The Revelation of Jesus Christ – part 1
Revelation 1:1-8 (1-3)
May 8, 2016
This morning we begin a new study together in the word of God.
It seemed fitting to me that with both our previous studies ending around the same time
That we could study Revelation and Daniel simultaneously
And probably greatly enrich both studies at the same time.
That being said, I know that some of you have already studied Revelation with us on Wednesday nights and are already experts on the end times,
So you’ll just have to bear with us a little as we walk through this.
THE MAIN MOTIVATION HOWEVER IS SIMPLE.
We live in a world where we are literally bombarded with news.
When I was a kid the paper only came on Sunday,
And the news only came on at 6 and 10.
If you missed that, you missed it all.
But today..?
• We have 24 hour news stations.
• We have the internet going nonstop.
• And even if you don’t watch those channels or go to those websites, Facebook is filled with posts about politics and tragedies and independent stories.
Whether you want to know it or not, the news gets out.
And quite frankly if you let it all sink in, it is quite TERRIFYING!
(Might I go ahead and fill you in on a little secret…THEY MAKE IT TERRIFYING ON PURPOSE!)
If you think the weather is going to be beautiful, you won’t check your weather app again for the rest of the day,
But if they can convince you that a category 27 hurcinado quake
has a 72% chance of hitting your house at 3:24pm then you will
check that app religiously until the threat is over.
(You’ll check the app, their adds will get hits, and they make money)
You’re more likely to watch the news
If they sell a story of terrible fear, or threat, or shock.
They terrify you on purpose.
THE FALL out however is that if you believe everything you hear,
You’ll become convinced that we are all doomed!
• The presidency is being hijacked by socialists, liars, and criminals…
• Our borders are being overrun by jihadists who want to behead you…
• The next super tornado should hit any minute…
• Our farmers will be bankrupt within 6 months…
• And you will soon be attacked in a Target bathroom…
Is there truth to some of it?
Sure, that’s what makes it sell.
But if you linger on it long enough
You will no doubt begin your plans for a bomb shelter
And start rationing all your food.
Now, MY POINT is most certainly NOT meant
To renew your faith in America, or in our fallen world.
If you are placing all your faith in America,
Then you need to have your reality checked.
Isaiah said:
Isaiah 24:20 “The earth reels to and fro like a drunkard And it totters like a shack, For its transgression is heavy upon it, And it will fall, never to rise again.”
Isaiah saw it.
You can’t set a 400lb TV on top of a TV dinner tray, the legs won’t hold it.
So it is with this world.
• The sin just keeps piling up and the legs are starting to wobble.
• This earth is going down…fast.
• It is a sinking ship.
But Isaiah saw more than just that:
Isaiah 24:20-23 “The earth reels to and fro like a drunkard And it totters like a shack, For its transgression is heavy upon it, And it will fall, never to rise again. So it will happen in that day, That the LORD will punish the host of heaven on high, And the kings of the earth on earth. They will be gathered together Like prisoners in the dungeon, And will be confined in prison; And after many days they will be punished. Then the moon will be abashed and the sun ashamed, For the LORD of hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, And His glory will be before His elders.”
• This earth will be destroyed
• The rulers will be judged
• The sun and moon will be retired
• BECAUSE KING JESUS WILL BEGIN HIS REIGN
THAT IS WHERE OUR HOPE LIES.
We are under no misconception
That this world will make a dramatic recovery,
But we are under every expectation
That Jesus is on His way to set all things right!
THAT IS WHY WE STUDY THIS GREAT BOOK.
If there was ever a day when we in the church needed a little perspective,
IT IS TODAY.
This world is falling apart,
But we who belong to Jesus Christ have NO REASON TO FEAR.
1 John 2:15-17 “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.”
We are studying this book for some much needed encouragement.
(Incidentally, that is also why we are studying Daniel on Sunday nights)
The goal and the aim is
The absolute encouragement of the body.
So this morning we begin our study of the book of Revelation.
We are going to begin by looking at the first 8 verses of the book because John here gives as wonderful an introduction as you can find written about any book…ever.
If you were to go to a bookstore and start picking up books off the shelf,
Undoubtedly you’d check a few things.
• You’d want to know the title
• You’d want to know the premise of the book
• You’d want to know the author
• You might read the notes on the back
• You might read the intro
In short, you’d be curious as to whether or not this book
Was going to be worth the time it would take you to read it.
Those are precisely the questions John answers
In the first 8 verses of the book of Revelation.
After 8 verses you will have a handle on whether you want to proceed.
