“An Introduction to The Revelation” Revelation 1

 

VII – Book of Revelation

A Sermon Series

“An Introduction to The Revelation”

Revelation 1

Introduction (vv. 1-20)

During his 1960 presidential campaign, John F. Kennedy often closed his speeches with the story of Colonel Davenport, the Speaker of the Connecticut House of Representatives.

One day in 1789, the sky of Hartford darkened ominously, and some of the representatives, glancing out the windows, feared the end was at hand. Quelling a clamor for immediate adjournment, Davenport rose and said, “The Day of Judgment is either approaching or it is not. If it is not, there is no cause for adjournment. If it is, I choose to be found doing my duty. Therefore, I wish that candles be brought.”

Rather than fearing what is to come, we are to be faithful till Christ returns. Instead of fearing the dark, we’re to be lights as we watch and wait.

Prologue (vv. 1-8)

Introduction (vv. 1-3)

The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2 who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. 3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.

 (v. 1) “The revelation” means an uncovering of something that was hidden, and it is prophecy but specifically apocalyptic. And it is revealed to Jesus Christ, who then sends an angel with the uncovering, who then shares it with John. John then bore witness of what he saw in the revelation. This book is the last chapter in God’s story of redemption. It tells us how it is all going to end.

John tells us why Jesus uncovered these things to him, “to show to his servants the things that must soon take place.” The word for servant used here is doulois (bond-servant). Its origin is Exodus 21:5-6 “But if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free,’ 6 then his master shall bring him to God, and he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall be his slave forever.” It is when a person voluntarily places themselves in the position of slave because they love their master. This revelation is given to those who voluntarily place themselves as slaves of Christ – those who willingly serve Him.

(v. 1) “to show to his servants the things that must soon take place.” – The focus will be on Christ’s return and how soon it will take place. And the church over the centuries have heeded Matthew’s warning Matthew 24:42, “Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.”

(v. 3) “Christians in their public worship followed the Jewish custom of public reading of the Scriptures. The church reader gradually acquired an official position. John expects this book to be read in each of the seven churches mentioned (1:4) and elsewhere.”[1] When it is read aloud, there is an expectation of being blessed by hearing it, and an expectation for those who have heard it to keep it, “for the time is near.” For the persecuted church to gather and then for someone to read from a forbidden book (letter) was dangerous. But when the church gathers – there is something there that is no where else.

James 1:25 “But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.” We typically think of the book of Revelation as something that will happen in the future, so there is nothing to do now – but in the opening verses we see that, we will be blessed if we do what is being read aloud. The book calls upon its readers and hearers to act.

“for the time is near.” – “time does not translate chronos, which refers to time on a clock or calendar, but kairos, which refers to seasons, epochs, or eras. The next great era of God’s redemptive history is near.”[2]

What are we (the church) to do as a result of hearing the revelation from Jesus?

Greetings From A Triune God (vv. 4-5a)

4 John to the seven churches that 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 of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.

John is writing to the seven churches “that are in Asia,” this is a Roman province in the western part of what is today Turkey. It is God who gives grace and peace to His servants. And while John is the writer of the letter, he sends greetings from God the Father (who is described as being eternal), and the Holy Spirit (represented here as “the seven spirits”), and Jesus.

Jesus is described as the “faithful witness,” He declared what God is like, He always spoke and presented the truth, and showed the will of God. Jesus is “the firstborn of the dead,” “prototokos does not means firstborn in time sequence (Jesus Himself raised people from the dead), but rather first in preeminence.”[3] Jesus is described as “the ruler of kings on earth,” – He is the Lord having a name above all names.

For the church, the seven churches may be asked to give their lives for what they believe. So, the eternal Jesus wants to confirm with them that what He has said is the truth, that He was raised from the dead, and that Jesus does have authority over all (even when it doesn’t feel like it now).

 Earlier, we asked the questions, What are we (the church) to do as a result of hearing the revelation from Jesus?1) Stand firm with what you know about Jesus. He is a faithful witness.

Doxology (vv. 5b-6)

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood 6 and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

John then praises Jesus for his love for believers, because the expression of that love is how He freed us from our sins by shedding His blood on the cross. “Here is the heart of the gospel. Sinners are forgiven by God, set free from death, and hell by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. God made Him our substitute, killing Him for our sins, so that the penalty was fully paid for us. God’s justice was satisfied and God was able then to grant righteousness to repentant sinners for whom Christ died.”[4]

God then makes those who receive this free gift from Jesus, a kingdom and priests. Colossians 1:13 “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,” We are moved from a kingdom of darkness and death, to Jesus’ kingdom where He rules as king, a kingdom of light and forgiveness. And as a priest we have full access to God – we enter into the most holy place and talk with God and He hears our prayers.

