Study of Revelation and End Times - week 5

Jesus Holds the Keys - Week 5

To give a little recap for the first four weeks of our study, in week one we had an introduction to the study, week two we looked at what must soon take place and looked at the first three verses of Revelation, week three we looked at symbols, signs an numbers and what they all meant in Revelation and end times, then in week four last week, we looked at the triumph of the Lamb looking at Revelation 1:7-18 and also ten things John saw about the Lord who is to come.

Tonight, we will be looking at Jesus who holds the keys and we are going to start off, by looking at the title, target group, subject, author, publisher, and dedication of the book of Revelation.

This may sound odd, but almost every book has these things, and when we examine these things, it opens up to information that helps us to see the big picture of Revelation and end times.

Jesus Holds the Keys:

We must realize that in order for us to understand Revelation and end times, we must see that Jesus holds the keys to the mystery of the Book of Revelation and end times, to the future of all things.

Therefore, we must examine these things like the title, the target group, subject, author, publisher, and dedication of the Book.

First is the Title:

Revelation 1:1 NASB95

1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John,

Here we see the title of the book, the Revelation of Jesus Christ, which literally means the unveiling or unfolding of Jesus Christ.

We see Jesus revealed right in the first chapter of Revelation, but we also see His power revealed as we read through the entire book.

Revelation 1:12–16 NASB95

12 Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands; 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. 14 His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire. 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. 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.

Second is the Target Group:

Revelation 1:1 NASB95

1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John,

To show His bond-servants (slaves).

In the Greek this word bond-servant is doulo, which is given as bond-servant here, but is more accurately translated as slaves.

The target group then is God’s bond-servants (slaves).

In Bible times a bond-servant or slave was not always subdued against his will; sometimes he willingly submitted himself to another person.

Just like we willingly submit to Jesus as Lord of our life.

John 15:15 NASB95

15 “No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.

Servants have a way of becoming friends.

Amos 3:7 NASB95

7 Surely the Lord God does nothing Unless He reveals His secret counsel To His servants the prophets.

When you become a servant of the Lord Jesus, you will experience intimacy with the Lord Jesus.

Revelation is a book written to Christ’s servants.

The only way you will understand this book or any book of the Bible is to submit yourself to Christ.

Third is the Subject:

Revelation 1:1 NASB95

1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John,

What must soon take place.

The subject is about things that will happen in the future.

People may say, well I do not understand what it means by things must soon take place.

How can that be?

That was two thousand years ago!

Well we need to understand the word soon or shortly.

It is the Greek word tachei from which we get a few English words, such as tachometer, a gadget that registers speed revolutions per time unit. Also the word taxi, is another word. We all know what a taxi is and does. It gets us somewhere quickly.

The Greek word tachei means quickly. It means the events described will come suddenly.

The idea is not that these things will happen immediately but that the will burst upon the world rapidly when they do come.

We must understand that in the end times, history pocks up speed.

Have you noticed the acceleration of technology in the last fifty years?

If you pick up your Bible with one hand and a newspaper in the other, you can tell that we are living in the closing shadows of the end of times.

Fourth is the Author:

Revelation 1:4 NASB95

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,

Here we see the author - John to the seven churches.

John was the author but he got the outline from God, where do most authors get the theme, the idea of their book, the outline from the publisher.

Fifth is Publisher:

Revelation 1:4–5 NASB95

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 the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood—

These two verses reveal the publisher, we could name it the Trinity Publishing Company.

We see in the two verses, from Him who is and who was and who is to come - God the Father, the seven spirits who are before His throne, is in reference to the Holy Spirit, then we have from Jesus Christ this giving us the Three in One Trinity.

Sixth is the Dedication:

Revelation 1:5–6 NASB95

5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood— 6 and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Most people who write a book, will dedicate it to someone at the beginning of the book.

John makes the dedication to only one - the Hero of the Word of God, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Four Things about the Lord Jesus:

We are going to look at Jesus’ grace, glory, gentleness, and government; with sub-categories under each of those.

1. The Grace of Our Risen Lord.

Because of His grace, He has loved us, washed us, and made us kings and priests.

Revelation 1:4–5 NASB95

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 the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood—

To Him who loves us and has set us free from our sins by His blood.

He Loves us: Unto Him that Loved Us

When did Jesus start loving you?

He never did - He has always loved you.

He loved you before time began.

He loved you before He swung the planets into space.

You were in the heart and mind of God before the foundation of the world.

Jesus doesn’t love you because you are valuable; you are valuable because He loves you.

Why does He love you?

Because of grace! and nothing can separate you from that grace.

Romans 8:38–39 NASB95

38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

God doesn’t change us so He can love us: He loves us so He can change us.

The love come before the washing.

He Liberates Us: Washed Us from Our Sins

The second thing we learn about the grace of our risen Lord is that He cleanses us from our sin.

The end of verse 5, tells us this, To Him who loves us and has set us free from our sins by His blood.

The Greek word for cleanses is lusanti, which means to loose.

It has the idea of using keys to set someone free or the idea of removing pollution.

Jesus’ blood has set us free!

Only through the blood of Jesus are we set free from the eternal prison of sin and death.

John 8:36 NASB95

36 “So if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed.

When Jesus sets us free we are eternally free.

Romans 6:5–7 NASB95

5 For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection, 6 knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; 7 for he who has died is freed from sin.

Have you ever thought carefully about the blood of Jesus?

There is no other blood like that. His blood is unique. His blood is sinless and uncontaminated.

Jesus has the Holy blood of God running through His veins.

1 Peter 1:18–19 NASB95

18 knowing that you were not redeemed with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your forefathers, 19 but with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.

