Revelation 1:1-8

Sermon first preached on 26 September 2010. New episodes will be released once or twice a week.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Let's pray and ask for God's help as we start to look at Revelation together. Heavenly Father, your Bible is full of many different books, some of which seem very easy when we pick up and start to read, others of which seem more mysterious, and revelation is certainly at that more mysterious end. But I pray that as we look at it now and over the coming weeks, that we wouldn't be afraid of it, but that you would help us to understand and to hear your voice and to take to heart the words that are written in it. Please help me as I speak now, and please help all of us here to listen, to learn, not just in our heads, but in our hearts and in our lives. For your name's sake, we pray. Amen. During my kind of reading and research for this sermon, this kind of introductory sermon to the series that we're starting, I came across this. It's a story told by an American pastor, a guy called Bernard Travaill, I hope I've pronounced his name right, an American pastor, and he tells this story about an episode in his youth. So he writes There was no gymnasium on our seminary campus. So we played basketball at a nearby school. And the janitor, an old black man with white hair, would wait patiently until we had finished playing. Invariably he sat there reading his Bible. One day I went up to him and I inquired, What are you reading? And the man did not simply reply, the Bible. Instead, he answered, the book of Revelation. With a bit of surprise, I said, The Book of Revelation? Do you understand it? Oh yes, the man assured me. I understand it. You understand the Book of Revelation. Well, what does it mean? Very quietly, that old janitor answered, it means that Jesus is gonna win. Jesus is gonna win. And that actually is a brilliant summary of this mysterious and challenging book. That is what Revelation is all about. The final, the ultimate, the definitive, the certain, the undisputable, the absolute victory of Jesus Christ. You see, Revelation is a book that was written to a group of churches in what Revelation calls the province of Asia, which is what we call Turkey. And these were a group of churches who were about to experience an unprecedented level of persecution. You see, in the Roman world of the time, you were pretty much expected to worship the emperor. And if you didn't, well, you might risk death. Now, of course, no Christian can worship a human emperor, especially not one who insists that you call him Lord and God. And therefore, Christians were in very deep trouble. If they remained faithful to God, they could expect terrible suffering, very real persecution, and perhaps even martyrdom. And so you can understand their temptation, can't you? What do you do? Do you deny Christ and worship this emperor? It would make life a lot easier. Do you become a Jew? You see, Jews had protected status. They didn't have to worship the emperor. That again would buy you safety, even though it meant abandoning your claims about the lip about the risen Jesus Christ. Or do you remain faithful and accept what's coming? Well, Revelation was written to be a huge encouragement to these churches. And I mean encouragement in the literal sense of the word. Have you ever thought what the word encourage means? Encourage, to put courage in, to give courage. So this is a book that was meant to give courage to these churches. It's a book that basically says this is why you need to remain faithful to Christ, and this is how you can do it. And my machine is not working. There you go. I don't know if I did that or if Will did at the back, but either way, we got there. So look, I hope that you can see then why this is going to be a great book to study. I know some of you will be thinking, why are we doing Revelation here when the Christian Union at Nottingham University are also doing Revelation? Well, they're only doing a bit of it. They're doing two chapters, chapter two and three. We're doing the whole lot. We're starting now, and it's gonna we're gonna spend three terms on it. And I hope you will see that the two chapters that the CU are doing are brilliant, but as are all the other chapters of this book, and I think it will be great for us to go through it together. So, this book that is saying this is why you need to remain faithful to Christ, and this is how you can do it, is a book that is going to be very helpful to us. Here in England, we don't face the same danger of martyrdom that those first Christians did. There are sadly many parts of the world where that is not the case. One set of figures that I found suggested that 200 million Christians in over 60 countries face some sort of persecution every day, and 60% of those are children. There are, did you know, an estimated 150 to 165,000 Christian martyrs. So there are parts of the world where the situation is not that dissimilar from the one that Revelation was written in. But we in the West, well, we don't face anything like that, or at least not at the moment. But we all know, don't we, the pressure to compromise. Whether it's the students in hall pressured to keep quiet about their faith, or to just blend in so as to have an easier time, perhaps to be more popular. Or the pressure to adopt a completely relativist position in your studies, or the pressure to keep quiet about your faith at work. We may not face martyrdom, but this book is still very relevant for us. And I hope that as we study it together over the next three terms, that you will all find it very encouraging, that it will give courage. Now, if we're going to take courage from this book, we need to understand it rightly. And it is a book that frightens a lot of people. We think we're never going to be able to understand it, and so we don't read it. But actually, if you understand how it works, I think you'll find it's a great book. Now let's have a look at it. Let's start on page 1, 2, 3, 3. And the first verse