150906 The Revelation of Jesus Christ

Revelation 1:1-3 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, ² who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. ³ Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.

I have always been hesitant to preach a series of sermons on the Book of Revelation. My approach has been to take the book as it is presented and to try not to read into it anything from the outside. Whole schools of thought have been put together, none of which are satisfactory to me. So what I propose to do is to take exactly what the book says and let it speak for itself.

I am fairly sure that God does not choose to hide things in the Bible. I don’t believe there are any number or letter codes in the Bible. If there were they would have been lost in the process of translating. I know, God can preserve what he wants in his word. I just can’t imagine why God would hide truth from sincere seekers. Therefore, we need to remember that the word “revelation” can’t mean anything other God would than what it means. One of the rules I have always followed in understanding the Scripture is that the Bible says what it means and means what it says. The simplest interpretation is always the best unless it conflicts with other clear teachings. Remember…

It is a revealing not hiding! John the apostle, on the Isle of Patmos, was confronted by an angel and shown many visions. It was his responsibility to turn what he saw into what needed to be said. Obviously, God does not make a mistake in the people he chooses to reveal his will to his people. In fact, God does not make mistakes at all. When he gives a revelation to John the apostle he gives him all that he needs to give us all that we need. Please, resist the temptation to read into any part of the Bible any more than it says. You’ll be blessed by the word when you just let it speak. Remember…

It is a gift from God! Turn with me to Revelation 22:6-7. And he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. And the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.” ⁷ “And behold, I am coming soon. Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”

God gave this revelation to Jesus Christ so that he could show his servants the things that must soon take place. This is God’s gift to all of us as well as it was to all of them. The word “soon” occurs several times in the book. I can’t get around the fact that “soon” means “in a short period of time”. Yes, I realize that time is perceived by God differently than it is perceived by us. The Bible itself says, “But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.” (2 Peter 3:8) Now, that’s not a math problem! It is a statement of fact. One thousand years is the same as a day in the eyes of God. At the same time I don’t believe God would purposely confuse the recipients of this letter. The book of Revelation…

It presents some things that will soon happen. Read on with me Revelation 22:12-13. “Behold, I am coming soon, bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done. ¹³ I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”

Clearly, Jesus has spoken, at the time the letter was written, about 95 A.D., he said he was coming soon and he was going to deal with some matters of importance to the church at that time. They lived under a corrupt Roman government and needed to be delivered from the constant oppression they were experiencing. The Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end — Jesus Christ was coming to exercise judgment on those persecuting his church. These are direct words from Jesus so I find that it would be hard to reconcile them by saying they were part of John’s imagination. Coming to repay may not mean the same as coming to stay. Oh no! I may just be starting a new error that will further confuse our understanding of the book! Let’s let it ride for now and see how it plays out.

Throughout the letter angels are seen as the ones who introduce the action…

It is presented by an angel! Let’s continue to read Revelation 22:16. “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to testify to you about these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”

I could’ve chosen any number of other statements including the opening verse which tells us that God made known that which must soon take place by sending his angel to his servant John. Again and again angels appear to direct John’s vision and, sometimes, answer his questions.

In these 22 chapters the word “angel” appears 79 times. It may not always mean what we usually think of as an angel. The word means “messenger” and in this context could include human messengers. It may be that the angel of the churches found in chapters two and three refer to the pastors of the churches. Please don’t get wrapped up in that just let it speak for itself. Be sensitive to what God reveals to you. The word given by these angels…

It is the word of God. Read on with me Revelation 22:18-19. I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, ¹⁹ and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book.

This is not the word of angels — it is the word of God! It’s a serious thing to “mess with” God’s word! And yet it happens all the time! Verses are taken out of context and used to teach things that are just not in the book. I don’t want to go off on a tangent I just want to warn you not to let anyone take away from the words of the book or add to it in any way.

What do I mean by this? Well, leaving the book of Revelation behind and going to Philippians 4:13 we can see an example. This verse of Scripture speaks to Paul’s ability to live any way God wants him to. When it says, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” It does not mean that having received Christ as my Lord and Savior I can automatically play any other instrument than the radio. We do need to recognize that God will enable us to do anything he wants us to do. Folks, anything God calls us to do will be done by him — in us.

It is the testimony of Jesus Christ. Let’s look back at Revelation 19:9-10. And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.” ¹⁰ Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God.” For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

The book of Revelation, as part of the Bible, is the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. When the angel spoke to John telling him exactly what to write he spoke of the marriage supper of the Lamb. And then proclaimed that these are the true words of God.

John instinctively fell down at the angel’s feet to worship him. Then the angel responded with something that I still struggle with in my understanding of our relationship to angels. The angel said, “I am a fellow servant with you and your brothers…” Until I thoughtfully read this passage I had never considered that angels were our fellow servants. This angel, talking to John, certainly saw himself in that role.