6 things John shows us
#1 THE TITLE
Revelation 1:1a
I don’t have any doubts whatsoever that in any bookstore
Before you pull a book off the shelf, the first thing you look at is the title.
“The Revelation of Jesus Christ”
Boy can you learn a lot from a title!
Right off the bat we see why so many
Have had such difficulty with this book.
(If you wanted to learn about gardening you wouldn’t buy a book with the title:
“The Secret to Hitting a Golf Ball”)
But that is what many have done with the book of Revelation.
They read it in search of the wrong information.
(Namely a timeline about the end)
Then when many of those realities are hard to discern
They get confused and the book gets a bad reputation.
• There are some denominations that won’t study this book at all.
• John Calvin wouldn’t touch it.
MUCH OF THE REASON IS BECAUSE
PEOPLE HAVE IGNORED THE TITLE AND MISSED THE POINT.
Today there is more fascination surrounding this book
Than any other in the Bible.
Without a doubt it is the most book preached on television and radio.
(Adrian Rodgers preached through it twice even after he died!)
In short…it sells!
• It has inspired entire book series
• It has inspired numerous movies
People are fascinated with this book,
And yet, 90% of what I see and hear regarding this book
TOTALLY MISSES THE POINT.
• Most study this book because they want a timeline of the end.
• Many study this book because they are fascinated by things like giant scorpions and demonic armies.
• Some study this book because they enjoy a good puzzle and want to try and crack some secret code.
This book has appealed to conspiracy theorists,
Science fiction crowds, code crackers, and the like.
The sermons and theories that have been produced are both numerous and often times ridiculous.
• Is the locust in Revelation 9 a helicopter?
• Does 666 point to Hitler, or Kennedy, or the Pope, or Obama?
• Is the Harlot Catholicism?
• Is the 100 million man army China?
• And on and on and on and on…
If that’s what you are out to know
Then let me tell you how this study will play out.
• You’ll develop theories that you can argue, but you can’t prove.
• Many of your theories will most likely be wrong.
• You’ll end up more confused than when you started.
• And no one will be better off for it.
BECAUSE FILLING IN YOUR TIME LINE IS NOT THE GOAL.
The Title of this book should tell you that.
This book is “The Revelation of Jesus Christ”
• That means this book does not reveal the end times timeline.
• This book does not reveal every mystical secret you want to know.
• This book reveals “Jesus”
WHY?
1. Because in large part that didn’t happen in the gospels.
2. And also because Jesus asked for it.
The gospels are glorious books to be sure and we love nothing more than to camp out in those books and learn of our Savior’s earthly ministry.
But if you wanted to sum up the 4 gospels, you could do it like this.
“GLORY IGNORED”
And that should come as no surprise.
Isaiah 53:1-4 “Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted.”
Isaiah called it.
The Son of God was about to show up on earth,
And no one would recognize Him.
Would there be flashes of glory? Absolutely!
• Watch Him cleans the lepers…
• Watch Him open the eyes of the blind…
• Watch Him raise the dead…
• Watch Him calm the storms…
• Watch Him feed the multitudes…
Oh yeah! His glory was put on display.
So much so that when John wrote his gospel he said:
John 1:14 “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
But most of the world failed to see that glory.
They saw Him only as One who didn’t look kingly,
And who ultimately died in shame on a Roman cross.
THEY NEVER SAW HIS GLORY.
To be honest, EVEN HIS FOLLOWERS didn’t see it well.
On the night before Jesus died, in the upper room,
He mentioned this several times.
John 13:31-32 “Therefore when he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him; if God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and will glorify Him immediately.”
Jesus proclaimed His own glory because He could see that
His disciples were not getting it.
Jesus even concluded His time with the disciples with this prayer.
John 17:24 “Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.”
Jesus prayed to the Father that the Father
Would allow His followers to see His glory.
Imagine what it must have been like for Jesus on this earth.
Philippians details the story.
Philippians 2:6-8 “who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
Could you imagine being the Son of God…God made flesh and no one being able to recognize that about you?
What humiliation Jesus endured while walking on this earth.
It’s no wonder He desired to let His glory out for just a moment!
He certainly did this on the mountain when He was transfigured,
But if you’ll remember only 3 saw that and they were adamantly instructed not to tell anyone about what they saw.
“and like one from whom men hide their face
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.”
THIS BOOK SETS OUT TO REMEDY THAT PROBLEM!
This book is JESUS CHRIST REVEALED
The real Jesus, not the One you see
Hidden behind a veil of human flesh in the gospels.
