The Redeemer of Revelation
Notes
Transcript
Revelation 1:4-8
Jesus is the theme of the book - He is the Person of Revelation.
We saw last week that there is a blessing to all who read it.
A blessing is promised to those who
Read
Hear, and
Keep the Words written here.
There is no wonder the devil wants to cause so much confusion when it comes to the book of the Revelation.
Today we are going to look at the Redeemer of Revelation, but first let’s see who is...
I. The Recipients of the Revelation
I. The Recipients of the Revelation
4 John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;
We are told in verse 11, that the Seven Churches are the churches of:
Ephesus
Smyrna
Pergamos
Thyratira
Sardis
Philadelphia
Laodicia
We will look at these churches in detail in weeks coming up.
But first let’s look at...
A. Their Description
A. Their Description
1. Specific Churches
1. Specific Churches
I do believe that these were seven literal, local churches at the time that John the apostle was writing Revelation.
Although they were literal churches in Asia Minor at the time there is still spiritual significance for the churches and believers today.
Just as many of the prophecies of the Old Testament often had a near and far fulfillment of the prophesy.
There were other churches in Asia Minor such as the church at Colossae.
The message to these churches gave instruction to that literal church and met their needs.
But it also reveals seven different types of individuals and/or churches throughout history and gives them instruction in God’s Truth.
2. Significance of the Number
2. Significance of the Number
The number seven is used more than any other number.
It is a number of completion.
This is illustrated by the seven colors in the rainbow.
It is also illustrated by the seven-year rest in Jewish culture.
The number of completion leads us to believe that the rapture will take place after the church age is complete.
3. The Symbolism of the Churches
3. The Symbolism of the Churches
Many people believe that these churches give a panorama of church history.
That they foreshadow seven different periods of the history of the church.
The only problem is that each church displays characteristics that could fit the Church at any time in its history.
But this doesn’t prevent this being true.
These churches are pictured as lamp stands in verse 12-13, which we will study more fully later.
12 And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;
13 And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.
B. Their Salutation
B. Their Salutation
1. Their prayer
1. Their prayer
The prayer is for grace and peace
4 John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;
Paul wrote to the church at Philipi...
7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
This book deals primarily with judgment but it begins with grace and peace.
Grace and Peace that is only available through Jesus Christ.
Grace means the favor and blessings of God, it is God giving us the desire and the power to do His will.
We do not deserve grace, but God loves us.
So he showers His grace upon us.
Secondly he prays for peace from God.
Peace - with God and with man.
The reading of this book could produce quite a turmoil in our hearts, but God prays for peace for us.
2. The Persons of the Godhead
2. The Persons of the Godhead
Here in these verses, we see all three persons of the trinity represented.
The Father - “which is, which was, which is to come.”
God reveals the past.
God rides the present.
God rules the future. .... You can trust Him!
A preacher confronted a fortune teller, “Give me $10 and I'll tell you what you're doing tomorrow.” Preacher, “Tell me what I did yesterday, and I'll give you $20.”
So we see the Father represented here in verse 4, then we see
The Spirit (Rev. 1:4c)
“and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne.”
The Holy Spirit is involved in the giving of grace and peace.
Notice the connective, “and from”.
Many theologians believe this a representation of the seven attributes of the Holy Spirit in Isaiah 11:1-3 .
Showing the Holy Spirit in all His fullness.
1 And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots:
2 And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and might, The spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord;
3 And shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord: And he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, Neither reprove after the hearing of his ears:
The Holy Spirit is before the throne of God in all of his perfection and fullness.
Therefore, the believer is to find grace and peace in the fullness of the Holy Spirit.
Oh how important it is for us to learn to walk in the Holy Spirit!
To yield to Him every day!
So Father, Holy Spirit, and then...
The Son (Rev. 1:5)
5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
It is the Son who brought the grace and peace of God to earth.
27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
14 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;
Here in these verses we see ...
II. The Redeemer of the Revelation
II. The Redeemer of the Revelation
5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
Here in this verse we see the three fold representation of Christ as:
A. Prophet
A. Prophet
Faithful witness (Rev. 1:5)
He is the one person we can depend upon.
And John gives record of His life on earth in his gospel:
14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.
He is the faithful witness and prophet.
