His Bond-Servants

Revelation 1:1-2

The Revelation of Jesus Christ,

which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants,

the things which must soon take place;

and He sent

and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John,

who testified to the word of God

and to the testimony of Jesus Christ,

even to all that he saw.

Anyone who seeks God through His Word inevitably comes across at least one of the myriad “how-tos”—books or articles with guidance for reading the Bible.

If I have any recommendation, it would be to pay attention.  There is no single guide.  Rather, one will generally find good ideas in any material that offers good advice on studying the Word. 

One such idea is:  Pay attention when phrases or words are repeated.

Here, in the first verses of Revelation, one finds the word “bond-servant”.

First, John states clearly that the book is written for the bond-servants of Christ.

Second, John describes himself as one of the bond-servants of Christ.

In other words, the Revelation of Jesus Christ is written by one of Christ’s bond-servants specifically for all who are bond-servants of Jesus Christ.

The term is not uncommon among the apostles.  Paul begins his letter to the Romans

Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus,

called as an apostle,

set apart for the gospel of God…

And, he includes Timothy in Philippians

Paul and Timothy, bond-servants of Christ Jesus…

James, the half-brother of Jesus, is also named

James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ…

One should not ignore the parting words of the Virgin Mary to Gabriel, described in Luke 1:38:

And Mary said,

“Behold, the bondslave of the Lord;

may it be done to me according to your word.”

And the angel departed from her.

Please don’t get concerned about the translation “bondslave”.  Today’s popular culture makes an inappropriate leap to the toxic subject of slavery when it hears or reads “slave”. The key word used by authors who write in Greek are basically using the root word—doulos.

This word bridges the gap between the world of a slave and that of a bond-servant.

The issue involves a debt owed by a person that cannot be repaid.

In Hebrew law, from Exodus 21, a person enslaved by debt was required to serve for six years.  In the seventh (or sabbath) year, the slave became free; that is, unless the servant made a choice to remain in service to the master.

Our decision to follow Jesus Christ mirrors this law.

Once we freely make the decision to accept Christ as Lord and Savior, Jesus become our Redeemer.  See the book of Ruth for a beautiful parallel story.

At the moment we repent of our sin, and call upon the Lord to pay our debt, we become bond-servants of Christ Jesus.

We must also surrender our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor to Him as well.

This causes the Holy Spirit to indwell us, guiding our lives forever.

This also enables us to receive the Word—including the Revelation of Jesus Christ, as given by God to Jesus to show us.

Revelation was communicated to John on the island of Patmos by Christ’s angel.

The life of the apostle to that moment was the testimony of Jesus to the truth reflected in the writings of John.  That life included his calling, his mission of caring for Mary at the Crucifixion, and John’s leadership in the church, along with Peter, Paul, Timothy and the rest.

John says something remarkable about those who choose to hear or read what follows:

Revelation 1:3

Blessed is he who reads

and those who hear the words of the prophecy,

and heed the things which are written in it;

for the time is near.

There are three key concepts embedded in this one verse.

Those who consume the book, much like Ezekiel in his third chapter, are blessed.  The blessing is not dissimilar to those described by the Lord in Matthew 5, nor that given Mary from the moment she received Gabriel.

Revelation contains words of prophecy.  The Holy Spirit will guide the consumer according to the nature of the prophecy (past, present, or future).  The key, I believe, is approaching the study of the book prayerfully.  Since appropriate interpretation is in the Will of God, there is no doubt God will answer the humble and sincere prayers of the student.

Finally, “the time is near”.  There was a sense of urgency at the time John took up the stylus on Patmos.  There is a sense of urgency in the twenty-first century.  Whether the final fulfillment of the prophecy is immediate or centuries from now, our responsibility to hear, read, and correctly understand the Revelation of Jesus Christ begins right here, right now.