“which God gave Him, to show His servants”

The first quote is from the 1960’s:

“Notice the words of the text, ‘which God gave unto him.’  God has in covenant made a promise to our Lord Jesus because of His acceptance of the mediatorial office of atonement. Because Christ humbled Himself, because He poured out His life unto death, because He became flesh and blood and suffered for the sins of the world, God has given Him a great reward. Look at the text: ‘The Apokalupsis, the Revelation, the unveiling of Jesus Christ which God gave unto Him.’ Because our Lord humbled Himself and suffered for our sins, God in covenant has declared that He will exalt our Savior above all principalities, above all powers, above all authorities. In His Son’s pierced and suffering hands God has promised that He will place the destiny of this universe, both now and in the ages that are to come. This Apocalypse, this unveiling is something that God has given to Jesus Christ by way of an infinitely precious and marvelous reward.  A part of that reward, an earnest of that glory, we can see when God raised our Savior from among the dead, when He received Him up into glory. But that is just a part, it is just an earnest. the fulness and the glory of that reward are to be seen in the pages of the Revelation. This is what God has given to His Son, our Savior, the Lord Jesus — this glorious appearing in wonder, in majesty and in glory.”   [from EXPOSITORY SERMONS ON REVELATION, VOL 1, by Wallie A. Criswell, 1961]

This quote sounds very lovely but I have trouble with the idea that Christ being raised from the dead was a “reward.” Maybe I’m wrong here, but I see Christ as doing what He did out of great Love and Obedience, not as work for a “reward.” I looked and found the reference to Christ having a “reward” in only one place in the Bible:

Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done.  (Revelation 22:12; NASB)

Then I was told: I am coming soon! And when I come, I will reward everyone for what they have done.   (Revelation 22:12; Contemporary English Version)

 I looked up the word ‘reward’ and it is #3408 in Strongs: misthos. The definition is “dues paid for work, wages, hire; used of the fruit naturally resulting from toils and endeavors: in both senses, rewards and punishments…” In other words, it refers to the results of labor, good or bad, whether that result is a natural result or wages promised and paid for that labor. The quote from Revelation could read: “Behold, I am coming quickly, and the wages I’ve been paid are with Me, to pay to every man according to what he has done.”  Or, it could read: “Behold, I am coming quickly, and the work that I have done now allows Me to provide a nice outcome for everyone for what they have done.” 

All things come from God, so certainly the benefit from what Christ achieved comes from God. But to imply that God ‘hired’ Jesus to play a part, which upon completion would result in Him receiving His wages is just not the correct interpretation in my humble opinion. I think that the correct interpretation would be that the results of what Christ achieved put Him in the position to provide salvation for His followers. I know that this is a picky point, but it is on picky points that a belief is built. 

At biblehub.com, the Contemporary English Version is the only one that doesn’t use the word ‘reward.’ Yet, even that translation does not totally satisfy because it ducks the idea that Christ is able to reward everyone as a result of what He did.

“The purpose is ‘to shew unto His servants things which must shortly come to pass.’ Who are His servants? They are Christ’s bondmen, His bondslaves. If the Revelation is a closed book to the majority of God’s children, it is quite possible that for this very reason it is so. Eight times in the book we find the admonition, ‘He that hath an ear, let him hear’ (2:7,11,17,29; 3:6,13,22; 13:9). 

⁷He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches…¹¹He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches…¹⁷He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches…²⁹He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.  (Revelation 2:7,11,17,29; KJV)

⁶He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches….¹³He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches…²²He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.  (Revelation 3:6,13,22; KJV)

If any man have an ear, let him hear.   (Revelation 13:9; KJV)

“It takes the circumcised ear of a willing bondslave of Jesus Christ to hear with the understanding the truths set forth in this book (see Exodus 21:1-6 cf. Jeremiah 5:21; 6:10).

⁵And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go free: ⁶Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an aul; and he shall serve him for ever.   (Exodus 21:5-6; KJV)

Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not   (Jeremiah 5:21; KJV)

To whom shall I speak, and give warning, that they may hear? behold, their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot hearken: behold, the word of the LORD is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it.  (Jeremiah 6:10; KJV)

 “It was never God’s intention to hold back the meaning of the Revelation, but rather to show, to exhibit, to make known its meaning. All who willingly submit to Christ will have little difficulty with this book.”   [from THE BOOK OF REVELATION, by Lehman Strauss, 1964]

This is probably true of the whole Bible, at least I found it so. Sure, many of the stories can be understood on some level, but the deeper meanings are usually lost without the Holy Spirit present. Hebraic hermeneutics describe 4 levels of understanding, I’ll do a special topic on that in the near future.

