150913 Even So, come Lord Jesus!

Revelation 1:4-8 John to the seven churches that 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, ⁵ and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood ⁶ and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. ⁷ Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen. ⁸ “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

The book of Revelation describes a vision and a prophecy. First off it is written to seven churches that were in Asia. This was a province of Rome, not the continent that we know. It is located in the Western region of modern-day Turkey. Jesus Christ gave this vision to the apostle John who is one of the three closest to Jesus during his lifetime. So far as we know, John was the last surviving apostle of Jesus Christ at the time of this vision. It is reported that he had such a powerful influence among the people that the government did not feel free to take his life. Instead, they exiled him to the island of Patmos. John speaks of grace and peace to the seven churches.

That grace and peace is God’s formula for his relationship to the church. God gives grace as we are told in the Gospel of John chapter 1, John said there that when they saw his glory it was full of grace and truth. Moses gave the law but grace and truth came from God through Jesus Christ. Yet here in the book of Revelation the entire Godhead is included. God’s grace came to them and peace came from him. Most of Paul’s letters have a similar formula. These spiritual gifts came…

From God the Father. Let’s look at the use of these ideas. Turn with me to 2 Corinthians 1:2. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

We see the formula used in most of Paul’s letters and also in John’s writing. Grace came to us and peace came from God through Jesus Christ. Since before time began, as we know it, God the Father was prepared to pour out his grace upon the human race. There is a good deal we will never know about the grace of God and the peace of God simply because it is beyond our understanding. The phrase, “him who is and who was and who is to come” is reminiscent of God’s encounter with Moses in the wilderness. When Moses asked for God’s name so he could tell it to the Israelite people he received what could’ve been a surprising response. When asked for his name God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM” and then continued with, “I AM has sent me to you.” Probably the closest we can get to an English transliteration of the word for “God” is “Yahweh”. Its basic idea is eternal existence. God is the One Who is Who was and Who is to come. That is an oversimplified explanation of God the Father who gives us a grace and peace that also comes…

From the seven Spirits. The seven spirits are mentioned four times in the Bible and only in the book of Revelation. Let’s look at another reference Revelation 4:5. From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God. And another at 5:6. And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.

John sees seven burning torches and tells us they are the seven spirits of God. And then later in the book he sees Jesus as the Lamb that had been slain with seven horns and seven eyes which are the seven spirits of God. Only here they are not just being displayed before the throne. They are being sent out, by God, into all the earth to do his will. I have often said there are no “number codes” in the Bible however we must recognize that some numbers have special meaning. And the number seven appears to be the word for perfection. So the seven spirits of God are the perfect Holy Spirit who is identified always with the Father and the Son. Grace and peace is given us by the Father and the Holy Spirit and these gifts are also…

From Jesus Christ. Turn with me to Philippians 2:9-11. Therefore God has highly exalted him (Jesus) and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, ¹⁰ so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, ¹¹ and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Revelation 1:4-5 reveals the eternal harmony and unity of the Godhead! The one who is and was and is to come is God the Father. The seven Spirits are none other than the Holy Spirit and, of course, Jesus Christ the faithful witness joins with his Father and the Holy Spirit.

Jesus is described by John in Revelation 1:5 as “the faithful witness” the Bible speaks of him bearing witness before Pontius Pilate. When the Father gave the Son and the Son gave the Holy Spirit all that is God became engaged in the life of the church. Jesus Christ is the Son of God…

He who showed his love. Let’s look at the demonstration in Romans 5:8. But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Jesus, the faithful witness, loved his people to the point of death. Long before we put our faith and trust in him, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. His substitutionary atonement gives us an opportunity at salvation. Love is not a noun and it does not describe a feeling! Love is an action word, a verb, and describes actions not feelings.

When Jesus died for us on the cross of Calvary he took our sins into his own body and nailed them to the tree so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. His death was more than a symbolic act it was an action that demonstrated how much he loved us and showed us that he freed us from our sins by his blood.

It was absolutely essential that Jesus’ love for us to be so demonstrated. There are a few references in the Bible to people who came back from the dead. However, they all required the presence of someone who had faith for their ultimate healing. But we need to remember that all these were brought back to life only to die again. Jesus was raised from the dead by the power of the Father and remains alive eternally. When Jesus rose from the dead he was the “first fruits” of a new kind of human life. His life — Resurrection Life — was with a perfect body that is no longer subject to weakness, aging and death! Jesus returned to life with a body like that of Adam and Eve before they sinned. When God created the earth and all that’s on it, including Adam and Eve, God himself said, “behold, it was very good”. When we receive our resurrection bodies we will live on a renewed earth in which righteousness dwells. We will have bodies that are as much superior to our present bodies as a full grown corn stalk is to the kernel of corn.

