God is Not Silent

Don’t Read This - Background

It’s the mid 90’s.

Not the 1990’s.

But 090.

It’s near the end of the first century.

95ad.

A lot has happened within the church by this time.

About 60 years earlier, Jesus Christ was crucified on a cross.

3 days later He victoriously rose from the grave.

He conquered death.

50 days later, the Holy Spirit was given to Christians.

The Church was birthed.

Under the power of the Holy Spirit, the young church began to preach the Gospel.

The church grew.

It says the Lord added daily to their numbers.

But it wasn’t long until persecution began.

Under the leadership of Saul, later Paul, the young church was attacked.

Acts says that he ravaged the church.

In , the first Christian was martyred for his faith, Stephen.

The church was driven out of Jerusalem and began to spread.

In 54 AD, Nero becomes emperor.

He ruthlessly attacks the church.

It has been said that he would tar Christians, crucify them, then light them on fire to light his gardens.

In 64 AD, 10 years after Nero takes power, Rome is devastated by a fire.

Nero blames the church for the fire.

He ruthlessly attacks the church.

It has been said that he would tar Christians, crucify them, then light them on fire to light his gardens.

There is increasing violence and rebellion in Jerusalem.

In 70ad, Nero has the Temple in Jerusalem burnt to the ground.

As if things weren’t bad enough, after Nero’s death, in 80 ad, Domitian becomes emperor.

They are being martyred.

Paul is beheaded.

He’s just as bad as Nero, if not worse.

Persecution upon the church becomes even greater.

He continues the persecution that Nero started.

Peter is crucified upside down.

Over the course of time, from 33 AD till 95 AD one by one, the original disciples are being killed.

They are being martyred.

Paul is beheaded.

Each one facing violence.

Peter is crucified upside down.

Each one facing violence.

By the early 90’s there is only one of the disciples left, John.

The beloved John.

The writer of the Gospel.

He was probably the youngest of the 12 disciples, which is why he was able to live to such an old age.

He over saw churches in Asia Minor, now known as Turkey.

There were 7 churches in the area, that he was responsible for.

He wouldn’t suffer a martyr’s death, but he would still suffer.

Tradition has it that he was boiled in oil, came out unharmed.

The early church historian, Eusebius, says that in 95AD, he was arrested for preaching the Gospel, and put into exile on a prison island called Patmos, just off the coast of modern day Turkey.

It’s been about 60 years since Jesus ascended into heaven.

A lot has happened.

The church is suffering.

In Pergamum, one guy, a man named Antipas, has even been killed for the faith.

They need a message.

What’s in store?

They need hope.

They need encouragement.

And it was there, on a Sunday morning, the Lord’s Day, in 95 AD, that John experienced something that only a handful of people in all of history have ever experienced.

Men like:

Isaiah

Ezekiel

Paul

And now John.

He was somehow caught up in the Spirit, and given a a vision of heaven and things to come.

He witnessed spectacular things.

These things are recorded in the final book of the Bible, Revelation.

They are a message of:

Endurance

Encouragment

Hope

And the best part, they teach Jesus.

And here we are, separated by an even greater time period.

And some of you sound don’t sound hopeful.

John never acts as if he had doubt.

But if he was only 60 years removed from the crucifixion and the ascension, and he and the church needed encouragement, then you need it even more.

You are 2000 years separated.

And I hear you talk.

We talk about the return of Christ, but some of you don’t really expect Christ to return.

Some of you have don’t expect Christ to return.

Some of you think that the return of Christ and eschatology it’s for crazy theologians.

It’s not practical.

Perhaps you think it’s not even helpful.

When we talk about Christ and His reality, sometimes He’s more of a hope for when you die, rather than a hope for right now.

The way we talk about Christ and heaven and His return, sometimes its as if it’s only helpful at funerals, and not today.

In one sense you are right.

It is appointed for man to die and then face judgment, .

That’s appropriate for funerals.

He is a hope for the future.

But Jesus is also Lord right now.

He is reigning right now.

Just as the early church needed to be encouraged and reminded of this reality, you need this as well.

That’s why we are going to spend about 8 weeks in Revelation.

