REVELATION 1:1-8

INTRODUCTION

WHAT

JOHN CALVIN

Never wrote a commentary on Revelation because he believed this book was incomprehendable.

MARTIN LUTHER

Did not believe that Revelation held canonical weight. Why? Because it didn’t speak to Justification by Faith.

Why? Because it didn’t speak to Justification by Faith.

THIS BOOK IS NOT MEANT TO SCARE US, BUT TO BLESS US

In fact, the few times that I have seen people have a hard time with this book

Is when they are insecure in regards to the Faith

The people that have a hard time with this book

Are those who have a problem with God’s Authority

INSTEAD OF LOOKING AT THIS BOOK IN A FEARFUL WAY

We should be looking at this book in a way that reveals to us one thing

IF WE ARE STILL BREATHING

IF WE ARE HERE AT CHURCH

ONE THING IS CLEAR

GOD’S MERCY IS REAL

THE QUESTION IS, WHAT SHOULD WE DO ABOUT IT

If He is a merciful God

If He is a Gracious God

If He is a Faithful God

How should the Skeptic respond?

How should the Atheist respond?

How should the Christian respond?

TURN TO

Revelation 1:1–8 NKJV

1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John, 2 who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw. 3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near. 4 John, to the seven churches which 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 from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, 6 and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 7 Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen. 8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Revelation 1 NKJV

1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John, 2 who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw. 3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near. 4 John, to the seven churches which 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 from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, 6 and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 7 Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen. 8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” 9 I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. 10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet, 11 saying, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,” and, “What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.” 12 Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. 14 His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; 15 His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; 16 He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. 17 And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. 18 I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death. 19 Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this. 20 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 which you saw are the seven churches.

PRAY THAT GOD WOULD REVEAL HIMSELF TO US

PRAY THAT WE WOULD KNOW MORE ABOUT JESUS EVERY SINGLE TIME WE OPEN THIS BOOK

Revelation 1:1–3 NKJV

1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John, 2 who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw. 3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.

REVELATION 1:

THIS IS THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST

REVELATION: APOKULUPSIS

Apo: Away

Kalupsis: Veil

IT IS THE REMOVING OF THE VEIL

OR THE CLARIFYING ACT

THAT WILL UNVEIL WHO JESUS REALLY IS

CHECK OUT THE WORKFLOW:

God the Father gave Jesus the Vision to show His Servants

Show what?

The things that must shortly take place

This Vision was given by Jesus to His Angel, to give to John

John , who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ

John, is telling us as he is writing, that these things are 100% Truth

That these are the things that he saw with his very eyes.

THEN, SOMETHING INTERESTING HAPPENS

John proclaims a blessing and an urgency to the reader of this Book

To those who hear

To those who read

To those who keep the things written in it

They will be blessed

Notice how this blessing isn’t just in listening

But in keeping the word of God

Those who observe the Word of God

AFTER THE EXPLANATION OF WHAT THIS BOOK IS FOR

JOHN ADDRESSES THE FOREMOST AUDIENCE

REV 1:4-

REVELATION 1:

Revelation 1:4–5 NKJV

4 John, to the seven churches which 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 from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood,

Revelation 1:4–6 NKJV

4 John, to the seven churches which 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 from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, 6 and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

TO THE 7 CHURCHES WHICH ARE IN ASIA

Not Asia, as in the Continent

But Asia, as in the Roman Province located in Western Turkey

GRACE AND PEACE FROM HIM WHO IS AND WHO WAS AND WHO IS TO COME:

What does this mean?

This is revealing to us who God is in a collective manner

He not only Is

He was

He is to come

This speaks to His Omnipresence

It speaks to His Everlasting Nature

It should increase our trust in Him

It should drive us to continue to approach Him when we are in need of Grace and Peace

If He is unchanging

If He is everlasting

If He is Alive Forevermore

It should drive us to continue to approach Him when we are in need of Grace and Peace

What else is unveiled to us?

We are informed that surrounding His throne

Are 7 Spirits:

Who, or what are these 7 Spirits?

Before we get to that, let’s get one thing out of the way

Every time we see the number 7 what should we be thinking?

Completeness or Perfection

These 7 spirits could be in reference to the sevenfold spirit of God stated in Isaiah 11:1-2

Isaiah 11:1–2 NKJV

1 There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots. 2 The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.

