Revelation 1:-20

I. Reality is not what it Seems

Opening Story — Facetime Katelyn. Every other word cutting in and out.

Commercials of people who hear only a portion of what’s being communicated.

There’s an incomplete picture of what is being said and communicated

For us, reality is not always what it seems

There’s an incomplete picture of what reality is

There’s a greater story going on

Take your pick as to what is happening in the world today

It’s easy to look at this picture of the world and assume that Jesus either does not care or isn’t present

But if we could see behind the scenes of all that Jesus is doing --- it would shift our picture of what reality

***

The current reality we are feeling —

II. Context

The first portion describes the theological rationale for this letter. This portion is the theophany that gives the letter its content.

John describes himself as a BROTHER and COMPANION

BROTHER

John does not lord over them that he is higher or more esteemed. He is writing from a personal experience with intimacy. This is MY SOURCE OF HOPE and I pray it can be yours as well

The language of brother is the language of intimacy and relationship. He is identifying family is a key cornerstone to all that is going on.

There is both protection and hope in your family

Salvation means that the redeemed are adopted by God

Heirs and joint heirs with Christ

God is not just our creator but our father

The church is our family - brothers and sisters in Christ

COMPANION

Three things held together

Suffering, The Kingdom, and Patient Endurance

The resistance and the kingdom. We cannot gain the kingdom without patient endurance through suffering

THE KINGDOM - Here and the not yet

THEY ARE NOT ALONE IN SUFFERING. We’re going to go through this together but through patient endurance we are going to experience and encounter the Kingdom together

The church is not alone. You have a family around you. And we may suffer together but we will also experience the Kingdom together if we just hold on a little longer

You may be suffering but you are not alone. We will go through it as a body and as a family until we experience the kingdom. But we’ll only experience the kingdom when we pull on the patient endurance that comes from knowing Christ Jesus

THE LORD’S DAY

Even though John is separate from the churches, he still dedicates time on Sunday to worship

In the Spirit… we know that he is with God. To get into specifically how that manifested is to miss the point. He is seeking God and he is encountering God — This is something that happened on prison island. It can and should happen for us anywhere

CLEAR VOICE

I heard behind — not just an internal inkling but an experience outside of his body.

Sound like a trumpet — We must realize the use of imagination that is taking place

An experience with God should not be limited to that which is rational. God also wants to form our imagination

IMAGINATION FORMS NOT JUST OUR THOUGHT LIFE BUT OUR EMOTIONS

John could say, I heard a loud voice. Or he could say, I heard a sound like a trumpet which makes you believe it has power, intensity, but also beautiful sounding with its melodic rhythm. Which one pulls on your heart strings?

Imagination matters because it forms our emotions. Our emotions form how we live whether good or bad

Think about Washington DC — The white house, the capital, and the washington monument all symbolize power, authority, and governance. Most people in the world would have emotions tied to those symbols.

That was the case in Asia among these churches. Architecture, statures, rituals, festivals all provided imagery that Rome was in charge. But to get a different picture and different imagery is to say that things are not as they seem. Reality is not what it seems.

Baukham - All of these things “provided visual impressions of Roman imperial power and of the splendor of pagan religion. In this context, Revelations provides a set of Christian prophetic counter-images which impress on its readers a different vision of the world. How it looks from Heaven.

Jesus is trying to show a heavenly reality

***

WHAT WAS THE REALITY FOR THE CHURCHES?

The feeling of confusion - What’s permissible and what’s not? What am I allowed to do? What’s the role of the church in the world? How do I act as a responsible citizen and the church? What am I supposed to do with cultural things that come up

The feeling of discouragement - It feels like less and less people around the world are following Jesus. It feels like morality is spilling out. It feels like war is everywhere. It feels like I’m disappointed by elected officials, or parties , Oppression is rampant. Expectations that I had of God to do something haven’t happened so I am discouraged

The feeling of fear - How is this going to play out? Am I next? What if I wind up alone? Am I going to lose a relationship or a business opportunity because I’m a follower of Christ

There was a pressure to conform to the Empower’s edicts, many people harrassed by soldiers, some even being killed

On top of that, the churches are struggling with heresy and morality issues

This is us today

This can feel like our only reality

III. The Revelation of Jesus

How does Jesus respond?

