INTRODUCTION
Why did you come here today? Maybe you came here today because that’s
what you do on Sunday mornings: You go to church. That’s probably as good
a reason as any. Thank God for good habits.
But maybe it’s more than that for you.
 Maybe you’ve had
a rough week, a strange week, a tiring week.
Maybe
you came this morning with a hope, a wish, a desire of some kind.
And
maybe you don’t even know for sure what you’re looking for, but you came.
As we begin the book of Revelation we find the Apostle John on the island
of Patmos. This was a Roman penal colony and John had been sent there simply
because he was a Christian.
Despite his difficult circumstances, we see John continuing to follow
what had become his pattern since the resurrection of Jesus -- to worship
the Lord on the first day of the week (Sunday). He probably came to the
place of worship with some of the same hopes with which you come to this
place this morning.
John knew that Jesus had ascended back to heaven; but his memory of
Jesus was probably dominated by the man he knew and spent every day with
for three years. No doubt, he thought of Him as friend, teacher, even miracle
worker. But, on this Sunday, John received a new revelation that would
forever change his knowledge of Who Jesus really is.
As we gather this morning to worship in Jesus’ name, we too come with
our ideas about Jesus.
Some see Him as
the baby in Bethlehem, others as the great teacher of love.
Some
may focus on His death on the cross while others His resurrection.
My prayer this morning is that you will get a new revelation of Who
Jesus is that will forever change your knowledge of Him and your worship
of Him.
Rev. 1:9-20 (NKJV)
9 I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation
and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called
Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.
10I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, and I heard behind me a
loud voice, as of a trumpet, 11saying, "I am the Alpha and
the Omega, the First and the Last," and, "What you see, write in
a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus,
to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to
Laodicea."
12Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And
having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, 13and in the midst
of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment
down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. 14His
head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like
a flame of fire; 15His feet were like fine brass, as if refined
in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; 16He
had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged
sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength.
17And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His
right hand on me, saying to me, "Do not be afraid; I am the First and
the Last. 18I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am
alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.
19Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are,
and the things which will take place after this. 20The mystery
of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden
lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the
seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches.
(AMP)
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I. THE VOICE THAT JOHN HEARD
John tells us that he was "in the spirit on the Lord’s Day."1
Suddenly, John is startled by a powerful voice, "as of a trumpet." Descriptions
later in chapter one, especially verse 18, let us know that the speaker
is the post- incarnate Christ, no longer limited by a human body.
What did Jesus have to say? He had a message for the seven churches
of what we would call Asia Minor (modern day Turkey) that He wanted John
to write down and send to the churches. These letters are recorded in chapters
2 & 3.
What did Jesus say about Himself?
-
Alpha and Omega were reserved for only God.
-
He proclaims His eternal nature: "Who was, and is, and is to come."
-
"Jehovah" or "Yahweh" is made up of three words meaning: "I was; I am;
I always will be".
If you to change the interior walls of a building, there are some walls
that you cannot move. These are called "weight-bearing walls." That the
man Jesus was also Almighty God is a "weight-bearing" wall of Christianity.
II. THE VISION THAT JOHN SEES
We are never given a physical description of Jesus when He was here
on the earth. If fact, Isaiah
53:2 (NKJV) says, "…He has no form or comliness; and when we see Him,
there is no beauty that we should desire Him." He did not stand out in
the crowd as evidenced by the fact that Judas had to point Him out when
Jesus’ enemies came to arrest Him in the Garden of Gethsemane.
The description of the Glorified Christ in verses 12-16 should ring
a bell. We read a similar description by Daniel in Daniel
10:5-6 (NKJV):
5I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, a certain
man clothed in linen, whose waist was girded with gold of Uphaz! 6His
body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes
like torches of fire, his arms and feet like burnished bronze in color,
and the sound of his words like the voice of a multitude.
Enjoy the figurative language as John tries to describe what he sees with
symbols and metaphors. It stretches the limits of his vocabulary and he
relies heavily upon his primary source for things Holy - the Old Testament.
Jesus is standing in the midst of the seven lamp stands. Verse 20 tells
us that these represent the seven churches to whom the letters would be
sent.2
What an apt description of the church!
Who is the light of the world? It’s a trick question. While He was here
on the earth, it was Jesus. But after He left Jesus said that true believers
- the Church - you - are to be light for the world.
John sees Jesus standing in the midst of His church.
What
an encouragement!
People are looking for a way out of the darkness. Wwe can be that light.
