REVELATION 1:1-8
Visions of an Exile • Sermon • Submitted
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· 192 viewsMany people look at Revelation as a book that is yet to be understood. They believe that its imagery is so vast, that it can not be understood by the human mind. I dont believe that this should stop us from reading it for ourselves and drawing some conclusions that can really change our faith, and our understanding of the end times.
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INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
WHAT
JOHN CALVIN
Never wrote a commentary on Revelation because he believed this book was incomprehendable.
MARTIN LUTHER
Did not believe that Revelation held canonical weight. Why? Because it didn’t speak to Justification by Faith.
Why? Because it didn’t speak to Justification by Faith.
THIS BOOK IS NOT MEANT TO SCARE US, BUT TO BLESS US
In fact, the few times that I have seen people have a hard time with this book
Is when they are insecure in regards to the Faith
The people that have a hard time with this book
Are those who have a problem with God’s Authority
INSTEAD OF LOOKING AT THIS BOOK IN A FEARFUL WAY
We should be looking at this book in a way that reveals to us one thing
IF WE ARE STILL BREATHING
IF WE ARE HERE AT CHURCH
ONE THING IS CLEAR
GOD’S MERCY IS REAL
THE QUESTION IS, WHAT SHOULD WE DO ABOUT IT
If He is a merciful God
If He is a Gracious God
If He is a Faithful God
How should the Skeptic respond?
How should the Atheist respond?
How should the Christian respond?
TURN TO
1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John, 2 who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw. 3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.
4 John, to the seven churches which are in Asia:
Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth.
To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, 6 and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
7 Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John, 2 who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw. 3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.
4 John, to the seven churches which are in Asia:
Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth.
To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, 6 and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
7 Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
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. 10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet, 11 saying, “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.”
12 Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and 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. 14 His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; 15 His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; 16 He 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. 17 And 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. 18 I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death. 19 Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this. 20 The 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.
PRAY THAT GOD WOULD REVEAL HIMSELF TO US
PRAY THAT WE WOULD KNOW MORE ABOUT JESUS EVERY SINGLE TIME WE OPEN THIS BOOK
1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John, 2 who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw. 3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.
REVELATION 1:
THIS IS THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST
REVELATION: APOKULUPSIS
Apo: Away
Kalupsis: Veil
IT IS THE REMOVING OF THE VEIL
OR THE CLARIFYING ACT
THAT WILL UNVEIL WHO JESUS REALLY IS
CHECK OUT THE WORKFLOW:
God the Father gave Jesus the Vision to show His Servants
Show what?
The things that must shortly take place
This Vision was given by Jesus to His Angel, to give to John
John , who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ
John, is telling us as he is writing, that these things are 100% Truth
That these are the things that he saw with his very eyes.
THEN, SOMETHING INTERESTING HAPPENS
John proclaims a blessing and an urgency to the reader of this Book
To those who hear
To those who read
To those who keep the things written in it
They will be blessed
Notice how this blessing isn’t just in listening
But in keeping the word of God
Those who observe the Word of God
AFTER THE EXPLANATION OF WHAT THIS BOOK IS FOR
JOHN ADDRESSES THE FOREMOST AUDIENCE
REV 1:4-
REVELATION 1:
4 John, to the seven churches which are in Asia:
Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth.
To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood,
4 John, to the seven churches which are in Asia:
Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth.
To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, 6 and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
TO THE 7 CHURCHES WHICH ARE IN ASIA
Not Asia, as in the Continent
But Asia, as in the Roman Province located in Western Turkey
GRACE AND PEACE FROM HIM WHO IS AND WHO WAS AND WHO IS TO COME:
What does this mean?
This is revealing to us who God is in a collective manner
He not only Is
He was
He is to come
This speaks to His Omnipresence
It speaks to His Everlasting Nature
It should increase our trust in Him
It should drive us to continue to approach Him when we are in need of Grace and Peace
If He is unchanging
If He is everlasting
If He is Alive Forevermore
It should drive us to continue to approach Him when we are in need of Grace and Peace
What else is unveiled to us?
We are informed that surrounding His throne
Are 7 Spirits:
Who, or what are these 7 Spirits?
Before we get to that, let’s get one thing out of the way
Every time we see the number 7 what should we be thinking?
