MORNINGSTAR MINSTRIES REVELATION 1 INTRODUCTION

Revelation
1:1-3
REVELATION JOHN AT PATMOS LIGHT FROM ABOVE

INTRODUCTION
Please read Revelation 1:1-3

The Revealing
Revelation means the unveiling or revealing. Jesus came to reveal the Father to us (Matthew
11:27; John 17:6,25,26), to reveal His name. His name is His character, His glory and His power.
The whole Bible is a revelation of God, Jesus came to reveal Himself to a sinful world (John
14:27).To reshape our marred characters and impress us with His character: Christ has given His
Spirit as a divine power to overcome all hereditary and cultivated tendencies to evil, and to
impress His own character upon His church. (DA 671.2) He came to expel the demons that had
controlled the will. He came to lift us up from the dust, to reshape the marred character after the
pattern of His divine character, and to make it beautiful with His own glory. (DA 37.3)
O
‣ God’s name = His character: Isaiah 9:6; Exodus 34:6.
‣ His glory = His character: Exodus 33:18,19, 2 Corinthians 3:18
‣ His glory = His power: Psalm 63:1,2

The book of Revelation is (1) another revealing of God’s character. Here we see Jesus revealed
in the Sanctuary in heaven since His ascension. The book also is (2) the story of the past,
present and future of God’s church, the world encroaching on the church and how Jesus rescues
His church. In all this we are seeing a personal God revealed to us. There are personal lessons
to be gained from every chapter in Revelation. How is it revealed? John 14:21, through His
amazing love. Lastly, the book is about you and me. It reveals our relationship with Jesus, the
bride who reflects Jesus’ character before He comes again to earth.

Is Revelation a book full of mysteries we can’t understand, as many claim? Why would it be
called the unveiling, if it was not? Deuteronomy 29:29. Like Daniel, the Word of God reveals the
codes we need to use to unveil God’s Word unto us.
Does Isaiah 29:10-12 apply to us and this book? How can it? “Blessed is he that readeth, and
they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written
therein.” (Revelation 1:3)
Read John 17:17; Proverbs 4:7;8:14 and 2 Timothy 3:16,17.

The whole Bible is a revelation; for all revelation to men comes through Christ, and all centres in
Him. God has spoken unto us by His Son, whose we are by creation and by redemption. Christ
came to John exiled on the Isle of Patmos to give him the truth for these last days, to show him

MAIL.MORNINGSTAR@GMAIL.COM !1
 MORNINGSTAR MINSTRIES REVELATION 1 INTRODUCTION

earth's history. God gave this revelation to Christ, and Christ communicated the same to John.
John, the beloved disciple, was the one chosen to receive this revelation. He was the last
survivor of the first chosen disciples. Under the New Testament dispensation he was honoured as
the prophet Daniel was honoured under the Old Testament dispensation.
The instruction to be communicated to John was so important that Christ came from heaven
to give it to His servant, telling him to send it to the churches. This instruction is to be the object
of our careful and prayerful study; for we are living in a time when men who are not under the
teaching of the Holy Spirit will bring in false theories. These men have been standing in high
places, and they have ambitious projects to carry out. They seek to exalt themselves, and to
revolutionise the whole showing of things. God has given us special instruction to guard us
against such ones. He bade John write in a book that which should take place in the closing
scenes of this earth's history. (MS 129, 1905)

Why John?
Often the very best men, those whom God uses to His name's glory, are unrecognised by human
wisdom, but not for one moment are they forgotten by God. When John was exiled to the Isle of
Patmos, there were many who thought him to be past service, an old and broken reed ready to
fall at any time. But the Lord saw fit to use him in that lonely island home where His servant was
imprisoned. The world and the bigoted priests and rulers rejoiced that they were at last rid of his
ever fresh testimony. [1 John 1:1-3 quoted.] (7BC 954.7)

