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 Expository Sermon Series—God Wins: Revelation SeriesPart 1—“The Revelation Sent from the Throne of God” Revelation 1:1-8[Minister’s Opening Words] We are about to discover the greatest message this world has ever known. From the start of this final book of the Bible, John announces that the unfolding revelation of “what must soon take place” has been entrusted by God the Father to His Son. To this very day, it is Jesus Himself who speaks from the heart of the Father to us. As we begin the captivating journey before us, we must not miss this; not only has this Revelation been entrusted to Jesus, it is all about Jesus! [Opening Scripture to Be Read] Let’s stand together in honor of God’s Word as we read John’s opening Prologue in Revelation Chapter 1, verses 1-3. 1 The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave?him to show his servants what must soon take place.?He made it known by sending his angel?to his servant John,?2?who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God?and the testimony of Jesus Christ.?3?Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.[Message Introduction] [Exp.] While in the Book of Revelation we encounter epic events and mysterious players in the ultimate end-time drama, all of the great prophecies found here are given in relationship to who Jesus is. Indeed, this entire message is the “testimony [or ‘witness’] of Jesus Christ” (v. 2). Everything here speaks of His presence and power, His great love and sacrifice, even of His enemies and His complete and final victory over everything dark in this world. No wonder, then, that an angel of the Lord gave strong command before the conclusion of this Revelation in Chapter 19, verse 10, “Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” [Bridge Sentence] From the beginning of this amazing book, three early passages—John’s Prologue, John’s Greeting and Hymn of Praise, and The Father’s Announcement of Christ’s Soon Return—all declare that when it comes to our yesterday, our today, and our forever, it’s all about Jesus![Main Point] John’s Prologue Declares That It’s All About Jesus!—1:1-3[Exp.] From beginning to end, this greatest of prophetic books is bold in moving with divine authority. “The Revelation” is nothing less than “the word of God.” Yet, while God Himself is the Author of this book, He chose to use a human writer, a brother in the faith—a “servant” just like us—the Apostle John. John, youngest son of Zebedee and Salome, a fisherman like his father and his brother James, partners with Peter and Andrew. John, youngest disciple amongst the Twelve, part of the inner core of his closest followers, “the disciple whom Jesus loved” (John 21:20). John, very possibly first cousin to Jesus and His nearest male relative; he would be entrusted with the care of Christ’s mother, Mary. He was found at Christ’s side at His Last Supper (John 13:23); he alone of the Twelve stood near the cross (John 19:26); and, he was the first to arrive at the empty tomb after Mary’s report (John 20:4). John the apostle, great leader in the early Church (Galatians 2:9)—and, great writer of five books of the Bible. He wrote his Gospel that we would believe. He wrote three letters that we would be sure. And, he wrote this Revelation that we would be ready! [Illus.] Late in the First Century A.D., the Apostle John was the only original disciple still living. Each of the others amongst the Twelve (barring Judas) had been martyred for their faithfulness to Christ long before. The elderly John—now well into his 90’s—continued strong as the Bishop of Ephesus, a major center for Christianity. Ministering there, history remembers his frequent counsel to the Church, “Little children, love one another.” But, history also tells of the severe persecution of the Church at the hands of the Roman emperor of that day, Titus Domitian. Filled with pride and self-delusion, Domitian demanded worship, declaring himself “Lord and God.” Filled with hatred, no two groups were more subject to his cruelty than Jews and Christians. Listen to the early testimony of Church Father Tertullian as he writes of that early persecution. “How fortunate is that church upon which the apostles poured their whole teaching together with their blood, where Peter suffered like his Lord, where Paul was crowned with John’s death, where the apostle John, after he had been immersed in boiling oil without harm, was banished to an island” (On Prescription Against Heretics 36). While some have questioned John’s bout with a cauldron of oil, no ancient record questions that John was exiled by Domitian to the tiny, barren and rocky island of Patmos. It was there, in this prison without walls reserved for the worst of Rome’s political dissidents, that God pulled