He Lifts Us: Kings and Priests

Revelation 1:6 NASB95

6 and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Have you ever seen a queen or king?

Do you want to see one?

Go look in the mirror and you will!

Jesus has made us kings and priests unto God.

Romans 8:15–17 NASB95

15 For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.

IF you are redeemed, you are a royal blue blood.

You are next of kin to the Holy Trinity.

You are royalty in the family of God.

More importantly than your royalty is your position in Christ.

You are a priests. You don’t need an intermediary; you can go directly to God. Amen.

Praise God for the grace of our Risen Lord.

The Glory of Our Risen Lord.

Glory is a key theological term in the Bible that features God’s work of judgment, salvation and blessings.

As an attribute, the glory of God refers primarily to His majestic beauty and splendor and the recognition of it by mankind; however, it is also an ethical concept and embraces His holiness, for to sin is to fall short of the glory of God.

He is Coming with the Clouds.

Revelation 1:7 NASB95

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.

When John said that Jesus would be coming with the clouds, he was not referring to cumulus or cirrus clouds.

Instead, he was referring to the radiant splendor of God’s glory in which Jesus will be robed - what we call the Shekinah Glory of God.

The Shekinah Glory led the children of Israel through the wilderness and draped itself over the mercy seat of the ark of the covenant.

Every Eye will See Him, Including those who Pierced Him

What does it mean that every eye will see Jesus?

Just that - every eye.

Even those who nailed Him to the cross and pierced His side will see Him.

When they see Him again, He will be resplendent in the royal robes, not just of a king but of the King of kings!

The last time they saw Jesus, His har was matted with crimson blood.

When they see Him again, His hair will be whiter than snow.

When they saw Him last time, His eyes were filled with tears of liquid love.

When He comes again in glory, His eyes will be like flames of fire that will see right through them.

The last time they saw Him, they drove a huge spike through His feet.

When He comes again, His feet will be like molten bronze going forth in judgment.

The last time they saw Him, they put a spear in His side, and out came blood and water.

When He comes again in glory, He will have a sharp two-edged sword in His mouth with which He will strike the nations.

When they crucified Him, His face was so battered and bruised that people couldn’t tell whether they were seeing the face of a man or an animal.

When He comes again in glory, His face will be brighter than the noonday sun.

Humanity has a date with Jesus, and that humanity will wail when they see Him.

Romans 14:1 NASB95

1 Now accept the one who is weak in faith, but not for the purpose of passing judgment on his opinions.

Jesus Christ is coming again.

The Gentleness of Our Risen Lord

Revelation 1:17 NASB95

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,

John was so overwhelmed by the glory, majesty, magnitude, and awesomeness of the glorified, risen, and ascended Lord that he collapsed.

If that was all that verse said, we might be afraid to approach Jesus today.

We might even say: Whoever You are, I’m afraid of You.

I don’t know whether I want to have fellowship with you because you are so awesome.

All I can do is shrink back from you.

But the verse does not end there.

Jesus responds to John in the second part of that verse.

Revelation 1:17–18 NASB95

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.

Jesus touched John and said, Get up, son - don’t be afraid.

Even though Christ’s outward appearance had changed since John saw Him, his heart remained the same.

Notice which hand Jesus laid upon John: the right hand.

This was the hand that symbolized power and authority.

Bill Gaither wrote a song that puts this into perspective that I just absolutely love.

Shackled by a heavy burden 'Neath a load of guilt and shame Then the hand of Jesus touched me And now I am no longer the same

He touched me, oh, He touched me And oh, the joy that floods my soul Something happened, and now I know He touched me, and made me whole

Since I've met this blessed Savior Since He's cleansed and made me whole Oh, I will never cease to praise Him (to praise Him) I'll shout it while eternity rolls

Oh, He touched me, oh He touched me, He touched me And oh, the joy that floods my soul Something happened and now I know He touched me and made me whole

The Government of Our Risen Lord

Isaiah 9:6 NASB95

6 For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

Before Jesus was born, Isaiah prophesied that the government would be upon His shoulders.

And John explained what that meant.

Revelation 1:18 NASB95

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.

What does it mean that Jesus has the keys of death and hades?

Keys stand for authority, possession, and privilege.

The one who has the keys is the one who is in control.

What do keys do?

They open things. They lock and unlock things. They liberate and imprison.

What are these keys to?

Death and Hades - the two great enemies of man.

The New Testament Greek word is hades; the Old Testament Hebrew word is Sheol.

Both words literally means the realm of the unseen, spirit world.

When a person dies, death gets the body, but Hades gets the spirit and the soul.

Jesus is the keeper of the keys to both death and Hades.

Have you wondered how Jesus got those Keys?

By His resurrection.

When Jesus died, that cruel monarch of terrorists called death clapped his bony hands and laughed his hoarse laugh and said, We have got Him.

But they didn’t have Him.

Jesus was taken captive by death that He might set the captive free.

Jesus rose from the dead in complete confidence and calmness.

As a matter of fact,

John 20:7 NASB95

7 and the face-cloth which had been on His head, not lying with the linen wrappings, but rolled up in a place by itself.

This tells us something about how He neatly disposed of His grave clothes.

Jesus did not leave His garments on the floor in a resurrection rush!

He was in complete control of this situation.

We have so much to be thankful for because our risen, living victorious Savior owns the Keys of death and hell!

I can imagine that death shrieked in terror when Jesus rose from the grave.

Jesus put His heel on the throat of death, pulled death from his throne, threw him to the dungeon floor, pulled out the sting of death, and in its place ignited a star of hope in the tomb.

Death no longer rules over Him.

For in light of the fact that He died, He died to sin once for all; but in light of the face that He lives, He lives to God.

So, you too consider yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.