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Revelation 1 "Why all the Secrecy?"
The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John, who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw. Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near. (Rev. 1:1-3)
I am expecting a great blessing from God as we study together
the book of Revelation. I know that I will be blessed because the word
says, "Blessed is he who reads" and I know that you will be
blessed because it says, "and those who hear". But to get
the full blessing of this book we also need to keep the things which
are written in it. Let’s pray that God will show us how to keep
His Word.
I am confident that as we go through this book you will be saying, "What
a blessing! I am so glad we are studying Revelation. It answers so many
questions that I have had on my mind. It tells me so much about God’s
plan for this world. It explains so many things that are happening today.
It opens up so much of God’s character and goodness to me."
You see that is what Revelation is about; opening up the mysteries of
God. The title "Revelation" means to unveil, unwrap something
that was hidden before. I am always excited on Christmas day to unwrap
the presents under the tree. Part of the excitement is that you get
to discover something that was hidden, unwrap what was a mystery. I
have found that a gift tells you a lot about the giver. It reflects
their personality and creativity. When I was growing up my brothers
and sisters would draw names of which person to give to, then we would
buy one present instead of trying to get something for everybody. One
year I found a large box under the tree with my name on it. It was from
my sister and I wondered what she could buy that would be that big.
On Christmas day when it came time to open it my sister had a big grin
on her face. "Guess what is inside!" I couldn’t even
begin. But as I opened the present I found inside…another box.
And as I opened the next box there were some rocks to make it heavy
and another box. In that box there were some marbles to roll around
when I shook it and another box. This continued with the boxes getting
smaller and smaller until finally all that was left was a little piece
of paper folded up as small as possible which opened up to reveal a
$5 bill which was what she was supposed to buy my present with. We all
laughed so hard at her crazy present. Actually I got two presents. I
got the $5 bill and I got a wonderful memory of my sisters love. In
the same way, this book not only reveals mysteries, but it also reveals
the giver. It is the Revelation of Jesus Christ. Given by Him to us,
it is also revealing much about Him to us.
This is wonderful, because we want to know as much about Jesus as we
can. We want to love as Jesus loves, and in order to do that we need
to see who He is and what He does. But why is there a mystery in the
first place. Why didn’t God just tell Adam or Abraham back in
the very beginning what His plan was. God could have spelled it all
out for Moses on top of Mt. Sinai. "Look Mo, here is the game plan.
You and the Israelites will have the ball until I send in my Son Jesus,
then you hand it off to Him and He will go in for a goal at the cross.
After that I will send in the Spirit and the Church, they will take
the ball until the endgame. Finally, in the last few seconds of the
game, I will send Jesus back in to finish it." Instead through
the whole Old Testament there are veiled hints of salvation for all
of mankind, shadowy rumors of a Messiah, little bits and pieces scattered
throughout the Word of God promising the One who is to come and what
He will be like. Why all the secrecy? Because there is an Enemy! And
the Enemy does not know the plan. When Jesus Christ went to the cross
Satan thought that he had won! He thought, "At last, I have done
it." Satan did not know that by crucifying a man without sin he
was actually making atonement for the sins of the world. If he had known
that this was actually his defeat, he never would have done it.
Satan was, to use a figure of speech, in the dark. In fact that is exactly
where he was. John 1 says that the light shines in the darkness , and
the darkness did not comprehend it. Satan cannot understand the things
of the light. One night at my college we decided to play a trick on
the girls in the next dormitory. One of the boys had stolen a girl’s
key off of her dinner tray in the cafeteria. To get it back they had
to follow a series of mysterious messages around the campus that finally
led to the middle of the formal gardens, the darkest spot on campus.
We were waiting there with the key, but also with flashlights. We held
the flashlights right at our faces, pointing toward them, so as we approached
each other they had no idea who we were. They could only stare into
the light but they couldn’t see our faces. In the same way, Satan
stares into the light hating it, but he has no idea what is in the light.
He is blind to see what the Lord is doing. In fact the Word says that
this book of Revelation was given to Jesus "to show His servants
– things which must shortly take place." It is only for the
servants of Jesus. Those who are not of the Lord won’t be able
to understand it at all. This must be why this book has been looked
upon through history as so difficult and controversial. Because those
doing the looking were not the servants of the Lord. But for us who
know the Lord this book is not difficult at all, instead it unveils
the answers to many of our questions and sets our hearts at ease knowing
that Jesus will win the final victory. For Satan I am sure that this
book is the most confusing, baffling thing he has ever seen. God is
keeping him in the dark, but revealing what will happen to those who
are His servants. Let’s continue to read what Jesus wants to reveal
to us.