Because you need to be reminded of the reality of Christ, the Living Christ, and HIs presence within the church.

You need to be reminded that He is Lord of us right now, and He has a message for us right now.

So please open your Bibles to Revelation, and we will look at the first chapter.

Read Revelation 1.

The first thing to see is that Jesus Communicates.

Remember what the name of this book is … it’s Revelation.

I know that I joke about it not being Revelations, but singular, Revelation, and that’s because of the first words of the book, “The revelation of Jesus Christ ...”

It’s just one revelation, and look at who it comes from … Jesus.

He is the one directing this conversation.

Also, just a side issue, remember that Revelation is perfectly written.

John isn’t trying his best to describe what he sees.

John is writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

Every jot and tittle.

Every word.

Every phrase is being directed by the Holy Spirit.

It is all God breathed.

It’s a revelation.

The Greek word is apocalypse.

Neither of those should be scary words.

Revelation or apocalypse, means to reveal, or to make something known.

And that sets the stage for the entire book, something is being made known.

This isn’t a book about confusion.

This isn’t a book about mystery.

This is a book about information.

And notice who is it coming from?

It’s coming from Jesus.

He is communicating.

I went through this first chapter and highlighted each time there was a phrase or a description of communication, and my page quickly filled up with highlights.

Because over and over again Jesus is saying, “Communicate this. I want my people to know something.”

In fact, the first 12 commands in the book.

These are commands.

Action steps.

Something that someone is directly told to do.

The first 12 commands in the book are commands to write what you see.

This book, Revelation, will then be given to 7 churches in Asia Minor.

They are arranged in a circular pattern, a postal route.

That means the information doesn’t just go to these 7 churches, but they are hubs of information.

They receive the message, then it goes out into the rest of the church at large.

Then from them, the message is to go out into the rest of the church at large.

Jesus wants His people to know something.

Jesus wants his church to know something.

Jesus wants you to know something.

It’s been a long time since He rose from the grave, they need a message, they need to hear from their king.

And it’s even more true for you.

It’s been given to show what must take place.

You need to hear from your king.

Don’t be afraid of Revelation.

It’s something that was written down.

It’s a message from Jesus.

Later on in verse 10, John says

It was something that was

Verse 2 says that it is the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Verse 3 says, “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.”

This is a message from Jesus Christ.

And it is meant to encourage you

John is the last of the original disciples.

They’ve all been killed.

He’s shepherded the churches of Asia Minor, only to see most of them fall, and embrace false teaching.

John needs encouragement.

The true Christians need encouragement.

It’s meant to be read and it’s meant to be kept.

That means held onto.

Trusted in.

Obeyed.

Jesus communicates, and then Jesus Introduces Himself

I’ve heard of people being told to close their eyes and imagine Jesus.

And I’m sure that if I did that here, we’d have a dozen different versions of Jesus.

Some would picture Jesus holding children on His knee.

Other’s imagine Him with a sheep on his shoulders.

But let’s let Jesus describe HImself.

How does He want us to think of Him?

Look at verse 4.

“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,”

“Grace from Him who is and who was and who is to come.”

That’s God the Father.

When Moses met God at the burning bush, God said, “I AM WHO I AM ...”

He’s eternal.

No beginning, no end.

“Grace from the 7 spirits who are before his throne.”

That’s the Holy Spirit.

describes 7 attributes of the Holy Spirit.

describes the 7 eyes of the Spirit who watch over all the earth.

This is a way to describe the Holy Spirit.

And then, moving on into verse 5, there is grace from “Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, ...”

How does Jesus introduce Himself?

He is Trinitarian.

He is the 2nd member of the Godhead.

He is God the Son.

We must begin by thinking of Him in His divinity.

After introducing Himself as part of the Trinity, his accomplishments are listed.

He is a faithful witness.

His words can be trusted.

He is communicating.

Verse 1 says that this revelation is something that God the Father gave to Jesus to deliver to His church.

There is no lie in Jesus.

He is truth.

Therefore, these words are to be believed.

Every single one of them.

He is the firstborn of the dead.

He is the prototokos.

That doesn’t mean He is the first person to ever be resurrected.