It was after John had grown old in the service of the Lord that he was exiled to Patmos. And on
that lonely isle he received more communications from heaven than he had received during the
rest of his lifetime.
Christ's aged representative was exiled that his testimony might no longer be heard; for it was a
living power on the side of right. But though separated from his brethren, he was visited by Christ,
whom he had not seen since the ascension (RH May 16, 1899, 7BC 955.1-2)
T
John represents those of the inner circle of discipleship. He was won by love, not argument. His
heart was held by love, and the whole theme of all his writings is love. He saw only love in Christ,
and he responded freely to that wondrous drawing power. It was like an electric current flowing
from Christ, and John desired to be ever in the circuit. He kept close to Jesus, walked hand in
hand with Him, sat next to Him at the table, lay on His bosom,-he was “that disciple whom Jesus
loved. (SSP 16.1)

Genesis,-that condensed treatise on the plan of salvation,-the work which contains the Gospel in
embryo,-was written in the Midian desert, probably near Mount Horeb, while Moses watched the
flocks of Jethro. Every other book in the Bible is but the unfolding of the truths of Genesis. It is
the Alpha, and the book of Revelation is the Omega, of the Word of God to man.
As God prepared Moses, by a life of forty years in the solitudes of Midian, so He called the
Apostle John from the society of men, and led him along a strange path upward, and still upward,
until at last on the rocky coast of Patmos, heaven was opened to his wondering gaze, and the
future history of the church was made known. About six hundred years before the advent of
Christ, there lived another seer, Daniel. To him God revealed the history of the nations of the
world. From his own day, when Babylon bore universal sway, until nations should be no more,
Daniel was shown the world’s history. In connection with the account of the rise and fall of
nations, Daniel saw the history of his own people, the Hebrew race, from their captivity in
MAIL.MORNINGSTAR@GMAIL.COM !2
 MORNINGSTAR MINSTRIES REVELATION 1 INTRODUCTION

that which must shortly come to pass. Jesus Christ is the great trustee of divine revelation. It is
through Him that we have a knowledge of what we are to look for in the closing scenes of this

Babylon, until they rejected the Anointed of God. Daniel was of the royal seed of Israel, and was
prime minister in the Court of Babylon during the years when this history was revealed to him. He
of all men was fitted by education and position to write the history of the world.
As foretold by ancient prophets, the Saviour came a servant of men. He was anointed at the very
time predicted by the Prophet Daniel. “And Jesus when He was baptised, went up straightway
out of the water: and lo, the heavens were opened unto Him, and He saw the Spirit of God
descending like a dove, and lighting upon Him: and lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is My
beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Standing on the banks of the Jordan, a witness to this
anointing, was a young man chosen of Heaven, to continue the history begun by Daniel. (SSP
12.1-13.1)

Why the Book of Revelation?

Christians were in the minority and facing fierce opposition. It was given for them and for us
today. It is the truth for these last days. (Ms 129, 1905, par. 2)
The prophecy as given to John is a revelation of Jesus Christ, and is the history of God’s
dealings with the church which bears the name, Christian. Daniel is a history of nations; the
Revelation is ecclesiastical history, and into it, nations are introduced only when they affect the
growth of the church. (SSP 14.2)

The whole Bible is a revelation; for all revelation to men comes through Christ, and all centres in
Him. God has spoken unto us by His Son, whose we are by creation and by redemption. Christ
came to John <exiled> on the Isle of Patmos to give him the truth for these last days, to show him
that which must shortly come to pass. Jesus Christ is the great trustee of divine revelation. It is
through Him that we have a knowledge of what we are to look for in the closing scenes of this
earth’s history. God gave this revelation to Christ, and Christ communicated the same to John.

John, the beloved disciple, was the one chosen to receive this revelation. He was the last
survivor of the first chosen disciples. Under the New Testament dispensation he was honoured as
the prophet Daniel was honoured under the Old Testament dispensation. (20LtMs, Ms 129, 1905, par.
2-3)

