Monday, November 06, 2006
Revelation 1:1-7 ~ Jeff Ludington
Intro/Revelation 1:1-7
Series on Worship:
Romans 12:1-2
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will.
What is worship?
· Living a life poured out for God!
· A posture more than an action.
Read Revelation 1:1-7
Revelation:
· What are we going to do with such a book?
· What does it mean?
· Why was it written?
· What is it’s purpose now?
· Why is it so hard to understand?
· When will it all take place?
These are the questions you normally hear!
· A lot of the questions are answered right in the first verses
Vs. 1a
The revelation of Jesus Christ
· The point of the whole book is the Revelation of Jesus Christ
· Jesus being revealed to us
o Who is us?
o Those it was written to then (we will talk about more fully)
o Those of us who read these words today
Revelation defined:
· The act of revealing or disclosing
· Something revealed or disclosed, especially something not before realized
· Theology: the act of God revealing Himself to humanity
Just in the name of the book itself, it should dissolve some of the weird mystique that comes with the book of Revelation.
· It means that God wants you to understand
· It is written that you might “get it” not leave confused!
Who is Jesus?
· Jewish mindset …
· Catholic mindset …
· Protestant mindset …
· Biblical presentation of Jesus:
o King of Kings
o Lord of Lords
o Alpha and Omega
o King on a throne
o Ruler and Judge of the Earth
How does that differ from how we think?
How will that shape our worship?
Vs 1a continued…
The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place.
· So why has God given us this revelation?
· So that we would understand what will SOON take place.
How many married men to we have here tonight?
· If you told your wife that you would be home from work “SOON”, what would she expect?
· If you showed up the following day, would that be ok?
· NO!!!
Why?
· Because soon means soon!
· Confusion comes right here, when people begin to re-define words
· “Well, with God, a day is like a thousand years”
· God is not writing to God, He is writing to Humanity.
o Soon, still means soon.
o This is a book of things we will experience in life!
Vs. 1b-2
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.
· Jesus sent a messenger, a heavenly being in this case, directly to John
· John in turn testifies to all that he saw
What did he see?
· He saw Jesus!
· He saw the Word of God (John calls him the Word in his Gospel)
· And he saw the story of Jesus complete!
What is the story of Jesus complete?
· Jesus, no longer the Galilean peasant, humbled by a human body
· Jesus, high and exalted
o Seated on His throne
o Ruling over all creation
o Worshipped by Angels and Elders
o Speaking to the Church
· That is who John saw!
Vs. 3
3 Blessed is the one who reads 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.
· The first of 7 Beatitudes in Revelation
o A beatitude is defined as a supreme blessing bringing happiness, and capitalized when spoken by Jesus
o This is a supreme blessing for your/my joy and happiness
· It is not a book meant to confuse us!
It is a letter from the Apostle, given by Jesus, meant to bless us!!!
Vs. 4a
John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia:
John:
· Who is this John?
· David is going to come do a short bio
· We have hand outs if you would like to take one home with you
7 Churches in Asia:
· Is this 7 Eras of Church History?
o No, we are not dispensationalists
· Is this some metaphoric picture of the fullness of the church?
o No, these are real churches
o This may encompass a fullness of churches throughout history
§ But that is not the meaning
· This is simply 7 churches that existed in this time when John was alive?
7 Real Live Churches:
· Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicea
· All real churches in Asia Minor (Modern Day Turkey)
· All relative to us as a church today
Have you ever read an affirmation of someone in the bible, and think “I have that strength”? – or the opposite?
· Did all strengths or weaknesses have to have your name on them for a verse to speak to you?
· No, it just relates in some ways, sometimes; and in other ways, other times.
· Same as these 7 churches.
All real churches:
· All with real people
· Real strengths
· Real weaknesses
· We will look at them at length over the next month
Original Audience:
· The same is true here
· 7 churches were written to
· But the writings apply to us today
· Just like when Paul writes to Corinth, we don’t ditch it because it wasn’t written to us.
