855 Rev.1.1-8 The Revelation of Jesus Christ

David R. McAllan

Revelation • Sermon • Submitted 5 years ago

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- We have been going through 1 Corinthians & have come close enough to the point where Paul starts to look at how the church interacts with each other – notably around the churches ministries & giftings

- We have been going through 1 Corinthians & have come close enough to a point where Paul starts to look at how the church interacts with each other – notably around the churches ministries & giftings

Date: 23-02-20 855 Echuca

- Since the church is a mixture of individuals, we often see ourselves as independent individuals & forget that we are also a corporate entity

- Accountable individually but accountable for the whole

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- Cain says, “Am I my brothers keeper”

- We don’t even have to wait for an answer to that, do we?

- We all know that Cain should have considered himself his brothers keeper

- In other words, yes, he has a responsibility to look out for his brother

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- But all this flies in the face of 21st C thinking that basically says, that if you are on the wrong track, it’s your funeral, your problem (it has no impact on me)

- Or even more pernicious, the postmodern position, that says, “who am I to even suggest to my brother that there is a right way to live life & a wrong way”. “After all, truth is relative & in the eye of the beholder”. “Who am I to even make a truth claim”

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- I plan, therefore, to deal with the first 3 chapters of Revelation first

- The reason for this is that here we see the word of Jesus to the established church - to people in a situation like us!

- This word of Jesus may take you by surprise, because we are seeing Jesus operating in a context different from the Gospels

- In the Gospels, Jesus is dealing with “green” people; unbelievers & doubters

- They don’t know His will & are quite blind to the reality of who He really is

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- After His resurrection, of course, some people – His called & chosen disciples – understand who He really is

Q. Are we dealing with a different Jesus then, from the Jesus of the Gospels? Is that what I am saying?

- No, of course not. He is the same Jesus, but circumstances change & Jesus now deals with changed circumstances

- I kid you not, when He returns, He will not be returning as the meek & mild Jesus – it will be good for His people, but not for anyone else

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- Here in is the church – complete

- They have His Spirit & they are being instructed in His word

- Jesus will have something to say to 7 churches & these 7 churches are representative of the whole, the complete, church

- The number 7 stands, in the book of Revelation, for completeness

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- Just as there were 7 days of creation where the whole creation was complete, the number 7 in Revelation stands for completeness &. therefore, the message to the 7 churches is a message to the whole, complete, church

- As we read & understand this message to the 7 churches, this saying comes true: “If the shoe fits, you have to wear it”

- In other words, if we find ourselves in the same position as some or all of these 7 churches, then the message also applies to us

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- Today, lets start with the first 8 verses of chp. 1

1. Blessing on the Reader and “Heeder”

A car is made to run on petrol, and it would not run properly on anything else. Now God designed the human machine to run on himself. He himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to burn, or the food our spirits were designed to feed on. There is no other. That is why it is just no good asking God to make us happy in our own way without bothering about religion. God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing. -- C. S. Lewis

- No truer words were ever spoken - How right is C. S. Lewis!

- Actually, happiness is a rather loose word in today’s world

Q. What is happiness? How is it obtained & what makes it so elusive?

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- When I think of the word, “happiness”, I think of “happen-stance” - as what happens in the circumstance or moment!

- For 21st C. Man, happiness is really all about being happy here & now; am I experiencing laughter & joy now

- Am I happy here & now; am I experiencing laughter & joy now

- Happiness, therefore, is related to favourable circumstances

- When the circumstances are favourable, then you are happy, but what happens when the circumstances are not favourable?

- No wonder people say that they, in general, are not happy

– When in life are circumstances always great?

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- But here, the church is said to be blessed – which means happy but not in the way our world thinks of it – the pronouncement of “blessed” is when the church reads or hears & takes heed to the words of this book of prophecy

- Several reasons we can draw out here for the church’s blessedness

1a. God grants His Grace & Peace to the church

- Grace is undeserved favour – this is something that we should not believe we have earned – it is not something that should be expected nor assumed as one’s right

- This is grace – this is an act of benevolence by God

- Freely given from His own nature – but also from what we will soon see in respect to Jesus Christ, said here as the “faithful witness”

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- His peace we have spoken of before – rather than think of “peace of mind”, or the absence of conflict, this sort of peace has to do with wholeness, wellness

- Don’t you hate it when the coffee machine breaks down – there is no peace for the machine, nor for the household who need their coffee fix in the morning

- Peace does not mean broken – it means whole, healthy, well

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- Now I know there are Christians who aren’t well nor healthy, but this peace transcends far more than one’s physical health

- God restores the broken person – in their sad & damaged heart, He mends them with His grace & provides for them, the means by which they can be truly whole

- Of course, I’m speaking of the wonderful work of our Lord & Saviour Jesus who went to a cross to set us free from the corruption, evil & wickedness of Satan & sin (which is where brokenness comes from)

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- Yet, one day, all creation will be restored

- Those who trust Christ will not only know God’s peace now – a wholeness that transcends the corruption of the world - but they can look forward to the day of their own resurrection from the dead

- The corruptible body will give way to the incorruptible

- If God brought the universe into existence from nothing, then bringing people back from the dead is no problem for God

- The 2nd reason for the church’s blessedness...

