The Revelation of Jesus Christ - The Herald

Upon the Gospel's sacred page
The gathered beams of ages shine;
For, as it hastens, every age
Fulfils its prophecies Divine.
On mightier wing, in loftier flight,
From year to year the truth shall soar; And, as it soars, its blessed light
Shall scatter darkness more and more.
More glorious still, as centuries roll,
Shall Truth's fair banner be unfurled,
Until in strength, from pole to pole,
Its radiance shall o'erflow the world--
Flow to restore, but not destroy;
As when the cloudless lamp of day
Pours out its floods of light and joy,
And sweeps the lingering mists away.
Chapter 2: Rev. 1:1-8
A Divine Prophecy in Signs
"The Revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave unto Him, to show unto His servants
things which must shortly come to pass."--Rev. 1:1.
It seems very evident that St. John prefixed the title of the book after he had seen all the
visions, and after he had recorded them. In these introductory words we have a very
convincing statement that the book is a Divine prophecy, that it was given by God to Jesus
Christ, and that it is for His servants the Church--for their benefit, for their instruction, for
their guidance.
Some hold the view that the expression, "The Revelation of Jesus Christ," has reference to
the person of the Savior; that it means not a revelation in the sense of a communication of
truth, but rather a manifestation of Christ's person at His Second Advent. A noted Futurist
expositor has expressed this view: "The Apocalypse, or Revelation of Jesus Christ, means
Jesus Christ revealed and uncovered to mortal view, and not merely Jesus Christ
revealing, and making known hidden things to be recorded for our learning. . . . The book
is not the Apocalypse of the Apocalypse, but the Apocalypse of Jesus Christ." This, he
says, "is the key to the whole book." This view is readily seen to be erroneous for the
reason that the title reads, "The Revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave unto Him to show
unto His servants things which must shortly come to pass." It is not, then, the Revelation
of Christ's person, but rather a revelation in the sense of a communication given to Him by
God, His Father. It can not refer to a revelation of Him in person, for the reason that the
revelation which was given to Him was a revelation of "things which must shortly come to
pass." It is true that in the book, the person of Jesus Christ is frequently portrayed in the