Talk: Revelation 1:1-8, Holy Trinity Frogmore, 21st Nov 2004
David Heath-Whyte
NB: This is what I intended to say....
Revelation
not hidden
'New revelations in Prince's school gaff scandal - we have the full story!'
When you want to know what's really going on, behind the scenes, you turn to the tabloids - and there you'll read things that you would never know otherwise. Things that perhaps should remain hidden!
That's what a "revelation" is - and the papers are full of them: making known something that would otherwise be hidden.
God's
And that's what this book is - have a look at v.1: "The revelation of 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."
John is the writer of this book - and that might be the same John who wrote the Gospel, but we just don't know - and it doesn't matter, because John is very keen to stand back out of the spotlight so that the real authors can be seen: God the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ - it is "the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ"
This is Jesus' message to his followers, around the end of the first century, when persecution of Christians was becoming more common.
Jesus lets them know what's really going on, behind the scenes, and what's going to happen - so that they'll keep believing, keep testifying about him, and not give up - so that they'll keep proclaiming the King of Kings, rather than worshipping the Emperor of Rome.
the book 'Revelation'
We're just looking at the introduction to the book, chapter 1, today and in two weeks time - because it speaks about Jesus' 2nd coming, as we give thanks for his first coming.
And I find John's introduction really encouraging: it reminds me why Jesus is so fantastic.
Have a look at v.3: "Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy" - the Revelation was going to be read out to various congregations, and the reader would be blessed, and "blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near."
That could be us, this morning.
John sent this letter to churches in Roman Asia (Western Turkey) - v.4: "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 (that's God the Father), and from the seven spirits before his throne (that's the Holy Spirit - seven is symbolic number, for perfection), and from Jesus Christ..."
What those 1st century Christians heard, and what we can still hear today, is God's message to help Christians to stick with him, in a time when being a real servant of Jesus is unpopular.
God encourages us with these words here - Jesus really is worth it - and here's why: Jesus' Rule (v.5) , his Redemption (v.6), and his Return (v.7)
Jesus' Rule.
First of all: Jesus' Rule.
He's the King, the Sovereign - he's in control. And not just of those who trust in him, but of everyone.
Whether you're facing the Roman Authorities, or the European Parliament, and being told not to worship Jesus - this is great to hear.
They are not in overall control - Jesus is the Sovereign. Jesus Rules.
v.5
In his greeting to the seven churches, John describes Jesus as being, v.5 "the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth."
God the Father is described as "him who is, and who was, and who is to come" - he covers the whole of history - well the same is true of Jesus the Son, and these statements in v.5 tell us about now: who Jesus is.
He's "the faithful witness" - he tells us the truth (about ourselves and about the world), we can trust what he says
He's "the firstborn from the dead"- he is uniquely qualified to rule the world.
Tony Blair and George Bush were elected. Other world leaders bribed or murdered their way to the top, some were just born into the right family.
Jesus' qualification to rule is that he was the first to be raised from the dead, to live forever.
The Bible tells us he has always been the Son of God, since before the universe was created; but his resurrection demonstrates very powerfully, and very uniquely, to us finite human beings with limited understanding, that he is the Lord of the Universe - the one to submit to, the one in control.
"the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth"
The Roman Emperor - who was very terrifying and very powerful, and who could hurt you very badly, is ruled by Jesus, Jesus is in control. The emperor may not submit to Jesus' rule, maybe he rejects it completely, but he is under it, and will pay for his rebellion.
Jesus is the solid rock for the Asian Christians - and for you and me, because of his Rule. He is the sovereign, in control, today.
Gardening know-how!
Let me give you a daft illustration of why that matters:
I'm a rubbish gardener, and I know nothing about plants. So imagine that you, with your expert knowledge of gardening in all its forms, come round while I am planting some bulbs in the garden, and I'm putting them somewhere where they just won't grow (for whatever reason). And you say to me: "that's the wrong place to put those bulbs, let me show you somewhere else!"
And I say to you: "how can you be so rude and intolerent? I've got a right to put these bulbs where I want to put them. It's my garden, and I should be free to plant what I like where I like. I hate you fundamentalists - always trying to get people to do what you want. What kind of intolerant bigot are you?
You leave, hurt and worried: perhaps all your gardening knowledge is just rubbish? maybe you are barking up the wrong tree?
I plant my bulbs - and they're in the wrong place, and they don't grow.
Jesus is the expert - he's the sovereign, the one with the truth - and as you try to share the Good News of Jesus with people, some are like me and my garden bulbs: "don't tell me what's right and what's wrong."
That shakes us - it hurts emotionally, and we worry that we're just being stupid trusting in Jesus - but: their bulbs won't grow (so to speak) Jesus Rules: and only trusting Jesus works, whatever people say.
trust who?
So who is it that you've put our trust in, if you've put your life in Jesus' hands?
In whose name have we come together this morning?
Jesus, who Rules - Jesus the Sovereign, who has control over this world. He's brilliant - and we can trust him.
Jesus' Redemption
Jesus' Rule - the one who is, and the one who was: Jesus' Redemption - something he achieved when he came 2000 years ago.
redemption is...
Redemption is when the price is paid for someone to be freed from a lousy existence to a great existence.
Slavery is still a terrible problem in some parts of the world - in Africa there are aid agencies that actually try to buy slaves so that they can free them. That's redemption. Imagine going to a slave market, and paying for every slave to go free: Redemption.
v.5: "To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 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."
This is why we love to sing Jesus' praise, this is why joy is so central to believing in Jesus: his Redemption of us.
freedom
We can be freed from slavery to sins, into His kingdom to serve God.
slavery
Without Jesus, we are in slavery, to sin. It rules us, and we can't escape from it.
