856 Rev. 1:9-20 Vision of the Divine Christ
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“The atmosphere is unbelievable” my sister would say to me
Date: 22/03/20 856 Echuca
“The atmosphere is unbelievable” my sister would say to me
- She told me that people would talk to her about the incredible atmosphere at the AFL football matches, but she never realised or understood it until she went there herself
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- We are reading about this vision of John’s and we also were not there ourselves to experience it
- John sees a vision of the divine Jesus & he is so struck by it, he falls to the ground like a dead man
- This atmosphere was like no other as he comes face to face with the divine Jesus
1. The Charge to John
1. The Charge to John
- “Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re going to get” as we heard in the movie, Forest Gump
- When we get pushed here & there by life’s issues, it is then, that we have to consider how we would give a faith response
- We have heard of the panic in supermarkets as people fight over the likes of toilet paper
- The Coronavirus has thrown us into uncharted territory & we are quite at a loss as to how we should respond
- Coronavirus has certainly disturbed the normality of life & we now see clearly how normality can change as quick as the snap of a finger. Shops running out of food. Who would have believed it?
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- In the early church, the church had a different type of enemy
- It wasn’t a virus, but an oppressive government regime that demanded absolute loyalty & obedience
- For the populace that worshipped the gods of Rome, that wasn’t such a problem, but for Christians, it did had become a huge problem
- Over the years, the Caesars obtained more & more power to the point where they started to see themselves as “sons of the gods”
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- They demanded that they also be included in the worship of the gods
- Every year, the populace had to give an offering to the emperor & through witnesses give the testimony that “Caesar is lord”
- Now you know Christians could not do that because for us there is only one Lord & that is Jesus Christ
- Christians stood apart from their culture by their testimony: “Jesus is Lord”
- Notice that John was on the Isle of Patmos because of the word of God – his preaching of Jesus - & his testimony of Jesus
Q. What is the testimony of Jesus? It was his teaching and proclamation that Jesus is Lord!
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- Patmos was a small island & it had a prison there. No doubt, with terrible conditions
- John was there because he held to the truth of Jesus & would not bow to anyone when it came to putting Jesus first in his life
- But Jesus is not distant from anyone who is suffering for His name sake
- In fact, Jesus is not distant from any of His people, period
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- Here we see that Jesus comes to John in the Spirit & in a vision
- In this vision, he sees one like a “son of man” in the midst of the golden lampstands which are the 7 churches
- Jesus is with His people – He is in the midst of them
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- The vision starts with John hearing behind him a loud voice
- It was like the sound of a trumpet, which means that it is powerful
- One of the things you know about trumpets is that they can be deafening if you’re too close
- But a trumpet also sounds a note of alertness – of an announcement or declaration – something you take notice of
- This voice declares to John that he is to write down what he sees & send it to the seven churches
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- These churches would be familiar to John & he may well have been ministering to them when he was dragged away to Patmos
- These 7 churches, as I have mentioned before, represent 7 real churches & here on the screen you can see that they are connected by roads & run like a horseshoe shape
- The fact that there are 7 churches is significant as the number 7 stands for completeness
- The creation account runs for 7 days & the week that we still operate under is a 7 day week - the 5th commandment in the Law reminding the Israelites of the 7 days of creation
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- What this means is that while there are only 7 churches, these churches are representative of all churches everywhere & at all times - the complete church
- What is said to these 7 churches is to be taken on board by every church at all times
- Obviously, we learn from all of Scripture & emulate & obey the precepts of Scripture
- But this is more pointed in that, although, they are individual churches with individual issues, any church with similar issues can take on board the address of Jesus as if it were said to them
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- Interestingly, John says that he was “in the Spirit” on the Lord’s day
- Some have thought this means that John was teleported into the future to the “Day of the Lord”
- That really doesn’t make sense of the whole book of Revelation though since even these letters to the 7 churches don’t give us any hint that this is the day of the Lord – which is apocalyptic in nature
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- Others – SDA church – say that since Jesus says that He is “Lord of the Sabbath”, this day must be a Saturday
- Unfortunately, SDA doctrine says that the mark of the beast is Sunday worship – indicating that the Christian church, that worships on a Sunday, has accepted the mark of the beast & stands condemned
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- However, this is said to be the “Lord’s day” & is not describing any teaching about the Sabbath
- In actual fact, the Lord’s day is best understood as the day of Jesus’ resurrection & the church met on the 1st day of the week to take communion & to celebrate the risen Christ (let’s look at some examples)
1 Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave.