2a. God Is Over All

- You can’t put this any better

- “who is, who was & who is to come”

- God spans time & existence & there is nothing that is beyond His control – God is the eternal One

—8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Revelation 1:8 NASB95

8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

- Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet & Omega is the last letter of the Greek alphabet

- He is over all – start to finish – He has always been & always will be

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Q. Isn’t this how God revealed Himself to Moses?

—14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ”

Exodus 3:14 NASB95

14 God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ”

- Existence; life; living; purpose; values – all come from Him!

- He alone stands as the true reality in the universe

- He is the source of everything & is over all – He is God - & as v.8 puts it… “who is,(present) who was (past) & who is to come (future), the Almighty”

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- Now I want to point out something that is often missed by most people

- Here, we see that the Alpha & Omega (who is, was, & is to come) is a designation of God Himself

—5 And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.” 6 Then He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost.

Revelation 21:5–6 NASB95

5 And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.” 6 Then He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost.

- But we come to the end of the book of Revelation & it is Jesus speaking – a designation of Him!

- But we come to the end of the book of Revelation & it is Jesus speaking – and a designation of Himself!

—12 “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done. 13 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”

Revelation 22:12–13 NASB95

12 “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done. 13 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”

- Here, Jesus is placed right up there with the Father as God

- The 3rd reason for the church’s blessedness...

3a. Jesus is the Faithful Witness

- “Never give up on something that you can’t go a day without thinking about.” ―Winston Churchill

- “Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.” ―Dale Carnegie

- Vince Lombardi has said: “Winners never quit and Quitters never win”

- “Our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.” ―Thomas Edison

- I believe he had a pile of failed light bulbs outside his workshop window to prove it

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- Jesus is the faithful witness

- He was faithful to the task of His witness to the truth

- The truth of God & what God wanted accomplished is seen clearly in the life, death & resurrection of Jesus

- He gave witness to the point of death

- Interestingly, this word here is the Gk. word “martus” & while it means witness, it came to mean “martyr” that is, “witness even unto death”

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- That Jesus didn’t give up on His mission to redeem the world is evident in that He went to a cross, continually maintaining the truth

John 18:37 NASB95

37 Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”

—37 Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”

- No doubt, Pilate & the religious hierarchy of Israel thought His crucifixion was the end of their problem

- But it was not, because the truth will not be buried

- The truth is that Jesus is v.5 “the firstborn of the dead & the ruler of the kings of the earth”

Psalm 89:27 NASB95

27 “I also shall make him My firstborn, The highest of the kings of the earth.

Psalm 89:28 NASB95

28 “My lovingkindness I will keep for him forever, And My covenant shall be confirmed to him.

- What a joke – Satan tried to get Jesus to be unfaithful to the truth by promising him the rule of the world – the rule over all the kings & kingdoms of the world, if He would only bow down & worship him

Ps. 88:27

—27 “I also shall make him My firstborn, The highest of the kings of the earth.

Ps. 88:28

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Matthew 4:8–10 NASB95

8 Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; 9 and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’ ”

- What a joke – Satan tried to get Jesus to be unfaithful to the truth by promising him the rule of the world – the rule over all the kings & kingdoms of the world if He would only bow down & worship him

—8 Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; 9 and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND SERVE HIM ONLY.’ ”

- Jesus is the faithful witness all the way through & through

- He is the faithful witness all the way through & through

- He is obedient to the Father’s will & has been lifted up to possess all the kingdoms of the earth

- He has established us as a kingdom of His people belonging to Him, the greatest ruler over you, anyone could ever hope to have

- He secures the rule over the kings of the earth, not by bowing to Satan, but by being obedient to God

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- Through His faithful witness, he has made us priests to His God & Father

Q. What’s the point of this?

- Priests have a unique role in representing God to man

- This is what all His people are doing now – we are representing God & the truth of God to man – the truth about what God has done in Jesus

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- It is the Gospel of Christ which we now testify to, as His “priests”

- But taking the lead from our king, we also need to bear faithful witness to the truth

- The whole notion of faithful witness or testimony is a major theme in the book of Revelation (it’s about holding fast to the end)

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- But hold on, it says that He is the ruler of the kings of the earth!

Q. Do you see that rule now? Maybe not specifically, but when His people chose to say “Jesus is Lord” under penalty of death against the Caesars claim that “Caesar is Lord”, then you know that rule is happening

- The Roman Empire, under the likes of the Emperors Nero & Domitian, could not contain the growth of devout, sincere & faithful Christians who would rather give faithful witness & die than be disloyal to King Jesus

- The minute they got rid of 1 Christian, 2 more would pop up

- Does Jesus rule then over the kings of the earth?

– Yes – now in a tangible way since His people prefer to lay their lives down for their king rather than be disloyal to Him

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- However, when He returns, then every knee will bow & every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father

—22 “Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; For I am God, and there is no other. 23 “I have sworn by Myself, The word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness And will not turn back, That to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance.