· The Original Audience was the 7 Churches, and today’s audience is us
Vs. 4b
Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne,
· Who is eternal, without beginning or end?
o Only the Godhead: Father, Son, and Spirit
· John writes, “Grace to you from Jesus”
“Grace and Peace to you”
· Not confusion and endless debates about prophecy
· But grace and peace
· This letter of poetry should bring grace (salvation) and peace to your life
“7 Spirits before His throne”
· What is this?
· Is it some mysterious form of the Holy Spirit with 7 manifestations?
o Just kidding, but people really get carried away here!!!
The Jewish mind equated the throne of God with the Eastern Monarch thrones of the Persians
· Around each such Persian throne would be seven attending ministers to the king himself
o Messengers,
o Gophers
o Whatever…
· So they supposed that God had seven attending angels around the throne in Heaven
o Here we are to see what they are about to do
o But first, who are they?
· They are just simply angels
· Other places in Jewish writings talk about the 7 angels around the throne
Tobit 12:15:
I am Raphael, one of the SEVEN HOLY ANGELS which present the prayers of the saints, and which go in and out before the glory of the Holy One.
And in Jonathan ben Uzziel's Targum:
Genesis 11:7
“God said to the SEVEN ANGELS which stand before him, Come now let us go down and confuse their language”
Revelation Passages:
These seven spirits are angels called the seven spirits of God
Revelation 3:1
“"To the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.”
Revelation 4:5
“From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God.”
Revelation 5:6
“Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.”
Remember: it is all one verse:
John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne,
· John writing, by revelation from Jesus
· To 7 churches in Asia
· Grace and Peace
o From God
o And from His 7 messengers that are about to visit the 7 churches
o Chapter 2-3
Vs. 5a
… and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
· This is like saying, don’t forget, Jesus is trustworthy
o He is able to do all that He says
o He has proved himself trustworthy
· He is the one who said He would rise again, and did
· As well as being King of all the rulers of the Earth
Vs. 5b
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood,
· As we see later Jesus as judge of the Earth, it is important to remember that He is Savior
· He loves us
· He freed us from sin, by His own blood as a penalty for us!!!
Vs. 6
… and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father — to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.
· Not only did this great and wonderful God named Jesus die for us
· He gave us life!
· He gave us a kingdom and a job as priests
· Our purpose is to serve God the Father and give Him glory
That is worship!!!
· To serve God the Father
· And to give God glory!
· That is a life poured out for God
· That is a posture that is worthwhile
Vs. 7
Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be! Amen.
· Here is where people freak out, and start getting all “Hollywood” on us!
· If we don’t try to do one of two things to this book, we will make it easier on ourselves
o One: it isn’t a linear play that says that verse 1:7 has to happen before chapter 19
o Two: if we don’t try and force the things into the verse
· This verse simply implies that Jesus will return from where he went
· And, since it speaks to those who killed him, and mourning
o It probably refers to Him coming as judge
o Jesus is coming back
§ To be God to us
§ But… He will condemn those who are not His own
Here is what we will not do in Revelation:
· We will not teach this as a linear book.
o Nothing tells us that it should be read as such
o Right in the middle - Chapter 14 - recounts the birth of Christ and the struggle by Satan to kill him
o Not easy to fit in a linear timeline!
· We will not teach this as limited to Eschatology
o I see it mostly as the Millennium playing out in our life
o Dean, Gary, Bill, and I all have differing opinions
o We all agree that it is NOT A SALVATION issue
What should we be taking home from this?
· It is for today
· It is for you
· It was written by a man who worshipped like no one else
o Why?
o Because John knew Jesus like no one else did
· It was written by a man who knew suffering
o Nero
o Domitian
o Imprisoned for the Gospel
o Beaten for the Gospel
o Boiled in oil over the name of Jesus
o Isolated on Patmos for the Gospel
o BUT HE WORSHIPPED JUST THE SAME!!!
Therefore:
· We need to know Jesus better
· That will lead to better worship
· Despite all the suffering we are guaranteed in life
o We are called to worship.
