On 11 Dec 2020, at 7:28 pm, Ray via <ray.sarlin@...> wrote:

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Hi Ian,

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Thanks for your interesting questions. None of your questions cover "obvious points" and each is worthy of a fuller answer than I can give, but I'll try.

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1.? How many years after the resurrection of Jesus did John have his indescribable vision of Jesus on Patmos?

John recorded his vision about AD 95, during the reign of the Roman emperor Titus Flavius Domitian. Domitian had decreed that he be worshipped as “Lord and God,” and refusal to obey his edict led to severe persecution. Tradition says that Domitian sent John to exile at a Roman penal colony on the Isle of Patmos. When 44-year-old Domitian was assassinated in AD 96 by his chamberlain Parthenius and other court officials, John was released from exile and returned to Ephesus.?

I've visited Patmos and the Agean Sea is the dominant sight from anywhere on the largish u-shaped island, so it's not surprising that the word "sea" occurs twenty-six times in Revelation.

Jesus rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday 6 April 32 AD, 173,880 days after Artaxerxes Longimanus gave his commandment to restore and re-build Jerusalem (14 March 445 BC).? Jesus died on the Cross at 3 pm on 9 April (Passover Preparation Day, Passover was the next day on 10 April), rose three days and three nights later on 12 April (after 6 p.m. on the Feast of Firstfruits, the day after the Sabbath), and the tomb was found empty at dawn on Sunday 13 April.? He ministered on earth for 40 days before ascending to heaven.? The believers received the gifts of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost which falls on the 50th day after Passover, which occurred on 30 May that year.

Sorry for the digressions, but it would appear that (~95-32)?~63 years had transpired between the Resurrection and the penning of the book of Revelation.

2.? How many years after the resurrection of Jesus were the failings and bad behaviour identified in the seven churches?

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While all seven cities were in existence with their noted strengths and weaknesses when John received the letter in about AD 95, I would suggest that they didn't happen overnight and probably had been happening some years before and continued some years afterwards.? The direct answer to your question, however, would be ~95-32 = ~63 years.

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3.? Did an Angel provide the letters to John or to the churches?

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"The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants" (Rev. 1:1a) -? God the Father revealed the future to Jesus Christ, so that Jesus would convey it to all believers.

"And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John." (Rev. 1:1b)

According to Revelation 1:1–2, the Father gave the revelation to the Son, and the Son shared it with the apostle, using “His angel” as an intermediary messenger or envoy.? But don't confuse this as an absent Jesus Christ having an angelic courier bring John a completed scroll (or email).? John experienced the Revelation of Christ through all of his senses and later wrote it down (or dictated it).? The angel certainly conveyed a part (Rev. 1:1, 17:1; 19:9–10) but so too did Christ Himself (Rev. 1:10-20 and Chapters 2 and 3).? Sometimes an elder did (Rev. 7:13). Sometimes a “voice from heaven” told John what to say and do (Rev. 10:4). Most often, John "in the Spirit" simply witnessed it himself. So the book came from Jesus to John by all of these various inspired means of communication.?

The key point is that John "in the Spirit" truly experienced all the things that he would later write down as the book of Revelation.? The word "signified" (Rev. 1:1) confirms this; it means “to show by a sign.” The same word is translated in Revelation as sign (Rev. 15:1), wonder (Rev. 12:1, 3), and miracle (Rev. 19:20).? So John is noting that the message was miraculously transmitted to him by Jesus.? John's gospel uses the same word (σημα?νω,?蝉ē尘补í苍ō) to describe the other miracles of Jesus Christ.

The last part of the answer to your third question is that John was directed to share Christ's revelation with all believers ("who bore witness to the word of God", Rev 1:2).? This fulfils God's initial intent in Rev. 1:1 for the message to be shared with all believers ("(Jesus) to show His servants.")

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Please keep in mind that the book has two levels of communication from Jesus Christ.

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a.? The entire book is "The Revelation of Jesus Christ" to be conveyed to all believers.

b.? Chapters 2 and 3 contain seven discrete letters dictated "in the Spirit" to John by Jesus Christ to the seven regional ekklesia (groups or assemblies of believers), which were circular letters of great relevance to each addressee but also meant to be shared with all believers.

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Thanks again for asking.? Each time I research a text in Scripture, things seem to open themselves up and become clearer.? For example, I had intellectually accepted the immersive experience by which John had received this Revelation from Christ, but I hadn't really made the connection that John himself may have considered the whole experience miraculous (which it was).? He was recording a major miracle that he had personally witnessed.

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Blessings,

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Ray

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On Friday, 11 December 2020, 04:34:29 pm AEST, ianmurray wrote:

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Hi Ray,

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I have been reading through your sessions on Revelation and I am missing what must be an obvious point.

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I understand the failings and bad behaviour of the people of the seven churches? in Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos? etc? and how those failings can be related to any part of history and especially to the present day.

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Question:

How many years after the resurrection of Jesus? did? John have his indescribable? vision? of Jesus on Patmos?

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Question:

How many years after the resurrection of Jesus were the failings and bad behaviour identified in the seven churches?

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Question:

Letters to the Angel of the seven churches. Did an Angel? provide the letters to John or to the churches?

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Regards,

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Ian Murray