For example, think about how we want things - a better car, telly, garden, whatever.
God says to us: don't covet what you don't have, don't be jealous or greedy. And we say: "what a kill-joy"
So, we need more money for more things - we need to get a better job, or promotion.
And we say to ourselves: it's just this promotion that I'll work late for, and then I won't have to, because I'll have the money, we'll be more comfortable, and I can spend more time at home with the family.
You get the promotion, but somehow you still want more, and need more money... and relationships in the family are more strained than ever, and you've missed out on so much of the kids growing up, and you're still working late....
And where's the joy we thought God was killing? It's just slavery, isn't it?
We're slaves to sin, and that bring God's judgement on us.
the cross
And only Jesus can free us.
How? end of v.5: "by his blood" - by his death on the cross. That is the price that frees us from slavery.
Why? because death is what we deserve from God for the treason of worshipping all these other things instead of him.
But Jesus dies that death on the cross, and the powerful hold that sin has on us is broken by his death on the cross, because God's anger is taken away, and God can forgive us and work in us to change us by his Spirit.
kingdom
Jesus can, because of his death, transform us, change us inside - so that we become, v.6, citizens of his kingdom: instead of being slaves serving sin, we can be priests serving God.
It's great, isn't it - some churches like to single out some people as 'saints' and 'priests' - but God, in the Bible, tells us that every one of us who has turned our lives over to Jesus is a saint (we're set apart for him) and a priest: you and I live our lives to please God and serve God, instead of sin.
it's great
This is Jesus' Redemption.
The Asian Christians knew this, and so they could face being persecuted, knowing that they were citizens not of the Roman Empire, but of a better Kingdom, serving a far better Master.
And this freedom is the great gift that we offer, in Jesus' name, to the people around us. People are searching for all sorts of ways to be free from the slavery they find themselves in. Jesus alone provides Redemption.
love
So, who is that we have come to, if we're trusting in this Jesus?
We have come -"To him who loves us" (v.5)
How much does he love you? he gave up his life for you, he has done all that you need to be redeemed, and he offers it to you as a gift,
"To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 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."
If you would like to receive Jesus' redemption for yourself - grab me afterwards and ask me about it. I'm really not very scary.
Jesus' Redemption.
Jesus' Return
The one who is - the Ruler; the one who was - and provided Redemption by his death all those years ago - and, the one who is to come: last of all: Jesus' Return.
coming soon...
v.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."
The time will come when Jesus returns to this world in a spectacular way, that everyone will see, the living and the dead.
And when he comes back he will judge the world - which is why "all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him."
Just like the day when I discover that my bulbs in my garden haven't grown, they've just rotted because I planted them in the wrong place. And I'll think: "if only I'd listened to you, with your gardening expertise. If only - but now it's too late. You were right all along."
The message to those Christians in those seven churches was clear: don't give up, your faith is in the right place: Jesus is the sure foundation, keep trusting, keep looking for his return.
surely not?
It's hard to imagine Jesus' return, isn't it? And it's one of those things that I guess we find hard to believe - won't the world just keep on going...?
But things can happen that haven't happened before; things can happen that we can't imagine now.
The mobile phone - millions of people have a portable communicator - "beam me up Scotty"- on StarTrek it was Science FICTION - FICTION! It couldn't really happen. And it has. Thirty years ago it was hard to imagine - but it's reality today.
And just because it's hard to imagine, doesn't mean that Jesus' return won't be reality one day. He has promised it will happen - just as he promised he would die and then rise again.
He often says, in Revelation, that the time is near - the implication is that we're to be ready for him.
the delivery...
It's like waiting for a delivery by a courier: these days no-one will tell you what time the delivery will come.
And if it's got to be signed for, you have to make sure you're in all day.
You might think - oh I'll just go out and... whatever: but you know that there's a chance you'll miss the delivery if you do.You wait - and - the delivery does arrive, sometimes at 10 past 9 in the morning, other times at 5 to 6 in the evening.
And so we wait for Jesus - all the time expecting him, all the time ready for him to come.
serving
How do we spend the time while we wait?
Well - his Redemption has freed us so that we can serve God the Father. So that's what we do. We live for him - and not for the dross that the glossy magazines are trying to persuade us about, and that is so attractive to us.
How many times do I look up in the sky and think - ooh, if only I could be flying again? But the return of Jesus gives me a different perspective: it's far important for people to hear about His amazing Rule, his wonderful Redemption - so they're ready when he Returns.
enduring
And it's great to know that he's returning, because it means that difficult times will not last forever.
"Call yourself a Christian..." says someone who just wants to get at you.
You're called to meet the boss, and you know that someone's been saying things about the way you speak about Jesus.
Christmas is approaching, and it's going to be hard to get to church yourself, let alone persuade all your family it would be great for them.
He's coming - and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him. Keep going with your witness, and your testimony to how great Jesus is.
Jesus' Return.
Conclusion
These are encouraging words, aren't they?
Words to make us feel like praising Jesus. Words to lift our eyes up beyond the pressure of today, to the joy of what Jesus has done for us, is doing today, and will do for sure in the future.
If you haven't yet come to Jesus in repentance and faith, these are words to help you see why it's so important that you do:
If you can't see why you should be praying for friends and family, and for people in our villages to hear about Jesus - these words tell us
If you have sleepless nights because people are opposing your testimony about Jesus - Jesus himself want you to know these things, about:
Jesus' Rule - he is the real king, over far more important things than where I plant bulbs
Jesus' Redemption - so that we can we freed from slavery, and instead serve the wonderful creator God.
Jesus' Return - it 'must soon take place' - we don't know when, but even as we wait, knowing about it makes the world a different place.