Look Again
Letters From Heaven • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Welcome
Today we're starting a brand-new series called Letters From Heaven.
And we're going to spend about the next eight weeks walking through the book of Revelation.
About.
I need to emphasize that word.
Because the last time we walked through an entire book together was Acts.
That took 63 weeks.
So I've learned not to make promises anymore.
We're aiming for eight weeks.
But Revelation is one of those books that almost everybody has some kind of relationship with.
Some of us are fascinated by it.
Some of us are confused by it.
Some of us have been taught to be a little afraid of it.
And some of us have mostly just decided, “I'm gonna let somebody smarter than me figure that one out.”
But before we decide what Revelation is about, I want us to do something really simple throughout this series:
I want us to let Revelation tell us what Revelation is about.
Not what somebody told us it was about.
Not what a movie made us think it was about.
Not what we assume it's about because we've heard words like beasts, dragons, 666, and the end times.
Let's just start where John starts.
So if you have your Bible, turn with me to Revelation 1
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.
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.”
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.
I’ve titled the message this morning:
Look Again.
Pray
CAPRISUNS
Hydration is very important.
I’ve learned that as I’ve been on this journey of losing weight and getting healthier.
I’m down 40 pounds so far in 2026.
That’s just a subtle brag.
But I want to talk for a minute about one of the greatest beverages ever created.
Capri Sun.
This is Capri Sun.
This is what Capri Sun has always been.
A pouch. A tiny straw. A hole that is somehow both clearly marked and still impossible to hit.
Sometimes you miss the hole completely.
Sometimes you stab the straw straight through the back.
Sometimes you squeeze the pouch too hard and Capri Sun goes everywhere.
That’s part of the experience.
Nobody was asking Capri Sun to fix this.
We had a system.
It worked.
And then this week I discovered...
THIS.
What is this?!
This is Capri Sun.
In a bottle.
No.
I don’t like it.
Who asked for this?
Who looked at Capri Sun and thought, “You know what the problem is? The pouch.”
THE POUCH IS THE WHOLE THING.
Without the pouch, this is just juice!
Look at this thing.
It has a normal lid.
You just... unscrew it.
Where’s the danger?
Where’s the possibility of stabbing the straw through the back?
Where’s the character development?
Kids today are soft.
We had to earn our Capri Sun.
And I know some of you are thinking, “Kyle, it’s just Capri Sun.”
No.
There are principles at stake here.
There are some things you just don’t mess with.
Capri Sun comes in a pouch.
TRANSITION
But as much as I hate to admit it...
There is something about this bottle that I had never really thought about before.
I can see inside of it.
I’ve been drinking Capri Sun since I was a kid.
I know what Capri Sun tastes like.
I know what’s supposed to be in this pouch.
But I don’t know that I’ve ever actually seen Capri Sun.
Because the pouch has always kept what’s inside hidden.
And believe it or not, while I was irrationally angry about bottled Capri Sun this week, I started thinking about the book of Revelation.
Because I think a lot of us have been handed Revelation like this pouch.
We know there’s something in there.
We know it matters.
We know we’re supposed to read it.
But we assume we can’t really see inside of it.
So we leave it to the experts.
We need somebody who understands all the symbols.
Somebody who can decode everything.
Somebody with a chart.
But before John gives us beasts.
Before dragons.
Before seals.
Before trumpets.
Before Babylon.
Before 666.
He tells us what kind of book we are reading.
Look again at the very first verse John wrote:
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,
That word revelation comes from the Greek word apokalypsis.
It means an unveiling.
A disclosure.
Something that was hidden being made visible.
Which raises a pretty obvious question:
If Revelation is an unveiling, why have we treated it like God’s most complicated code?
We’ve taken a book whose very name tells us that something is being revealed...
and treated it like the one book in the Bible nobody can understand.
And that means we may have approached this entire book backwards.
Revelation isn’t God trying to hide something from His Church. Revelation is God showing His Church something.
The very name of the book tells us:
God wants us to see.
And John doesn’t leave us wondering what He wants us to see.
The very first words are:
“The revelation of Jesus Christ.”
