The Apocalypse

Text: Revelation 1:1-20

Thesis: Jesus reveals His power to the powerless

Application: When you feel powerless, trust in the almighty power of King Jesus.

Reading of the Word

Revelation 1:1-20

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, who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, everything that he saw. Blessed is the one who reads, and those who hear the words of the prophecy and keep the things which are written in it; for the time is near. 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, 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—and He made us into a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. 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.

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” I, John, your brother and fellow participant in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet, saying, “Write on a scroll what you see, and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.” Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And after turning I saw seven golden lampstands; and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and wrapped around the chest with a golden sash. His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire. His feet were like burnished bronze when it has been heated to a glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters. 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. 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, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades. Therefore write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after these things. As for the mystery of the seven stars which 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.

Intro

Welcome to Revelation!

Series Introduction

Devotional Explanation

Interrogation Sermon Explanation

Prayer

Question #1: What does “Revelation” mean?

Revelation: αποκάλυψις - “apocalypsis” or “apocalypse”

Revelation comes from the Greek word “apocalypsis” or “apocalypse.” The word “apocalypse” originally had nothing to do with the end of the world which is typically what people mean when they use that word today. The original meaning of the word “apocalypse” was “to uncover” or “to reveal.”

If you have an old Bible, your Bible may still refer to this letter as “The Apocalypse of Jesus Christ,” but most modern Bibles use the word “Revelation” to easily communicate what this letter is all about: something is being revealed, and Jesus is the one doing the revealing.

How we should think about “The Apocalypse”

To give you a visual picture of what this word means, imagine with me that you are at an art gallery. Everybody has gathered together to witness the unveiling of a brand new piece of art. You arrive at the gallery with the crowd of people and huddle into the showroom. You find a painting held up on a stand in the center of the room, but the painting is covered by a tarp. The painting itself is complete, but it is hidden from your view. After everyone enters the room, and anticipation has reached its height, the artist enters the room and pulls the tarp off. He has “uncovered” the art - what was hidden has now been revealed to you.

Alternate Examples:

Extreme Makeover Home Edition “Move that bus!”

Opening a present

Apocalypse Moments

Moments such as the artist unveiling the new piece of art are what we call “apocalypse moments.” Revelation is by no means the only place in the Bible where apocalypses occur; the Bible is filled with these moments where something is revealed to an individual or a group of people. Some shining examples are…

When God reveals His plan of rescue to Moses in the burning bush

When Jesus reveals His glory to Peter, James, and John in the transfiguration

When Jesus reveals His resurrected glory to Paul on the road to Damascus

The Apocalypse of Jesus is a grand apocalypse moment - Jesus has come to reveal His power, glory, and victory to John and the churches he is writing to.

Question #2: How and to whom does Jesus reveal this truth?

Messengers, Visions, and Writings

Jesus communicates to John and through John.

To John

In this first chapter, we see that John experiences visions through the power of the Holy Spirit and receives messages from angels. Throughout Revelation we are going to be told what John sees and what John hears.

Through John

What John sees and hears is not solely for his own good. John is instructed to write down what he sees and hears as a letter to seven churches in Asia. These churches are located in Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. We’ll learn more about these churches next week when we read chapters 2 and 3, but what you need to know today is that these churches are struggling. These churches are facing pressure from every direction - persecution from the governments, heresy and false teaching, suffering and temptation, etc. Those who hold earthly power are set against these churches, and Jesus wants to reveal to these churches that He is the One who holds ultimate power.

Apocalyptic Literature

If you received a letter like this one, you would probably think it to be rather strange. When we write to each other, we don’t speak about visions, mysteries, spiritual beings, etc. This kind of genre is not a genre which we are familiar with living in the United States in the 21st century. But the culture of John’s day (second half of the first century in the eastern hemisphere) was far different than our modern culture. This kind of writing fits a specific genre of writing which was not foreign to the people of John’s day. This particular kind of writing is called “Apocalyptic Literature.” Apocalyptic Literature is like an apocalypse moment taken to the extreme.

Apocalyptic Literature was a notable genre with people in the Middle East between 500 BC - 100 AD. Apocalyptic Literature focuses on a truth being revealed through grand visions, prophetic statements, angels, and large amounts of symbolism. Revelation is not the only piece of Apocalyptic Literature in the Bible - Daniel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Joel, and Zechariah all share elements of apocalyptic literature. Likewise, there were plenty of non-biblical works being written which fall into the apocalyptic literature category such as:

1, 2, and 3 Enoch

The Apocalypse of Abraham

The Apocalypse of Adam

The Apocalypse of Moses

Gabriel’s Revelation

The Apocalypse of Stephen

The Apocalypse of Peter

The Apocalypse of Samuel of Kalamoun

The Apocalypse of Pseudo-Methodius

The Genesis Apocryphon

The Syriac Apocalypse of Baruch

The Greek Apocalypse of Baruch

The Apocalypse of Sedrach

The Apocalypse of Paul

The Apocalypse of Peter

The Apocalypse of Thomas

The Gnostic Apocalypse of Peter

The First Apocalypse of Jaes

The Second Apocalypse of James

The Coptic Apocalypse of Paul

and plenty more!

The point is that while Revelation may seem really strange to us today, it would not have seemed so strange to the people it was written to. So just like any other book of the Bible, we need to make sure that we strive to understand and interpret Revelation according to its original context. So how should we interpret and understand Revelation? We should read it like these first century Christians, which is through the lens of the Hebrew Bible. Revelation is filled with over 500 references to the Old Testament. Revelation’s strange and bizarre images are not random - they are connections to what God had already done for His people and communicated to His people throughout the centuries.

Question #3: What is revealed first?

Jesus Has Ultimate Power

What do these struggling powerless Christians need to hear? They need to be reminded that Jesus is the One who holds ultimate power.

Rev 1:5-6: 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—and He made us into a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever

Rev 1:13-18: and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and wrapped around the chest with a golden sash. His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire. His feet were like burnished bronze when it has been heated to a glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters. 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. 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, 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 is declared in this passage?

Jesus has power over the kings of the earth

Jesus has power over the Church, the Kingdom He has made us into

Jesus has power over the universe

Jesus has power over time

Jesus has power over death

Outro

Blessed is the One who Reads, Blessed is the One who Hears

Revelation is dense. Despite apocalyptic literature being familiar with early Christians, Revelation has always been mysterious. But don’t let the mystery of this letter drive you away from God, let the mystery of these words draw you to God’s presence. The Scripture is clear when it says that blessed are the ones who read and hear these words. Never forget that. As we study this letter over the next sixteen weeks, know that you will be blessed.

When you feel powerless, know that Jesus has power.

When the world feels like it is crushing you, know that Jesus holds you.

When it seems like there is nothing but chaos, know that Jesus is in control.

When the pains of sin and death feel vicious, know that Jesus is alive forevermore.