I Saw The Lord!
Revelation 1:9-20
May 22, 2016
I’ve always liked the final story of John’s gospel.
It is a story that has often been instrumental in my life when regarding my life’s direction.
Peter has gone back to fishing and the other disciples have joined him, but the Bible says “that night they caught nothing.”
John 21:4-7 “But when the day was now breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. So Jesus said to them, “Children, you do not have any fish, do you?” They answered Him, “No.” And He said to them, “Cast the net on the right-hand side of the boat and you will find a catch.” So they cast, and then they were not able to haul it in because of the great number of fish. Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord.” So when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put his outer garment on (for he was stripped for work), and threw himself into the sea.”
There could be no greater excitement; no greater thrill, than seeing Jesus.
He had absolutely become everything to the disciples
And fellowship with Him far outweighed any other hobby or occupation.
All Peter wanted was to be near Jesus.
One can only imagine how the disciples
Must have clung to Him after His resurrection.
Of course this fellowship was short-lived.
Peter explained it like this:
Acts 3:19-21 “Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; and that He may send Jesus, the Christ appointed for you, whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets from ancient time.”
Peter preached in Jerusalem that Jesus HAD TO ASCEND into heaven
Until it was time for that period of restoration.
Jesus had to ascend until it was time for Him to return
To judge the living and the dead and to take His reign upon the earth.
In the meantime He ordered that the gospel be proclaimed in the whole earth and that sinners be given the opportunity for salvation before He returns in judgment.
HIS DEPARTURE IS NECESSARY,
BUT THAT DOESN’T MEAN HIS PRESENCE WASN’T MISSED.
IMAGINE THEN THE EXCITEMENT when John gets to write a letter to seven churches with this main piece of information: “I SAW THE LORD!”
Many have falsified such claims in our day and time,
But John’s was the real deal.
Jesus appeared to John post-ascension and pre-return
Because there was something Jesus wanted His church to know.
WHAT AN EXCITING TRUTH TO HEAR!
Having finished with his introduction to the book,
John now gets down to the point.
Obviously if you are continuing on, you agreed with John that listening to what he had to say would be a valuable decision,
So John now gets into the message of the book.
It is simple: “I Saw The Lord!”
And John wants these churches to know what the vision was about.
Let’s break these final verses down into 3 points.
#1 THE LORD’S DIRECTIVE
Revelation 1:9-11
John does give a little background to the vision.
“I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance which are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.”
And the reasoning here is simple.
After the ascension of Jesus there arose a ruler in Rome named Nero.
• Nero was a bad man.
• He burned down Rome and blamed it on the Christians.
• Some of those stories you hear about Christians being fed to the lions and so forth, that was Nero.
Following Nero was Domitian.
• He allowed for the spread of persecution.
• Domitian actually wanted to be worshiped as the emperor of Rome (a practice obviously refused by the church) and he persecuted all who refused.
In short, at the time of this Revelation it was hard to be a Christian.
The church was on the run.
Christians were being tortured and killed.
You can imagine then that
No one is listening to anyone whom they don’t trust.
It was important that John identify with his audience,
And this was not a problem.
• John was a “fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance which are in Jesus”.
• John had even been exiled to “the island called Patmos because of the word of God.”
In short, John knew what they were going through,
And was certainly a credible messenger to a persecuted church.
He goes on to give the setting of the vision.
(2) “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet,”
John uses terminology here unique to that of the Old Testament prophets.
Ezekiel 8:1-4 “It came about in the sixth year, on the fifth day of the sixth month, as I was sitting in my house with the elders of Judah sitting before me, that the hand of the Lord GOD fell on me there. Then I looked, and behold, a likeness as the appearance of a man; from His loins and downward there was the appearance of fire, and from His loins and upward the appearance of brightness, like the appearance of glowing metal. He stretched out the form of a hand and caught me by a lock of my head; and the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven and brought me in the visions of God to Jerusalem, to the entrance of the north gate of the inner court, where the seat of the idol of jealousy, which provokes to jealousy, was located. And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, like the appearance which I saw in the plain.”
• Ezekiel described an event in which God revealed things to him in the spiritual realm.
• Ezekiel said he was caught “between earth and heaven” and in a vision he was brought to “Jerusalem”.
He wasn’t physically there, but in a mysterious way,
God transported him in a spiritual sense.
Paul had a similar thing happen to him.
2 Corinthians 12:1-4 “Boasting is necessary, though it is not profitable; but I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago — whether in the body I do not know, or out of the body I do not know, God knows — such a man was caught up to the third heaven. And I know how such a man — whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, God knows — was caught up into Paradise and heard inexpressible words, which a man is not permitted to speak.”
I most certainly don’t understand it, but it is clear that the Lord did it.
