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38th Street Church of Christ 3904 38th Street NW Canton, Ohio 44718 330-492-5523 Fax: 330-493-7119 |
“Revelation: God's Vision of Victory” |
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I. Introduction.
A. Begin with READING of Scripture Text.B. One thing we must keep in mind as we look at
“Revelation,” is that the vision is really a letter, addressed
to the “. . . seven churches which are in Asia.” (verse 4).
Like all letters, it has a beginning (salutation), and an end
(conclusion or, in spiritual terms, a benediction).1. The message of the letter is, thus, bracketed
between a “Prologue” and an “Epilogue.” These
two sections form “bookends” which define, and
limit, what the revelation is all about.2. What you find in the “Prologue” is repeated, in some form, in the “Epilogue.” The intent is to stress the importance, and urgency, of the message.
3. For example, Chapter 1, verse 1 says: “The
Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to
show His servants – things which must shortly
(i.e. soon) take place . . .” Chapter 22:6: “Then he
said to me, ‘These words are faithful and true.’
And the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His
angel to show His servants the things which must
shortly take place.”4. Another such example of parallelism is
Chapter 1:3: “Blessed is he who reads and those
who hear the words of this prophesy, . . .” and,
Chapter 22:7: “Behold, I am coming quickly!
Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy
of this book.”5. The intent of the “Prologue” and “Epilogue” is not
just to open, and conclude, the letter (or
“prophecy”), but to set some timetable for the events about to occur among the churches of Asia, and to stress the urgency of the prophecy (it was to be constantly read, heard, and kept).C. In the New Testament, “Asia” is not what we know as that
vast far-eastern continent, but the Roman territory
designated as such.1. This area had once been the kingdom of Attalus III,
and at his death, he had willed it to the Romans.2. It included the western coastal region of the larger
geographic area called “Asia Minor,” bordering on
the Mediterranean Sea, and the provinces of
Phrygia, Mysia, Caria, and Lycia, further from the
coast. The “capital” of “Asia” was the city of
Pergamos.D. The letter is addressed to seven churches – all named in
1:11 (READ names). These were not the only churches in
Asia. Other congregations were located at Colossae
(Colossians 1:2), Hieropolis (Colossians 4:13), Troas
(II Corinthians 2:12; Acts 20:5), Miletus (Acts 20:17),
Magnesia, and Tralles. Why, then, single out seven
churches to write to? There can be certain reasons:1. The seven churches mentioned, and addressed,
were in centers of population, commerce, and
power. They were all on a major highway
system that made a circuit around the province.
Any communication made to them could easily
circulate in the areas of which they were centers.2. Troas was not on a major road, but Hieropolis
and Colossae were within walking distance of
Laodicea; Tralles, Magnesia, and Miletus were all
close to Ephesus. As every letter had to be hand-
written, it would need to be sent to the place where
it could most-easily reach the greatest number of
people.3. Also, remember, “Revelation” is written in
figurative language. The very number “7”, has a
significance, and appears again and again in the
text. In fact, it appears 54 times in the book. There
are:a. Seven golden lampstands (1:12).
b. Seven stars (1:16).
c. Seven lamps of fire (4:5); seven seals (5:1);
seven horns and seven eyes (5:6); seven
Spirits of God (5:6).d. Seven thunders (10:3); seven angels,
plagues, and vials (15:6-8).4. The number “7” was, symbolically, regarded to
represent perfection – and it stands for
completeness. Therefore, it is suggested, when the
letter was addressed to the seven churches, it was,
in fact, being directed to the whole (complete)
church, wherever it was. Often, John says: “He
who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to
the churches” (chapters 2 and 3). John wrote to the
whole church and to us as well; the church of
succeeding generations.II. The Salutation To The Churches.
A. John begins in typical New Testament fashion: with a
blessing of “grace” (i.e. God’s unmerited favor) and
“peace” (spiritual prosperity and inner strength).
(verse 4).1. The greeting and blessing come directly from the
eternal God (“. . . from Him who is and was and
who is to come, . . .), from the Holy Spirit
(“. . . the seven Spirits who are before His throne),
and from Jesus, the Son (“. . . the faithful witness,
the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the
kings of the earth. . .”) (verse 5).2. Since this is the “Revelation of Jesus Christ”
(1:1) let us focus on verses 5 and 6.B. First, there are three titles ascribed to Jesus.