Starting a task force? Increasing the church budget? Subversively working to get more Christians into pagan positions of power? Working on a strategy of Christian nationalism? Starting some sort of resistance movement?

No, he responds with a revelation of himself

Jesus is a truer reality than what they were currently experiencing

This perspective had to be first. Everything that was to be said for the duration of the letter had to be filtered through the lens of Christ. (EX. buttoning shirt)

ONE LIKE THE SON OF MAN

A reflection of Daniel

John wants us to see that that prophetic image of the Ancient of Days on the throne is now being fulfilled

Not just an image of a male, Jewish rabbi but of the Son of God who died, rose again, and is now very much alive on a throne in Heaven

The world’s reality is that Jesus is a kind man who preached love. But that’s not the whole story

Heaven’s reality is that the messianic fufillment of ancient prophecy that now sits enthroned as King over all

SEVEN GOLDEN LAMPSTANDS

Number of completition - there is implying both these 7 churches but also the churches as a whole

Jesus is in the middle of the churches

THIS IS PROFOUND

Not above as some distant ethereal being

Not beneath unable to impact them

Not outside of the churches looking in

But in the Middle — Jesus’s presence is in the midst of his church

He is present with and caring for his people

He knows what is happening in among them

He knows their hard work. He also knows their struggles. He knows their fears. he knows their pain, and he knows there emptiness

It’s in that place that he presides

THIS IS WHAT MAKES OUR FAITH DISTINCT

We are not striving to get to God

We are not looking for God somewhere out there

Because of Jesus, we are becoming aware of God in our midst

If you’re struggling to experience the presence of God it is not because God is hiding. But perhaps because we haven’t recognized him in our midst

Jesus is present among his churches

Caird: “He is no absentee, who has withdrawn from earth as his Ascension, to return only at his Parousia, meanwhile exercising his authority over the churches by remote control… he is present among the earthly congregations of his people, and whatever John has later to say about the coming of Christ must be interpreted in the light of this salient fact”

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Christ as High Priest

Clothing is often intended to communicate something. Someone wearing scrubs and stethoscope you would assume would be a nurse or a doctor

Jesus is communicating with his clothing

A ROBE REACHING DOWN TO FEET

A priests robe

The latin word for priest, pontifex can be translated “bridge builder” (imagine a canyon)

Jesus then is the one building the bridge between us and God

Because he is 100% human and 100% God, he lives in both worlds. And as such he bridges the two together.

Sin left a massive chasm between us and God. That’s why effort will never be enough. It’s not that we’re a little bit off. It’s that there is a massive chasm between us and God

But Jesus as the High Priest bridges that gap

GOLDEN GIRDLE

Belt around the waist meant that a priest was preparing for the work

But a belt around the chest meant that the work was already finished. It was resting in the accomplishment of the task

Explain the job of a priest

If it is finished, it means the ultimate and perfect sacrifice have already taken place

The perfect sacrifice offered on our behalf, Jesus is the perfect and finished sacrifice. The work is already done

Our lives then are in response to that work and sacrifice

THEN HE DESCRIBES THE ENCOUNTER WITH CRYPTIC AMBIGUOUS LANGUAGE

HAIR AS WHITE (ominiscience)

Timeless wisdom (something I may never experience because of my lack of hair)

Jesus was there at the beginning, be there at the end

Seen all the different kingdoms (Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Rome, Rise and fall of Greece and Rome, Spain and Britain, Apartheid, Marxism) and he has outlasted them all

The wisdom that he carries is a wisdom that is greater than any ideology that is created

John is seeing a timeless wisdom that is more grand than anything the churches are experiencing

EYES LIKE A FLAME OF FIRE (omnipresence)

We know that fire penetrates and purifies.