And John said it was this sort of thing that happened to him.
He was “in the Spirit” that is; he was in the spiritual realm.
He was so “on the Lord’s day”
• Some consider this a reference to Sunday
• Some consider it a reference to the end, as in “day of the Lord”
It really doesn’t matter to me, what does matter is John caught a vision.
And the first thing that occurred was that
He heard a loud voice behind him with A VERY FIRM DIRECTIVE.
(11) “Write in a book what you see, and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.”
You will see this DIRECTIVE echoed at the end of the chapter as well:
(19) “Therefore write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after these things.”
THE PURPOSE THEN IS CLEAR.
John has been selected by God to be a recipient of a vision
That he is supposed to disseminate to the churches.
God has something He wants them to know,
And God has selected John to be the channel.
So, there is a message on the way.
The Lord’s Directive
#2 THE LORD’S DESCRIPTION
Revelation 1:12-16
This certainly makes sense to us; “Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me.”
Why wouldn’t you?
“And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands;”
With all the visions, it is always important
To notice the first thing that catches John’s gaze.
For example
• In the vision of chapter 4 he sees “a throne”
• In chapter 5 “a book”
These are often times indicators to the main thrust of the visions.
The first thing John sees is “seven golden lampstands”
We will of course find out in a minute that (20) “the seven lampstands are the seven churches.”
These weren’t like a menorah, it appears rather that
They were seven individual lampstands.
And it is not a stretch to make the point about those which are a light to the world,
As the church most certainly is.
This vision is given with reference to the churches.
Everything about this vision then relates to them.
They are the key piece as you will see in chapters 2 and 3.
Even more important was this person John sees among the churches.
He sees “one like a son of man”
And there are 5 elements about this man that John wants you to see.
1) HIS LOCATION
(13) “and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man”
“son of man” is simply a title that means “human”
John saw a man.
His location is not without importance.
He was standing “in the middle of the lampstands”
Of course you know that this “son of man” is in fact Jesus Christ,
As will be made plane in a moment.
It is significant then that the Lord is in the midst of his churches.
Many times we read the promise
“and surely I will be with you always, even to the very end of the age.”
• Christ is not observing His church from afar.
• Christ is not receiving up to the minute intel on His church from messengers.
• Christ is there.
• He is in her midst.
• He has not abandoned her.
• He has not forsaken her.
• He is present.
The location of Jesus couldn’t be more encouraging.
(especially to a church being persecuted as harsh as these)
It is often in those difficult times that it feels like
We have been abandoned by the Lord, but such is not the case.
When Jesus revealed Himself to John He was right in the middle of it all.
It reminds of that often quoted poem written by Mary Stevenson
“One night I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord. Many scenes from my life flashed across the sky. In each scene I noticed footprints in the sand. Sometimes there were two sets of footprints, other times there was one only. This bothered me because I noticed that during the low periods of my life, when I was suffering from anguish, sorrow or defeat, I could see only one set of footprints, so I said to the Lord, “You promised me Lord, that if I followed you, you would walk with me always. But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life there has only been one set of footprints in the sand. Why, when I needed you most, have you not been there for me?” The Lord replied, “The years when you have seen only one set of footprints, my child, is when I carried you.”
That’s not just a feel good story, it is a reality.
John’s first message to the church is that Jesus is with you.
But also important to John is the appearance of Jesus.
2) HIS WARDROBE
(13b) “clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His chest with a golden sash.”
It may at first seem insignificant, after all,
We tend to picture everyone in heaven wearing robes.
But this is important:
Leviticus 16:4 “He shall put on the holy linen tunic, and the linen undergarments shall be next to his body, and he shall be girded with the linen sash and attired with the linen turban (these are holy garments). Then he shall bathe his body in water and put them on.”
The wardrobe of Jesus is very consistent
With this wardrobe in the Old Testament.
Granted this individual had a linen sash, whereas Jesus will have a golden one.
But whose outfit is this?
This was the garment of the High Priest.
That’s fitting isn’t it?
Here is Jesus, sitting in the midst of His church,
And just as we learned from our study of Hebrews,
He is actively fulfilling His role as intercessor on behalf of the church!
Hebrews 5:5-10 “So also Christ did not glorify Himself so as to become a high priest, but He who said to Him, “YOU ARE MY SON, TODAY I HAVE BEGOTTEN YOU”; just as He says also in another passage, “YOU ARE A PRIEST FOREVER ACCORDING TO THE ORDER OF MELCHIZEDEK.” In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety. Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation, being designated by God as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.”
Hebrews 7:23-25 “The former priests, on the one hand, existed in greater numbers because they were prevented by death from continuing, but Jesus, on the other hand, because He continues forever, holds His priesthood permanently. Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.”