GRACE AND PEACE FROM THE OMNIPRESENT GOD

GRACE AND PEACE FROM THE 7-FOLD SPIRIT OF GOD

GRACE AND PEACE FROM JESUS CHRIST

JESUS THE FAITHFUL WITNESS

JESUS THE FIRST BORN FROM THE DEAD

JESUS THE RULER OVER THE KINGS OF THE EARTH

THIS IS A PICTURE OF A TRIUNE GOD SEEKING TO SPEAK TO HIS CHURCH

It is revealing to us who is the Head of the Church

It is showing us who we are dealing with

A God who is and was and is to come

A God in whom we find rest, wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, and whom we should fear.

A God who is a Faithful Witness

A God who was the first to be raised from the Dead

A God who reigns and who is a respector of no person.

INSTEAD OF HIM DEMANDING A RESPONSE

JOHN PRESENTS HIM AS A DISTRIBUTOR OF GRACE AND PEACE

Church there is a difference between a God that demands something from you

And a God who distributes something that you cannot earn

There is a difference between Jesus and the demi gods of this world

Jesus is the only one who has loved us in a reconciling way

He has not only loved us

But washed us from our sins with His own Blood.

He alone has done this

He alone has held himself responsible for our sins

He alone has done something about our sinfulness

He alone has what it takes to turn the sinners spots as white as snow

IT IS THIS JESUS THAT HAS ALSO MADE US PRIESTS AND KINGS TO HIS GOD AND FATHER

In God’s Kingdom we are valuable

Think about it

The blood of Jesus not only grants us access to the Kingdom

It gives us authority in the Kingdom

WE HAVE TO ADMIT, THAT THESE TWO THINGS ARE ELEMENTS THAT SHOULD CAUSE US TO WORSHIP

The fact that our sins have been paid for

Shows us the Love of God for us

The fact that we are now priests and kings in His Kingdom

Shows us how important we are in His Kingdom

As the Most loved and Highly Valued people

How should we respond?

CHURCH, WE SHOULD BE DIFFERENT.

THERE SHOULD BE SOMETHING NOTICEABLE IN OUR LIVES

THERE SHOULD BE A DIFFERENCE IN HOW AND WHAT WE WORSHIP

DO PEOPLE KNOW OF THE JESUS WE WORSHIP?

ARE THEY COMPELLED TO MAKE A CHANGE?

OR IS VERSE 7, THE FIRST TIME THEY HEAR AND SEE JESUS?

Revelation 1:7–8 NKJV

7 Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen. 8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

THIS IS THE REALITY OF HIS SECOND COMING

VERY DIFFERENT FROM HIS FIRST COMMING

AND NOT HIS COMING FOR THE CHURCH

Jesus is coming on the Clouds

Every eye will see Him

Even those who pierced Him

This is different than the rapture of the church

In the rapture of the church, it is only the church who partake of His appearing

Here there is a detail that clues us into why it is not the rapture of the church

It is the fact that “those who pierced Him” will also see him.

JOHN IS TAKING US BACK TO THE TIMES OF ZECHARIAH

Zechariah 12:10 NKJV

10 “And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.

ZECHERIAH 12:10

AT THE SECOND COMING OF JESUS CHRIST

HUMANITY WILL EITHER REJOICE OR THEY WILL MOURN

For those who have been following Jesus

His return is a confirmation of everything that we have been declaring for ages

His return is a fulfilment of what we have believed and out our faith in

His return will bring those who believe comfort

For those who have known about Jesus, but have not been following

They will join with the earthly tribes in a worldwide state of mourning

They will mourn for Him as one who mourns for his only son

They will grieve as one grieves for a firstborn

Even though this is hard to accept

His Word says “Even So, Amen.”

TO THE NEGLECTING OF HIS IDENTITY

TO THE REALITY OF HIS SECOND COMING

JESUS SAYS

I am the Alpha and the Omega

The beginning and the end

Who is

Who was

Who is to Come

The Almighty

JESUS IS RESTATING WHO HE IS AND WHAT IS HAPPENING

HE IS REITERATING HIS IDENTITY

HE IS RECONFIRMING WHO HIS PEOPLE BELIEVED IN