14 Jesus answered and said unto them, Though I bear record of myself, yet my record is true: for I know whence I came, and whither I go; but ye cannot tell whence I come, and whither I go.
B. Priest
B. Priest
First begotten of the dead.
He was the first to arise who never again had to die.
Lazarus, and all else who came back to life, had to die again.
But Jesus Christ is supreme as our Priest and payment
And He is our High Priest
11 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;
He can stand before the Father having placed His blood upon the mercy seat, and now sits on His right hand of the throne of God making intercession for us.
He is the prophet, He is the priest, but These verses also portray him as...
C. King
C. King
…and the prince of the kings of the earth....
Prince of the Kings — King in waiting
Satan will stand against Him, but Jesus will rule and reign.
Throughout scripture we see His portrayal of his kingship.
1. He is the King of Heaven
37 Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase.
2. He is the King of the Jews
2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
3. He is the King of Israel
13 Took branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him, and cried, Hosanna: Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord.
48 Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.
4. He is the King of the ages
17 Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
5. He is the King of Glory
7 Lift up your heads, O ye gates; And be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; And the King of glory shall come in.
6. He is the King of the saints
3 And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints.
7. He is the King of kings
16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.
As our Prophet, Priest and King He has love us, and He has washed us from our sins in hi sown blood.
These three descriptions seen in these cover all of time as well:
Prophetic office = Past
Priestly office = Present
Kingly office = Future
And then these verses give us a promise of...
III. The Reward of the Believer
III. The Reward of the Believer
6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
7 Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.
These verses tell us the reward of the believer is that...
A. He Has Made Us Kings
A. He Has Made Us Kings
6 And hath made us kings ...
13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:
We are translated into His kingdom.
We will rule and reign with Christ.
12 If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:
10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.
Not only is our reward to rule with Him in His coming kingdom, but...
B. He Has Made Us Priests
B. He Has Made Us Priests
…and priests unto God and His Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever Amen.
The Bible tells us in I Peter 2:5 that we are a holy priesthood.
5 Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
There is no need for us to confess our sins to a catholic priest, or any other man.
We can go boldly to the throne of grace, and confess our sins to Him as His priests.
We have open access into God’s presence at any time.
Praise God!
What a reward!
But there is more in verse 7 he says that...
C. He is coming again!
C. He is coming again!
7 Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.
This verse is not a reference to the catching away of believers at the end of the church age.
The rapture takes place in an invisible moment
the second coming will be seen.
Every eye shall see Him — He will be “The Sovereign Ruler” — coming to take His throne.
Because, as He says...
8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
And on that day all the enemies of Christ, not only those who crucified Him, but all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him.
Every person who has rebelled against Jesus Christ will cry out in anguish because they have
cursed Him
rejected Him
ignored Him
Rebelled against Him
When man does not believe in Jesus Christ, they reject him and they rebel against His revelation to this world by God.
They will then know and see that He was exactly who He claimed to be.
We will be with Him, and they will see that what we have spoken is true.
14 And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,
15 to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.
Jesus said himself, that after the tribulation of those days, He will appear...
30 And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.
Everyone will see the truth!
Jesus is Lord of all!
Conclusion
Conclusion
Christ is coming to judge this world.
You and I who trust Christ will not be judged with this kind of judgment.
Now in verse 8, Jesus himself declares
8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
Alpha - the first letter of the Greek alphabet
Omega the last letter
Jesus is the beginning and the end.
He began all things, and He will end all things.
Everything that has purpose or meaning in this life is found in Him, for he is the beginning and the end.
Put your trust in Jesus Christ before it is too late!
A full-service gas station had several dozen cars waiting in line on the first day of a holiday weekend. At the end of the line was the pastor of a local church. Spotting the pastor, the attendant made his way to the last car. “Pastor, I’m sorry for the delay. It seems like folks always wait for the last minute to get ready for the trip they’ve known they were taking.” The pastor smiled and replied, “I know what you mean. It’s the same in my business.”
Do not wait until it is too late!
To live in Christ is to live in peace, knowing He has give us eternal life.
28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.
Jesus the Lord, is He which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty!
The word means all-controller, the all-ruler.
Jesus - the Almighty
Because He can and does control all…even though man has free will to do anything and everything he wants to do....God is still in control and will work it together for good to them that love God, to them who are called according to His purpose.
What a reward we have in Christ!