Declaration (vv. 7-8)

7 Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen. 8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

(v. 7) “Behold, he is coming,” – the word behold is used 25 times in the book of Revelation. They point to something that needs our attention. This is the first of the behold declarations, is “he is coming.” When John the Baptist was arrested, he sent word to Jesus asking a question, Luke 7:19-20 “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” This was a title for the Messiah, “The expected One.” Jesus arrives into the world as a newborn, and then he will arrive “for the time is near”

Yes, there will be people who will say, “It has been a long time since Jesus said He was coming back.” 2 Peter 3:3-4 says “knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. 4 They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” Jesus’ return appears in the Bible in more than 500 verses. It has been estimated that one out of every twenty-five verses in the NT refers to the Second Coming of Christ. Jesus’ return to this earth is a central theme in the Bible.

When Jesus was among the disciples, and before the resurrection, only three people saw Jesus at the Transfiguration.[5] At the Second Coming of Jesus “every eye shall see him.”

“even those who pierced him,” – is not a reference to the Roman soldiers who crucified Christ, but to His own people that rejected Him as Messiah, Zechariah 12:10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.” John describes this time (epoch) as a time when the Jewish people will turn to Christ in great numbers. Their hearts will be broken over what they did to Jesus, and will place their faith in Him.

(v. 8) “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God,” – Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. All knowledge is given with words. So God (having all power, Almighty) having all knowledge knows this will certainly happen.

  “What are we (the church) to do as a result of hearing the revelation from Jesus?”

1. Stand firm with what you know about Jesus.
2. We anticipate Jesus’ Arrival – Be ready, remain faithful!

 Vision of the Son of Man (vv. 9-18)

John Explains Why He Wrote the Letter (vv. 9-11)

9 I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet 11 saying, “Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.”

John (for the third times) identifies himself as the author, is writing the church who were experiencing persecution by the Romans. He identifies himself as their brother in the faith, and shares with them in the tribulation. He is a member of the kingdom of light (having been moved from darkness to Jesus’ kingdom) and he also carries the weight of what it means to be “in Jesus.”

When John receives the revelation he is on the island of Patmos, and he is there for punishment because of his preaching the Word of God and testifying about Jesus. He was living on a very bleak volcanic island with limited food and resources, forced to do hard labor, and he would have been around 90 years old. So, on a Sunday John heard a loud voice told him to write down what he was about to see in a book, and then send it out to seven churches.[6]

As a church experiencing persecution, Jesus (through and angel and then to John) sends them a message. We have a promise of His return, and then a description of what Jesus does in the local church.

The Son of Man Amongst the Seven Lampstands (vv. 12-18)

12 Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. 14 The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, 15 his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and this face was like the sun shining in full strength. 17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.

We are told what the seven lampstands are in v. 20 “the seven lampstands are the seven churches.” – the church gives light into the world. Philippians 2:14-15 “Do all things without grumbling or disputing, 15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,” So the churches are to shine the light of truth.

Amongst the churches was “one like a son of man.” Jesus promised his continued presence with His church. Matthew 28:20 “I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Hebrews 13:5 “I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you.”

He is, “clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest.” – The robe and sash are representative of Jesus serving as our High Priest. He goes before and performs the sacrifice on our behalf. Hebrews 2:17 “Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.” Jesus is with the church, and serves before God the Father as our high priest.

(vv. 14-15) “The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, 15 his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace” – In multiple places we see that the church is called to be holy and blameless before God. We are to present ourselves before the Lord in such a way that is holy. White translates “bright, blazing, brilliant” Jesus’ hair, his eyes, and His feet are all pointing to how Jesus looks into the church and purifies it. God loves the church and therefore purifies it and demands holiness.

God loves you enough to not leave you where you are.

(v. 16) “In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and this face was like the sun shining in full strength.” – v. 20 says, “the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches.” Jesus is with the church and uses the Word of God to defend it.

John has seen this vision of Jesus and is terrified – his response is to collapse. Jesus reaches out and comforts Him – (v. 4 & 8) repeat the same verse, “from him who is and who was and who is to come,” and then (v. 17), “I am the first and the last,” – the church needs to be reminded that Jesus is eternal and He alone is in control of time.

To add emphasis to this truth, Jesus says, “I have the keys of Death and Hades.” Those that follow Jesus do not need to fear his blazing presence, we come to God as His children. Those that follow Christ do not need to be terrified (in this life) He has all things under control (even death).

 “What are we (the church) to do as a result of hearing the revelation from Jesus?”

1. Stand firm with what you know about Jesus.
2. We anticipate Jesus’ Arrival – Be ready, remain faithful!
3. Seek to be the Church Found Faithful – strive for holiness.

Conclusion (vv. 19-20)

19 Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this. 20 As for the mystery of the seven stars that 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 are the seven churches.”

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[1] Archibald Thomas Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament, Volume VI, The General Epistles and The Revelation of John (Nashville, Tennessee; Broadman Press, 1933) 284.

[2] John MacArthur, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary, Revelation 1-11 (Chicago, Illinois; Moody Press, 1999) 23.

[3] MacArthur, 25.

[4] MacArthur, 26.

[5] Matthew 17:1–13; Mark 9:2–13; Luke 9:28–36

[6] The order of the churches are given in the order a postman or messenger would travel in a route to deliver the letter.