“The expression ‘to shew’ means to show by making known. The Lord will make know to His servants things that soon will come to pass. The word ‘servant’ means ‘bondman’ or ‘slave’ and has reference not to someone enslaved against his will but to born-again believers who are freewill bondmen to Christ. They have surrendered their own rights to the Lord, gladly submitting to His rulership, not wanting to run their own lives. It is to such the Book of the Revelation will be made plain.”   [from PRACTICAL STUDIES IN REVELATION, VOL 1, by Theodore H. Epp, 1969]

Epp is providing more detail on the idea of submission to Christ as a prerequisite to understanding Revelation. Specifically surrendering “their own rights to the Lord” and “not wanting to run their own lives.” This is the nitty-gritty of submitting.

“So this book is the revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave Him to show to His yielded servants. A critic has said that he cannot believe the book of Revelation because to him it is ‘unacceptable gibberish.’ This statement is parallel to 1 Corinthians 1:18, ‘The preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness.’ The book of Revelation can be nothing but unacceptable gibberish to any but a yielded servant; but if we will go to God with yielded hearts, ask Him to cleanse us of open fault and secret sin, and give understanding, we shall find herein His Word clear and true, and learn that it is possible for a simple believer to have an unconfused grasp of its great teachings. There will be difficulties undoubtedly. The finite mind will always have certain difficulties when facing the infinite Word of God, but the difficulties may safely be left with God, and they will never be barriers to prayerful, devout study.”   [from REVELATION: AN EXPOSITIONAL COMMENTARY, by Donald Grey Barnhouse, 1971]

And Barnhouse provides even more detail about who can understand Revelation. This idea seems to have gained prominence in the mid-20th century. 

“To show unto his servants…It is not a sealed book; it is open and to be understood in our day. This is in contrast to the prophecy in the Book of Daniel which Daniel was instructed to seal. Our Lord Jesus gave what are known as ‘mystery’ parables. Very frankly, to the majority of the church today they are still a mystery. But our Lord put it like this: ‘And he said unto them, Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God: but unto them that are without, all these things are done in parables: that seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them’ (Mark 4:11-12). You see, my friend, in the Gospels we have only the half-story. We need the Book of Revelation because it is the consummation of it. Of course, it can be understood only if the Spirit of God is our teacher. But the Book of Revelation takes off the veil so we can see Christ in His unveiled beauty and power and glory…

“‘To show’ means by word pictures, by symbols, by direct and indirect representations…”   [from REVELATION: CHAPTER 1-5, by J. Vernon McGee, 1975]

This quote from Mark always reminds me of the loaves and fishes parable. Jesus did not create the food for the 5000 out of thin air: he multiplied what the disciples brought to him (remember that he also made wine from water, not from thin air). You must bring the faith that He can save you to Him, and He will multiply it and forgive your sins. He chose to avoid having people ‘stumble’ into salvation, they need to step into it purposefully. 

I also really appreciate the point that the Gospels are only half of the story, and that Revelation is the other half. It’s another way of saying that the Gospels show Jesus as He was on earth, while Revelation reveals Him as He is after His Ascension. 

“…Already God had spoken to him, already Christ had testified to the truth of that word, and it was because John would not and could not deny this Christian experience that he was sent into exile. And now he was again to receive the Word and the Witness, a genuine message from God, which in due course was to be read aloud in church meetings like other inspired scripture (verse 3). It would in a sense be nothing new; simply a recapitulation of the Christian faith he possessed already. But it was to be the last time that God would repeat the patterns of truth, and he was to do so with devastating power and in unforgettable splendor.”   [from I SAW HEAVEN OPENED: THE MESSAGE OF REVELATION, by Michael Wilcock, 1975]

A nice quote, but I have to take exception to “It would in a sense be nothing new; simply a recapitulation of the Christian faith he possessed already.” It was new, and it is new. As McGee said, it’s a “consummation” of the Gospels, so yes, there is some familiarity to it. But as a consummation it provides an ending, a new ending, that history is driving straight into, and it will be like nothing seen before.