Revelation 1:4-5
Grace and peace to you from Him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
Series on Worship:
Romans 12:1-2
Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God — this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will.
What is worship?
· Living a life poured out for God!
· A posture more than an action.
Read Revelation 1:1-7
Revelation:
· What are we going to do with such a book?
· What does it mean?
· Why was it written?
· What is it’s purpose now?
· Why is it so hard to understand?
· When will it all take place?
These are the questions you normally hear!
· A lot of the questions are answered right in the first verses
Vs. 1a
The revelation of Jesus Christ
· The point of the whole book is the Revelation of Jesus Christ
· Jesus being revealed to us
o Who is us?
o Those it was written to then (we will talk about more fully)
o Those of us who read these words today
Revelation defined:
· The act of revealing or disclosing
· Something revealed or disclosed, especially something not before realized
· Theology: the act of God revealing Himself to humanity
Just in the name of the book itself, it should dissolve some of the weird mystique that comes with the book of Revelation.
· It means that God wants you to understand
· It is written that you might “get it” not leave confused!
Who is Jesus?
· Jewish mindset …
· Catholic mindset …
· Protestant mindset …
· Biblical presentation of Jesus:
o King of Kings
o Lord of Lords
o Alpha and Omega
o King on a throne
o Ruler and Judge of the Earth
How does that differ from how we think?
How will that shape our worship?
Vs 1a continued…
The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place.
· So why has God given us this revelation?
· So that we would understand what will SOON take place.
How many married men to we have here tonight?
· If you told your wife that you would be home from work “SOON”, what would she expect?
· If you showed up the following day, would that be ok?
· NO!!!
Why?
· Because soon means soon!
· Confusion comes right here, when people begin to re-define words
· “Well, with God, a day is like a thousand years”
· God is not writing to God, He is writing to Humanity.
o Soon, still means soon.
o This is a book of things we will experience in life!
Vs. 1b-2
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.
· Jesus sent a messenger, a heavenly being in this case, directly to John
· John in turn testifies to all that he saw
What did he see?
· He saw Jesus!
· He saw the Word of God (John calls him the Word in his Gospel)
· And he saw the story of Jesus complete!
What is the story of Jesus complete?
· Jesus, no longer the Galilean peasant, humbled by a human body
· Jesus, high and exalted
o Seated on His throne
o Ruling over all creation
o Worshipped by Angels and Elders
o Speaking to the Church
· That is who John saw!
Vs. 3
3 Blessed is the one who reads 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.
· The first of 7 Beatitudes in Revelation
o A beatitude is defined as a supreme blessing bringing happiness, and capitalized when spoken by Jesus
o This is a supreme blessing for your/my joy and happiness
· It is not a book meant to confuse us!
It is a letter from the Apostle, given by Jesus, meant to bless us!!!
Vs. 4a
John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia:
John:
· Who is this John?
· David is going to come do a short bio
· We have hand outs if you would like to take one home with you
7 Churches in Asia:
· Is this 7 Eras of Church History?
o No, we are not dispensationalists
· Is this some metaphoric picture of the fullness of the church?
o No, these are real churches
o This may encompass a fullness of churches throughout history
§ But that is not the meaning
· This is simply 7 churches that existed in this time when John was alive?
7 Real Live Churches:
· Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicea
· All real churches in Asia Minor (Modern Day Turkey)
· All relative to us as a church today
Have you ever read an affirmation of someone in the bible, and think “I have that strength”? – or the opposite?
· Did all strengths or weaknesses have to have your name on them for a verse to speak to you?
· No, it just relates in some ways, sometimes; and in other ways, other times.
· Same as these 7 churches.
All real churches:
· All with real people
· Real strengths
· Real weaknesses
· We will look at them at length over the next month
Original Audience:
· The same is true here
· 7 churches were written to
· But the writings apply to us today
· Just like when Paul writes to Corinth, we don’t ditch it because it wasn’t written to us.
