 40

The Church in Pergamum 50

The Church in Thyatira 63

The Church in Sardis 80

Chapter Three 91

The Church in Philadelphia 91

The Church in Laodicea 99

Chapter Four 112

Chapter Five 121

Chapter Six 129

The Lost Tribes of Israel 137

Chapter Seven 139

Chapter Eight 145

Chapter Nine 153

Chapter Ten 164

Chapter Eleven 170

Chapter Twelve 180

Chapter Thirteen 195

Chapter Fourteen 205

Chapter Fifteen 220

Chapter Sixteen 225

Chapter Seventeen 233

Chapter Eighteen 245

Chapter Nineteen 254

Chapter Twenty 267

Chapter Twenty-One 277

Chapter Twenty-Two 289

Afterword 299

For the Glory of God 301

Biography of Carleton Fletcher Burrows, Jr. 303

Notes 306

Study Notes 307

Introduction

In 1909, C. I. Scofield wrote in his notes on the book of Revelation: That which is designedly obscure to us will be clear to those for whom it was written as the time approaches.

Today, we are approximately one hundred years down the line in time, and we can see that the book of Revelation has indeed become much clearer. As a matter of fact, not only is this book easier to understand, it appears that we are living in the time of the countdown to the events within this book.

There are those who believe that the book of Revelation is a closed book and one which we are not intended to understand. I believe it is open to all who are willing to do the work required to understand it.

It cannot be denied that this book confused many people, including some great spiritual men, but in the same breath, that has been of immeasurable blessing, for it reveals God’s plan for the future. On days such as these we live in today, world conditions are uncertain, and many people are asking, What does the future hold for me?

The book of Revelation reveals what the future holds. The revelation is given to God’s people, and as the events recorded in this book unfold, the student of Scripture need not be taken by surprise. It is possible, through studying this book, to know God’s plan for the future.

While many have a hard time comprehending what the book of Revelation is talking about, we must remember that the apostle John wrote down what was presented to him. His writings were circulated throughout the seven churches of Asia Minor, where they were read and understood. Therefore, if they could understand these writings 2,000 years ago, then so can we today!

As we begin to look at this book, we must understand that it contains many things and events that are still featured to us. If we have trouble understanding events still future to us, imagine the huge problem John had when he was confronted with things from our present, such as planes, trains, and automobiles. And he wrote of things that are still to come in our future.

As we begin, these are your guidelines to follow for proper interpretation: Firstly, the Bible is true and accurate. Secondly, if we follow all the rules of biblical interpretation, in this study, we will get a complete understanding of what God has in store for us.

Before we get into the text, I would like to set some simple, special rules for interpreting the book of Revelation. Keep in mind that most of the text of this book still refers to the future. If it was difficult for John to explain what he had seen, we will also encounter things that are difficult for us to understand and explain. So, as we begin, we must follow the golden rule of interpretation whenever possible. That is, when the plain sense of a scripture makes common sense, seek no other sense, lest it become nonsense.

This means that we must take every word at its prime—its primary, ordinary, usual literal meaning—unless effects of the immediate text, when two related passages are compared, and fundamental truths of the Bible indicate otherwise. These rules will provide helpful and basic guidelines for interpreting the many signs and symbols that we will encounter.

The book of Revelation is not written chronologically. We may see a specific event written down and elaborated on several chapters later, and we need to make sure that we keep in mind where the activity is located. There are sudden shifts in scenes. One chapter will be speaking about an event on the earth and suddenly seen shifting to one in heaven. Time is also a factor since some events will take place in the first three and a half years of the Tribulation and others in the last three and a half years.

There will be many questions that will arise and be addressed as we move through Scripture. I will try to anticipate these questions so the answers will be in context with the Scripture texts.

But information is not available to ensure that there is a way that some questions can be answered. So, I use the following guidance. When I began to study the Bible, I had a wise professor who told me to keep a rainy-day book of questions. Some, he told me, will be answered in time; others will have to wait till we go to be with the Lord.

One last thing: I do not claim to be the last word on this book. I have read many books written on the book of Revelation, and they were written by those who also studied and dedicated much time to the book. I ask that you consider what I have gathered from my study; this study is the first verse-by-verse study of the message given to the apostle John by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and as far as I know, the only study that attempts to include every verse in the account. May God give His approval for this effort and make you, the reader, people blessed by the content.

Chapter One

The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show unto his servants, even the things which must shortly come to pass: and he sent and signified by his angel unto his servant John (verse one; hereinafter, unless otherwise indicated, the verses are from Revelation; chapters of the book match chapters in Revelation).

The word revelation comes from the Greek word apokalypsis, which means an unveiling. It means to show or expose to view. This, then, is the unveiling of a message from Jesus Christ. It is a message that God the Father gave Him: (1) to show to His people, or the church, things that must shortly come to pass; and (2) He sent it and signified His message by His angelos, or messenger. To signify is to authenticate the message and the messenger. The message was given to John, a slave (not servant) of Jesus Christ (Greek: doulos).

