Jesus Christ Unvelied

Intro:

When was the last time you saw something that changed your life?.......

Movie or tv show?

Child being born?

Loss of a family member...

9/11

The Apostle John saw something almost 2000 years ago that changes our current circumstances and gives us hope for eternity!

What we are going to see in the opening chapter are three things..... A Blessing, A Message to the Church, and a Vision of Jesus......

A Blessing

ONLY Revelation gives us a blessing as the reader, hearers, and obeyers!

Revelation 1:1–3 ESV

1 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.

a. The unveiling - Apocalypse..... revelation..... of Jesus..... Revealing Jesus himself.

b. God gave this message to His servants through an angel.... to John..... to us this morning!

This is the blessing of the book -

Read it aloud

Hear it

Obey it and Keep it

The only book of the Bible that has this blessing

It’s not about wealth, health, and prosperity we are after in this blessing.... It is a deeper love and obedience to God… to life the fullest life in his kingdom now and forevemore!

The Blessing from God..... brings us nearer to God and prepare our hearts for the fullness of life in his kingdom. - William Osborne

That’s are committement this morning! - We do?

A Message to the Church

Revelation 1:4–11 ESV

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. 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. 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.” 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 is on Patmos - Why? How?

John was exiled there by the Roman government because of his proclamation of the gospel. By Domitian..... Call him god....

Convicts were allowed relative freedom to roam the small island

guarded by Roman soldiers against leaving. - Got Questions.org..... John is most likely 65-90 years old!

God’s plan was not thwarted by John being on Patmos...... Stop preaching the Gospel!...... God sends a vision of the end of the world and God’s new heavens and new earth!......

Message to the 7 churches - Most likely a circuit to go through..... they were not that far apart in modern day Turkey....

It was written for them.... and also for us today! 7 is a sign of completion....

Tribulation and persecution....verse 9

A Message of HOPE for the future.... verse 11.... That is the intent of this entire letter..... write it down and then go read it to these churches..... read it aloud today as an direct application to that!

The Messenger source:

The trinity!

God the Father - Who was and is and is to come

The Holy Spirit - however you interpret that....

Jesus is the Messenger who:

Letter in the mail...... you know what is marketing trash.....

Jesus, God in human flesh… fully God, fully man.... King of Kings, Savior, 100% access and knowledge of God, Fully Glorious..... In everything and everywhere in life........ He is and will always be!......

faithful witness - A good witness has a strong testimony....

firstborn from the dead - Jesus lived a perfect life, died on the cross, and rose again....He paved the way!

King of Kings - No king is above Jesus

Loved and freed us - He is our Savior

Coming on the Clouds - Not a carebear here.... a glorious God coming to his people!

Alpha and Omega - From beginning of all things to the end of all things and everything in between!

Who was and is and is to come - Jesus is eternal.... He always was, he is, and he will always be!

Will you listen and open this letter? That is what is happening for the churches who hear this and that is what is happening to us this morning!

A Vision of Jesus

Revelation 1:12–20 ESV

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 his 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. 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.

But he does share a vision which is refracted through the lens of Old Testament theology - Ian Paul

7 lampstands and 7 stars in his right hand..... verse 12-13.... and verse 16 the stars.... verse 20....

7 churches are the lampstands

7 angels are the messengers, the pastors of those churches

**** Children in the room....... you are learning this right now!

Who is in control of everything? God is in control of everything in heaven and on earth. Nothing is outside of God’s plan.

A Vision of Jesus - The great Revealer - Daniel 10..... so here in Rev 1.....

Long robe and sash - Jesus is the perfect heavenly High priest...... Revelation 4, EX 28, Leviticus 8

Hairs are white, white as wool - John’s words of the transfiguration…

His eyes - Piercing like lasers into the life of the church!

His feet - burnished by fire....... a picture of his judgment and the Great High Priest at work!

His voice - like the roar of many waters....like a jet engine!

His two edge sword mouth - His word coming to speak truth and judge

Face like the sun - Holiness on display! His glory revealed!

I have the keys of death and hades - Jesus has all authority over life and death.

John’s Response

John.....Fell down dead

Genesis 17:3 Abram

Joshua 5:14,15 Joshua

Ezekiel 1:28 Ezekiel

Daniel 8:17 Daniel

Matthew 17:6 Peter, James, and John,

Acts 9:4 Paul

Think of John’s Response and those in the Bible....

Now think of your own goodness.....

How often do we come into God’s presence and neglect his perfection?

How often do we only see Jesus as this warm, loving, hug instead of the image we see here?

I am convicted this week that I must fall down in my heart and submit myself to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords...... whom the whole Bible is about and the whole of existence is about....

and so we go to our knees and prostrate our hearts before him!

v.17 - he reached out his right hand.... nail pierced wholes remain.... the right hand that held stars in his hand..... and he touches John.... Fear Not....

What better way to celebrate this act of mercy and grace shown to John and to us.... than the Lord’s Supper.....what better worship than this.....!

Bread -

Luke 22:15–16 ESV

15 And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 16 For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”

..... We reflect this morning in light of what we have heard in the book of Revelation........ Even so Come.... Come soon.... we long for the day we eat this with Jesus in Heaven....

1 Corinthians 11:23–24 ESV

23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

You may eat

Blood -

Revelation 1:5–6 ESV

5 and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. 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.

1 Corinthians 11:25–26 ESV

25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

We pray.... Come soon!