Revelation 1:1: “The Revelation of Jesus Christ.” 

Revelation 1:2: “… the testimony of Jesus Christ.”

 

            The very name ‘Jesus Christ‘ proclaims Him Savior and Anointed One.  His ‘Revelation‘ speaks of His role as Revealer of the hidden wisdom.

Savior

            The word ‘Jesus‘ is a form of the Hebrew word Yeshua.  In its noun form it signifies deliverance, help, therefore Saviour.  It includes the sense of universal freedom and great wealth, the victory of a conqueror.  It means ‘broad’ and ‘opulent’, therefore ‘universal’.  From this same root are the names Joshua, Isaiah and Hosea.

Messiah

            The word ‘Christ‘ is a form of the Greek word Christos, translating the Hebrew word Messiah.  It means ‘anointed (one)’.  In Daniel 9:25 it is translated ‘Prince’, (KJV).  In its full Biblical meaning it indicates the anointed of Jehovah, a title of honour given to the kings of Israel as being consecrated to God by anointing and therefore holy.  It was revealed to Daniel that the Messiah, (Prince), would come before the final end of the Jewish nation and City of Jerusalem, (Daniel 9:24-27).  The fact that the Messiah, Jesus Christ, had come revealed that it was the time of the end.

Revealer

            The phrase “The revelation of Jesus Christ” means that Jesus Christ is the Revealer.[1]  In the context of the book of Daniel, it indicates that He has fulfilled the prophecy of the Messiah that would come before the end of the nation and City.  We may have a reference here to the name given to Joseph by the Egyptians, Tsophnath Pa`neach, meaning Savior, or Revealer of a secret (Gen. 41:45).  That Jesus was the source of a hidden wisdom is attested in 1 Cor. 2:7-8:

But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glorification.  None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. (RSV)

The revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ was to reveal these hidden things: 1 Cor. 4:5:

Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, (is revealed), who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart. (RSV)

In Ephesians 1:9 Paul speaks of this wisdom which is hidden in Christ:

For he has made known to us in all wisdom and insight the mystery of his will, according to his purpose which he set forth in Christ, (RSV).

And 1:17: That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him, (RSV).

This esoteric wisdom is also mentioned in Colossians 2:2b-3:

To have all the riches of assured understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, of Christ, in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge, (RSV).

            Indeed, the gospel was preached to Abraham and the prophets in a hidden or esoteric form, (Gal. 3:8 and Romans 1:1-4).  The Promised Seed through Isaac was Christ, hidden within the fleshly lineage until the time of His incarnation, (Gal. 3:16-19).  The Heir of the promises was hidden until the fullness of time, (Gal. 4:30-31).

            The hiddeness is not only visual, but also auditory: the voice of God which was heard on Sinai and then through the prophets has now become silent except through this Jesus Christ, (Hebrews 1:1-2).  So ‘the revelation of Jesus Christ’ is the visual, audible and intellectual appearance of God.