Jesus, being the firstborn from the dead, entered into a new quality-of-life. We will have a human body and the human spirit that are perfectly suited for fellowship with, and obedience to, God. In fact, the new kind of life we receive comes directly from Christ. In the mind of God we have been raised up with him and are already seated with him in the heavenly places. If you need more clarification read the first two chapters of Ephesians.

When we receive our new bodies the promise of Romans 6:14 will come true — “sin will have no dominion over you”. We will never be perfect in this life we have the promise that when he appears we shall be like him. Jesus demonstrated his love for us in such a way that…

He changed our allegiance. Turn with me to Colossians 1:11-14.  May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, ¹² giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. ¹³ He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

When Jesus died on the cross he broke the power of cancelled sin and set the captives free. As Charles Wesley boldly stated in the hymn, “Oh For A Thousand Tongues To Sing”. We are born spiritually dead in the trespasses and sins that we inherited from Adam. Based on our own abilities we have no hope of life eternal. You see, a physically dead person can do nothing to help him or herself neither can a spiritually dead person do anything to help themselves. Without the work of God in our life we would remain dead in sin. You see we are not saved by works of righteousness that we have done. (Titus 3:5) We are saved by the substitutionary atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ. When he gave his life he took our sins as far away from us as the east is from the west. (Psalm 103:12) He took our sin and buried it in the bottom of the sea. (Micah 7:19) Now we have been made alive together with Christ so that we can demonstrate the immeasurable riches of his grace and his kindness toward us. Ephesians 2:8-10 tells us, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” We have been delivered from the domain of darkness and transferred to the kingdom of light. Our allegiance has been changed! Our true citizenship is in heaven with the saints and members of the household of God. The Lord Jesus is our true ruler…

And is owed glory and dominion. Turn with me to Romans 11:36-12:2. For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen. 12:1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. ² Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Everything belongs to Jesus! Everything came from him everything was created by him and therefore everything belongs to him. We are to give him the glory for everything that happens! As Paul wrote to the Romans he said that we are to present ourselves as a living sacrifice. We are to be set apart in an acceptable manner to God. This is our true worship — recognizing him as our ruler! We are not to be conformed to this world but instead we are to allow God to transform us by the renewal of our mind so that we can tell what the will of God is.

It is God himself who qualifies us to share in the inheritance of the saints. We are no longer subject to the domain of darkness we were born into. We now have the responsibility to give our allegiance to the one who gave his life for us. We are the light of the world and we are under obligation to let our light shine before others.

We must remember…

He is coming with the clouds. Turn with me to Acts 1:7-11. He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. ⁸ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” ⁹ And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. ¹⁰ And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, ¹¹ and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”

I have turned again and again to these words encouraging us to recognize the fact that we have received power to be Jesus’ witnesses in the world. John tells us that he is coming with the clouds and every eye will see him. He indicates that both those alive on earth and those who have passed into Hades and Paradise will see him as well! He must’ve thought of that day many years before when he had stood watching the Lord Jesus ascending into heaven on a cloud. I have often used it as an encouragement to us to fulfill his instructions. When they stood watching him ascend two angels appeared beside them to question why they stood looking up into heaven. Jesus had instructed them to go and witness not to stare into heaven. I think metaphorically we sometimes stand staring into heaven when we should be busy witnessing on earth.

He is coming again…

And the world will mourn. Turn with me to Revelation 6:12-17. The Lamb is in the process of opening seven seals. When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, ¹³ and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. ¹⁴ The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. ¹⁵ Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, ¹⁶ calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, ¹⁷ for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?”

I was told once about an unsaved individual who said, “You Christians should be ashamed of yourself. You really can’t wait until we’re all burned up can you?” We should take that thought into consideration. We should confront the world around us with the gospel in such a way that everyone will have an opportunity! We must speak the truth in love. (Ephesians 4:15) Because when Christ does come they will have no hope. The only hope of the world is that they be saved before their death or Christ’s return. Please, think about your loved ones and friends and consider giving them the good news in a way that they will listen to.

Realizing that there would be much suffering over the whole earth John still said, “Even so, amen.” We must remember that even though the people of God will rejoice at Jesus’ second coming his enemies will not rejoice. Instead they will cry for an end to come to their suffering that will be caused by Christ’s return. From the perspective of the unsaved world the return of Jesus Christ will not be a happy event. What about you? Are you ready for him to come again? This could be the day of salvation for you. Put your trust in him.

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

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.