Jesus resurrected many people while He was on earth.

And before Him, the prophets did as well, think of Elijah and Elisha.

He is the prototokos.

The firstborn from the dead.

It’s a position of prominence.

He is the firstborn from the dead, in the sense that He is a leader of a people who will be resurrected, and that people will follow Him into the new heaven and earth.

He is the ruler of the kings on the earth.

Don’t we need to hear that.

The first century church suffered under Nero, then Domitian.

Throughout the centuries, evil empires and men have continued to dominate and oppress the Lord’s people.

And yet, Jesus stands as supreme.

He is the ruler of the kings of the earth.

says, “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.”

He is the ruler of the kings of the earth.

And as wicked and bad as a government can be, remember that Jesus has appointed them.

They may not even acknowledge Christ, and most of the time they don’t, and Jesus is sovereign over them.

Jesus continues to introduce Himself.

He’s divine, but He also acts.

Continuing on into verse 5, “To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood”

He loves us.

And how has He demonstrated His love for us?

By freeing us from our sins by his blood.

His love intervenes.

says, “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

Have you ever loved someone and seen them go through a hard time?

And as much as you love them, you are helpless.

A child gets sick.

You take him to the doctor, hoping that someone will help him.

You love that kid so much, and yet you feel helpless.

Your spouse’s parent dies.

He or she is heartbroken.

What do you do?

You tell her you love her.

But feel so powerless to the situation.

Your love can’t bring the spouse back.

God loves His church.

You have sinned.

He is grieved over our sin.

And when He says He loves us … that means something, because He can do something.

says, “In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,”

His love does something.

It predestines

His love sent Christ to redeem us.

To suffer for us.

The cross never gets old.

The message to a church that is oppressed, that is needing encouragement is to look to the Cross.

You always need the cross.

You will never mature beyond the cross.

You will never reach a point of enlightenment, where you don’t need the cross.

You will never become so smart that you can outthink the cross.

Even into eternity, when we are brought to completion and glorified, we will still marvel at the cross, and the lamb slain.

, in the throne room of God, there will be thousands upon thousands of angels and creatures.

And they will sing, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain ...”

Revelation is Jesus’ victory song.

It’s His own proclamation of what is coming, and yet, the Cross is never forgotten.

As we think of Jesus, we must remember Him as divine.

Fully God.

And fully man.

Always, and continuously bearing the marks of His death.

The marks of His love.

Jesus is always worthy of praise.

And who gives Him praise?

We do.

We are His kingdom.

We are His people.

We are His priests.

Giving Him glory, always in awe of Him.

We also learn that Jesus Will Return.

Look at verse 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.”

These words were written in 95 ad.

All the original disciples are dead, except for John.

A new generation of the church is alive.

And the message is expect His return.

And perhaps you’re wondering when will He return.

Maybe you’ve become like those early Christians, and you’ve grown doubtful.

Then you need to remember this - Jesus will return.

How will Jesus return?

The same way He left.

“He is coming with the clouds ...”

records the Ascension.

says, “And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.”

That doesn’t mean he road on a cloud, like the way you take an elevator up in a hotel.

He ascended into the clouds, until they couldn’t see Him any longer.

Acts continues, “ And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

He went up into the sky, then disappeared in the sky.

Went to the Father.

Sat down at His right hand side.

But He will return, the same way He went up.

How will He return?

From the sky.

Jesus ascended, but He is not gone.

He’s not on a permanent vacation.

He has not abandoned you on earth.

Many Christians act like kids when they are first put in Sunday School.

The parent takes them back to a loving teacher in the preschool room.

Walks away, and the kids screams.

Cries.

Why?

Because he thinks he’s been abandoned in the preschool room.

That his parents are never coming back.

We’ve been here for over 20 years, that’s never happened.

No parent has ever abandoned a child here during church.

The parents always return.

Christ has not abandoned you in Sunday School.

He will return.

The day is coming when Christ will return.

And He’ll come back the same way He left.

He’ll be in the sky, in the clouds.

And everyone will see Him.

How will that be?

I’m not sure.

Jesus will demonstrate His divinity, in being omnipresent.