This is the Jesus of all eternity.
This is the Jesus of glory.
Those 33 years when Jesus was in the form of a humble servant
Were not the norm, those 33 years were the exception.
This book is about to show us what Jesus really looks like!
That is exciting!
I think we’ll definitely want to pull this book off the shelf.
So, who is it written for?
The Title
#2 THE AUDIENCE
Revelation 1:1b-2
This book is for “His bond-servants”
Jesus asked that the Father show His glory to those who loved Him,
And that is precisely who this book is for.
“The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants”
The Father inspired this book so that Jesus
Might be able to manifest His glory to His “bond-servants”
I realize we have covered it many times over,
But it is always worth repeating exactly what a bond-servant is.
In the Old Testament, if money was hard one of the options you had
Was to sell yourself into slavery to one of your Jewish brothers.
(Don’t think pre-civil war connotation, it wasn’t like that)
In fact, in Bible times (especially the New Testament)
A slave often times had more honor than a son.
It was a sort of agreement to help you get back on your feet,
While having your basic needs met in the service of another.
However, according to Jewish Law,
• If you bought your brother,
• You could only keep him for 6 years
• On the 7th year you had to set him free
• With one exception.
Exodus 21:2-6 “If you buy a Hebrew slave, he shall serve for six years; but on the seventh he shall go out as a free man without payment. “If he comes alone, he shall go out alone; if he is the husband of a wife, then his wife shall go out with him. “If his master gives him a wife, and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall belong to her master, and he shall go out alone. “But if the slave plainly says, ‘I love my master, my wife and my children; I will not go out as a free man,’ then his master shall bring him to God, then he shall bring him to the door or the doorpost. And his master shall pierce his ear with an awl; and he shall serve him permanently.”
This was a bond-slave.
It was the title gratefully accepted by the writers of the New Testament.
Read the opening verses of the New Testament books
And see how many of them identified themselves as “bond-servants”
(literally the Greek word is “SLAVES”)
They identified themselves as willing slaves of Jesus Christ.
This is important because it helps us make a distinction
Between what Christianity is and what it isn’t.
Too many in America today claim to be Christians simply because
They are moral, or because they are “good”
Or because they are American.
Many think that if they simply agree that Jesus did in fact die and rise
That they are automatically Christian.
But that has never been the distinction.
There has always been an implied submission, and implied trust,
An expected surrender to the Lordship of Jesus.
The apostles were more than “believers” they were “bond-servants”.
And that is who this message is for.
It is given to the willing slaves of Jesus Christ.
For what purpose?
“to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place;”
• Preacher, I thought you said it was about Jesus?
• Doesn’t this verse teach that it is about the facts of the end?
Yes, so much as they pertain to the return and reign of Jesus.
• This book is meant to settle your faith.
• This book is meant to get your focus off of the lunacy of our world.
• This book is meant to cause you to quit trusting in world leaders for deliverance.
• This book is meant to fix your hope solely on King Jesus and the government He will establish.
THIS BOOK IS MEANT TO SHOW THE SLAVES OF JESUS
THAT THEIR MASTER HAS IT ALL UNDER CONTROL.
In short, it is meant to encourage you.
• It should give you hope that things won’t always be this way.
• It should give you encouragement to press on.
• It should give you motivation to live holy in light of certain judgment.
• It should give you peace that the enemy will not win.
• It should give you assurance to see that God is firmly in control.
It is so that you can see who He is and what He will do
So that your faith might be firmly established.
Let me put it to you this way.
As a Christian (a bond-servant of Jesus)
Your hope rests firmly on the truths revealed in this book.
Regardless of the turmoil and confusion around us
It is the fact that Jesus will return and set this world right
That gives us hope for tomorrow.
That is why Jesus looked at His disciples the night before the crucifixion and said:
John 14:1-3 “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.”
That is why the Old Testament prophets continually pointed to that day.
Isaiah 9:6-7 “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this.”
The fact that Jesus is going to return
And take His rightful place on the throne of the world
Is the genuine hope of the true believer.
In fact, true believers are defined as those who long for this reality.
Paul wrote:
2 Timothy 4:7-8 “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.”
This is the day we are waiting for!
This is the day we are longing for!
This is the day we are hoping in!
That one day Jesus will return just as He said,
And that when He does this world
Will finally be put the way it is supposed to be!
2 Peter 3:13 “But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.”
• This message is for you who are grieved by the sin in our world…
• This message is for you who long for righteousness to dwell…
It is the lost and immoral who love the darkness
And who love the sin and who love the moral decay.