there, the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. Now, straight away that's told us what this book is, hasn't it? This is a book that reveals Jesus. It's the revelation of Jesus Christ. And it reveals Jesus in preparation for what was about to happen. Now, I've just told you what was about to happen. It was this unprecedented level of persecution that the churches were about to encounter. That's what the words what must soon take place are referring to. Those words there are not talking about the return of Christ. It's often been understood like that, and it greatly confuses things because you think, oh, if it's talking about Christ returning and it talks about that happening soon, and here we are 2,000 years later, with Christ having not yet returned, then you know what's going on? Is this book, did it know what it was talking about, or so on. It's not talking about that. It's talking about the age of persecution that was about to begin and that the church today is still in. And it's important that we notice that this book is the revelation, the revealing of Jesus. Because I think a lot of people think revelation is full of secrets, but it's got hidden messages that if we're really clever, we might tease out. People have found in the book of Revelation secret references to credit cards and to Apache helicopters, to name just a few. But do you see how verse one shows that that sort of interpretation is going to be wrong? Revelation is about revealing things, not hiding them. So we should read it expecting to be shown Christ, not to have things concealed from us. Now, revelation is full of imagery that is very strange to us and needs some unpacking. But let me show you why the imagery is so strange to us. If you look at verse 2 for a moment, how is this revealing of Christ to take place? Okay? What happens is that this guy John, who is one of the disciples and the author of John's Gospel, he is given, via an angel, it seems, a truly remarkable vision of heaven. And then verse 2, he testifies to everything that he saw. So John is given this unusual experience of seeing into heaven, and then he tells us everything he sees. Now, how on earth can John describe to us what he saw in heaven? Let me try and show you the problem by borrowing an illustration from the great New Testament scholar Don Carson. Okay? He talks about a tribe in Papua New Guinea that was, until quite recently, pre-stone age in its technology. Okay? They didn't even have stone tips to their arrows. They're an incredibly unadvanced culture. And I want you to imagine that you're sent there to learn the language. It's never been written down. In fact, there's no writing of any kind in this language. And so you go, you listen very carefully indeed. You take a course in phonetics so that you can hear the strange sounds. You gradually construct an alphabet, and then from this alphabet you create a dictionary, and eventually you can build up sentences, and after perhaps many years of this, you are able to speak the language. That's how Bible translators do it when they go to countries with languages that don't yet have the Bible. So you've spent a number of years out there and you've taught yourself the language. I want you to imagine then the next task that you're set. I want you to imagine that you're given the task of explaining to these people about electricity. Okay? You can only use words that are in their vocabulary. They're not going to have words for wires or generators or electrons. They've got no idea what any of those things are. So how do you do it? Just take a moment, okay, talk to the person next to you, using only the sort of word that they might have in their language, using only words that would describe people the things that people in this tribe would know about, using just those words, tell them about electricity. Okay, go for it. Go on. Right, I'm gonna interrupt you there. And uh I would love to get you all up and uh see how you've done. I'm gonna tell you what Don Carson does, the way he does it, okay? He says, look, I've come to you guys to talk to you about, well, you don't have a word for it, but we call it electricity. And it is like a powerful spirit that runs through things that are a bit like these vines you see in your trees. They're not actually vines. We make them in our big mud huts that we call factories, okay? And we pump this spirit into one end of them, and then we loop these vines from tree to tree, and we bring them into our mud huts through the thatched roofs, and then we connect them to a round thing that we hang from the thatched roof, and this round thing with this spirit becomes like a little sun, and it gives light. And if you had things that we call books, which you don't because you can't write, uh then you could stay up late and read, but as you can't, it doesn't matter. Um but we also connect these vines to other things, and these other things they get hot, and you can put your clay pots on them and you can cook on them. Now, I don't know how you think he's done, I don't know if you think that works, I don't know if you think he's done better than your does anyone want to any advances on his efforts? Someone want to have a go? Carps, you're an electronic engineer. Do you feel you can do better? No. Do you see the problem? If it's difficult to explain electricity to people who have no experience of it, then how on earth is John going to describe to us what he saw in the throne room of God? That's the problem. Of course, he's going to have to use images and metaphors and symbols and so on. And those images may well be alien to us, but actually they would have been quite familiar to many of John's first readers, because they're all images drawn from the Old Testament. Books like Ezekiel and Daniel. We find revelation odd because we don't know our Old Testaments well enough. Now that's always a challenge, isn't it, when we realise this. So look, this book is a revealing of Christ. It's not a hiding of secrets, it's a revealing of Christ that was written so that churches would be prepared for what was about to happen to them, namely terrible persecution. Now, that in itself, before we go any further, shows us something quite interesting, doesn't it? You see, what suffering churches need is not greater security, it's not greater government protection, it's a clearer picture, a clearer revelation of Christ Jesus. Now, if that's what this book is about, if that's why it's written, then that's why, if you look at verse 3, reading or hearing this book brings about great blessing. It was written to be read in churches, so one person would read it, much as Hannah just did earlier on. Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and everyone else would listen, just as hopefully you guys did. Blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what was written in it. This is a book, then, to encourage Christians facing persecution, but it can only do that if you read it and take it to heart. It can't help you at all in your persecution if it stays on your shelf gathering dust, or if it's a section of your Bible that's never opened. But this revealing of Jesus, if you read it, will give you courage to remain faithful to him, even when under great pressure. Take it to heart and you will be blessed by it. That's the promise of this book. That's the promise that I make about this book. Take it to heart and you will be blessed by it. Now that's all by way of introduction. The rest of this passage this evening that we're looking at gives us two of the really big themes of the book in miniature. Okay? Firstly, we're going to see some of the reasons why we should have courage to stay faithful. And then, secondly, we're going to see how we are called, every one of us, we are called to be priests. But then this first section, then, the courage to stay faithful. Now, God is Trinity, okay? Three persons in one God. And we're going to see three reasons to take courage from the three persons of God. The first, very simply, verse four, the Father is in control. Let me read the first bit of verse four. Grace and peace to you from him who is and who was and who is to come. Now, why does John refer to God as the one who is and who was and who is to come? He does something very similar in verse 8, if you look down to that. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last letters of the Greek alphabet. If God was speaking English, he would say, I am the A and the Z, not the Alpha and the Omega. It's the beginning and the end. And you know A to Z maps? They're maps that have got all the roads in it. They cover everything. This is John's way of saying God encompasses everything. He's here now, he was there before time began, and he will be there for the whole of eternity. And do you see how this is the first really big encouragement to a church or to Christians in danger? Because when persecution comes, it might look as if God has nodded off or he's trotted off on holiday somewhere or something like that. But John is saying, no, no, no, God's awake. He's here now, just like he always has been, and he always will be. You may not know what tomorrow holds, but God has got it all covered. The same God who has worked all through history is in control of the future too. So you've got nothing to worry about. And there is one particular, whopping, great event in the future that should particularly be an encouragement to us. It's there in verse 7. Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all the nations of the earth will mourn because of him. So the biggest reason why knowing that God is in control of the future should be a big encouragement to us is that it means the return of Christ is certain. And do you see what the return of Christ will mean there? It means that everyone will see him. Even those who haven't believed in him, who opposed you, and who opposed me, and who opposed all of us, his children, even those who crucified the Lord Jesus, they will all suddenly see the truth. Christians will be proved right. And so when people say to us, you can't really believe in all of that, can you? You can say, Yes, I do believe that. And one day you will see that I am right and you are wrong. Now you might not put it like that, that might not be the most humble or gracious way in which you could put it, but you need it there in your head. Because if you water down what you believe, if you try and change it to fit in with them, then you're gonna look a real idiot when they turn to you and say, ah, so you were right. Shame I convinced you you were wrong, isn't it? You see, Christ returning, every eye will see him, and everyone will know the truth, because everyone will see when Christ returns. And in fact, we're told people will mourn because of him, because he's gonna come with judgments, and that means Christians will be vindicated, we'll be proved right, and our enemies will be defeated. So the first massive encouragement here then is that the father is in control, and that means the future is certain because it's in his hands. So, first encouragement from the Father. The second encouragement: the Spirit is at work. Now you might be puzzled or you might have missed this, because John talks about seven spirits. And this is one of the areas where, if you knew the Old Testament better, you wouldn't be puzzled at all. Because in the Old Testament, seven is a number that simply means perfect. It's the number of completeness, it's talking about fullness and perfection. In fact, you might find that. The translation given in the footnotes of your Bibles a bit more helpful. Do you see it down there right at the bottom? It says, or the sevenfold spirit. And I think that is a better translation. So this letter, then, is not talking about seven separate Holy Spirits. There's still one Holy Spirit. But he is sevenfold in a way that would have meant to ancient Jews utterly perfect. So this letter, which is sent to seven churches, and we'll see more of that in coming weeks, the letter was sent to seven churches, and there is the sevenfold Holy Spirit who is