Patmos
It was after [the incident of being thrown in the cauldron of boiling oil] that John was sent to
the isle of Patmos, where, separated from his companions in the faith, his enemies supposed he
would die from hardship and neglect. But John made friends and converts even there. They
thought that they had at last placed the faithful witness where he could no longer trouble Israel or
the wicked rulers of the world. But all the heavenly universe saw the result of the conflict with the
aged disciple and his separation from his companions in the faith.
God and Christ and the heavenly host were John’s companions on the isle of Patmos. From
them he received instruction which he imparted to those separated with him from the world.
There he wrote out the visions and revelations he received from God, telling of the things which
would take place in the closing period of this earth’s history. When his voice would no longer
witness for the truth, when he could no longer testify of the One he loved and served, the
messages given to him on that rocky, barren coast were to go forth as a lamp that burneth. Every
nation, kindred, tongue, and people would learn the sure purpose of the Lord, not concerning the
Jewish nation merely, but every nation upon the earth. (14LtMs, Ms 150, 1899, par. 10,11)
MAIL.MORNINGSTAR@GMAIL.COM !3
 MORNINGSTAR MINSTRIES REVELATION 1 INTRODUCTION

Let’s read what Ellen White wrote in the book The Acts of the Apostles:
After a time the zeal of the believers began to wane, and their love for God and for one another
grew less. Coldness crept into the church. Some forgot the wonderful manner in which they had
received the truth. One by one the old standard-bearers fell at their post. Some of the younger
workers, who might have shared the burdens of these pioneers, and thus have been prepared for
wise leadership, had become weary of oft-repeated truths. In their desire for something novel and
startling they attempted to introduce new phases of doctrine, more pleasing to many minds, but
not in harmony with the fundamental principles of the gospel. In their self-confidence and spiritual
blindness they failed to discern that these sophistries would cause many to question the
experiences of the past, and would thus lead to confusion and unbelief.
As these false doctrines were urged, differences sprang up, and the eyes of many were turned
from beholding Jesus as the Author and Finisher of their faith. The discussion of unimportant
points of doctrine, and the contemplation of pleasing fables of man's invention, occupied time that
should have been spent in proclaiming the gospel. The masses that might have been convicted
and converted by a faithful presentation of the truth were left unwarned. Piety was rapidly waning,
and Satan seemed about to gain the ascendancy over those who claimed to be followers of
Christ.
It was at this critical time in the history of the church that John was sentenced to banishment.
Never had his voice been needed by the church as now. Nearly all his former associates in the
ministry had suffered martyrdom. The remnant of believers was facing fierce opposition. To all
outward appearance the day was not far distant when the enemies of the church of Christ would
triumph.
But the Lord's hand was moving unseen in the darkness. In the providence of God, John was
placed where Christ could give him a wonderful revelation of Himself and of divine truth for the
enlightenment of the churches.
In exiling John, the enemies of truth had hoped to silence forever the voice of God's faithful
witness; but on Patmos the disciple received a message, the influence of which was to continue
to strengthen the church till the end of time. Though not released from the responsibility of their
wrong act, those who banished John became instruments in the hands of God to carry out
Heaven's purpose; and the very effort to extinguish the light placed the truth in bold relief.
It was on the Sabbath that the Lord of glory appeared to the exiled apostle. The Sabbath was as
sacredly observed by John on Patmos as when he was preaching to the people in the towns and
cities of Judea. He claimed as his own the precious promises that had been given regarding that
day. “I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day,” John writes, “and heard behind me a great voice, as of
a trumpet, saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last.... And I turned to see the voice
that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; and in the midst of the
seven candlesticks One like unto the Son of man.” Revelation 1:10-13.
Richly favoured was this beloved disciple. He had seen his Master in Gethsemane, His face
marked with the blood drops of agony, His “visage ... marred more than any man, and His form
more than the sons of men.” Isaiah 52:14. He had seen Him in the hands of the Roman soldiers,
clothed with an old purple robe and crowned with thorns. He had seen Him hanging on the cross
of Calvary, the object of cruel mockery and abuse. Now John is once more permitted to behold
his Lord. But how changed is His appearance! He is no longer a Man of Sorrows, despised and
humiliated by men. He is clothed in a garment of heavenly brightness. “His head and His hairs”
are “white like wool, as white as snow; and His eyes ... as a flame of fire; and His feet like unto
fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace.” Revelation 1:14, 15, 17. His voice is like the music of
many waters. His countenance shines as the sun. In His hand are seven stars, and out of His
mouth issues a sharp two-edged sword, an emblem of the power of His word. Patmos is made
resplendent with the glory of the risen Lord.
“And when I saw Him,” John writes, “I fell at His feet as dead. And He laid His right hand upon
me, saying unto me, Fear not.” Verse 17.
MAIL.MORNINGSTAR@GMAIL.COM !4
 MORNINGSTAR MINSTRIES REVELATION 1 INTRODUCTION