Too many Christians get caught up in everything Revelation is going to show us...
instead of getting caught up in the God it’s revealing.
We get caught up in the beasts.
The seals.
The trumpets.
The numbers.
The timelines.
And we can spend so much time trying to figure out what everything means that we miss the One standing in the middle of it all.
If we read Revelation and miss Jesus, we’ve missed what was being revealed.
Jesus is at the center.
CONTEXT
And that matters when we remember who John is actually writing to.
John is writing to seven real churches in Asia.
These aren’t hypothetical churches.
These are real Christians trying to follow Jesus in the middle of pressure, suffering, compromise, uncertainty, and fear.
And John tells us right away what they’re supposed to do with this revelation.
Look at verse 3:
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.
Did you catch that?
There’s someone reading it aloud.
There are people hearing it.
And then they’re supposed to keep what they heard.
In other words, John imagines this book being read out loud in a room full of ordinary Christians.
They were supposed to hear it.
And then they were supposed to do something with it.
John is not writing a puzzle for prophecy experts.
He is writing a revelation from Jesus to the Church.
Which gives us two questions that I want us to keep asking throughout this entire series:
What does this mean?
And:
What does this require of us?
Because if all we do over the next eight weeks...
or possibly 63...
is learn a bunch of interesting stuff about Revelation, we’ve missed the point.
The goal of Revelation is not simply to make us more informed about the future.
The goal of Revelation is to make us more faithful in the present.
Here’s the first thing we need to understand this morning:
Revelation is something we keep, not just something we know.
John says, “Blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it.”
That word matters.
Revelation wasn’t given just so we could know what happens next.
It was given to shape how we live right now.
Turn to your neighbor and say:
READ → HEAR → KEEP
The Word is read.
The Church hears it.
Then the Church is expected to do something with it.
James says the same thing:
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.
James adds that extra gut punch:
“deceiving yourselves.”
In other words, James says there is a way to hear the Word of God...
To know the Word of God.
To understand the Word of God.
And still fool yourself into thinking that because you know it, you’re actually living it.
Information can create the illusion of transformation.
And Revelation might be one of the easiest books in the Bible for us to do that with.
We can know what the seven seals are.
We can debate the millennium.
We can have an opinion about the mark of the beast.
We can build our timeline.
We can know what every symbol means.
And still completely miss what Jesus is asking of His Church.
Because the blessing John gives isn’t just for the person who figures Revelation out.
It’s for the people who hear it and keep it.
READ → HEAR → KEEP.
Revelation isn’t asking, “How much do you know?”
Revelation is asking, “What are you going to do with what you’ve heard?”
We have turned Revelation into a book people argue about understanding.
John introduces it as a book Christians are supposed to obey.
And that raises a question:
How do you “keep” a prediction?
If Revelation is only a timeline of future events, that command feels strange.
But if Revelation is calling Christians to:
Faithfulness.
Endurance.
Worship.
Repentance.
Courage.
Allegiance to Jesus.
Then it makes perfect sense.
Revelation isn’t just showing us what will happen. It’s showing us how to follow Jesus no matter what happens.
That’s something you can keep.
That’s something you can obey.
That’s something that changes the way you live.
If our interpretation gives us something to predict but nothing to obey, we may be reading Revelation differently than John intended.
Revelation wasn’t given primarily to satisfy our curiosity about the future.
It was given to shape our faithfulness in the present.
And when you keep reading, John does something that I think is really important.
Before he gives us any more visions...
Before he explains any symbols...
he reminds these churches who is speaking to them.
4a 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…
I need you to notice how John begins this.
Because for a book that so many Christians have learned to approach with fear and anxiety...
the first words these churches receive are:
Grace.
And peace.
Can I ask you something?
If John greets these churches with grace and peace...
why do we so often read Revelation with fear and panic?
Think about how strange that is.
For a lot of Christians, just hearing the word Revelation creates anxiety.
What’s going to happen?
How bad is it going to get?
Who’s the Antichrist?
What’s the mark?
Are we in the end times?
What if I miss something?
And John opens the letter:
Grace to you.
Peace to you.
Before the seals.
Before the trumpets.
Before the bowls.