There are hints of our relationship to angels in Paul’s letters to the Corinthians. First, we are told that God exhibited the apostles as a spectacle to the world, to angels and to men. (1 Corinthians 4:9) I am reminded of the angels who stood beside the apostles when Jesus ascended into heaven. Jesus had told them to go into all the world and preach the gospel. As they stood staring into heaven, after Jesus had gone away, the angels asked the apostles, “why do you stand looking into heaven?” Indeed, the apostles, were a spectacle that amazed the angels. They could not imagine why the apostles were not “going” as Jesus had commanded!

There is an amazing statement in Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians. In discussing the needs of the church there Paul rebuked them for taking each other to court before the world. Paul was amazed that they were incompetent to try trivial cases. Then he makes the amazing statement, “Do you not know that we are to judge angels?” (1 Corinthians 6:3) Judge angels? I have some idea what that might mean but am very hesitant to expand on it.

At another point Paul speaks to the Corinthians about wives having a symbol of authority on their head because of the angels! (1 Corinthians 11:10) A lot of different ideas have come out based on this passage. Does it mean a woman should have long hair? Does it mean a woman should have a veil on her head when she comes to worship? Does it mean a woman should be under the authority of a man such as her father or husband? I am inclined toward the third question. I believe the Bible teaches male headship in the church and in the family and I can only go with what the Bible teaches.

In that beautiful love chapter (13) Paul speaks of the tongues of angels. There are various interpretations of what that means. It may mean what some call the unknown tongue and it may be a language similar to human language but used by angels.

And then in the second letter to the Corinthians Paul warns us that even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So friends do not welcome every angel equally. Be careful when dealing in the spirit world that surrounds us.

There are many other references in the Bible to angels and their place in our world. The writer of Hebrews tells us that we are to be hospitable to strangers because in so doing some people have “entertained angels unawares”. We should rejoice in the possibility that angels walk among us but they are not the messengers to the unsaved world. That’s our job! Instead, the angels found in the Bible consistently are bringing a message to God’s people. They warn people; they guide people; they protect people; and among other things they go before people to prepare the way. It was an angel who spoke to Mary about the child conceived in her womb. It was an angel who warned Joseph not to turn Mary away. It was an angel who took Peter from jail and set him free. It was an angel who encouraged Paul in his darkest hours. Angels deal with God’s people.

Angels have not always existed. They are part of the universe that God created and that God holds together. There are so many angels in existence that we cannot mentally understand the number. The Bible says that God came to Mount Sinai from the ten thousands of holy ones with flaming fire at his right hand. The Bible also says that the chariots of God are tens of thousands and thousands of thousands. The book of Hebrews refers to “innumerable angels”. And then in the book of Revelation the number is referred to as “myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands.” Angels can make moral decisions just as we do. In fact, some angels sinned and fell from their positions. They cannot usually be seen by us unless God gives us a special ability to see them. Since the angels are spirit beings they can assume a body in order to be seen by people.

The Bible clearly teaches us that angels have great power but it is limited by God.

I believe we, especially children, have angels assigned to care for us. There may be individual guardian angels or there just may be angels in general protecting us.

As we look through the Book of Revelation we will meet angels and demons along the way. With all that the Holy Spirit will guide us to have a better understanding of this book that seems to be such a mystery. I can’t guarantee that we will go through it in detail. I can guarantee that I will share with you all that I understand and probably a lot more. We need to remember that…

It is a blessing to read and to hear. Turn back with me to Revelation 1:3. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.

Many times I’ve heard people say that they will not read the Book of Revelation because it confuses them. Well, math textbooks confuse me. In fact, many things in life, such as insurance policies, confuse me. Yet I still go to them for information and sometimes actually learn something!

This book begins by saying that it is “the revelation of Jesus Christ”. It goes on to tell us that God gave it to Jesus to show to his servants. And then we see the words we’re just read. The one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy will be blessed. Those who hear the reading will be blessed! Maybe, we need to set aside some time to read the book, without comment, and to be doubly blessed! Please make a time to read this book through from beginning to end. Then pray for me that I will hear the Spirit of God speak and be able to rightly divide the word of truth for your benefit and for my own.

Now that we have started I will go forward as the Spirit leads me. One thing I know for certain, everything in this book — and the entire Bible — is written for our instruction and nothing is to be left aside. So for those of you who are afraid of the Book of Revelation please be at peace. This last book of the Bible is an introduction to the world to come. John saw things that he could not describe in human language. In fact, he was instructed not to write one section of the vision. The one thing that we must know is that God, in Christ, calls us to come to him in faith. We are to satisfy our spiritual thirst with the water of life. Have you been to the fountain? Are you washed in the blood of the lamb? Today can be your day of salvation.

All scriptures quotes are from: The Holy Bible: English standard version. 2001. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.