Who bare witness of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, even of all things he saw (verse two).

The last book of the New Testament was written by the apostle John who was an eye witness to the ministry, life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ, whom John identifies in the Gospel according to John as the Incarnate Word of God (God in the flesh of man) or Jesus, who called John to be His apostle, and John, as an elderly man, gives his personal testimony to all of the events to which he was privy concerning Jesus Christ and everything he saw Him do in his presence.

Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of the prophecy, and keep the things that are written therein: for the time is at hand (verse three).

We see in this verse that a blessing is offered to those who read, hear, and keep the words of this book. A blessing as used in Scripture means to be happy. As we know, happiness, in the spiritual sense, is not found in things of this world but from God. Therefore, the happiness, or blessedness, spoken of here has its source in the words of this book of prophecy. If we read it and let it sink into our minds, hear it in the depths of our hearts, and obey its instructions, we will be happy because we know we are living in the will of God.

The time is at hand means simply that from the time of the writing of this book until all of the events come to be a reality, nothing else on God’s timetable needs to happen before the prophecy in this book begins to happen.

It is possible that we are living in the time when these things begin to unfold. We know, from studying the Bible, that it could be tomorrow or that it could be another 1,000 years until this prophecy is fulfilled.

John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace, from him who is and was and who is to come; and from the seven spirits that are before his throne (verse four).

We see that John is the scribe who is penning this epistle and that he is addressing it to the seven churches that had been established in Asia Minor (which is modern-day Turkey). He begins by extending God’s grace and peace. Grace is the divine love and protection that God bestows on those who belong to Him. Peace is that inner contentment, or freedom from strife, which a Christian has in his or her position of salvation through Jesus Christ. This allows him or her complete assurance of eternal life. One’s relationship with God determines whether one will have this grace and peace. In this verse, we see a reference to the eternal God: From him who is and who was and who is to come. Whenever we see the word God in Scripture, we should look at it carefully to determine whether it is referring to God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, or the collective Trinity.

In this case, it refers to the collective triune God since this expression connotes the eternality of God. It is significant to note that this book has its origin in the Trinity. We see the triune nature again in verse eight of this chapter.

The seven spirits is a reference to the sevenfold work of the Holy Spirit, which is shown in Isaiah 11:2 where He is referred to as the Spirit of God, the Spirit of wisdom, the Spirit of understanding, the Spirit of counsel, the Spirit of might, the Spirit of knowledge, and the Spirit of the fear of God. Thus, the term seven spirits does not refer to seven different Holy Spirits but to the seven ministries of one Holy Spirit.

And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loveth us, and loosed us from our sins by his blood (verse five).

All that men need to know about God has been revealed to them by Jesus Christ. He told Philip, He who has seen Me has seen the Father (John 14:9, NKJV). His witness is sufficient. He is identified as the firstborn of the dead, being the first one ever to be resurrected. There were others who were raised from the dead, but they all died natural deaths later.

They were not raised in incorruption. Jesus is the only one ever to be raised in His glorified incorruptible body.

Although it now seems as though others rule, Jesus is the One who will, one day, rule over the earth from His throne in Jerusalem, and He will be the King of kings and the Lord of lords to the glory of the Father (Revelation 19:16).

It is this Jesus who has done away with our sins through His death on the cross. We are cleansed from our sinful natures only because of His sacrifice for us.

And he made us to be a kingdom, to be priests unto his God and Father; to him be the glory and the dominion for ever and ever. Amen (verse six).

Amazing as it may seem, Jesus has made us, the church, a royal kingdom. We are the citizens of the eternal kingdom of God! We are the kingdom. He has also made us priests in the holy kingdom. In 1 Peter 2:9, the church is said to be an elect race, a royal priesthood, and again, here in the book of Revelation 5:10, we are told we will reign with Jesus when He sits on the throne in Jerusalem.

Right now, not too many Christians even consider their future. Many cannot even comprehend that we will literally be the priests of God. While we may not act like priests, look like priests, think like priests, or imagine that we could ever be priests, the Scriptures say it is so. The Scriptures have no errors, and all of the credit and honor will go to God, for He made it to be so.

Behold, he cometh with the clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they that pierced him; and all of the tribes of the earth shall mourn over him. Even so, Amen (verse seven).

Jesus is coming again! This is chiseled in granite! This is a certified, guaranteed promise that can never be revoked. In Acts 1:11, it tells us, This Jesus, who was received up from you into heaven shall so come in like manner as ye beheld him going into heaven.

When He comes, it will be a physical, visible appearance. At the end of the Tribulation period, Jesus will come to set up His kingdom. When He comes, He will come in the clouds. He will be coming in power and glory, and every eye will see Him. This doesn’t mean just those people who are alive on the earth at the time. It means every eye…all people, from the creation to Jesus’ coming, will see Him as He descends from heaven to set up His kingdom and take the throne of David to reign forever!