Before the beast.
Grace and peace.
Maybe Revelation was never intended to produce panic in the Church.
Maybe it was intended to produce confidence in Jesus.
Revelation Begins With Grace, Not Fear.
Before John tells these churches about what’s coming...
he reminds them who is with them.
“Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come...”
I love that.
Because these churches are living in a world that feels uncertain.
Their circumstances can change.
The people in power can change.
What tomorrow looks like can change.
But God does not.
He is.
He was.
And He is to come.
I need you to know something this morning.
Because some of you may be living with fear and anxiety about your life.
Your finances.
Your marriage.
Your workplace.
Your kids.
Your future.
And maybe the thing creating fear in you has nothing to do with beasts, dragons, or the end of the world.
You’re just worried about Monday.
You don’t know what’s going to happen.
You don’t know how it’s going to work out.
You don’t know what’s coming next.
But John introduces us to a God who is, who was, and who is to come.
Which means whatever uncertainty you’re walking into...
God is already there.
Whatever changes around you...
God has not changed.
And whatever tomorrow holds...
Jesus will still be Jesus.
That’s why Revelation can begin with grace and peace.
Our peace isn’t rooted in knowing everything that happens next.
Our peace is rooted in knowing the One who is already there.
Peace doesn't come from knowing the future.
Peace comes from knowing the God who holds it.
And then John gets even more personal.
Look at what he says in verse 5:
5a and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth….
Now pause right here.
Don’t look at the next half...
What do you expect John to say next?
He’s the faithful witness.
He’s the firstborn of the dead.
He’s the ruler of the kings on earth.
These are massive statements about Jesus.
So maybe we expect John to keep going.
To Him who rules.
To Him who reigns.
To Him who will conquer His enemies.
To Him who will judge the earth.
But that’s not where John goes.
Look at the rest of the verse:
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
“To him who loves us...”
That’s what John wants these churches to hear.
He loves you.
Before Jesus corrects the churches in Chapters 2 and 3:
He loves them.
Before the warnings:
He loves them.
Before the judgment:
He loves them.
Before we understand every symbol in this book:
He loves us.
The Jesus Revelation reveals isn’t just the King who rules over everything.
He is the King who loves His Church.
If our reading of Revelation produces nothing but panic, paranoia, and fear, we have missed the heart of a book that begins with grace and peace.
We’ve missed missed the King who loves us.
Revelation Shows Us Who Jesus Really Is
And that’s really what the rest of this chapter does.
John keeps pulling back the curtain.
He keeps showing us Jesus.
And by the time we get to verse 12, John turns around...
and what he sees completely overwhelms him.
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.
Now remember what Revelation means.
An unveiling.
The curtain is being pulled back.
And John is seeing Jesus in a way he has never seen Him before.
John is seeing Jesus not simply as the man he walked the earth with.
The Jesus he ate with.
The Jesus he traveled with.
The Jesus he watched teach crowds and touch lepers.
This is that same Jesus.
But now the curtain has been pulled back.
And John is seeing Jesus in His glory.
He is seeing Jesus as THE KING.
And John is trying to put into words what he sees.
His eyes are like fire.
His feet are like burnished bronze.
His voice sounds like the roar of many waters.
His face is shining like the sun.
And this is important:
John doesn’t describe Jesus this way so we can draw Him.
John describes Jesus this way so we can recognize Him.
Now I know what you’re thinking…
That’s not describing Jesus…
Jesus looks like Jonathan Roumie.
Some of you have watched so much The Chosen that when you pray, that’s who you see.
You’re like, “I know what Jesus looks like. I’ve got Peacock.”
Repent….
But John isn’t trying to give us a physical description of Jesus.
He’s using images that his readers would recognize.
Because when John says His hair is white...
His eyes are like fire...
His voice is like the roar of many waters...
His face shines like the sun...
John is reaching backward into the Scriptures to show us who Jesus is.
This isn’t a police sketch.
It’s a theological portrait.
John expects us to recognize these images because they come from somewhere.
Look at how Daniel describes God hundreds of years earlier:
9a “As I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days took his seat…
Daniel sees the Ancient of Days.