—1 Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the grave.
—7 On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to leave the next day, and he prolonged his message until midnight.
—2 On the first day of every week each one of you is to put aside and save, as he may prosper, so that no collections be made when I come.
7 On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to leave the next day, and he prolonged his message until midnight.
—7
—2 On the first day of every week each one of you is to put aside and save, as he may prosper, so that no collections be made when I come.
—2 On the first day of every week each one of you is to put aside and save, as he may prosper, so that no collections be made when I come.
2 On the first day of every week each one of you is to put aside and save, as he may prosper, so that no collections be made when I come.
- The first day of the week is the Sunday which is also the day the Lord rose from the dead
- The first day of the week is the Sunday which is also the day the Lord rose from the dead
- Fittingly, Sunday was referred to the Lord’s day since it was the day of His resurrection
2. John’s Vision of Jesus
2. John’s Vision of Jesus
- When Jesus was on earth, in His earthly state, He was very close to John – the receiver of this vision from the Lord
- John is named the “beloved disciple” or the disciple whom Jesus loved
- He walked and talked with Jesus – he even lent back on Him & asked Him who it is that was that would betray Him
- From the cross, Jesus entrusted the welfare of his mother to John who we know as the disciple Jesus loved
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- Now this is not to say that Jesus only loved John – that would be silly
- But Jesus certainly had a closeness to John in a special way
- Here, however, John doesn’t really recognise Jesus in His divine form
- John turns to see who was talking to him & his jaw hits the floor – well actually his whole body hits the floor
- His appearance was like something John has, perhaps, only witnessed once before – at the Mt of transfiguration where Jesus was transfigured before him into His glorious body
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- But here, Jesus is appearing to John in a particular way – there is a message in His appearance
Q. Was it the same as he witnessed at the Mt of Transfiguration? We don’t know for sure
- What we do know is that Jesus is appearing to John as the Son of Man of Daniel’s prophecy in
—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.
- Jesus appeared as someone incredible
- Jesus appeared as someone incredible
- What John saw was a blending of a king with that of a high priest
- “His dominion is an everlasting dominion Which will not pass away; And His kingdom is one Which will not be destroyed” speaks, of course, of a king
- The golden sash & the robe reaching down to the feet speaks of the High priest, Aaron’s, clothing
4 “These are the garments which they shall make: a breastpiece and an ephod and a robe and a tunic of checkered work, a turban and a sash, and they shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother and his sons, that he may minister as priest to Me.
—4 “These are the garments which they shall make: a breastpiece and an ephod and a robe and a tunic of checkered work, a turban and a sash, and they shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother and his sons, that he may minister as priest to Me.
- Furthermore, this divine person says to write down the things that you see – that is, “the things which are & the things which will take place”
- Furthermore, this divine person says to write down the things that you see – that is, “the things which are & the things which will take place”
- What we have here then, is prophet, priest & king
- Now we know that this is none other than Jesus & in the vision, John is witnessing, notes that Jesus is standing among 7 golden lampstands – what Jews call the Menorah
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- In the OT tabernacle/temple, a lampstand was made to be lit everyday
- It was constructed of seven branches & it stood before the holy of holies
- They call this the Menorah & it is one of the most beloved & enduring symbols of Judaism
- The Menorah was made the emblem of Israel in 1948
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- These 7 churches are represented by 7 menorahs
Q. What do you think that means?
- It seems to me that the church, both Jew & Gentile, is the Israel of God
- These 7 churches & 7 golden lampstands mean that each church is the Israel of God & is to give light to the world
- If it fails to bring light to the world, that light will be taken away from that church
5 ‘Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent.
—5 ‘Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent.
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- The 7 stars are the angels of God that oversee the churches
- Interestingly, John’s description of Jesus: His clothing, facial features, voice, mouth etc. are 7 in number
3. The Person of the Divine Jesus
3. The Person of the Divine Jesus
- John is just so awestruck by His appearance that he falls to the ground in absolute fear
- This majestic heavenly being is beyond description & is so incomparable that he cannot do anything but fall down at His feet in fear
- Fear touches us in many ways & insecurity trails not far behind
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- I was talking to my sister who is in Qld about the worth of buying shares at this point in time & I suggested that the market has got further to fall.