The mention of those who pierced Him refers to the disbelieving Jews who rejected Him when He came as Savior, including the chief priests, Caiaphas and Annas, who are among the actual people who rejected Jesus. But from the New Testament point of view, these people were acting as representatives for all mankind of all time, for it also refers to those who have rejected Him since. These have done what the Bible says in Hebrews 6:6: They crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh.

I am the Alpha and the Omega, saith the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty (verse eight).

Such a stupendous statement needs more than the Prophet’s own signature or even Jesus Christ’s amen. God the Father Himself speaks and, with His signature, vouches for the truthfulness of the coming Jesus Christ.

There are three strong names of God in this verse: Alpha and Omega, the Lord God who is and was and is to come, and the Almighty.

Alpha and omega are the first and last letters in the Greek alphabet, or the beginning and the end. Only the book of Revelation refers to God the Father as Alpha and Omega. He is the source of all creation of history, and He is the end of all things. Nothing exists outside of His creation.

Therefore, He is the Lord God! He has always existed, so He was. He still exists, so He is, and He will always exist. He is the Creator and Sustainer, and in order to be all of these, He has to be the almighty God.

With verse eight, the salutation from God is concluded. The primary reason for the salutation is to provide testimony to the person and program of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is the central character of this book. All things begin and end with Him. He controls the conflicts and catastrophic judgments that fill the major portion of this book. He is the soon-to-come King who will defeat His enemies and reclaim planet Earth. He is the One who will create a new heaven and a new earth, in which He will place the new Jerusalem to house the righteous citizens for eternity.

I John, your brother and partaker with you in tribulation and kingdom and patience which are in Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.

Verse nine

The apostle John begins this verse by identifying himself for his readers and describing the setting where he received the message about which he is writing. He describes himself as a fellow believer with those who are in the kingdom of God. (Actually, the kingdom is still future, but all who believe in Christ will be a part of the spiritual kingdom.)

John had been banished to the isle of Patmos as a religious and political prisoner by Emperor Domitian in AD 95. John was exiled for faithfully preaching and teaching the Word of God and for the testimony he gave for Jesus Christ.

Patmos is a small, isolated, mostly volcanic island, only ten miles long and six miles wide, located in the Aegean Sea. The aged apostle was made to do hard labor in the mines on Patmos. He was released by Emperor Nerva eighteen months later.

John was sustained during this time by the patience of Jesus Christ. That is, Christ provided the needed strength for him to endure his trial and come through it victoriously.

I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet (verse ten).

John received a vision on a Sunday. This is the first of four visions John received while in the Spirit (Revelation 1:10, 4:2, 17:3, and 21:10). Being in the Spirit is being under the control of the Holy Spirit, and under His control, John received a mental, visual picture of the events given.

In this state, John heard a voice behind him that was loud and clear,

saying, What thou seest, write in a book and send it to the seven churches: unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamum, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.

Verse eleven

The apostle was commanded to write down what was shown to him and send it to the seven churches that are in Asia. This is the first of twelve times that John was commanded to write down what he saw.

The Revelation of Jesus Christ was then penned by John in the eighteen months he was a prisoner on Patmos and then passed on to the churches of Asia Minor as instructed.

The recipients of the letter were the seven churches that have been established in Asia Minor, which we know of as modern-day Turkey. Each city is depicted as a type of person: Ephesus, shifty, changing, and undependable; Smyrna, fortunate in many ways but always suffering; Pergamum, in possession of power but corrupted by others who were attracted to the power; Thyatira, basically good but without moral strength to stand up for its convictions; Sardis, complacent and satisfied, willfully unaware that principles and morals were dying; Philadelphia, weak but with hidden sources of stamina; Laodicea, sophisticated, wealthy, shrewd but spiritually empty.

And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And having turned I saw seven golden candlesticks (verse twelve).

When John heard the voice behind him, he turned to see who was speaking. The first thing he saw was a group of seven golden candlesticks. There is no description of these candlesticks, only that they were golden, and the number of them was seven.

And in the midst of the candlesticks one like unto a son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the breasts with a golden girdle (verse thirteen).

There is no indication of how the candlesticks were arranged, but this verse tells us that someone was standing among them. John identifies him as someone resembling the Son of Man, or Jesus. The word like indicates that there was something about this man that John remembered, but He was still familiar. We know now that this was the glorified Jesus. He still had His human form, but His appearance had changed. His dress was that of someone of royal position. He was wearing a girdle of gold wound around a garment that came down to the feet. This was in contrast to the normal dress of an Israeli, which is a short robe held in place by a rope or sash. The material for an ordinary robe was generally gray or brown in color but never white.

And his head and his hair were white as white wool, white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire (verse fourteen).

The last time John had seen Jesus, He had the dark hair of a thirty-three-year-old man. Now His hair was white. John’s description is the same as seen in Daniel 7:9. White hair in Scripture is symbolic of