back the curtain on time and eternity. Because Jesus loved John, He personally delivered to him the greatest Revelation of his life. And, because Jesus loves us, he released John from that island with a message from Heaven entitled, “The Revelation from Jesus Christ.” [Exp.] “Revelation”—the original word translated into English is “Apocalypse,” which means an unveiling or uncovering. In keeping with the apocalyptic style of its day, Revelation makes great use of symbolism through numbers, colors, and animated characters, both human and animal. When we understand the power of pictures and symbols to carry meaning across many cultures and generations, we see how God infused Revelation with an ability to speak to countless millions throughout the centuries. And, when we realize that this book refers to the Old Testament over 400 times, and that it gives us God’s final word on 48 doctrines of the Bible—ranging from the nature of God to the return of Christ—we see that Revelation is, in a very real sense, God’s “wrap up” of the 65 books of the Bible before it. No wonder the faith of believers throughout the ages and the world has found strength and boldness in these timeless words! [Exp.] Revelation is also distinguished as the only book of the Bible promising a blessing to those who read and take it to heart. “Blessed” or “happy” is the same encouragement spoken by Jesus in the Beatitudes of Matthew 5 and Luke 6. “Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart” (v. 3). The first of seven blessings within this book, blessed is the one “who reads”; this word implies reading aloud, both privately and publicly. And, blessed “are those who hear it”; this word implies active and attentive listening. And, blessed are those who “take it to heart,” which implies care in keeping, guarding, and observing God’s Word; in other words, “doing what it says.” “What is written” (v. 3) for us to heed is contained here in “prophecy,” which is the “forth-telling” of the will of God already contained in His Word and the “fore-telling” of the will of God yet to be realized. All the more we must read aloud, hear actively, and keep these words diligently “because the time,” here, kairos time—God’s specific, opportune season—“is near”; it is imminent, soon to come to pass. Again, John refers to the Last Days in verse 1 as “what must soon take place,” that is, what is accelerating toward us swiftly and quickly. In our day we can truly say that the signposts of prophecy are spaced more closely, coming toward us more rapidly than ever before. [App.] Yet, there are those in and out of the visible Church still today who ignore and brush off every promise and every warning concerning the soon return of the Lord in His glory. Have you found this to be true as I have? The Apostle Peter definitely saw our day when he wrote, “Above all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. They will say, ‘Where is this “coming” he promised?’” (2 Peter 3:3-4a). We might expect this from the world, but what is sadder is to hear believers carelessly say of the Revelation of Jesus, “This has no relevance to my life.” Subtler is the complaint, “Preachers have been talking about the signs of the times for years, but life still goes on.” To this Peter continues, “But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day” (2 Peter 3:8). What is time to an eternal God?[Illus.] According to Albert Einstein’s Theory of Relativity, time increasingly slows down as an object nears the speed of light (that’s about 186,300 miles/second, or, for the race car enthusiast, 700 million miles/hour!), a phenomenon Einstein called “time dilation.” (And here, many scientists believe that when an object meets the speed of light, to that object, time stands still.) So, what is time to God, the very One who spoke light into being?! He himself is not subject to time, but uses time to advance His will. And, by His own Word, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:8-9). [Main Point] John’s Greeting and Hymn of Praise Declare That It’s All About Jesus!—1:4-6 [It is recommended that the minister leads the congregation in reading all of these verses.] [Exp.] Under the Spirit’s anointing, John addresses this Revelation “To the seven churches in the province of Asia” (v. 4). Without question, these were seven real churches including all of the believers who lived in seven ancient cities; and, all of these were near to each other in the area known today as western Turkey. As we soon come to Chapters 2 and 3, we will learn much more of the spiritual “ups” and “downs” of these very real churches and their remarkable resemblance to the real-life experiences—both good and bad—of churches down through the centuries. Most importantly, we will hear for ourselves Christ’s own words to those He knows