Now that phrase might sound strange to us.
The Ancient of Days is God.
Daniel is seeing a vision of God seated on His throne.
And “Ancient of Days” isn't saying God is old.
It’s saying God is eternal.
Before any kingdom existed, God was there.
Before any king sat on a throne, God was King.
9ab “As I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days took his seat; his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool….
So get the picture.
Daniel sees God on His throne.
White clothing.
Hair like pure wool.
It is a picture of His eternality, His purity, His wisdom, His majesty.
Now go back to what John sees.
14 The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire,
That should stop us.
Because John just took imagery Daniel used to describe God...
and used it to describe Jesus.
John isn't telling us Jesus got old.
John is telling us who Jesus is.
Ladies and gentlemen...
Jesus Is God.
And John is just getting started.
His eyes are like a flame of fire.
His feet are like burnished bronze.
His voice is like the roar of many waters.
From His mouth comes a sharp two-edged sword.
His face shines like the sun.
The imagery comes from all over the Old Testament.
Daniel.
Ezekiel.
Isaiah.
Images of kingship.
Priesthood.
Judgment.
Divine glory.
John is reaching into the Old Testament again and again and using the language of divine glory and authority to describe Jesus.
This is the Jesus…..Revelation is revealing.
He is the Son of Man.
He is the eternal King.
His eyes see everything.
His feet stand unmoved.
His voice carries divine authority.
His hand holds His Church.
His Word judges and conquers.
His face shines with divine glory.
This is Jesus.
Not weak.
Not threatened.
Not nervous about what happens next.
Not scrambling to hold history together.
Jesus reigns.
And remember who John is writing to.
Christians living in a world where it felt like the opposition was in charge.
And Revelation pulls back the curtain and says:
Look again.
Rome may have a throne.
Kings may have authority.
Empires may rise and fall.
But Jesus is King.
Before John shows us the dragon.
Before the beasts.
Before Babylon.
Before persecution.
Before judgment.
John wants us to know:
Who is standing in the middle of it all.
Go back to verse 13.
John says that “in the midst of the lampstands” he saw one like a son of man.
And verse 20 tells us what the lampstands represent:
The lampstands are the churches.
Do you see where Jesus is?
He is in the middle of His Church.
He isn’t watching from a distance.
He isn’t absent while His people suffer.
He isn’t somewhere far away hoping everything works out.
The King is standing among His people.
And that changes the way we read everything that comes next.
Because whatever Revelation is about to show us...
Jesus is already in the middle of it.
And look at what happens when John finally sees Him.
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.
John sees Jesus...
and he collapses.
But Jesus reaches down and puts His hand on him.
And I love this:
The hand powerful enough to hold the Church is gentle enough to touch a terrified disciple.
And Jesus says:
“Fear not.”
Why?
“I am the First and the Last.”
In other words, whatever John is facing exists somewhere between the First and the Last.
And then Jesus says:
“I was dead, and behold I am alive forevermore.”
Death already had its opportunity with Jesus.
Death lost.
And then:
“I have the keys of Death and Hades.”
Rome may have John on Patmos.
Rome may have power.
Rome may even threaten his life.
But Rome does not have the keys.
Jesus does.
And maybe that's what some of us need to hear this morning.
Our hope is not that nothing frightening will ever happen.
Our hope is that whatever happens, Jesus is still Jesus.
The One who loves us.
The One who holds His Church.
The One who defeated death.
The One who holds the keys.
So what if Revelation is less about figuring out what happens next...
and more about seeing the One who is already there?
Before Revelation gives us beasts...
It gives us Jesus.
Before Babylon...
Jesus.
Before judgment...
Jesus.
Before death...
Jesus.
Revelation pulls back the curtain and says:
Look at Jesus.
And if we see Him clearly...
we can faithfully follow Him no matter what happens next.
DISCIPLE STEP
And that’s your Disciple Step this week.
Read Revelation 1 out loud every day.
And every time you read it, ask two questions:
What does this show me about Jesus?
What does this require of me?
And then respond.
Because Revelation was never meant to simply be understood.
It was meant to be kept.
Read it.
Hear it.
Keep it.
Pray
