31/08/25 // Prepare For Revelation // Dave Watmore

Podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/354059/episodes/17762067-31-08-25-prepare-for-revelation-dave-watmore.mp3

Dave gives a pre-introduction to both our week of prayer (7th to 14th Sept) and our forthcoming preaching series looking at the book of Revelation. 

Don't limit what God can do because you are looking through the binoculars the wrong way.

Preface to Revelation

Introduction
We will be preaching on the book of Revelation of Jesus Christ in the next few months.
I met someone who I respected very much, some years ago, that said “Jesus was 100% man and 100% God – work that one out!”
I have recently been wrestling with this issue in the context of studying the book of the Revelation Of Jesus Christ and a commentary I read by Phil Moore.

First let us look at the context;
The gospel of John was written AD 85-90, 20 years or so after Matthew, Mark and Luke. The book of Revelation was written in AD95.
What I have been looking at and studying the change from the image of the God man to the glorified risen Christ who is seated on the throne.

Let me make this clear first!
I am very much in favour of talking to Jesus as a friend, as a brother as a confidant. However, we also must remember he is the glorified and risen Christ, seated on the throne in heaven and this should challenge our concept of Jesus but propel us to pray with a rising faith and adoration for who has saved us.

John starts off in his gospel stating Jesus’ deity.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

Then he describes Jesus turning water into wine, telling a woman how many husbands she has had, rescuing a woman from a self-righteous mob, seeing Jesus transfigured before his eyes, seeing Jesus arrested, tried and crucified – then rising from the dead, walking through walls to be in a locked room and even ascending to heaven.

John doesn’t fall flat on his face until he sees the glorified, risen Jesus in his natural place, seated at the right hand of God.

Why? The glory of God. What is the glory of God?
·      It is not just a bright light.
·      John sees Jesus as holy
·      John sees Jesus as perfection beyond our scale of perfect.
·      The glory reveals the wisdom of Jesus
·      The glory reveals that Jesus has created everything in heaven and on earth.
·      The glory shows that Jesus knows everyone and everything about everyone that has lived and died and is still to be born.
·      The glory of God reveals his beauty.
·      The glory of God reveals that he loves us even before the beginning of time, whoever we are, whatever we have done and yet that is why he was sent to rescue mankind and was prepared to suffer the pain and torture of crucifixion because he loves us unbelievably.

This vision of Jesus that John experienced was no accident, not a conjuring up of spiritual fervour.
The clue is in the name. Revelation.
Jesus revealed himself to John not as the human form of God but as the fullness of God who spoke and the stars came into being etc.
The revelation of Jesus on the throne, in his glorified body was to encourage the persecuted church that there is a hope and a future not JUST in death but NOW.
So, when we pray, pray to the Jesus who carries you in times of great emotional and physical stress but has all the power and authority to know what you are going through.
What do we do about this? What is my point?

Let us meditate on the word of God.

Here are some examples;
Colossians 1 v 15 - 20
John 17 20 - 24
Revelation 1 v12-18
Colossians 2 9-10