Study of Revelations week 4
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Triumph of the Lamb
Triumph of the Lamb
Last week we looked at the symbols, signs, numbers, figure of speech, and other things that helps us understand the prophecies of Revelation and end times.
Tonight, we are going to look at a Triumphant return while looking in Revelation chapter one, we have looked at the first three verses of chapter one and seen four truths.
Tonight, while looking in chapter one we will see ten things that John saw about the Lord Jesus Christ who is to come.
Triumphant Return
Triumphant Return
7 Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen.
Then Jesus Speaks in verse eight.
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
There is a story of a tourist that was exploring the sites of Lake Como in northern Italy and came to a beautiful castle called the Villa Asconiti.
Feeling brave, he pushed open the gate and went inside. To his delight everything was beautiful.
Flowers were blooming in a rainbow of colors.
The shrubbery was luxuriously green and magnificently pruned to precision.
Over to one side the man noticed the gardener on his hands and knees clipping nearly every blade of grass.
The man asked, May I look at the gardens?
The gardener replied, You are welcome to come right in. I am glad to have a guest.
The man began to tour the grounds and asked the gardener, is the owner here today?
The gardener replied, oh, no, he’s away.
When was the last time you saw him? He asked.
Oh, about twelve years ago, said the gardener.
Twelve years? This place has been empty for twelve years? Exclaimed the tourist.
Yes, said the gardener.
The tourist asked, who tells you what to do?
The gardener explained that the owner had an agent in Milan.
Do you ever see him? Asked the tourist.
Still clipping, pruning, and trimming, the gardener answered, never. He just sends instructions.
The tourist couldn’t believe his ears. But you have everything so beautiful.
It looks like you expecting him tomorrow.
The gardener replied, today, sir. I expect him to come at any time - perhaps today.
Every child of God ought to be living that way - not as if Jesus Christ was returning far off in the future but as if He were coming today.
Someone said, we ought to be living as though Jesus died yesterday, rose this morning, and is coming back this afternoon.
At any moment Jesus Christ is coming again. He is coming again in the flesh!
To Have Witnessed Jesus’ Humanity:
To Have Witnessed Jesus’ Humanity:
Looking forward to Jesus’ return makes me wish I would have been alive when Jesus walked along the rocky shores of Galilee, the banks of the Jordan River, and the dusty hills of Judea.
It would have been awesome to have been there when Jesus said come forth Lazarus, and then here comes Lazarus wrapped in grave clothes.
What a treat it would have been to be at the wedding celebration in Cana when Jesus turned the water into wine, not that I am a wine drinker, but to see the people’s reactions.
I can only imagine what it must have felt like to be Peter, and see Jesus’ walking on the water, and then Jesus says come forth. Then to step out of the boat, being a fisherman all your life, knowing that is just not how it works.
But then to feel the mist of the waves in your face as you walk towards Jesus but then take your eyes of Jesus, but then have Him to pull you back up to walk back to the boat.
Also, to be Peter and deny Jesus three times, but then days later have Jesus meet you on the seashore and restore that relationship.
Or John that was the the foot of the cross as Jesus was hanging there, wow, and some wonder why the apostles had such great faith, to give their life for Christianity.
Every Eye will See Him
Every Eye will See Him
7 Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen.
We are told there every eye will see Him, saved or lost; you will see Jesus Christ.
Even those who crucified Him will see Him again.
All the families of the earth will see the Lord Jesus Christ.
Every crusader against Jesus Christ and His followers will see Him.
Every pornographer, abortionist, and drug dealer will see Jesus.
Everyone - redeemed and unredeemed - will see Him!
And we will see Him not as He was, but as He is - with the veil removed and in all of His glory!
And it will be a day of shame and judgment for those who have slandered, abused, and ignored the omnipresent Savior and Lord Jesus Christ.
With all the thousands of Christians books out there today, maybe millions, they were all written with just twenty-six letters.
Look how Jesus described Himself in Revelation 1:8
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
Alpha is the first letter and Omega is the last letter in the Greek Alphabet.