Hebrews 8:1-2 “Now the main point in what has been said is this: we have such a high priest, who has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a minister in the sanctuary and in the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man.”
Without rehashing the entire book of Hebrews
I hope you do remember that absolutely amazing point.
When Jesus ascended,
• He didn’t just kick back and relax in heaven,
• He entered a most valuable role on our behalf.
• He entered the presence of God, sat down, and began His role as our great high priest.
He is our security, He is our assurance, He is our hope.
We still fail, and we still stumble, but we do not fall from our hope
Because Jesus is there to intercede for us.
What encouragement to these persecuted churches
To know that when John saw Jesus, he saw Him dwelling in the midst of the churches and wearing His high priestly garments.
His Location, His Wardrobe
3) HIS APPEARANCE
(14-15) “His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire. His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters.”
John distinctly points out 5 attributes of His appearance or description.
His head, His hair, His eyes, His feet, and His voice.
There is an obvious contrast to the Jesus we saw in the gospels.
The gentle, meek, mild, lowly human form is obviously set aside.
This description invokes fear
This description invokes wonder
It is no wonder that in verse 17 John says, “When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man.”
The Jesus He sees here is absolutely terrifying.
Coupled with that sword in His mouth
We realize we aren’t looking at a savior here,
WE ARE LOOKING AT A WARRIOR.
We are looking at judge
We are looking at an executioner
Make no mistake about Jesus.
He came into this world to offer salvation to the lost,
But don’t think for one second
That He will not judge and destroy those who refuse Him.
John 5:24-27 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. “Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. “For just as the Father has life in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life in Himself; and He gave Him authority to execute judgment, because He isthe Son of Man.”
In fact, it may surprise you to know that hell is not governed by the devil.
Revelation 14:9-10 “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.”
Did you see who sits in charge of hell?
It is “the Lamb”
Jesus is a wonderful savior,
But do not let His mercy cause you to miss the fact
That He will also judge sin.
The picture here is not of a merciful savior, but of a holy judge.
“His head and His hair were white like wool, like snow;”
As God revealed the end to Daniel, he saw the exact same thing:
Daniel 7:9 “I kept looking Until thrones were set up, And the Ancient of Days took His seat; His vesture was like white snow And the hair of His head like pure wool. His throne was ablaze with flames, Its wheels were a burning fire.”
The picture is of an absolutely holy judge.
“and His eyes were like a flame of fire.”
Ever hear the expression, “he had a fire in his eyes”?
It is the very connotation of anger.
We see Jesus, and He appears to be fuming!
“His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace,”
His feet speak of His propensity to deal out judgment.
It is the picture of the day when Christ
Treads the winepress of the wrath of God.
Revelation 19:15 “From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.”
The fiery eyes and the fiery feet of Jesus are not a picture of salvation,
They are a picture of judgment.
“and His voice was like the sound of many waters.”
Can we say terrifying?
Everything you see in the gospels about this meek and mild mannered Jesus, is the exact opposite of what you see here.
We read in Matthew:
Matthew 12:18-21 “BEHOLD, MY SERVANT WHOM IHAVE CHOSEN; MY BELOVED IN WHOM MY SOUL is WELL-PLEASED; I WILL PUT MY SPIRIT UPON HIM, AND HE SHALL PROCLAIM JUSTICE TO THE GENTILES. “HE WILL NOT QUARREL, NOR CRY OUT; NOR WILL ANYONE HEAR HIS VOICE IN THE STREETS. “A BATTERED REED HE WILL NOT BREAK OFF, AND A SMOLDERING WICK HE WILL NOT PUT OUT, UNTIL HE LEADS JUSTICE TO VICTORY. “AND IN HIS NAME THE GENTILES WILL HOPE.”
Or in 1 Peter:
1 Peter 2:23 “and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously;”
Jesus lived this life as the absolute perfect example for believers.
• He was perfectly meek, perfectly humble, perfectly trusting.
• He endured so much at the hand of sinners and perfectly fulfilled all that the Father asked Him to do in that regard.
BUT FOR HIM, THAT TIME IS PAST.
He has now stepped into the role of judge.
His Location, His Wardrobe, His Appearance
4) HIS EQUIPMENT
(16a) “In His right hand He held seven stars, and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword;”
We find here that Jesus is holding two things.
• He has “seven stars” in His hand
• He has “a sharp two-edged sword” coming out of His mouth
The “seven stars” are revealed later in verse 20 “As for the mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands; the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.”
“angels” is also the word for “messengers”
It is likely that the pastors of those churches is here being referenced.
Jesus has a steady hold on the men who are leading these churches.
• And this sets Jesus up as the ultimate guide of the church.
• He holds the men that lead the church.
The sword is also obvious.
It is a weapon of judgment.