best.To believers then and now, John speaks “grace,” undeserved loving-kindness and favor—and, “peace,” rest and calm assurance that comes from a harmonious relationship with God. Though both of these can be given and received on a human level, John is clear that the blessings he desires for his readers come from all three persons of the Trinity. The Father first is described as the One “who is, and who was, and who is to come.” He is the One who revealed Himself to Moses as the “I am who I am” (Exodus 3:14), the timeless and self-existent One, the One who lives in eternal “nowness.” But, “grace” and “peace” are also sent “from the seven spirits before His throne” (v. 4). We will hear John speak of these “seven spirits” again in 4:5 and 5:6. Yet, because we know, according to Ephesians 4:4, that there is only one Spirit of God, this can only apply to the “seven-fold” ministry of the Spirit of God “sent out into all the earth” (Revelation 5:6). This same idea—which may through use of the number “seven” speak of the Spirit’s completeness of ministry—is captured in Isaiah 11:2, “The Spirit?of the?Lord?will rest on him—the Spirit of wisdom?and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the?Lord […]” [App.] Do you know, do you live in this “grace” and “peace” promised from the Father and sent by His Spirit? What the world could never deliver and what you and I could never deserve, our Father has freely given, rooted and grounded in His very own unchanging nature. Read the words of this promise again and receive it as your own—unmerited favor and calm assurance—“grace and peace to you.” [Exp.] John continues now to say that “grace” and “peace” also proceed “from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness” (v. 5), most likely Christ’s “witness” of the Father. One of many passages in the Gospel of John that demonstrate this “witness” is found in John 14:8-9. To Philip’s request to “show us the Father and that will be enough for us,” Jesus replied, “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” John goes on in v. 5 to describe Jesus as “the firstborn from the dead.” To the hasty and cultic claim that one who is “born” can be neither eternal nor divine, we need only to understand the use of the word “firstborn” (prōtotokos) in the 1st Century Greek world. While it is true that Jesus was in His human nature born of Mary, “and she gave birth to her firstborn [prōtotokos], a son” (Luke 2:7), this term was also regularly used in the ancient world to indicate rulership and preeminence. In the Old Testament Scriptures, we see this idea in God’s words through Jeremiah, “I am Israel’s father and Ephraim is my first born” (31:9), when in fact Manasseh was the older of Joseph’s two sons, not Ephraim. In much the same way in modern English, we call the wife of a president or governor “first lady,” not because of her age, but because of her position of prominence.Carrying further this idea of supremacy, John now identifies Jesus as “the ruler of the kings of the earth” (v. 5). Though the rule and realm of Christ’s Kingdom will certainly be realized in all the world when He comes to earth a second time, John also sees the present reality of His rule (here, grammatically tied to His faithful witness and to His resurrection accomplished in His First Coming).[Exp.] Having honored the Godhead in his greeting, John now bursts into a hymn of praise to Jesus, “To him who loves us?and has freed us from our sins by his blood […]” (v. 5b). We remember the words of Paul in Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” We rejoice with John and Paul that the same love of God that caused Jesus to shed His blood for us once and for all on the cross is also now an ongoing, present reality in the life of the believer. And, while the blood that reconciles us to God assures us of His love, it has also “freed [‘loosed or released’] us from our sins.” Victory through the blood of Jesus, the Lamb, is the constant theme of this Revelation and the endless song of the Redeemed as will be seen in many verses to come.Set free from our sins by Christ’s blood, we are now able to fulfill our greatest calling as “a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father” (v. 6; and, Revelation 5:10). Listen, as the Apostle Peter captures, both, the royal and the priestly aspects of our high calling through Christ in 1 Peter 2:5 and 9a, “[…] you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ [. . .] But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession.” As citizens of Heaven, we have already inherited our royal and authoritative place in God’s Kingdom. Indeed, the Kingdom that fills our hearts now in this … end of sample.Download the full sermon series kit from ................
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