What
a challenge!
We
can only be that light -- we, His Church -- only when He is in our
midst.
Without
Him we are what Paul calls only a form with no real power.
The garment down to the feet and the golden band about his chest both
refer to priestly garments and speak of Christ’s purity: He never sinned.
His hair "white like wool as white as snow" again proclaim His eternal
nature (Ancient of Days).
The "eyes like a flame of fire" and "feet like fine brass" both speak
of judgment. This was nothing like the Jesus that John had known! This
was the Jesus of judgment! He is the perfect Judge because He knows all.
Some people today see a one-sided picture of Jesus. They only see the
Jesus of love and have no concept of the Jesus of judgment. God must judge
the world; and the Bible tells us that the Glorified Christ, God the Son,
will be the judge.
As I watch TV, as I read history, I cannot accept a God who will not
judge wickedness. Such a God could not be trusted. While He cannot ignore
sin, neither can God turn His back on us.
The following true story illustrates God’s solution to this dilemma:
There were two college friends in Australia. One became a judge
- the other became a banker. After several years, the banker was arrested
for embezzling $1,000,000. As it turns out the judge before whom he had
to appear was his friend. When the newspapers learned of this they created
quite a buzz about this trial. The banker was found guilty and the day
of sentencing came and people wondered if he would receive preferential
treatment from his friend. There was a gasp in the courtroom when the judge
handed down the stiffest possible penalty to this friend. But then, he
did what no one had ever seen done before. After passing the sentence,
he took off his robe, went to his friend and put his arm around his shoulder
and said, "I have sold my house and emptied my bank account to pay what
you owe."
God must judge sin. He has provided full payment for what we owe in Christ.
The only question is whether we will submit to Him and receive the payment
He has provided.
The "voice as the sound of many water" signifies Christ’s authority.
The "right hand" of verse 16 speaks of His power.
He holds the "stars" in His right hand. Verse 20 tells us that the "stars"
are the "messenger of the churches." This could refer to the fact that
each church has an angel. But, most likely, is a reference to the pastors
of the churches. Pastors - Angels: sounds like the same thing to me!
Out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword. This is a clear reference
to the Word of God. The Word of God is powerful and can cut. It is not
just sweet and nice:
12"For the word of God is living and powerful, and
sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul
and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts
and intents of the heart. 13And there is no creature hidden
from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to
whom we must give account." (Hebrews
4:12-13, NKJV)
III. THE VENERATION JOHN GIVES JESUS
John’s response to this revelation of Christ causes him to fall down
as dead. Daniel responded much the same way in Daniel
10:8-9 (NKJV) to a similar revelation. In the Bible, encounters with
the Holy God humbled people. It did not puff them up!
Here at the beginning of Revelation, Jesus is presented in His glory.
This is what we need today. We need to see Him high and lifted up.
There is a dangerous lack of reverence in the average Christian’s life.
Friendship with Jesus should be retained but the awe must be restored.
A.
W. Tozer (1897-1963) wrote that "worship is the missing jewel of the
evangelical church."
The great preacher Charles Spurgeon
(1834-1892) once asked, "Why is it that people are so often in the place
of worship but do not worship. Are we tired of God?" Oh, how we need a
fresh revelation of just Who it is that we are worshipping!
How can we do that? Like John we need to get alone with God. (Hopefully,
it will not take a Patmos for this to happen.) In that solitude we need
to search God’s Word and meditate on what it reveals about God to us. As
we learn to worship Him privately, we will be able to better worship Him
when we come to places of worship as well.
IV. THE VOCATION THAT JOHN OBEYED
John’s worship drew a response from the Glorified Christ. He ministers
to John. Look at verse 17. "He laid His right hand on me saying to me,
'Do not be afraid…'"
He assures John of Who He is once again.
"I am the First and the Last, I am He who lives, and was dead,
and behold, I am alive forevermore."
He confirms His authority.
"I have the keys of Hades and of Death."
Satan does not have final authority - even in these areas.
He gives John a job to do: "Write…"
What was John to write? This was not to be an original composition.
He was to faithfully record the things that he heard from God and to describe,
as best he could, the things that he saw in this revelation.
Verse 19 tells us that these things fall into three main categories:
-
Things which you have seen - chapter 1
-
Things which are - chapters 2 & 3
-
Things which will take place after this - chapters 4-22
Twelve times in the book of Revelation John is told by God to write. John
heard; John saw; John obeyed. |