If Jesus were speaking to us today through the English language, He would say, I am the A and the Z.
That means He is the first, the Last, and all the letters in between.
When you have said, Jesus, you have said it all!
Omniscient One: All Knowing
Omniscient One: All Knowing
Jesus is the accumulated wisdom of Almighty God.
He is the beginning; He is the end.
He is all the letters in between. He is God’s first word, full word, and final word.
He is the omniscient One.
Omnipresent One: All present, Everywhere
Omnipresent One: All present, Everywhere
Jesus tells us - Revelation 1:8
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
That is, He is the beginning and ending of all things, the bookends of all eternity.
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was in the beginning with God.
3 All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.
Jesus is the one who will bring everything into consummation.
36 For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.
10 After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you.
11 To Him be dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Omnipotent One: All Powerful
Omnipotent One: All Powerful
Not only is Jesus the omniscient and omnipresent One, but He is also the Omnipotent One.
He is called the Almighty in Revelation 1:8
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
Jesus is the Almighty God.
We do not just tip our hat to Jesus; we bow the knee.
If you miss His omnipotence as God, you miss the gospel message of Christianity.
Jesus is not simply a Galilean carpenter, a great teacher, or a wise philosopher.
He is the omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent One.
First Time - Second Time:
First Time - Second Time:
The Triumphant return of the Lamb will be nothing like the humble birth of the Baby in Bethlehem.
When Jesus came the first time, He came to take the sinner’s place to die.
When He comes the second time, He will execute judgment upon the unsaved sinner.
Jesus came the first time as the Lamb led to the slaughter; He is coming again as the Lion enthroned to judge.
He came the first time to save the lost; He is coming the second time to take vengeance on those who have not professed Him as Lord and who have not obeyed His Word.
He came the first time as the supreme messenger of love; He is coming the second time as the righteous judge.
When Jesus came the first time, He came in great humility, He will return in awesome power and glory.
He came the first time wearing a robe of shame; He is coming back in a robe of glory.
Jesus was born in a humble stall and died a horrible death but will have an honorable return.
The hour of our Lord’s return may happen at any moment!
15 which He will bring about at the proper time—He who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords,
Tribulation:
Tribulation:
9 I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance which are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.
The isle of Patmos is a small, rocky, barren island in the Aegean Sea off the coast of Greece. It is ten miles long and six miles wide.
When John was ninety years old, he was sent to Patmos, the island was considered the Alcatraz or Devil’s Island of its day, where prisoners were sent to spend the rest of their days imprisoned in exile.
Most likely, he spent his days working in the rock quarries with a guard at his heels and a whip on his back.
John was not talking about the great tribulation when he referred to his tribulation in verse nine.
Rather he was referring to the tribulation to which Jesus refers to in John 16:33
33 “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”
This is referring to the tribulation or suffering just like John was sustaining while on the island of Patmos.
Jesus was telling us that while we are here on earth, doing what He has called us to we will face suffering or what He calls tribulation, but we need to remember that He has conquered this world, in the end He has victory.
And the closer we come to the end of times, the close we come to Jesus’ second coming the more intense the persecution will be.
And the more intense the persecution gets, the more we will find out who really loves Jesus and who was just in it to check it of their bucket list so to speak.
Ten things John saw about the Lord who is to Come:
Ten things John saw about the Lord who is to Come:
1. Resurrected Christ with Undiminished Humanity:
1. Resurrected Christ with Undiminished Humanity:
When John was given the revelation of Jesus Christ, it had been sixty years since he had seen Jesus.
In fact, the last time he had seen Him was when He ascended into glory.
John thirty years old; now he was ninety. But no amount of time could diminish the humanity of Jesus.
16 By common confession, great is the mystery of godliness:
He who was revealed in the flesh,
Was vindicated in the Spirit,
Seen by angels,
Proclaimed among the nations,
Believed on in the world,
Taken up in glory.
When Jesus decided to step out of glory and be born as a baby in Bethlehem, He did not temporarily become a man.