Jesus is the ultimate purifier

He can look into our lives and purifying us from that which isn’t of him

Every bit of sin, darkness, evil, every mask, every veil, every projection we carry — Jesus looks to purify us and cleanse of those things

He can see all things and is purifying all things

FEET LIKE BURNISHED BRONZE (omnipotence)

Many ancient kings symbolized their victories by literally placing their feet on the necks of defeated enemies

There was a power and authority associated with this depiction

Bronze was an extremely strong metal

There might have been power within nation. But all fall short of the power of Jesus

OMNISCIENCE, OMNIPRESENCE, OMNIPOTENT

All knowing, all presence, and all powerful

VOICE

There’s a power to his voice but also a peace and a stillness

Rushing water often instill peace within us (perhaps talking about waterfalls - power but peace)

Powerful enough to drown out other voices but gentle enough to fill him with peace

HANDS

Explained as messengers — guardian angel over each church but that idea is not found anywhere in the Bible

Many believe this to be the pastors of these churches

Right hand indicate favor and protection

By no means are these pastors or churches perfect. We’re going to find they’re not even close.

But Jesus hold them

Have you wondered will the church last? Look no further. Jesus holds his churches and their pastors.

MOUTH - TWO EDGED SWORD

A tool of offence that is used to oppose one’s will

In other words, his words are piercing, cutting, separating, revealing, and irresistable.

Darrell Johnson: “Christs words are not limp. they cut through willful resistance, divide good and evil, overcome rebellion, and establish righteousness”

HIS FACE LIKE SUN SHINING

Have you ever attempted to look up at the sun?

Too powerful and too brilliant

OT Blessing “Let your face shine upon us” Not to crush us but to free us from their impurities that their face may reflect his

IV. John’s Reaction

How did John react?

He falls down in awe in reverence. The image of Jesus humbled him

There is a holiness of Jesus that overwhelms my finite nature

Think about this — John laid his head against Jesus at the Last Supper. Now, he can’t even stand up in front of Jesus

Worship is both intimacy and closeness with Jesus but also reverence and awe at the power, splendor, and holiness of Jesus

A healthy worship life is recognizing both

For many of us, we need an experience with Jesus that ovewhelms us with us with his power

Laid his right hand on me

The same hand that held the stars now sits on John’s shoulder

Even in his holiness and our frail humanity, Jesus reaches out and touches us

We are not holy enough to reach out and touch Jesus

But Jesus is willing to reach out and touch us

***

How this all lays out

White Hair and Shining Face are tied together

Blazing Eyes and Mouth with double edged sword tied together

Bronze feet and hands holding stars tied together

His voice is the central piece that John wants his readers to know

All of this is incredible perspective on Jesus but it is the voice of Jesus that makes all the difference

V. Fear/Death — Hope

The central thing these churches struggled with was fear. It makes complete sense

I don’t believe it was a lack of faith. It was fear that they struggled with

I tend to be believe the central issue that we struggle with on our spiritual journey is fear. Think about this for a moment. Fear may be tied to all of our struggles

Insecurity and Pride - The fear that you’re not enough

Anger - Fear that justice won’t be served

Jealousy - fear that others will have something you don’t

Control - Fear of how my like will take shape if I don’t take hold of it

Sexual Immorality - fear that God’s plan for sex and marriage will not truly satisfy

Discouragement - Fear that God is not working the way we want him to.

Guilt - Fear that your sin or your past will disqualify you from God

Even the way many of us post things on IG or TikTok can be traced back to a fear that people will not like us

Many of us connect to God through fear (we may pray or read our bibles out of fear that God will be angry with us if we don’t)

The struggle that many of us have is rooted in fear

Where fear exists, we are not tapping into the fulness of God’s love for us

Jesus wants to take us from being Christians shaped by fear to followers rooted in love

Perfect love casts our fear. When we know the perfect love exists, it diminishes the hold that fear has on us.

THAT’S GREAT JESUS. HOW?

I’m the first and last

The living one

I am alive forevermore, I have the keys of Death and Hades

Look at all of this

You don’t have to be afraid because before the world existed, I was there

One everything ceases, I will be there

They thought they killed but I am alive

Not even time can stop me from being alive

Death itself must submit to me

My trust is in the one that transcends it all

Why would I fear knowing who Jesus is in light of everything?

He’ll go on to describe what it means to overcome the world. But before we do, you must not be afraid. Your trust is in the one transcends everything.

When we have a clear picture of Jesus, it enables fear to subside, and we are empowered to overcome.

This is the reality that is more true than what feels like the reality we are experiencing.