1. He is “. . . the faithful witness . . .” It is a constant
theme of John’s gospel that Jesus is a witness of the
truth and the things of God.a. John 3:11: “Most assuredly, I say to you,
We speak what We know and testify what
We have seen, and you do not receive Our
witness.”b. John 18:37: “. . . You say rightly that I am a
king. For this cause I was born, and for this
cause I have come into the world, that I
should bear witness to the truth. Everyone
who is of the truth hears My voice.”c. A “witness” is, above all, one who speaks
from first-hand knowledge. A witness tells
what his eyes have seen and his ears have
heard. Jesus is able to speak first-hand
about God and God’s truth – as no one else
can. And, what He says can be relied upon
as true. (“faithful”).2. He is “. . . the firstborn from the dead . . .” He is the
first to be resurrected, never to die again. Through
that resurrection, all who believe and obey Him can
be raised to eternal life. There is another,
secondary, meaning here, as well. Jesus is the
“first-born son”, the heir to His Father’s honor and
power.a. Apostle Paul describes Jesus:
(Colossians 1:15: “He is the image of the
invisible God, the firstborn over all
creation.”). Jesus is Lord of the universe.b. To Him belongs the first, and unique, place
of honor and glory.3. He is “. . . the ruler over the kings of the earth.”
This reminds one of the words of Psalm 89:27:
“. . . I will make him My firstborn, the highest of
the kings of the earth.” Jewish scholars always took
this to be a reference to the Messiah. The promise
was fulfilled in Jesus.a. In the accounts of Satan’s temptations of
Jesus (Matthew 4; Luke 4), the devil
offered Jesus all the kingdoms of the earth
and the glory of them.b. What Satan offered (and could not give)
Jesus gained for Himself as the risen Lord.
No compromise with evil, but His love and
devotion to His Father and humanity,
brought Jesus His place as “King of kings
and Lord of lords.”C. There are, also, two indications of what Jesus did for
mankind.1. He “. . . loved us and washed us from our sins in
His own blood.” Jesus paid for our redemption
with His life, His blood.2. He “. . . made us kings and priests to His God and
Father . . .” There are two things specified.a. Jesus made us royalty. Through Him, we
may become true children of God, and
“. . . if children, then heirs – heirs of God
and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we
suffer with Him, that we may also be
glorified together.” (Romans 8:17). We are
inheritors of eternal life along with the
“King of kings.”b. Jesus made us priests. Under the first
covenant, the priests came before God
for the people. The prophet Isaiah
foretold: “But you shall be named the
priests of the Lord, . . .” (Isaiah 61:6).
In the coming times, every one of the
people would be a priest and everyone
would have access to God. There is a
“priesthood” under the second covenant
(READ Hebrews 10:19-22). Jesus is
that “. . . new and living way . . .” into the
presence of God.D. Jesus will come as sovereign Lord (“. . . to Him be glory
and dominion forever and ever . . .”), bringing righteous
judgment on all who oppose God and His people.1. In verse 7, John sets down an important message
for all disciples who suffer persecution: (READ).
The triumphant return of Christ would rescue
those in “tribulation”, and would be the end of all
the enemies of God and His people.2. In verse 8, you find two great descriptions of God
and His Son: (READ). He is eternal (the “Alpha”
and the “Omega”), and He is “Almighty.”III. The Voice And The Vision.
A. From Revelation 1:9 through 1:20, the tone for the whole
letter is set.1. John, like the disciples in Asia, is experiencing
“tribulation” – and he links such tribulation with
both the kingdom of God and with patient
endurance.2. Surely, one of the great themes of “Revelation” is
that the faithful endurance of tribulation will bring
the reward of a shared reign in the kingdom of God.
Christians were not to venerate, or to worship, an
Emperor as a divine ruler, but worship only God
and venerate only His Son as divine. Jesus is
Lord – not Caesar!B. On the “Lord’s Day”, John hears a voice – and sees a
vision, a vision of Jesus unlike any he had previously
experienced.1. Jesus appears divinely clothed – the powerful
and victorious “Son of Man” (Daniel 7), who now
comes to exercise judgment (represented by the
“two-edged sword”) over those who rebel against
God.2. There can be no mistaking who the vision
represents: (READ verses 17-18).3. John is then instructed to write an account of the
vision he sees regarding what is about to come upon
the already-persecuted churches.C. The final statement (verse 20) of Jesus reveals the mystery
of the vision.1. Jesus holds seven stars in His right hand, and there
are seven golden lampstands in the midst of which
He stands (verses 12-13).2. The lampstands (representative of the Jewish
Menorah) are faithful witnesses – as they shed the
light of God. That’s what the seven churches are
intended to be: faithful witnesses of Jesus and
God’s plan of salvation.3. The seven stars are seven angels, servants of God
who do His bidding. They represent messengers to
the churches – the divine presence. Each angel is
associated with one of the seven churches.IV. Conclusion.
A. We must now turn our attention to the messages to the
seven churches, the imperfect church.B. As we move through the letter of “Revelation”, let’s
keep our main point in mind – endurance, faithfulness,
perseverance brings victory – and perfection. That’s the
ultimate vision of “Revelation.”