Jesus is a man forever. In order to save us, He knew He had to share in our humanity, and He has decided to share in it for all eternity. In eternity He is the Godman.
When we get to heaven, we will see Jesus. We will see Him as a man with nail scars in His flesh.
He will be and is forever like you and me, draped in the flesh of mankind.
The first thing John saw was the resurrected Christ with undiminished humanity.
Think of it. He forever is like us, and we forever like Him!
2. The Reigning Christ with Unrivaled Majesty:
2. The Reigning Christ with Unrivaled Majesty:
13 and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His chest with a golden sash.
What does the golden sash represent?
It is the royal array of a king and judge. The Lamb has become the Lion. And you will meet Him as King and Judge!
No one will be able to hide or escape meeting the Lord Jesus Christ.
Jesus is inevitable. Jesus is unavoidable. Jesus is inescapable.
10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
There is no second chance at the day of judgment.
Those who are not saved will have passed the divine deadline of repentance, and all that waits is a dreadful day of judgment.
3. The Righteous Christ with Unblemished Purity:
3. The Righteous Christ with Unblemished Purity:
14 His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire.
Throughout Revelation the color white is a symbol of purity and sinlessness, Even Isaiah referred to the color white as purity.
18 “Come now, and let us reason together,”
Says the Lord,
“Though your sins are as scarlet,
They will be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They will be like wool.
Jesus is sinless - absolutely pure, holy, and whiter than the virgin snow.
Indeed, Jesus is not only the reigning Christ; He is the righteous Christ.
He will not overlook the sin of any person.
He will never let sin go unpunished. He doesn’t wink away our sin by calling Himself a loving judge.
In a court of law, when a guilty man is acquitted, the judge is condemned.
If you think you can get to heaven without being born again, you do not know two things: you do not know how holy God is, and you do know how sinful you are.
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God;
9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.
22 And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.
27 And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment,
28 so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.
4. The Revealing Christ with Unhindered Scrutiny:
4. The Revealing Christ with Unhindered Scrutiny:
John tells us that Jesus’ eyes were like a fiery flame.
14 His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire.
What does that mean?
He can see right through you.
Jesus sees all; He knows all.
Your entire life is laid bare before Him.
He knows things no one else knows about you.
He knows every thought.
Jesus knows that answer you stole off your classmate’s test paper.
He knows that impure thing you did when you were away from your wife and kids.
HE knows the evil sentiment you have towards your neighbor.
He knows the internet site you visit when no one is looking.
13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.
All things are open. He knows what you are thinking this very second.
And one of these days you will stand before Him.
Whether your sin ever becomes public knowledge, God knows all about it.
God cannot be disputed. He cannot be discredited. He cannot be deceived.
Not only does He see all men, but He also sees through all men.
He sees the self-centered wickedness that causes the sinner to reject His offer of salvation.
You will not be able to fool this judge when you stand before Him.
5. The Relentless Christ with Untarnished Integrity:
5. The Relentless Christ with Untarnished Integrity:
15 His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters.
Bronze is an emblem of judgment and feet are a symbol of progress.
All the vessels in the outer court in the tabernacle were made of bronze.
Jesus is pictured as relentless as He goes forth to judge.
All hell cannot stop Him. He is not the meed and mild Jesus walking the shore of lake Galilee.
John doesn’t lay His head on Jesus’ breast as he did when he walked on earth the first time.
Now John falls at His feet like a dead man.
17 When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last,
30 “Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent,
31 because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”
Who is the appointed man?
He is the One with the feet like bronze. He is the One who says:
17 When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last,
18 and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.
A lot of people do not have a clue about this coming judge named Jesus.
They are unsaved, and yet they get dressed in their finest on Easter and Christmas and come to church.
Now don’t get me wrong I am glad they come when they do.
The God who raised Jesus from the dead will raise all for the coming judgement.
No one will be able to crawl in the grave and pull the dirt over their face and hide from God.