- She made the comment: “I figured that if the financial world was coming to an end, we’ll all be in the same boat”
- I said, “you mean we’ll all be in a poo”
- She said, “I hope not as there is absolutely no toilet paper left up here”
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- Fear is something that everyone feels & with fear comes insecurity & people become vulnerable when making decisions
- When Peter James & John were on the mount of Transfiguration where Jesus was transformed into His divine self & the Father utters the words, “listen to Him”, they bowed down in fear
—5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!” 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell face down to the ground and were terrified. 7 And Jesus came to them and touched them and said, “Get up, and do not be afraid.”
5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!” 6 When the disciples heard this, they fell face down to the ground and were terrified. 7 And Jesus came to them and touched them and said, “Get up, and do not be afraid.”
- We come back to this passage today & I think John, rightly, understood that he was seeing God & in the OT no one can see God & live
- We come back to this passage today & I think John, rightly, understood that he was seeing God &, of course, in the OT no one can see God & live
- But at this point, this divine being (Jesus) touches him with His RH & utters the comforting words “do not be afraid”
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- Death is usually our greatest fear – not that we are ignorant that at some point in time we are going to die, but the fear of what’s next!
- Death has always been a great fear
14 Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.
—14 Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.
Q. What is this slavery that people are subject to?
Q. What is this slavery that people are subject to?
- Through the fear of death people have been manipulated to submit to & do things that under ordinary circumstances, they would never do
Q. Is it sinful for people to greedily try & stockpile food etc. during this Coronavirus crisis & cause others who haven’t done the same to miss out on getting their weekly or even daily groceries
- It is fear that causes people to act sinfully – they have no hope of what is next after they die & so they desperately cling on to life at anyone’s expense
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- Satan knew that too – in reference to Job, he says to God...
4 Satan answered the Lord and said, “Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life.
...Skin for skin! Yes, all that a man has he will give for his life.
- Death, says the apostle Paul, is THE last enemy to be defeated
- Death, says the apostle Paul, is THE last enemy to be defeated
- He says “the sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law”
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Q. How can this fear of death be removed?
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- The writer of Hebrews says that it is removed through Jesus becoming like us & dying like us
If you are standing at the deep end of a public pool watching a lone child splashing around in the deep water & you see him start to struggle & go down under the water, are you going to call for a rope to throw to him? Would you wait 5 minutes while someone goes to find a rope?
Of course not! The way you help that child is to dive into the water and to rescue him out of his situation by getting wet yourself.
- Jesus had to be made like us in order to save us from our situation
- He had to dive into death Himself in order to conquer it & bring us out from it
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- The Christian faces death, knowing that Jesus has the keys to death & of hades (v.18)
- Because of His triumph over death & the grave, He now has the keys that can unlock the door of death & the grave for others
—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.
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.
- On this basis, no Christian needs to be afraid
- On this basis, no Christian needs to be afraid
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Q. Is there evidence for us to believe this is true – absolutely
- He is the living One – “I was dead, but behold I am alive forevermore”
- Jesus resurrection from the dead is the evidence for believing that He has the keys to death & Hades & can grant life to anyone
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- John is now told to write down what he sees – that is, “the things that are” & “the things which will soon take place”
- The things that are is the challenge of living faithfully in the world right now
- For the early church, the worship of the Caesars & the challenge to stay loyal to Jesus in the face of suffering & even death is the message to take heed to
- The things that will take place are those challenges throughout the ages & ultimately the encouragement that, in the end, it will be God who will prevail & that once again the Tree of life will be open to all those who follow the Lamb of God who has taken away their sins
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- The question is “do you believe” – many people say that they do
Q. But what does their life look like in reflection of that claim to believe?
- A. W. Tozer challenges people with what he calls the “Rules for Self Discovery”
“Rules for Self Discovery:
1. What we want most;
2. What we think about most;
3. How we use our money;
4. What we do with our leisure time;
5. The company we enjoy;
6. Who and what we admire;
7. What we laugh at.”
― A. W. Tozer
Q. In your self-discovery, does your life reflect the priorities of a life of faith or of something else?
1. What we want most;
2. What we think about most;
2. What we think about most;
2. What we think about most;
3. How we use our money;
4. What we do with our leisure time;
5. The company we enjoy;
6. Who and what we admire;
7. What we laugh at.”
― A. W. Tozer
Q. In your self-discovery, does your life reflect the priorities of a life of faith or of something else?
- Revelation is a book that gives us no middle ground – we either hold fast to “Jesus as Lord”, or it will be to any number of “Caesars”
- Only Jesus has the keys to death & Hades – only He can grant you everlasting life!