John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: 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, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness,
the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over all the kings of the
earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood,
and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory
and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Behold, He is coming with clouds,
and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes
of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen. "I am the
Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End," says the Lord,
"who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty." (Rev
1:4-8)
In verse one we saw that God had given the Revelation
to Jesus to show His servants, then Jesus sent and signified it by His
angel to His servant John. Now in turn John writes it down to seven
churches which are in Asia, who then saved it and passed it down to
their followers, who then passed it along to us in the New Testament.
God never makes pronouncements to the whole world, He doesn’t
broadcast from the heavens or suddenly appear on the moon to tell us
what to do. Instead He always entrusts His Word to His servants. Part
of what it means to be a servant of Jesus is to faithfully teach and
witness of His words to others. Just as John and the seven churches
passed along God’s word, we too must pass along the word of God.
Also like John, we are not giving our own message, but simply transmitting
the words of our Lord. It would be silly for John to say to the churches,
"Grace and peace to you" if it was just from him. But instead
the grace and peace is from Him who is and who was and who is to come.
We learned about grace from the book of Romans. It is the free gift
that God gives to us of His love and forgiveness. And peace is the natural
result of grace in our lives. When we know that God loves us not for
what we do or achieve, but simply because He regards us as His children,
we no longer have to worry. We no longer have to fight and struggle
against this world, but rest in the care of the Father who has won the
victory for us. What a wonderful blessing that we can pass this grace
and peace on to others. Like John we also can "give" grace
and peace to everyone we meet, not actually us, but from the Lord. We
simply pass along what we have received.
"He who is and who was and who is to come" is God, the Almighty.
This phrase tells us something great about God. Time is no problem with
Him. We are so controlled by time that it is hard for us to imagine
but God never worries about being late, or running out of time, He never
kills time or watches the clock. When Moses talked with God, He said,
"I am" and when Jesus talked with His disciples He said, "I
am" and at the very end of the world He will still be "I am".
In the past, present, future God simply is. I don’t think that
it ever too late to pray. Because God is not worried about a few minutes
here or there. Even when it looks like things have already gone too
far and time has run out, it is still not too late to pray. I have prayed
after hearing bad news that God would reverse it, change it into good
news and that He would get the glory. My mind tells me, you can’t
pray that, the accident has already happened, the damage is already
done. But then I will get the most amazing reports that somehow it wasn’t
as bad as they originally thought or that by some miracle everything
turned out ok. It is never too late to pray because God is the one who
is and who was and who is to come.
Not only is grace and peace from the Father, but it is also comes from
another source. John tells us that seven Spirits are there before the
throne of God. Remember that John is writing to seven churches. The
Holy Spirit dwells in each church, we don’t know how the Spirit
is able to be in thousands of churches all over the world all at the
same time, but the Spirit not only is in the churches but also representing
these churches before God. What a peace we should have knowing that
we have a direct connection with God. The Holy Spirit provides two-way
communication straight from us to the throne of God and not only that,
but the Word tells us that the Spirit also provides translation on the
way up. When we do not know how to pray the Spirit itself makes intercession
for us.
And then most importantly we get grace and peace from Jesus Christ our
Lord. John is going to tell us a lot about Jesus but I am going to save
it for next time. As we study this book that scares the world so deeply,
let me tell you that it is Jesus who gives peace. In this book are all
the worst nightmares of the world, Armageddon, the four horsemen of
the Apocalypse, the Grapes of Wrath and the Judgement at the Great White
Throne. But also in this book are the best dreams of those who know
Jesus, the new heaven and new earth, the marriage supper of the Lamb,
no more tears and no more pain. If you don’t feel very much peace
when you consider meeting the Creator of the world face to face, then
my friend what you need first is grace. Jesus died on the cross for
you so that when the judgement comes you will be white as snow, spotless
and blameless in the sight of God. If you don’t know Jesus then
today could be the biggest blessing of your life, because He offers
to you the free gift of salvation. He offers to you forgiveness for
your sins, peace with God. All you have to do is believe that He is
Lord and that God has raised Him from the dead and you shall be saved.