To read it again:
Revelation 19:15 “From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.”
This is not a weapon of purification, this is not a weapon of evangelism.
This is a weapon of judgment.
Christ is still seen as the warrior judge.
One more thing
5) HIS RADIANCE
(16b) “and His face was like the sun shining in its strength.”
Obviously we are here dealing with His glory.
When Jesus was transfigured:
Matthew 17:2 “And He was transfigured before them; and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as light.”
• This is not the Jesus veiled in human flesh.
• This is not the Jesus determined to keep His strength under control.
• This is not the Jesus holding back His holiness with ropes of grace.
Jesus has stepped forth in fully glory and in holy zeal.
BUT THAT CREATES A VERY IMPORTANT QUESTION.
• Why is Jesus revealing Himself like this to the church?
• Is it because Jesus is angry at the church?
• Is it because these churches are in trouble?
NO
Jesus reveals Himself not as a danger to the church,
But as the defender of the church.
As Jesus confronts these 7 churches in the next 2 chapters
He will continually reveal Himself to each church
Focusing on these revealed attributes.
For example:
Revelation 2:1 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands, says this:”
Revelation 2:12 “And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: The One who has the sharp two-edged sword says this:”
Revelation 2:18 “And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: The Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet are like burnished bronze, says this:”
And so on with all 7.
• So why remind a church like Pergamum that He holds a sword?
• Why remind Thyatira that His eyes are a flame of fire?
Pergamum had some in her midst that were falling into idolatry
And the Lord was coming after them with His sword.
Thyatira was courting a false prophetess and following her lead
And the Lord was furious and was about to kill her.
He reveals Himself here
Not as the One who is about to attack the church,
But as the One about to attack those who threaten His church.
He is not attacking the church, He is about to attack her enemies.
His Directive, His Description
#3 HIS DECLARATION
Revelation 1:17-20
John’s response to this vision is expected.
“When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man.”
I’m sure John was terrified.
After all, this is a terrifying vision.
It reminds of when Joshua stood before the angel of the Lord.
Joshua 5:13-14 “Now it came about when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, a man was standing opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand, and Joshua went to him and said to him, “Are you for us or for our adversaries?” He said, “No; rather I indeed come now as captain of the host of the LORD.” And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and bowed down, and said to him, “What has my lord to say to his servant?”
The whole concern was “Whose side are you on?”
John obviously feels that same fear.
But the answer of Jesus couldn’t be any better.
“And He placed His right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.”
What a wonderful answer Jesus has for John and a church under attack.
First of all, you don’t have to fear because I’m not after you.
Second of all, I win!
• There is none before Me, and there is none after Me.
• And even though I faced death, it couldn’t handle Me.
• In fact, I beat death, and I now own it!
1 Peter 3:18-19 “For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit; in which also He went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison,”
When Jesus died and dropped into hell,
It was in no way ready for what it received.
Jesus put hell on its knees and stepped out the other side.
Hebrews 2:14 “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,”
Acts 2:24 “But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.”
Jesus overcame!
It is a tremendous message for the church.
• The churches of John’s day were under heavy attack.
• John himself was under heavy attack.
And in the middle of the storm
Jesus chose to reveal Himself to John and the churches.
Can we summarize what He showed them?
• I am with you.
• I am praying for you.
• I am guiding you.
• I am about to defend you.
• Nothing can stop Me.
How’s that for a message to a battered group of believers?
(19) “Therefore write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after these things.”
So John, write it down!
I’m about to show you the day when I show up to defend My bride!
So let me give you some encouragement
In the middle of a world gone wrong.
FIRST, you should know that regardless of how bad things get, or how wrong things seems, Jesus has not forsaken you.
He promised He never would, and He clearly never has.
When John saw Him, He was right where He said He would be,
In the midst of the church.
SECONDLY you should know that Jesus has faithfully maintained His role as your great High Priest.
Not only is He with us, but He intercedes for us.
He is able to save forever those who draw near to God through Him.
He has not forsaken His role as our intercessor.
THIRDLY you should know that He sees what is happening in His world and to His bride and He is angry. His eyes are a flame of fire and His feet are burnished bronze. Jesus is coming and His sword is coming with Him.
He will not let the world get away with what they do to His church.
He is ready to avenge.
FINALLY you should know that when the hour of His judgment comes, He will be victorious since there was never an enemy that had the power to handle Him.
NOT EVEN DEATH
So…in this life of hardship and pain, be encouraged.
• The enemy may pursue you
• The enemy may afflict you
• The enemy may attack you
• The enemy may even kill you
But the enemy cannot hold you because Jesus has the keys.
And because it all begins and ends with Him,
There is no reason for you to fear the things that occur in this world.
Jesus has it covered.
Jesus said:
John 16:33 “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”