before the throne of God the Father, and who is at work in these seven churches. No church then is without the Holy Spirit, Revelation is showing us. And we'll see what the Holy Spirit does in the churches in the next few weeks, but I'll give you a sneak preview now, just a sneak preview. In chapters two and three, there are letters written to each of the churches, and they all end with the words, He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. So what's the Spirit doing? Well, the Spirit is speaking. He's like a coach at some sporting fixture. He's encouraging, he's directing, he's shaping, he's training, and so on. But more of that in coming weeks. That was just a sneak preview. So the first encouragement is that the Father is in control. The second is that the Spirit is at work, and the third, and the biggest, is that the Son is the faithful witness. Now look, it was the witness of the churches that was putting them in danger. If they shut up about the gospel, if they compromised, they'd be safe in human terms. But their witness to Christ is what made things tricky. But look here, they're reminded that Jesus is the faithful witness. He didn't give up on his mission, his witness. He was persecuted, he was murdered, but he stayed faithful. And that's the model these churches were given to follow. But they weren't just following him like lemmings, okay? They weren't just thinking, oh, well, it's all right for us to die because he had died. No, look, Jesus was the faithful witness, faithful even to the point of death, but he is also the firstborn from the dead. He died, but he rose again. And that is what his followers are often offered to. Yes, they'll die. But as Jesus was the firstborn from the dead, so they will be the secondborn and the thirdborn and the 157th born and the 4,729,361stborn, and so on. You see, following Jesus may well lead to death, but it will lead even more certainly to life after death. So look, John is saying to the churches, what are you afraid of? You see, the worst that can happen to you is that they kill you. But if that happens, well, it's not a big problem, is it? Because Christ will raise you up again. And look, there's one other thing that we need to see about this faithful witness. He died, he rose again, and he is also the ruler of the kings of the earth. Do you see that there? So he's in charge, he's in control even over the people who would persecute you. Once again, we should be encouraged that nothing happens that is outside of his control. And I know that raises big questions about suffering and why does he allow it and so on, and I'm really sorry I've not got time to go into that fully now. But the thing is, suffering is sometimes part of God's plan for us. But it is always a plan that is for our good in the end. And if you want to, there is a sermon that we looked at we looked at this about a year ago as a church. We looked at what it means for God to be in control during suffering or through suffering. And you can find that sermon on the website. If you can't find it, let me know and I'll send you the link. That will hopefully answer some of your questions around this. But look, this Jesus who died and who rose again is in absolute control, and so we have nothing to worry about. So three massive encouragements. We should have courage to stay faithful to Christ because the Father is in control, the Spirit is at work, and the Son is the faithful witness. Now that's the first main theme of the book that these verses have introduced us to. The second is the call to priesthood. And I know my time has nearly gone, but I just want to spend a few very brief minutes on this second section. You see, having told the churches, having told us why we should take courage in the face of persecution, John now tells us the work that we should be getting on with. We're loved. We've been freed from our sins by his blood. And I would love to spend much longer on that, and I will in future weeks. But let me just say now that if you're not absolutely sure in your mind how the blood of Jesus frees us from our sins, then you would benefit very greatly from the identity course that we're going to be running. It's a seven-week introduction to the Christian faith, but more of that another time. But look, we're loved, we're freed, and we're made, it says, into a kingdom of priests. The and there that you've got in your NIV Bibles, it isn't there in the Greek, so cross it out if you want to. What it's a better translation is a kingdom of priests. So the Christians here are priests, all of us. Not just those of us who happen to lead churches. And what is a priest? Well, a priest is someone who brings God to people and who brings people to God. So John is telling us that Jesus has given us the role of bringing God to people and them to him. I'm going to close by reading what Peter Lewis, who is the senior pastor at Cornerstone Church, said about this in a sermon he preached on this passage a few years ago. I think this is a very helpful way of putting it. He says, never forget your priestly place and role. This is a dirty world and it needs washing. A sick world and it needs healing. A lost world and it needs saving. You know where the stain of guilt can be lifted. Lives changed, death defeated. You know God. And then he tells the story of one student who was sharing her faith with a friend in her room. And the other girl was interested, but she wasn't convinced. And in the end, the Christian asked her friend if she could pray with her, and she agreed. And the Christian began to pray. And suddenly her friend began to cry. And breaking off, the Christian said, You know, what on earth is the matter? And this person sobbed, You're actually speaking to him. You can speak to him. That is the human longing for the unknown God. And the deep springs of the heart welling up in wonder that he could be so near and so known. So go out and exercise your priesthood. Tonight, this week, this term, this year. Take courage and be a faithful priest. And I'm going to pray.