John was strengthened to live in the presence of his glorified Lord. Then before his wondering
vision were opened the glories of heaven. He was permitted to see the throne of God and,
looking beyond the conflicts of earth, to behold the white-robed throng of the redeemed. He
heard the music of the heavenly angels and the triumphant songs of those who had overcome by
the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony. In the revelation given to him there was
unfolded scene after scene of thrilling interest in the experience of the people of God, and the
history of the church foretold to the very close of time. In figures and symbols, subjects of vast
importance were presented to John, which he was to record, that the people of God living in his
age and in future ages might have an intelligent understanding of the perils and conflicts before
them.
This revelation was given for the guidance and comfort of the church throughout the Christian
dispensation. Yet religious teachers have declared that it is a sealed book and its secrets cannot
be explained. Therefore many have turned from the prophetic record, refusing to devote time and
study to its mysteries. But God does not wish His people to regard the book thus. It is “the
revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto Him, to show unto His servants things which
must shortly come to pass.” “Blessed is he that readeth,” the Lord declares, “and they that hear
the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at
hand.” Verses 1, 3. “I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book,
If any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in
this book: and if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall
take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the Holy City, and from the things which are
written in this book. He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly.” Revelation
22:18-20.
In the Revelation are portrayed the deep things of God. The very name given to its inspired
pages, “the Revelation,” contradicts the statement that this is a sealed book. A revelation is
something revealed. The Lord Himself revealed to His servant the mysteries contained in this
book, and He designs that they shall be open to the study of all. Its truths are addressed to those
living in the last days of this earth's history, as well as to those living in the days of John. Some of
the scenes depicted in this prophecy are in the past, some are now taking place; some bring to
view the close of the great conflict between the powers of darkness and the Prince of heaven,
and some reveal the triumphs and joys of the redeemed in the earth made new.
Let none think, because they cannot explain the meaning of every symbol in the Revelation, that
it is useless for them to search this book in an effort to know the meaning of the truth it contains.
The One who revealed these mysteries to John will give to the diligent searcher for truth a
foretaste of heavenly things. Those whose hearts are open to the reception of truth will be
enabled to understand its teachings, and will be granted the blessing promised to those who
“hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein.”
In the Revelation all the books of the Bible meet and end. Here is the complement of the book of
Daniel. One is a prophecy; the other a revelation. The book that was sealed is not the Revelation,
but that portion of the prophecy of Daniel relating to the last days. The angel commanded, “But
thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end.” Daniel 12:4. .
(AA 580.1- 585.1*). *I would recommend reading all of Chapter 57 in Acts of the Apostles.

Who is involved?
Genesis 1:1 - God the Father gave this revelation to Jesus Christ to show unto us, His servants,
in particular by His Angel to John, the last surviving of His 12 servants. God gave this revelation
to Christ. (Ms 129, 1905, par. 2)
Who is this angel? It is the angel Gabriel of Jesus?
Gabriel was sent to Daniel to explain the prophecies to him (Daniel 8:16;9:21). But here we have
no mention of the name Gabriel, so can we assume it is Gabriel? It may be, as it was Gabriel
who informed Daniel and gave him explanations. So it can be the same Gabriel informing John.
ThisMAIL.MORNINGSTAR@GMAIL.COM
angel is not the only one that gives explanations to John. In Revelation 5:5 and 7:13 one!5 of
the elders speaks directly to John.
 MORNINGSTAR MINSTRIES REVELATION 1 INTRODUCTION

In Revelation 17:1,7,15 one of the angels with the vials of the seven last plagues gives him a
vision and explanation.
In Revelation 19:9,10 the angel shows John the Marriage Supper, but John’s worship of him is
not accepted.
In Revelation 21:9 John is shown the New Jerusalem by one of these angels that have the vials
of the seven last plagues. This angels then repeats what has been mentioned in Revelation 1:1
Revelation 1:1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his
servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto
his servant John.
Revelation 22:6 And he said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of
the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.