The choice is yours. You can choose to stay with fear and confusion,
or choose grace and peace with Jesus Christ.
"The Faithful Witness"
"John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: 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, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Behold He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen. "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End," says the Lord, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty." (Revelation 1:4-8)
It is always awkward to call someone up on the phone whom
you don’t really know. It is worse when you should know them,
or they know you, but you can’t remember who they are. Over ten
years ago there was a couple whom we met in Santa Barbara named Zelda
and Taro. I called them up last week to invite them to the Nagoya Horizon
Fellowship but you know I could not even remember what they looked like.
I know that I should know them but I couldn’t remember. I didn’t
really remember how well we knew each other, whether or not they have
children or where they were living before. It was very awkward to call
and introduce myself and then say, "do you remember me?" And
it was so great to be welcomed, Zelda answered the phone and said that
they would be attending and if we needed a place to stay in Nagoya they
just moved into a house with room. Whew! Can’t wait to see them.
Do you ever feel like that when you talk to Jesus? Do you feel awkward
when you pray? Like "Sorry to bother you God, but this is Jonathan.
Do you remember me?" Know this, He does remember you, even if it
has been a long time. But sometimes it is hard to ask something from
Him, when we have never even seen Him. I can’t wait until the
day I get to see Jesus face to face and finally see what He looks like.
But until then, the Bible helps a lot because it tells us who He is
and what He is like.
Grace and peace comes to us from the Father and the Spirit, but mostly
from Jesus Christ. Who is this Jesus that we worship, that we depend
on, that we pray to, that we trust in for our salvation? John tells
us that He is the "faithful witness". The word for witness
in Greek is "martyr". A martyr to us means someone who died
for their faith. And that is exactly what it meant for Jesus. We often
think that the only people who died for their faith were the early Christians,
but actually more Christians have died for their faith in this century
than all other centuries combined. Part of the story of the Columbine
High School shootings in Colorado that has not really been covered in
the media is that all 13 victims were evangelical Christians. The two
boys went to the library and asked the kids there, "Do you believe
in God." When the first girl answered back "I believe in Jesus
Christ" they shot her dead. Back in Kentucky the boy with the guns
shot into a circle of students who were holding a prayer meeting before
school. Last year in India an Australian missionary was burned alive
in his car with his two small children by a radical Hindu mob. These
people were all faithful martyrs with Jesus Christ. Jesus died on the
cross because He knew that He was the Son of God and would not deny
it. But a martyr does much more than just die. They also make the strongest
possible testimony and through their actions the gospel is proclaimed
with incredible power. None of these Christians died in vain because
of the effect that their testimony had on those around them. In the
case of Littleton, Colorado the one student’s name that everyone
remembers is Cassie Bernall, that girl who died for her faith in Jesus.
Many are being inspired by this girl’s faith to make sure that
they too are faithful witnesses, and many others are asking questions
like, "What is so important about Jesus that she would be willing
to give up her life for him."
John tells us what is so important about Jesus. Not only is He the "faithful
witness", but He is also the firstborn from the dead. What is most
important for us to know is that Jesus did not just die on the cross
but He also rose again from the dead and not just for Himself but for
all who believe in Him. He is the firstborn, which means that there
are more to come. When we compare this short life with eternity with
Jesus, the things of this world grow dim. Graham Staines was not an
idealistic highschool student. He spent over 30 years working in India
for the gospel. Most of that time was spent serving people with leprosy.
This man gave up his life for Jesus long before he lost it to the mob
in that burning car. He knew in the words of Paul, "to live is
Christ and to die is gain." For us death is simply the doorway
into being a brother of the resurrection, to life everlasting with Jesus.
Just recently the people of India voted the Hindu party out of power
in favor of Sonja Ghandi who is a Catholic. The public outcry over the
killings of Staines and his eight and ten year old sons had much to
do with it.
John says that Jesus is "the ruler over the kings of the earth."
When Pilate said to Jesus, "Do you not know that I have the power
to crucify you and the power to release you." Jesus answered him,
"You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given
you from above." (John 19:10,11) In Saudi Arabia last summer Filipino
workers were arrested for being Christian and some were tortured. In
Pakistan, Christians are executed for blasphemy against Mohammed. In
China pastors are considered a threat to the communist government and
are routinely arrested and imprisoned. The awesome power of a nation
brought to bear against Christians would seem overwhelming unless we
know that these persecutors could have no power at all unless it had
been given from above. In each of these nations the gospel is shining
forth, people around the ones who are suffering for their faith are
asking themselves why these people are willing to die for Jesus.
