The apostle John had been part of the inner circle of the Twelve Apostles (Luke 8:51; Matthew 17:1; Matthew 26:36, 37). After Christ’s ascension, he continued his ministry, in Jerusalem. Yet, before the fall of the city (AD 70), he moved to Ephesus in order to oversee churches in the Roman province of Asia Minor. During the Christian persecution under the Roman emperor Domitian, the apostle was exiled to Patmos, an island in the Aegean Sea.
On Patmos, John received special prophetic messages that were addressed not only to the seven churches of Asia Minor but also to Christians throughout the ages (Revelation 1:1–3, 9–11). The prophetic message delivery chain, of which John was a part, looked something like this: God the Father, to Jesus Christ, to the angel, to the apostle John, and to the readers and hearers. This is a classic example of the revelation-inspiration process in which God uses prophets to communicate His messages to humanity.
This week’s lesson specifically examines the multiform revelation-inspiration process, with special focus on the oral, written, and dramatized ways the divine message has been communicated to human beings.
Thought question: Though nature surely points to the reality of the Creator’s power and love, why do we still so desperately need the Written Word, as well? What does the Word tell us that nature, in and of itself, doesn’t?