This signifies that in these passages it is an angel speaks to John, and not Jesus symbolised as
an angel. Although it appears that the same voice speaks in Revelation 22:7, it is not, as in
verses 8 and 9 John again falls down to worship the angel and is again forbidden to do this.

There are instances in Revelation that the angel speaks and other times that God speaks. In
Revelation 1 we will see that John sees Jesus in the Holy Place of the heavenly sanctuary and
hears Him speak, but it is clear from the Spirit of Prophecy that Jesus came Himself to John to
reveal these things to him, thus the angel in Revelation 1:1 may be Christ after all: The instruction
to be communicated to John was so important that Christ came from heaven to give it to His
servant. (Ms 129, 1905, par.4)

Is Jesus sometimes mentioned as an Angel?

Yes. In Revelation 8:3 we see “another angel” stand at the altar of intercession in the holy place
in the heavenly sanctuary. In the SOP we are told this angel is Jesus (see future lesson on
Revelation 8).
Ask yourself these questions:
• If Jesus could use a lowly shrub as a symbol for His presence to Moses, then why can’t He not
represent Himself as an angel?
• If Jesus could symbolise Himself as a pillar of fire and cloud to the Israelites, then why can’t He
symbolise Himself as an angel? Christ was the leader of the children of Israel in their
wilderness wanderings. Enshrouded in the pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night,
He led and guided them. (COL 287.1).
• Who was the angel that revealed Himself to Jacob and that he wrestled with? (Hosea 12:2-4).
It was Christ, “the Angel of the covenant,” who had revealed Himself to Jacob. (PP196.3). As a
prince hast thou power with God and with men, and hast prevailed. (Genesis 32:28).
• Who is the angel that redeemed Jacob? (Genesis 48:14-16). Only God can redeem us.
• Who is the "angel of the LORD" that tells Abraham not to kill his son? “Thou has not withheld
thy son, thine only son, from me.” It was God who had asked Abraham too offer his son to Him
in verses 1 and 2.
• Who is the “angel of the LORD” that Manoah talks to In Judges 13:15- . When Manoah asks
for his name he os told it is “secret (margin wonderful).” Who is called wonderful? Isaiah 9:6.
• Who is the “angel of his presence” that saved Israel? (Isaiah 63:9). The same that redeems
them. Only God can redeem.
• Who is the "angel of the LORD” that tells Hagar to return to Sarah? (Genesis 16:11-13). She
called the name of the Lord that spake unto her. (verse 13).
MAIL.MORNINGSTAR@GMAIL.COM !6
 MORNINGSTAR MINSTRIES REVELATION 1 INTRODUCTION

Who’s revelation is it?

What does the title to the book in your Bible say? “The revelation of st. John the divine,” But
the first verse clearly reveals it is from Jesus. Jesus is the author, John is but the penman. Is the
title inspired? No, they are the insertions by the translators. A mistake on their part, just like they
put the comma in the wrong place in Luke 23:43. This is an obvious mistake as Jesus was not in
paradise the day He died because He rested in the grave until the Sunday morning.

The Blessing
Revelation opens with a blessing for us, the reader of this book, and it finishes with a blessing for
those that keep its sayings: Revelation 1:3; 22:14. But it finishes with a curse for those that add
or subtract from it: Revelation 22:19. What encouragement, then, have we for its study! And shall
we say that it cannot be understood? Is a blessing offered for the study of a book which it can do
us no good to study? (DAR 326.1 1897)

Time is at Hand
The importance of studying the Apocalypse increases with the lapse of time. … Even when John
bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all the things which
he saw, the long period within which those successive scenes were to be realised was at hand. If
proximity then constituted a motive for heeding those contents, how much more does it now! (DAR
326.3 1897, quoting Thompson’s Patmos, pp. 28-9)

The statement “the time is at hand” indicates that the book of Revelation applies to the times of
John’s day all the way to the second coming go Christ. For us today, it presents the past, present
and future. See Revelation 1:19

Revelation & the Sanctuary

There are three parts to the Sanctuary, and in Revelation the sanctuary forms an important
background picture to the whole book. There’s the:
1. Outer Court, where the Altar of Sacrifice (which stands for forgiveness of sins) and Laver are
found (Baptism).
2. Holy Place, where the Candlestick (Light - witnessing), Altar of incense (witnessing) and Table
of Shewbread (Word of God) are found.
3. Most Holy Place, where the Ark of the Covenant (God’s presence) is found.

