The Almighty

Tre Clark

Revelation • Sermon • Submitted 4 years ago

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The Almighty

Call to Hear

The New King James Version Chapter 1

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.

Greeting the Seven Churches

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.”

Prayer

A Short History

The author of the book of Revelation is most-widely known as St. John, the author of the Gospel according to John and the Letters of John which Ryan has been preaching us through. According to Chuck Swindoll, John was in his nineties when he wrote Revelation. History records that Domitian was emperor during the time of the writing of Revelation (approximately A.D. 90-95) and Domitian was personally responsible for John being exiled to the island of Patmos which was a penal colony located in the Aegean Sea (Swindoll, C. R., Swindoll’s Living Insights New Testament Commentary: Revelation, p. 9).

Even before the reign of Domitian, emperor-worship was practised. However, while earlier emperors accepted the practice of being worshipped, it was Domitian who required it. Domitian, it seems, seriously viewed himself as a god and because of this he had Flavius Clemens executed and his wife Domitilla exiled for ‘atheism’ sometime after their conversion to Christianity (Morris, L. (1987). Revelation: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 20, pp. 39–40). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.).

Why does this matter? It matters because as we read the book of Revelation you might pick up on the theme of power and sovereignty. If you look at verse 8 you will see the early expression to the conviction that God is sovereign (Morris, L. (1987). Revelation: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 20, p. 56). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.). 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.”

Many pages have been written as an interpretation of the book of Revelation. Many sermons have been preached on Revelation. However, famed reformers John Calvin and Martin Luther never spilled a drop of ink to pen a page of commentary on this book. Calvin plainly admitted that he did not understand the book. Luther took it quite a bit further. Luther believed that the book of Revelation “should not have the same status or authority as the four Gospels or the writings of Paul” (pbs.org https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/apocalypse/explanation/martinluther.html#:~:text=Where%20did%20put%20the%20Book,he%20didn't%20number%20it.). In the Preface to Luther’s Bible, 1522 he confesses, “my spirit cannot accommodate itself to this book. There is one sufficient reason for the small esteem in which I hold it - that Christ is neither taught nor recognized.” Now I’m sure that Luther could not have been reading the same book that we have today if he walked away with that understanding. This Revelation is all about Jesus as we will see for ourselves.

Revelation 1:1-3

John begins by stating that this revelation is from, about and belongs to our Lord Jesus Christ. And really, isn’t this the case for the whole Bible? Although men may have recorded it, it is not from men and it does not belong to men. And yet, what it holds for men cannot be found anywhere else. Matthew Henry said that “it is intended for our spiritual improvement; to warn the careless sinner, point out the way of salvation to the awakened inquirer, build up the weak believer, comfort the afflicted and tempted Christian, and, we may add, to strengthen the martyr of Christ, under the cruel persecutions and sufferings inflicted by Satan and his followers” (Parallel Commentary on the New Testament, p889). This is a book of hope for the followers of Christ! A book of rejoicing for the faithful! It is a record of our victory in the Lord!

The Revelation of Jesus Christ. Paul tells us in 2 Timothy 3:16, “16 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God...” In 2 Peter 1:20-21 we learn “that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, 21 for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” Jesus confronts the Pharisees with these words in John 5:39-40, “39 You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. 40 But you are not willing to come to Me that you may have life.” 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.

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