<p>1:1- see on Dan. 10:21.</p><p><i>The Revelation of Jesus Christ- </i>The Lord's second coming is called His &quot;revelation&quot; (s.w. 1 Pet. 1:7,13; 4:13 etc.), and so there is a play on ideas here. The things revealed by the Lord in this book ultimately concern His second coming, whatever other relevance they have had throughout history.</p><p><i>Which God gave him to show to his servants the things which must shortly come to pass- </i>A great theme of Revelation is that &quot;the time is near&quot;- these things were about to happen. This is a major theme (1:1,3; 2:16; 3:10,11; 22:6,7,10,12,20). The relationship between the letters to the churches and the rest of Revelation cannot be overlooked; what was to happen to them in judgment was bound up with what was to come upon the land of Palestine in AD70. Mt. 21:40 parallels the coming of the Lord with the destruction of Jerusalem in AD70. This is exactly the sequence of events we expect in the last days, according to Zech. 14. There are many links between the trumpets, seals and the Olivet prophecy; and also many links with Josephus' descriptions of what came upon Palestine in AD66-70- e.g. 9:5 &quot;inwardly tormented&quot; Gk. <i>ebasanizonto</i> is used in Josephus (Wars 5.1.5).</p><table border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0>    <tbody>        <tr>            <td width=361 valign=top>            <p>Revelation</p>            </td>            <td width=361 valign=top>            <p>The Olivet Prophecy</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=361 valign=top>            <p>6:1,2</p>            </td>            <td width=361 valign=top>            <p>Mt. 24:14</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=361 valign=top>            <p>6:14</p>            </td>            <td width=361 valign=top>            <p>Mt. 24:35</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=361 valign=top>            <p>6:3,4</p>            </td>            <td width=361 valign=top>            <p>Mt. 24:6,7</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=361 valign=top>            <p>6:16</p>            </td>            <td width=361 valign=top>            <p>Lk. 23:30</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=361 valign=top>            <p>6:5,6</p>            </td>            <td width=361 valign=top>            <p>Mt. 24:7</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=361 valign=top>            <p>6:17</p>            </td>            <td width=361 valign=top>            <p>Lk. 21:36</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=361 valign=top>            <p>6:7,8</p>            </td>            <td width=361 valign=top>            <p>Mt. 24:7</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=361 valign=top>            <p>7:1</p>            </td>            <td width=361 valign=top>            <p>Mt. 24:31</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=361 valign=top>            <p>6:9</p>            </td>            <td width=361 valign=top>            <p>Mt. 24:12</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=361 valign=top>            <p>7:3</p>            </td>            <td width=361 valign=top>            <p>Lk. 21:18,28</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=361 valign=top>            <p>6:11</p>            </td>            <td width=361 valign=top>            <p>Mt. 24:14</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=361 valign=top>            <p>7:14</p>            </td>            <td width=361 valign=top>            <p>Mt. 24:19,21</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=361 valign=top>            <p>6:12</p>            </td>            <td width=361 valign=top>            <p>Mt. 24:7</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=361 valign=top>            <p>8:3</p>            </td>            <td width=361 valign=top>            <p>Lk. 21:36</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=361 valign=top>            <p>6:13</p>            </td>            <td width=361 valign=top>            <p>Mt. 24:32</p>            </td>        </tr>        <tr>            <td width=361 valign=top>            <p>8:5</p>            </td>            <td width=361 valign=top>            <p>Mt. 24:27</p>            </td>        </tr>    </tbody></table><p>It is clear enough that the Olivet Prophecy has application both to the &quot;last days&quot; of AD70 and also to our last days. Revelation is the Lord's expansion upon His words on Olivet- and therefore we should use this as a framework for interpreting the book. It applies to both AD70 and also our last days. The following notes trace some leading features of the AD70 interpretation. The most powerful proof is in private reading of Josephus' <i>Wars of The Jews</i>- it reads like a running commentary on the seal and trumpet judgments upon Israel.</p><p><i>Which he sent and put into sign by his Angel to his servant John</i>- This message was passed from the Father to the Son to the Son's &quot;angel&quot; or messenger and thence to His servant John. The &quot;angel&quot; may be a human messenger, but the Divine &quot;Angel&quot; with whom John interrelates throughout the book is surely the &quot;Angel&quot; referenced here. In this case, the Lord has a personal Angel who represents Him, perhaps Gabriel.</p>