Revelation 1:1–1

"[THIS IS] the revelation of Jesus Christ [His unveiling of the divine mysteries]. God gave it to Him to disclose and make known to His bond servants certain things which must shortly and speedily come to pass in their entirety. And He sent and communicated it through His angel (messenger) to His bond servant John." Notice that John himself is identified as a bond servant. It also is important to note the purpose of the revelation is to show His bond servants what must come to pass. This book is written for God's bond servants even more so than the Church or Israel. This revelation is for this last generation of bond servants who are alive at the time of the great tribulation and the reign of the Antichrist.

I would like to give a word on bond servants, as there will doubtless

be some who are unfamiliar with this term. A bond servant was someone who started out as a slave and, in Jewish custom when the slave had served for a certain number of years; he was to be set free. However, if that servant who was granted his freedom stated, "I do not wish to be free from you," he was considered a bond servant. Basically, he loved his master and did not want to be parted from him. Instead of compulsion, it was love that was the driving force in his life. This servant was taken before the authorities and his ear was pierced as evidence of his devotion to his master for life, so a love servant you could say (Exodus 21:1–6).

Write down the things you see because they pertain to the future

and I am going to reveal what my plans are to my bond servants so they can be prepared. Whoever these bond servants are, this book is for them, so that makes them especially important in this time period. I believe God has had bond servants in every generation. As we look through the Scriptures in every age, God has had bond servants. In the Old Testament we have had: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Daniel, Job and many others as bond servants for their generation. In the New Testament we have had: Jesus, Peter, Paul, James and John, with many others as bond servants for their generation. In our generation can anyone believe that Billy Graham and David Wilkerson were not bond servants? We tend to make it more mystical than it actually is. These are men and women who are completely sold out to the Lord with no reservations, and are love slaves. Paul often started his books with "From Paul a bond servant of Jesus Christ…"