• This message is for those who are clinging to any sliver of hope that we will not forever be consigned to a sin-fallen world.
We long for sin to be removed
We long for the curse to be reversed
We long for God’s people to be redeemed
God gave this message to Jesus who communicated it to John
That He might tell it to you, that you might be encouraged!
(1-2) “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John, who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw.”
That is the title and the expected audience of this book.
Let me give you one more piece of information about this book:
#3 THE PROMISE
Revelation 1:3
• How many of you have ever watched an infomercial that made a guarantee that if you’d just try their product you’d be totally satisfied?
This book makes that type of promise.
In fact, it’s the only book in the Bible that does make such a promise.
“Blessed (happy) is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things written in it; for the time is near.”
That may be something you did not realize.
• The book of the Revelation was not meant to scare you.
(although it should scare those living in sin)
• The book of the Revelation was not meant to confuse you.
(although it routinely confuses those looking for the wrong thing)
• This book was written to BLESS YOU.
That is, this book was written to make you happy!
HOW DOES IT DO THAT?
• It certainly makes me happy to know that Jesus is returning in all His glory and will set this world right!
• It certainly makes me happy to know that the devil is not going to be allowed to be free forever, but will certainly be destroyed.
• It certainly makes me happy to know that regardless of the peril of this life, there is a throne and God sets upon it!
But even more than that, this book encourages behavior
That also leads to happiness or blessing.
For example:
Many times in this book you’re going to see the phrase, “To him who overcomes…”
The implication is that we are going to face obstacles
That might cause us to want to quit or give in.
This book points them out ahead of time and encourages us to overcome.
If you “read” and “heed” as John said in verse 3,
Then the outcome will most certainly be happiness and blessing.
Another example would be chapters like chapter 13.
It’s a famous chapter because that chapter talks about the infamous “666” mark of the beast.
We’ll talk about that more when we get there,
But the overwhelming point of the chapter is DON’T TAKE IT.
In fact in that chapter, John says:
Revelation 13:10 “Here is the perseverance and the faith of the saints.”
In other words, his instruction regarding the mark of the beast
Is all about perseverance and faith.
You need to “read” and “heed” what he says
If you want to end up being blessed.
Because:
Revelation 14:9-12 “Then another angel, a third one, followed them, saying with a loud voice, “If anyone worships the beast and his image, and receives a mark on his forehead or on his hand, he also will drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is mixed in full strength in the cup of His anger; and he will be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. “And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever; they have no rest day and night, those who worship the beast and his image, and whoever receives the mark of his name.” Here is the perseverance of the saints who keep the commandments of God and their faith in Jesus.”
Do you get the point then?
• John is going to tell you about the coming danger under the anti-christ.
• He’s going to tell you what to do and what not to do.
• If you listen to him, then you will be “happy” or “blessed”.
• If you don’t listen to him, you won’t like it very much.
Make sense?
This book is the ultimate form of encouragement
To prepare you for what God knows is coming.
One could easily argue that the supreme problem of humanity
Is that MAN CONTINUALLY CHOOSES TODAY OVER ETERNITY.
Jesus and every apostle warned severely against this.
They knew it would do a person little good to spend 70-80 years in comfort here if it meant an eternity of torment.
Matthew 16:26 “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”
Luke 6:20-26 “And turning His gaze toward His disciples, He began to say, “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. “Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh. “Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man. “Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven. For in the same way their fathers used to treat the prophets. “But woe to you who are rich, for you are receiving your comfort in full. “Woe to you who are well-fed now, for you shall be hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you shall mourn and weep. “Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for their fathers used to treat the false prophets in the same way.”
Paul wrote:
Romans 13:11-14 “Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.”
They understood that it would be foolish
To trade an eternity of blessing for 80 years of comfort.
The book of the Revelation spells it out for you.
• Those who forsake this world in order to follow Jesus may indeed suffer momentarily for it, but they end up being rewarded.
• Those who forsake Jesus in order to obtain comfort in this world, may receive momentary comfort for it, but they end being destroyed.
Now you know why John says:
“Blessed is he who reads…and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near.”
We’re out of time this morning,
Next week we’ll continue looking at this introduction
To see what glorious information this book is going to reveal to us.
THIS MORNING I simply want you to be devote yourself
To being the type of person this book was written to.
• It was written for those who are “bond-servants” of Jesus.
• It was written for those who will “read” and “heed” the message.
SURRENDER TO JESUS, AND LET THIS BOOK ENCOURAGE YOU.
