All Glory be to Christ

Song

The song we just sang is called All Glory Be to Christ

All glory be to Christ our King! All glory be to Christ! His rule and reign will ever sing All glory be to Christ!

That is the theme of the book of Revelation, which we are going to be studying for the next 15 weeks.

Jesus Christ reigns

He reigns forever

He reigns in glory

We’re going to get well acquainted with the song (15 weeks), but lets get acquainted now with the setting for the book of Revelation.

Intro

The scene

The youngest disciple of Jesus (John)

called beloved

Exiled on island of Patmos — for his faithfulness to preach about Jesus (history: Tertullian reported that John was plunged into boiling oil but miraculously escaped unscathed.)

Patmos inhabited since 3000 BC

small desolate volcanic island

prison camp (astrologers and magicians not thieves and murderers, who would have undergone other punishment)

It’s Sunday and he is worshipping our Lord Jesus

potentially other people are there as well — John was an apostle, after all

“In the Spirit”

Breaks out into song (v. 7, cf. prophets)

Revelation 1:7 (CSB)

7 Look, he is coming with the clouds,

and every eye will see him,

even those who pierced him.

And all the tribes of the earth,

will mourn over him.,,

So it is to be. Amen.

Suddenly the earth seems to sink away under his feet, and his soul seems to be liberated from the shackles of time and space. He is taken out of contact with the physical world around him; he is ‘in the Spirit’.

He sees, indeed, but not with physical eyes. He hears, but not with physical ears. He is in direct spiritual contact with his Savior. He is alone … with God! He is wide awake and every avenue of his soul is wide open [to Him]. (Hendrickson)

John here’s a loud voice — a trumpet; an announcement

Revelation 1:8 (CSB, Hebraised)

8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega [the Beginning and the End],” says the Lord God [Adonai Yahweh], “the one who is, who was, and who is to come, the Almighty [El Shaddai].”

This is all Hebrew, OT, language for God. And here it is attributed to Jesus, the risen Lord. In John’s vision, he has an encounter with the risen Jesus, who is Adonai Yahweh, El Shaddai, the Creator, the Almighty.

The Charge to John

Revelation 1:11 (CSB)

“Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”

John is about to see a vision (7 episodes)

Jesus wants him to to record those episodes (most of it, anyway)

And then send it to the seven churches

7 = number of completeness

the pattern of letters was that, if they were important and authoritative, they would be circulated to all the churches.

‘The 7 churches’ is weird because there are many other churches, even larger ones, unless ‘the seven churches’ is Jesus’ way of saying ‘all the churches’

7 is merely a symbol for the complete church

These 7 churches are chosen because they are churches John had oversight over at some part in his ministry.

Images

The Lampstands (12-13, 20)

Jesus stands among the churches — symbolic of his real presence with us

The Son of Man/God (13-15, cf. Dan 7:9 and context)

royalty

call back to the cloud rider of Dan 7

cascading water = loud, commanding voice or symbolically, authority

The Sword (16)

The Stars (16, 20)

angels of the seven churches

not divine angels, but messengers or representatives of the churches (elders as no where in scripture do we see other church members serve as messenger or representative of the church—but the elders are the mouthpiece of the church)

reiterate the stars are in Jesus’ hand

ILL: The other team was in the palm of their hand.

Overarching authority or control

The messengers of the churches are under Jesus’ control — that’s a now thing

The Point

(17-18) Jesus was dead but is now alive

(19) Because of this, write to the churches

a) what you have seen (Jesus lived, died, and rose)

b) what is (Jesus’ present reign)

c) what is to come (the consummation of all things)

MAKE A DIAGRAM FOR THIS AS A VISUAL — It should include the data from the charts in order to demonstrate that all episodes fall on the chronology, but don’t explain it in detail.

This is the model that John writes in to reveal what he has seen. He begins at Jesus’ life/death/resurrection and ends at the eternal Kingdom of God.

IOW Jesus’s first coming, his second coming, and what is in-between.

7 episodes that highlight different portions of the story to varying degrees.

(ch. 1-3) 7 churches (represent all churches) — mentions the beginning and end, but focuses on the way the churches are supposed to live in the period between the two advents.

Because this is where we live, we are going to focus 5 weeks looking at chapters 2-3 to see the instruction Jesus has for us.

(ch. 4-8:5) Seven Seals of the Church Age

Jesus takes the throne and his present reign during the church age

(ch. 8-11) Seven Trumpets of Announcement

The trumpets represent calamities that occur throughout this age that announce the coming judgment.

(ch. 12-14) Jesus vs. the Dragon

(ch. 15-16) Seven Bowls of Wrath

similar to the ten plagues of Egypt in that they begin in the Kingdom of God escapes the wrath until the final wrath comes upon this world and we eternally escape.

(ch. 17-19) The Fall of the Dragon’s Kingdom

(ch. 20-22) Victory through Christ

Takeaway

The book of Revelation is about Jesus receiving glory when he sat down on his throne in heaven and also the glory that he receives ultimately when we enter into his eternal Kingdom. The details of Revelation influence the way that we live as Christians, the way we operate as Christ’s church in this world (together), and what is going to happen to all of those who do not follow Jesus as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, savior of the world.

WHAT DO WE DO?!

That’s what the letters to come are ultimately about (next 5 weeks)

Broadly

We look to Jesus as being in our presence

We look to Jesus as the one who orders the church (through our pastors and leaders)

We take to heart every word that the Almighty has spoken, for these words that we hear over the next 15 weeks are sure to challenge us in many ways.