Somehow the whole world will gaze at HIm.

All will know exactly who He is.

The entire earth will see Him.

And notice the reaction of the world, the end of verse 7, “all the tribes of the earth will wail on account of him.

They will wail.

They aren’t crying out of repentance, joy.

They aren’t crying because they realize how they have sinned against God.

They are crying in terror, because He is the almighty.

The One that they hate.

But He will come to judge and to rule.

The Old Testament plays into Revelation quite a bit.

There are lots of passages that serve as fulfillment of the Old Testament, especially Daniel.

says, “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.”

The world has lived in open rebellion against God, since the beginning.

But the day is coming when the King will return.

And He will rule.

We will rejoice because He is our king.

The rest of the world will wail, because He will rule of them.

And what is our response?

We need to be ready.

We stay alert.

Put away those faithless thoughts that none of this matters.

Put away the idea that maybe Christ has abandoned us.

Paul tells the Thessalonians in , that Jesus will return like a thief in the night.

Be ready.

Don’t get caught sleeping.

Revelation is encouraging to the people at the turn of the 1st century.

Hard times have come.

Hope is not lost.

Be ready.

And Revelation is encouraging to us today.

We are reminded that hard times will come.

You might be in the middle of them.

But hope is not lost.

These words were true then, and they are true today.

The Lord will return at any moment, so be alert and be ready.

Pursue holiness.

You might meet Jesus when you die.

Or He might return while you are alive.

Be ready.

We’ve talked about Jesus:

Communicating

Introducing Himself

That He will return.

Now we begin to see the content of His communication. - Jesus Sends A Message

The first part of this message is that Jesus empowers His Church.

Go down to verses 12-13.

"Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, 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.”

Verse 9, “I John,

John sees 7 lampstands.

These lampstands would be oil lamps.

Not candlesticks.

And if you are wondering what these lampstands represent, look down at verse 20.

A tip to understanding difficult passages is to read the verses around them.

Sometimes they give the answer you are looking for.

If you go down to verse 20 it tells us that the 7 lampstands are seven church.

Then if you go back up to verse 11, you see these churches names.

Ephesus

Smyrna

Pergamum

Thyatira

Sardis

Philadelphia

And Laodicea.

These were real churches, in 7 real cities.

Christ has a specific message for each of these churches.

They had real issues.

And we will see that we are vulnerable to their same problems.

The church is called a lampstand.

The Church is intended to be a light.

says that we are to shine in this generation as lights in the world.

In , Jesus said, “You are the light of the world.”

Southwest Christian Church you are to be a light in Temecula.

A beacon in a dark world.

And our strength comes from Christ.

Next, Jesus is in the midst of His church.

You’ve got these 7 lampstands.

Then in verse 13, who is in the middle of them?

One like a son of man is in the midst of the lampstands.

Son of Man is one of Jesus’ favorite ways to describe Himself.

He’s in the midst of the church.

This is so important.

We do not worship a nice guy who died just for telling everyone to be nice to each other.

We have not been abandoned.

Jesus promised us that he would never desert us.

, “… And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Jesus is alive.

He active.

He’s present.

And He’s present among His church.

This means that as we live, and as we have relationships who is in the midst of us?

Christ is.

Your relationship matter.

Your service matters.

Your life matters.

Because Christ is here.

In coming weeks, we will see that this is even dangerous.

Christ is not walking through the church in a careless fashion.

I’m not much of an art guy.

I’ve gone to those fancy art museums.

I’ve seen artwork that I don’t get.

So I walk by it not caring.

That’s not Christ.

He is coming through with a sword.

He’ll rip up the art that doesn’t matter.

He’ll remove the branches that don’t bear fruit.

Laodicea He will threaten to spew out of His mouth.

He is present among the lampstands.

He is present among the church.

You never know when He may clean house and bring discipline upon the church.

In , Peter says, “For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God ...”.

The presence of Christ means that He takes His church seriously.

, Ananias and Sapphira are struck dead by God because they lied to the Holy Spirit regarding their giving.

mentions that people have died taking communion wrongly.

The Lord is present in His church.

He is present among us.

Church we are not some random nonprofit organization in Temecula.