Completeness or Perfection
These 7 spirits could be in reference to the sevenfold spirit of God stated in Isaiah 11:1-2
1 There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse,
And a Branch shall grow out of his roots.
2 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.
GRACE AND PEACE FROM THE OMNIPRESENT GOD
GRACE AND PEACE FROM THE 7-FOLD SPIRIT OF GOD
GRACE AND PEACE FROM JESUS CHRIST
JESUS THE FAITHFUL WITNESS
JESUS THE FIRST BORN FROM THE DEAD
JESUS THE RULER OVER THE KINGS OF THE EARTH
THIS IS A PICTURE OF A TRIUNE GOD SEEKING TO SPEAK TO HIS CHURCH
It is revealing to us who is the Head of the Church
It is showing us who we are dealing with
A God who is and was and is to come
A God in whom we find rest, wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, and whom we should fear.
A God who is a Faithful Witness
A God who was the first to be raised from the Dead
A God who reigns and who is a respector of no person.
INSTEAD OF HIM DEMANDING A RESPONSE
JOHN PRESENTS HIM AS A DISTRIBUTOR OF GRACE AND PEACE
Church there is a difference between a God that demands something from you
And a God who distributes something that you cannot earn
There is a difference between Jesus and the demi gods of this world
Jesus is the only one who has loved us in a reconciling way
He has not only loved us
But washed us from our sins with His own Blood.
He alone has done this
He alone has held himself responsible for our sins
He alone has done something about our sinfulness
He alone has what it takes to turn the sinners spots as white as snow
IT IS THIS JESUS THAT HAS ALSO MADE US PRIESTS AND KINGS TO HIS GOD AND FATHER
In God’s Kingdom we are valuable
Think about it
The blood of Jesus not only grants us access to the Kingdom
It gives us authority in the Kingdom
WE HAVE TO ADMIT, THAT THESE TWO THINGS ARE ELEMENTS THAT SHOULD CAUSE US TO WORSHIP
The fact that our sins have been paid for
Shows us the Love of God for us
The fact that we are now priests and kings in His Kingdom
Shows us how important we are in His Kingdom
As the Most loved and Highly Valued people
How should we respond?
CHURCH, WE SHOULD BE DIFFERENT.
THERE SHOULD BE SOMETHING NOTICEABLE IN OUR LIVES
THERE SHOULD BE A DIFFERENCE IN HOW AND WHAT WE WORSHIP
DO PEOPLE KNOW OF THE JESUS WE WORSHIP?
ARE THEY COMPELLED TO MAKE A CHANGE?
OR IS VERSE 7, THE FIRST TIME THEY HEAR AND SEE JESUS?
7 Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
THIS IS THE REALITY OF HIS SECOND COMING
VERY DIFFERENT FROM HIS FIRST COMMING
AND NOT HIS COMING FOR THE CHURCH
Jesus is coming on the Clouds
Every eye will see Him
Even those who pierced Him
This is different than the rapture of the church
In the rapture of the church, it is only the church who partake of His appearing
Here there is a detail that clues us into why it is not the rapture of the church
It is the fact that “those who pierced Him” will also see him.
JOHN IS TAKING US BACK TO THE TIMES OF ZECHARIAH
10 “And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.
ZECHERIAH 12:10
AT THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS CHRIST
HUMANITY WILL EITHER REJOICE OR THEY WILL MOURN
For those who have been following Jesus
His return is a confirmation of everything that we have been declaring for ages
His return is a fulfilment of what we have believed and out our faith in
His return will bring those who believe comfort
For those who have known about Jesus, but have not been following
They will join with the earthly tribes in a worldwide state of mourning
They will mourn for Him as one who mourns for his only son
They will grieve as one grieves for a firstborn
Even though this is hard to accept
His Word says “Even So, Amen.”
TO THE NEGLECTING OF HIS IDENTITY
TO THE REALITY OF HIS SECOND COMING
JESUS SAYS
I am the Alpha and the Omega
The beginning and the end
Who is
Who was
Who is to Come
The Almighty
JESUS IS RESTATING WHO HE IS AND WHAT IS HAPPENING
HE IS REITERATING HIS IDENTITY
HE IS RECONFIRMING WHO HIS PEOPLE BELIEVED IN