Jesus is going forth to judge with justice and integrity.
6. The Regal Christ with Unchallenged Authority:
6. The Regal Christ with Unchallenged Authority:
15 His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters.
Jesus’ voice is like cascading waters - when the unsaved person stands before Him on the judgment day, they will want to talk back, but they will be unable to be heard.
3 The voice of the Lord is upon the waters;
The God of glory thunders,
The Lord is over many waters.
4 The voice of the Lord is powerful,
The voice of the Lord is majestic.
5 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
Yes, the Lord breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,
And Sirion like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of the Lord hews out flames of fire.
8 The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;
The Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
9 The voice of the Lord makes the deer to calve
And strips the forests bare;
And in His temple everything says, “Glory!”
The powerful voice of God will even be heard by the dead.
28 “Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice,
29 and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.
7. The Ruling Christ with Unequaled Majesty:
7. The Ruling Christ with Unequaled Majesty:
In his vision John saw Jesus had seven stars in His right hand.
16 In His right hand He held seven stars, and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength.
Have you ever sung the song, He’s got the whole world in His hands?
According to God’s Word, Jesus has more than the world; He has the stars, the planets, the entire universe in His hands.
How can I say that when the Scriptures only say seven stars?
Because if you remember from last week, seven is the number of perfection.
This means that Jesus has it all in His hands.
What does it mean to you that Jesus has the universe in His hands?
For me it brings great comfort. Knowing that God’s Son is the ruling Christ with unequaled majesty encourages me to trust Him with even the smallest things going on in my life.
He rules in Majesty.
8. The Revenging Christ with Unspoiled Victory:
8. The Revenging Christ with Unspoiled Victory:
16 In His right hand He held seven stars, and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength.
A sharp double-edge sword came from his mouth, what doe you think Jesus will do with this sword?
15 From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.
We must be careful here.
Remember that the book of Revelation is filled with symbolism.
12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
With His word God spoke the world into existence.
From His mouth came light and all of creation.
He spoke and mountains were heaped, oceans were filled, flowers were planted, birds flew into the air, fish swam in the sea.
John Phillips says, that Jesus will speak two words at the battle of Armageddon, and it will all be over.
Jesus will look across the plains and say. Drop Dead!
Jesus is the revenging Christ with unspoiled victory!
9. The Resplendent Christ with Undimmed Glory:
9. The Resplendent Christ with Undimmed Glory:
The last part of Revelation 1:16
Revelation 1:16 (NASB95)
16 ; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength.
That is Jesus’ face was shinning like the noonday sun, can you imagine looking into the face of the sun?
The brightness will blind you.
The apostle Paul was blinded when he saw Jesus, but we will not be blinded because at that moment we will share in the nature of the Son.
When we see Jesus in His undimmed glory, we will be like Him, so we will be able to look upon Him.
2 Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is.
The face of Jesus will be all the light we will need in heaven - no more sun, moon, or stars.
6 For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.
For now we cannot see Him with our eyes; still we can have Him in our hearts.
But think of the brightness of His glory when He comes!
10. The Reassuring Christ with Undiluted Deity:
10. The Reassuring Christ with Undiluted Deity:
17 When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last,
18 and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.
If you are saved, this vision of Christ will not cause you to fear.
It will only cause you to feel immense reverence and awesome anticipation.
Only love for Christ will well up in your heart.
And you will want to fall at His feet because Jesus is your King of kings and Lord of lords.
John MacArthur shares a story of a man who was boasting about his intimacy with Jesus.
This man said, Jesus and I are good friends. Sometimes when I’m shaving, He comes in the bathroom with me.
John said, literally?
Oh, Yes! He comes in His body.
John asked, what does He do?
The man replied, He just puts His arm around my shoulder while I am shaving.
John said, is that right? What do you do then?
I just keep shaving, the man replied.
John responded, then that is not Jesus!
See when we see Jesus, we won’t keep on shaving. We will fall at His feet!
What a mighty God we serve!
What a glorious Savior we have!