The reason why is because "Jesus loved us and washed us from our
sins in His own blood." Jesus gave His blood for us because he
loved us. Those Filipinos in Saudi Arabia were willing to give their
blood because they love the people that they were working for. The reason
why Graham Staines spent so many years in India was because he loved
the people whom he was serving. The reason why Cassie Bernall told a
boy with a gun in his hand that she believed in God was because she
loved him. She wanted him to know Jesus too. She wanted him to be washed
clean of his sins in the blood of Jesus Christ. You see there will be
a day when Jesus will come back with the clouds and every eye will see
Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will
mourn because of Him. One day the ones who persecuted the followers
of Jesus in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan and China and India and even in
America and Japan will look up and see the One whom they pierced and
they will mourn. They will mourn because they will realize how wrong
they were and how much trouble they are in. But don’t they have
a right to believe in the religion that they want to? John doesn’t
protest that this is unfair, he simply says, "Even so, Amen"
Even though millions will mourn that is the way it will be, because
Jesus is the Almighty.
I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet, saying, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last," and "What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea." Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; His feet were like fine brass, as it refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, "Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death. Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this. The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lamp stands; The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lamp stands which you saw are the seven churches. (Revelation 1:9-20)
John turns around and sees the Lord in his vision. No
one today really knows what Jesus looks like. We have many paintings
and movies and statues but there is not one portrait of Jesus made by
someone who actually saw His face. The Bible is not very helpful about
Jesus’ appearance either, it tells us much about what He did and
what He said, but very little about what He looked like, except for
here, where we get to see what Jesus looks like in heaven. It is a spiritual
description of our Lord that I don’t think we will fully understand
until we see Him ourselves. Rather than explain each detail of this
vision I think that it is better to meditate on it and use it in our
prayer life. When you pray what is the image of Jesus that you have
in your mind. Is it the Hollywood portrayal of a weak, slightly effeminate,
holy man? Is it the crucified Jesus hanging on the cross in so many
homes and churches around the world? Is it the Good Shepherd taking
care of His flock? Let me invite you to meditate on this vision of Jesus
Christ the only real description we have of Him in the New testament.
There is nothing weak about Him.
But the most striking thing in this description is where He stands.
He is in the midst of the lampstands. In the last verse of the chapter
Jesus tells John that the lampstands are the seven churches and the
stars are their angels. We will find all through the book of Revelation
that seven is the number of perfection, it stands for the whole. So
the seven churches that John wrote out the vision for symbolize all
the churches of the world during all ages. And there Jesus is in the
midst of them. Do you want to know what the true mark of the church
is? It is Jesus in the midst of them. What makes us a church is not
a building or a pastor or a license, it is Jesus in the midst of us.
Why does He call the church "lampstands"?
In the Bible the church is called many different things, the Body of
Christ, the Children of God, the Bride of Christ, the Brethren, but
my favorite is the Lampstand. Jesus taught his disciples that when a
man lights a lamp, he does not cover it up but instead places it on
a lampstand so that it will give light to whoever enters the room. Right
after saying this he told them, "Take heed how you hear. For whoever
has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what
he seems to have will be taken from him." (Luke 8:18) Each of us
receives light from Jesus. He is the light of the world, the lamp. We
have a choice, we can take the light that we get and hide it so that
only we enjoy the light, or we can raise it up as high as we can for
everyone to see. If you raise it up then God will give you more and
more light, but if you hide it soon the light will be gone and you will
have nothing more than memories of what used to be.
In the Old Testament another visionary prophet Zechariah saw a lampstand
and didn’t know what it meant. The angel escorting him through
the vision explained it like this, "Not by might, nor by power,
but by My Spirit says the Lord of hosts." This is a word that is
for us, the lampstands. Our purpose is to lift up the light of Jesus
as high as we can so all the world can see. But our power, our energy
source, is the Spirit. Jesus is here in midst of us, in the Spirit.
His word to us, is "Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last.
I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore.
Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and Death. We know that nothing is
too difficult for Him.
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