Isaiah 45:22–23 NASB95

22 “Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; For I am God, and there is no other. 23 “I have sworn by Myself, The word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness And will not turn back, That to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance.

Philippians 2:9–11 NASB95

9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

—9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

- Jesus’ faithful witness means that we now have a king who is worthy of all praise, honour & glory

2. The Return of the Christ

Q. Do you all remember the 3 great movie masterpieces in the early 2000’s called “Lord of the Rings”?

- The original script was written by John Tolkien, a Catholic who was a professor at Oxford university in England, at the same time the famous C. S. Lewis was professor there too

- Lewis, the protestant wrote the Narnia Chronicles which were overtly Christian whereas Tolkien, preferred to bury his Christian themes from immediate notice

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- Tolkien’s last movie was named from his book entitled, “The Return of the King”

- In line with his desire to hide any obvious Christian references, Tolkien objected to the title & wanted it to be called “The War of the Ring”, but it seems the publisher won out & it stayed as “The Return of the King”

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- It was a great movie & it was really the triumph of good over evil

- The bad guys lost & the good guys won

- The king who had been amongst common people in the first 2 books/movies was a commoner who led the way with his companions in fighting off the evil that had come upon the world & as you know, helped the hobbits destroy the influence of the evil ring of power – no doubt that ring it stood for sin & Satan’s corrupting influence over the world

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- Even though this “commoner” was with the people, he really was a king & he explodes in the last movie as a mighty king returning to defeat the evil spirit & claim back his kingdom

- Tolkien was right in that the King is returning to establish His rule over all the earth & to bring judgement on those who reject His Lordship in their life

- There are 3 things that are significant here in our passage

1b. He is Coming as God

- Jesus will no longer be the veiled God in human form

- Just look at the latter part of chp. 1 of Revelation to see the vision John has of the risen Christ

—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. 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.

Revelation 1:13–18 NASB95

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. 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.

- What an incredible image we get of the glorified Christ & it is this Christ who will be returning

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- In the OT, in we find the first hint of God coming in triumph

Daniel 7:13–14 NASB95

13 “I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And was presented before Him. 14 “And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations and men of every language Might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion Which will not pass away; And His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed.

—13 “I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And was presented before Him. 14 “And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, That all the peoples, nations and men of every language Might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion Which will not pass away; And His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed.

- The Jews understood this One who is coming to be God

- When Jesus testified at His trial before the Jews, we read...

Mark 14:62–63 NASB95

62 And Jesus said, “I am; and you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.” 63 Tearing his clothes, the high priest said, “What further need do we have of witnesses?

—62 And Jesus said, “I am; and you shall see THE SON OF MAN SITTING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF POWER, and COMING WITH THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN.” 63 Tearing his clothes, the high priest said, “What further need do we have of witnesses?

- Jesus here claimed the privileges reserved only for God

2b. Every Eye Will See Him

- There has been so much loose speculation about when He returns & how He will return & the question: how will every eye see Him

- The answer is that we don’t know

- But the point here is that every person will know that He has returned

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- The second return of Christ is a global event, it is not like His first coming into the world, as a babe born in an obscure barn, in the back blocks of Bethlehem

- It is then, that you’ll be glad you placed your faith in Him

- For all the struggle you may endure in remaining faithful to your king who is away at the moment

- It will be worth it all when He returns & says, “Well done good & faithful servant”

3b. All the Peoples of the Earth Will Mourn

- All the tribes of the earth will mourn when He returns means that no part of planet earth will be exempt

Q. Why would you mourn?

Q. Are these people sad over the fact that they missed Jesus as the Messiah?

Q. Are they downhearted about missing out on all the blessings of living as a Christian?

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- No, these people are mourning the fact that they face His judgement

- That’s what “coming in the clouds” mean – God is coming in judgement

- Those who belong to King Jesus will be full of joy, however

—16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.

1 Thessalonians 4:16–18 NASB95

16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.

- For the people of Jesus, there is only comfort in His return, but…

—3 While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape. 4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief; 5 for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness; 6 so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober.

1 Thessalonians 5:3–6 NASB95

3 While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape. 4 But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief; 5 for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness; 6 so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober.

- As the church we always keep in mind that our Lord is returning

- Let Him find us in the place we ought to be when He returns

- In this introduction today, we find important reasons why we are to heed the words of this prophecy for the time is near – near in the sense that the coming of Jesus is what’s up next in God’s plan in the redemption of His creation

- I’ll finish with this take home for you & it is attributed to the French General Napoleon Bonaparte:

“I marvel that whereas the ambitious dreams of myself, Caesar, Alexander, should have vanished into thin air, a Judean peasant, Jesus, should be able to stretch His hands across the destinies of men and nations. I know men; and I tell you that Jesus Christ is no mere man. Between him and every other person in the world there is no possible term of comparison. Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and I myself have founded empires; but upon what do these creations of our genius depend? Upon force. Jesus alone founded his empire upon love; and to this very day millions would die for Him.” -- Napoleon Bonaparte

- If Jesus is not your Lord & Saviour the question you need to ask today is this: Who is He?

- God does not wish that anyone perish, which is why He sent Jesus to die for your sin