When we get to the book of Revelation, we have already passed the Outer Court. The sacrifice
and baptism of the church have already been described in the previous books of the NT. We
have been at the Altar of Sacrifice in the gospels, where we have met the Lamb that was slain. In
Acts and the following books we find information about the Laver experience, where we are told
to get baptised. But it is in the book of Revelation that we move into the Holy Place. In Revelation
1:13 we see Jesus walking amidst the seven candlesticks, which means He is in the Holy Place.
This places us in the period after Jesus ascension where He went into the Holy Place to be our
High Priest Intercessor in the heavenly Sanctuary. In Revelation chapters 1-10 we stay in the
Holy Place, but in 11:19 we get another picture. Here we see the Ark of the Covenant, we are
now in the Most Holy Place!

MAIL.MORNINGSTAR@GMAIL.COM !7
 MORNINGSTAR MINSTRIES REVELATION 1 INTRODUCTION

The three parts of the Sanctuary describe the process of our coming to God, in fact some have
called the Sanctuary “the path to the throne of God”:
• Outer Court = Justification
• Holy Place = Sanctification
• Most Holy Place = Glorification

Prophecy
What is prophecy? The foretelling of an event before it comes to pass.
Why is it used? To know who the real God is.
Isaiah 46:9,10; John 13:19

Why do people reject it?

Possibly because it is different from all other Bible books, as it is so full of signs and symbols,
which are, on the surface, hard to understand. This is what Luther wrote about Revelation: “My
spirit cannot accommodate itself to this book. For me this is reason enough not to think highly of
it: Christ is neither taught nor known in it.” (University Lutheran Church, Martin Luther’s Preface to the
Revelation of St. John (1522), retrieved from https://www.universitylutheran.church/luther-on-revelation.html) But
just eight years later he can no longer “let the book alone,” and he writes “we see, in this book,
that through and above all plagues and beasts and evil angels Christ is with His saints, and wins
the victory at last.” (Beggars All Reformation & Apologetics, Luther on revelation, retrieved from
https://beggarsallreformation.blogspot.com/2016/01/luther-on-revelation-i-feel-aversion-to.html) Yes, Jesus is all
over the book of Revelation, as we will find out.

SOP on Revelation
Ellen White has much to say on this book.
1. Will we heed the messages He addresses to the church? Let us determine to be among the
number who shall meet Him with joy at His coming, and not among those who “shall wail
because of Him.” Let us make certain our redemption by obeying the messages that He gives to
His church. … Let us strive to obtain an abundant entrance into the kingdom of our Lord. Let us
diligently study the Gospel that Christ came in person to present to John on the Isle of Patmos,—
the Gospel that is termed, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto Him, to show
unto His servants things which must shortly come to pass.” Let us remember always that
“blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things
which are written therein; for the time is at hand.” (ST February 4, 1903, par. 2 & 4)

2. These messages [to the churches in Asia] Christ did not withhold from His followers—that they
must do their work amid trials and exposure to persecution and life itself. But they must not
become dim or cease to shine as lights amid the moral darkness, to irradiate the dense gloom of
immorality and sin. They are to unite in bearing one another's burdens. “Ye are the light of the
world.”
There was kept before them that His people must be a combined, united power in love and
efficiency, to become a light amid the moral darkness. By these combined forces [He] specified
that they all may be one. Hear it, every one who is a Seventh-day Adventist; hear it: “As Thou,
Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that
Thou hast sent Me.... I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that
the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, and hast loved them, as Thou hast loved Me” [John
17:21, 23].
MAIL.MORNINGSTAR@GMAIL.COM !8
 MORNINGSTAR MINSTRIES REVELATION 1 INTRODUCTION