We are the body of Christ.

We are a people that Jesus died for.

And Jesus is present.

He watches us.

He guards us.

He gifts us.

He is here with us.

He is active in our body.

2000 years has not stopped His presence in His church.

This means that as we live, and as we have relationships who is in the midst of us?

Christ is.

Your relationship matter.

Your service matters.

Because Christ is here.

In coming weeks, we will see that this is even dangerous.

Christ is not walking through the church in a careless fashion.

He is coming through with a sword.

Laodicea He will threaten to spew out of His mouth.

You never know when He may clean house and bring discipline upon the church.

In , Peter says, “For it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us ...”

Next Jesus rules His Church.

We may be a church that has elders and a pastor, but the elders and I are only under-shepherds, stewards of what really belongs to Christ.

Look at the description of Christ in verses 13-16.

He’s got a golden sash around his chest.

He has a position of authority.

He is our high priest.

We may have elders, but the real authority is Christ.

His hair is white.

White hair is something that comes with age.

It is a picture of wisdom.

His feet are described.

We are under Christ.

We are under His feet.

But His feet are not described as flesh, but as bronze.

That’s been tempered in fire.

This means Christ has authority over His church that will never be shaken.

And Jesus rules His church with His Word.

Verse 15 says that his voice was like the roar of many waters.

No still small voice.

The voice of Jesus is like a trumpet.

It’s like a raging sea.

It’s thunderous.

There is no confusion here.

He speaks and things happen.

And so it is with the word of God.

It is not something to be ignored.

says that the word of God is living and active.

When it is read something happens.

It cuts through soul and spirit, to the very thoughts and intentions of the heart.

When God’s Word is read, something happens.

says of God’s Word, “so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.”

We submit to the Word of God, we submit to the Bible, because we know its source … Jesus Christ.

If you are ever longing for closeness to Christ, you must be in His Word.

You must read it daily.

You must feed yourself with it.

This is a message to the church that needs encouragement.

Jesus also rules over the church’s leaders.

Verse 16 says, “In his right hand he held seven stars ...”

Who are these seven stars?

If you skip down to verse 20 again, it tells us.

The 7 stars are the seven angels of the seven churches.

I don’t think that these angels are angels in the supernatural being sense.

The word for angel is angellos.

It means messenger.

These are 7 messengers of the 7 churches.

I personally, think these are the pastors of the 7 churches.

Remember this is the Lord’s church.

He not only is sovereign over the nations and the rulers of the nations, but He is also sovereign over His Church.

, tells us that the Holy Spirit is the one who makes and appoints elders.

They are in His hand.

And they will be held accountable for His church.

Next, Jesus fights for His church.

How does He do it? With a sharp-two edged sword.

The Sword of the Spirit.

The Word of God.

It is powerful.

God is not silent.

Jesus is communicating.

He continues to communicate through His word.

This communication shows us that we have not been abandoned.

But His communication is meant to bring about a response.

John hears the mighty voice of Christ.

He turns.

He sees everything that we have just looked at.

Then in verse 17, he falls down as though dead.

Encountering Christ results in a change.

John has just seen Jesus in His glory.

He doesn’t see Jesus with a lamb on his shoulder.

He sees Jesus with fire in His eyes, and a face that shines with shakinah glory.

He falls down as dead.

says, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge ...”

When you encounter the greatness of Christ it does one of 2 things to you.

You either moan, like His enemies.

Hissing and despising Him.

Or you respond like John.

You are confronted with your own unholiness, your own depravity and you fall at His feet.

Isaiah cried out, “Woe is me! For I am lost; ...”

How have you responded?

You can’t be apathetic about this.

You can’t be neutral.

This is a message to the church.

Christ is present among us.

Christ is ruling.

This is Christ’s revelation to us, His creation.

This is how He wants us to know Him.

Is this how you know Him?

Revelation is needed.

We need to be reminded of Christ who has all authority.

Who rules now.

Saints, to Christ belongs all glory.

Give it to Him.

Be encouraged.

To the rest of you, if you have never encountered Christ like this, may this be your starting point.

Confess Him as Lord.

Trust in Him.

Fall down before Him.