Shining a light on the weekly Bible Lessons published in the Christian Science Quarterly®
Spirit
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: who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.
Although the authorship of the book of Revelation isn’t certain, commentators agree on the writer’s name as John and call him “John of Patmos” or “John the Elder.” In this introduction, the seer explains his charge to record the visions he is shown (see vv. 10, 11, 19) and confirms his fulfilling of this divine assignment.
Identified as a direct message from Christ Jesus, Revelation is unique among biblical books in both authority and content. One source suggests, “In addition to giving a glimpse of eschatological events, John’s book is to unveil the true nature of present reality.”
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Resources quoted in this issue
RR: Gaventa, Beverly Roberts. The New Interpreter’s Bible: One-Volume Commentary. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2010; Barker, Kenneth, et al., eds. The NIV Study Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1995.
Cit. 8: Laymon, Charles M. The Interpreter’s One-Volume Commentary on the Bible. Nashville: Abingdon, 1971.
Cit. 10: Keener, Craig S., John H. Walton, eds. NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2016.
Cit. 12: Keck, Leander E., et al., eds. The New Interpreter’s Bible Commentary. Vol. 7, The Gospels and Narrative Literature, Jesus and the Gospels, Matthew, Mark. Nashville: Abingdon, 2015.
COPYRIGHT
Scriptural quotations marked New International Version are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Scriptural quotations marked New Century Version are taken from the New Century Version®, copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scriptural quotations marked International Children’s Bible are taken from the International Children’s Bible®, copyright © 1986, 1988, 1999 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scriptural quotations marked Amplified® Bible Classic are taken from the Amplified® Bible Classic, copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.Lockman.org.
Scriptural quotations marked Holman Christian Standard Bible are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible®, copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission.
Scriptural quotations marked New Living Translation are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Scriptural quotations marked GOD’S WORD Translation are taken from GOD’S WORD®, copyright © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations. Used by permission of God’s Word Mission Society.
© 2021 The Christian Science Publishing Society. The design of the Cross and Crown is a trademark owned by the Christian Science Board of Directors and is used by permission. Bible Lens and Christian Science Quarterly are trademarks owned by The Christian Science Publishing Society. Unless otherwise indicated, all scriptural quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Holy Bible.