“God is the source of all revelation. He is, as Daniel declared to Nebuchadnezzar, the one who reveals secrets and makes known what shall come to pass (Dan 2:28,29,45). 

²⁸However, there is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets, and maketh known to the king Nebuchadnezzar what shall be in the latter days. Thy dream, and the visions of thy head upon your bed, are these; ²⁹As for thee, O king, thy thoughts came into thy mind upon thy bed, what should come to pass hereafter: and he that revealeth secrets maketh known to thee what shall come to pass…⁴⁵Foreasmuch as thou sawest that a stone was cut out of the mountain without hands, and that it brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the clay, the silver, and the gold; the great God hath made known to the king what come to pass hereafter:  and the dream is certain, and the interpretation thereof sure.   (Daniel 2:28-29,45; KJV)

“In Revelation this disclosure is mediated by Jesus Christ. (In the Fourth Gospel the role of taking the things of God and showing them to man is often assigned to Christ: Jn 1:18; 5:19-23; 12:49; 17:8; cf. Mt 11:27.) 

No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.   (John 1:18; KJV)

¹⁹Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise. ²⁰For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel. ²¹For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will. ²²For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: ²³That all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He that honoreth not the Son honoreth not the Father which hath sent him.   (John 5:19-23; KJV)

For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.   (John 12:49; KJV)

For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.   (John 17:8; KJV)

All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him.   (Matthew 11:27; KJV)

“The express purpose of God in giving the revelation is to show to his servants the things which must shortly come to pass. History is not a haphazard sequence of unrelated events but a divinely decreed ordering of that which must come to pass. It is a logical necessity arising from the nature of God and the revelation of his purpose in creation and redemption.”   [from THE BOOK OF REVELATION, by Robert H. Mounce, 1977]

I like what Mounce says about history. It’s so comforting to know that God is in control.

“…This revelation was given unto Christ ‘to show unto his servants.’ The things to come were to be made known to God’s bondservants — the redeemed. The revelation was committed to them for safekeeping and for their comfort and encouragement.”   [from REVELATION: AN INTRODUCTION AND COMMENTARY, by Homer Haily, 1979]

I wonder who we are keeping Revelation safe from? Or maybe Haily is just referring to passing the information on through the generations. Revelation seems to have its own protective mechanisms.

We are supposed to find “comfort and encouragement” from Revelation. As the world goes totally haywire, it’s interesting and oddly comforting to recognize some of the things in the news as set-ups or preparations for the events of Revelation. It’s just a little reminder that God is in control and He knew all along this was going to happen.

“his servants: lit. slaves; in the OT ‘the king’s servants’ were his cabinet, and the term was applied to the prophets who ‘stood in God’s council’  (Amos 3⁷, Jer. 23¹⁸). 

Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.   (Amos 3:7; KJV)

For who hath stood in the counsel of the LORD, and hath perceived and heard his word? who hath marked his word, and heard it?   (Jeremiah 23:18; KJV)

“Some think it refers to Christian prophets here (cf. 10⁷ and perhaps 11¹⁸…) but as at 22⁶ it surely refers to all Christians: John writes as their colleague and brother (v. 9) having the same Lord (= master).”   [from REVELATION, by John P. M. Sweet, 1979]

Who would not fear thee, O King of nations? for to thee doth it appertain: forasmuch as among all the wise men of the nations, and in all their kingdoms, there is none like unto thee.   (Jeremiah 10:7; KJV)

And the LORD hath given me knowledge of it, and I know it: then thou shewedst me their doings.   (Jeremiah 11:18; KJV)

For thus saith the LORD unto the king’s house of Judah; Thou art Gilead unto me, and the head of Lebanon: yet surely I will make thee a wilderness, and cities which are not inhabited.   (Jeremiah 22:6; KJV)

I’m just not seeing this. Sweet gives chapter and verse, but doesn’t state the book. Convention says that you use the last book cited, which in this case is Jeremiah. These quotes do not whisper “Christians” to me at all, and even less so when read in context. I even looked the citations up in John and Revelation, but those quotes made less sense than the Jeremiah quotes. 

And, I don’t agree that the servants referred to are only the ‘prophets.’

The next quote I have is fairly long, so I will save it for next time when we will move from the 20th century into the 21st.