The Lord Jesus described the difficulties they should meet. Having called their minds to rise to an
eminence, He bids them behold the vast confederacy of evil arrayed against God, against Christ,
against all who unite with these holy powers. Christ tells them they were to fight in fellowship with
all the children of light; that satanic agencies would combine their forces to extinguish the light of
the life of Christ out of their ranks. But they were not left to fight the battles in their own human
strength. The angelic host coming as ministers of God would be in that battle. Also there would
be the eternal heavenly dignitaries—God, and Christ, and the Holy Spirit—arming them with
more than mortal energy, and would advance with them to the work, and convince the world of
sin.
This is your work. “I left heaven, My riches, My command, My honour, My glory, to save a world
from death. If they will take hold of My strength, and make peace with Me, I will make peace with
them.” [Isaiah 27:5].
The great missionary spirit of the church is to be aroused. But the Lord Jesus comes forth yet
once again to speak to John, and present the missionary work to be done in our world. He sees
that the message, the last message of warning, is not thoroughly understood. The angel with the
everlasting gospel did not awaken the people to move them to action. He came personally to
John and announced to him the missionary work to be done. [Revelation 22:10-17, quoted.] (Manuscript
130, 1901. 16MR 204.2-205.2)

3. There is need of close self-examination. The messages given to the churches in Asia, portray
the state of things existing in the churches of the religious world today. The names of the
churches are symbolic of the Christian church in different periods of the Christian Era; the
number of the churches—seven—indicates completeness, and is symbolic of the fact that the
messages extend to the end of time, and are in force today; while the figures used are symbolic
of the state of God’s professed people—the wheat developing among the tares; truth standing on
its own eternal basis in contrast with error.
In these messages the churches are exhorted to be zealous. Those who stand before the world
as God’s commandment-keeping people ought always to be zealous in His service. God calls for
earnest, whole-souled, self-sacrificing labourers—workers that will not fail nor be discouraged,
but that will realize that eternal vigilance is the price of safety.
The church of today can render no excuse acceptable to God for establishing no more memorials
—churches and institutions—than they have. The gospel banner should today be floating over
very, very many places where there is nothing to represent the truth for this time. In all parts of
the world there are many souls ready to die; many who are losing faith in the spirituality of the
modern churches, and who have almost lost all hope. (15LtMs, Ms 81, 1900, par. 56-8)

4. These things which were presented to John are of the greatest importance to us, for we are
living in the very last days; soon we shall enter upon the fulfillment of those events which Christ
opened to John on the isle of Patmos. As the messengers of God present these solemn truths,
they must realize that they are handling subjects of eternal interest, they should seek for the
baptism of the Holy Spirit, that they may speak, not their own words, but words given them by
God.
The book of Revelation must be opened to the people. Many have been taught that it is a sealed
book; but it is sealed only to those who reject light and truth. The truth it contains must be
proclaimed, that people may have an opportunity to prepare for the events which are so soon to
transpire. The third angel’s message must be presented as the only hope for the salvation of a
perishing world. (11LtMs, Lt 87, 1896, par. 7 & 8)

MAIL.MORNINGSTAR@GMAIL.COM !9
 MORNINGSTAR MINSTRIES REVELATION 1 INTRODUCTION

To finish these quotes and this lesson, we will add one more, which is most important.

5. The solemn messages that have been given in their order in the Revelation are to occupy first
place in the minds of god’s people. Nothing else is to be allowed to engross the attention.

Precious time is rapidly passing, and there is danger that many will be robbed of the time which
should be given to the proclamation of the messages that God has sent to a fallen world. Satan is
pleased to see the diversions of minds that should be engaged in a study of the truths which
have to do with eternal realities.

The testimony of Christ, a testimony of the most solemn character, is to be borne to the world. All
through the book of Revelation there are the most precious elevating promises, and there are
also warnings of the most fearfully solemn import. Will not those who profess to have a
knowledge of the truth read the testimony given to John by Christ? Here is no guesswork,
no scientific deception. Here are the truths that concern our present and future welfare. What is
the chaff to the wheat? (8T 302.1-3)

May you be blessed as you

continue your studies

(reading, hearing and keeping)

in the Book of Revelation,

“for the time is at hand

(Revelation 1:3).”

MAIL.MORNINGSTAR@GMAIL.COM !1 0