· The Original Audience was the 7 Churches, and today’s audience is us
Vs. 4b
Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne,
· Who is eternal, without beginning or end?
o Only the Godhead: Father, Son, and Spirit
· John writes, “Grace to you from Jesus”
“Grace and Peace to you”
· Not confusion and endless debates about prophecy
· But grace and peace
· This letter of poetry should bring grace (salvation) and peace to your life
“7 Spirits before His throne”
· What is this?
· Is it some mysterious form of the Holy Spirit with 7 manifestations?
o Just kidding, but people really get carried away here!!!
The Jewish mind equated the throne of God with the Eastern Monarch thrones of the Persians
· Around each such Persian throne would be seven attending ministers to the king himself
o Messengers,
o Gophers
o Whatever…
· So they supposed that God had seven attending angels around the throne in Heaven
o Here we are to see what they are about to do
o But first, who are they?
· They are just simply angels
· Other places in Jewish writings talk about the 7 angels around the throne
Tobit 12:15:
I am Raphael, one of the SEVEN HOLY ANGELS which present the prayers of the saints, and which go in and out before the glory of the Holy One.
And in Jonathan ben Uzziel's Targum:
Genesis 11:7
“God said to the SEVEN ANGELS which stand before him, Come now let us go down and confuse their language”
Revelation Passages:
These seven spirits are angels called the seven spirits of God
Revelation 3:1
“"To the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.”
Revelation 4:5
“From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God.”
Revelation 5:6
“Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.”
Remember: it is all one verse:
John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne,
· John writing, by revelation from Jesus
· To 7 churches in Asia
· Grace and Peace
o From God
o And from His 7 messengers that are about to visit the 7 churches
o Chapter 2-3
Vs. 5a
… and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
· This is like saying, don’t forget, Jesus is trustworthy
o He is able to do all that He says
o He has proved himself trustworthy
· He is the one who said He would rise again, and did
· As well as being King of all the rulers of the Earth
Vs. 5b
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood,
· As we see later Jesus as judge of the Earth, it is important to remember that He is Savior
· He loves us
· He freed us from sin, by His own blood as a penalty for us!!!
Vs. 6
… and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father — to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.
· Not only did this great and wonderful God named Jesus die for us
· He gave us life!
· He gave us a kingdom and a job as priests
· Our purpose is to serve God the Father and give Him glory
That is worship!!!
· To serve God the Father
· And to give God glory!
· That is a life poured out for God
· That is a posture that is worthwhile
Vs. 7
Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be! Amen.
· Here is where people freak out, and start getting all “Hollywood” on us!
· If we don’t try to do one of two things to this book, we will make it easier on ourselves
o One: it isn’t a linear play that says that verse 1:7 has to happen before chapter 19
o Two: if we don’t try and force the things into the verse
· This verse simply implies that Jesus will return from where he went
· And, since it speaks to those who killed him, and mourning
o It probably refers to Him coming as judge
o Jesus is coming back
§ To be God to us
§ But… He will condemn those who are not His own
Here is what we will not do in Revelation:
· We will not teach this as a linear book.
o Nothing tells us that it should be read as such
o Right in the middle - Chapter 14 - recounts the birth of Christ and the struggle by Satan to kill him
o Not easy to fit in a linear timeline!
· We will not teach this as limited to Eschatology
o I see it mostly as the Millennium playing out in our life
o Dean, Gary, Bill, and I all have differing opinions
o We all agree that it is NOT A SALVATION issue
What should we be taking home from this?
· It is for today
· It is for you
· It was written by a man who worshipped like no one else
o Why?
o Because John knew Jesus like no one else did
· It was written by a man who knew suffering
o Nero
o Domitian
o Imprisoned for the Gospel
o Beaten for the Gospel
o Boiled in oil over the name of Jesus
o Isolated on Patmos for the Gospel
o BUT HE WORSHIPPED JUST THE SAME!!!
Therefore:
· We need to know Jesus better
· That will lead to better worship
· Despite all the suffering we are guaranteed in life
o We are called to worship.
Revelation 1:4-5
Grace and peace to you from Him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
