Revelation 1
06-06-21
THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST!
We have studied:
1. The life of Christ
2. His death on the cross
3. Resurrection
4. The Ascension
5. And now the Revelation
(Q) What are some things we know about the Life Of Christ?
(Q) What are some things we know about His Death On The Cross?
(Q) What are some things we know about Jesus Resurrection?
(Q) What are some things we know about the Ascension
All of what we covered has happened in the gospels.
(Q) What are the Gospels referring to?
The beginning of the New Testament and now the end
(Q) The New Testament has how many books in it?
~27
Let’s say them as a class:
I Corinthians
II Corinthians
I Thessalonians
II Thessalonians
I Timothy
II Timothy
I Peter
II Peter
I John
II John
III John
Revelation 1:1-19
Prologue
1 The revelation from 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. 3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud 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.
Greetings and Doxology
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, and from the seven spirits before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and has made us be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power forever and ever! Amen. 7 “Look, he is coming with the clouds,” and “every eye will see him, even those who pierced him”; and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.” So shall it be! Amen.
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”
John’s Vision of Christ
9 I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10 On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, 11 which said: “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.” 12 I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, 13, and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man,[fn] dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. 14 The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. 15 His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. 17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18 I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades. 19 “Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now, and what will take place later. 20 The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
In The Beginning, The disciples were guessing a lot and asking Jesus questions all the time but now through John God is revealing to them and us His truth.
Revelation is a prophetic book it speaks of the future.
The word Prophecy means things to come.
(Q) What is something that is going to happen in the future to all the people who have accepted Jesus as Lord and savior?
BUT! Now if I said when is the Rapture going to happen?
You can not tell me because the bible says no one knows the day or the hour.
1 The revelation from 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,
So we are given a lot in the introduction
We know it came from Jesus
Given to Him by His Father
For His servants
Sent by an angel to John
To tell us the future
We are not told the angel's name.
2 who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.
John said in 1 John 1:1-3
1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.
Do you see how the wording is similar? But John only wrote what he saw, did, and was given through the Holy Spirit.
We know it’s true because God gave us the gift of the Holy Spirit.
Remember back when we were in John chapter 14 and 15 and Jesus had just told the disciples of His death? And He said He was not going to leave us as orphans, He would give us another comforter, and then He said He would give us the Holy Spirit to help us.
We know it happened 50 days after Jesus ascended to the Father.
3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud 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.
(Q) Blessed means what?
(Q) Prophecy
(Q) What does John mean when he says, THE TIME IS NEAR?
The present must end for the future to take place.
4 John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia:
The number seven in the bible means completion!
Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come,
(Q) Who is this talking about? (God The Father)
and from the seven spirits before his throne,
In the Book of Revelations a lot of times it refers to God the Father and Jesus Christ the son and now the seven Spirits before God the Father's throne. The more we read into the book of Revelations we see who these seven Spirits are.
(Revelation 3:1(a) NRSV).
And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who has the seven spirits of God
5 and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood,
So what you are seeing is a picture of the trinity.
(Q) What is that referring to?
6 and has made us be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power forever and ever! Amen.
So all this is the work Of Jesus, He is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. He has freed us from our sins by His blood To make us a kingdom of priests To serve His Father forever
7 “Look, he is coming with the clouds,” and “every eye will see him, even those who pierced him”;
and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.” So shall it be! Amen.
When Jesus comes back in the Rapture it says in the bible all the saints that have died in the Old Testament are going to come back with Him. Every eye will see Him, even the people who put Jesus on the cross. So after the tribulation, the bible says everybody will see Him and there will be sadness for some because they chose not to believe in the Lord and Jesus at that time will put the devil and all his demons in hell forever
But when Jesus comes back in the rapture you and I will be taken up. What the bible is talking about now is after the 7-year tribulation.
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”
The Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet so God is saying I am the first and Last.
9 I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10 On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, 11 which said: “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”
When God wanted to tell people about Himself, He chose to deliver it to the world through men. He could have set up a giant billboard in the sky and wrote on it the whole Bible, but He didn’t. He could have made the sky a huge video screen and played a video of Scripture scrolling down from top to bottom. He also could have had the angels come together in a great choir and sing the Bible to us, but He didn’t! Instead, He chose men to speak to and through. In fact, there were 40 different writers of the Bible over a period of about 1,500 years.
The book of Revelation is all about Jesus. It means “to reveal or to unveil.” God is revealing to us more about Himself through His Son Jesus. The book of Revelation was given to a man named John. John was one of Jesus’ disciples. He was a man who had suffered many things for his faith in Jesus Christ. He was also a man who loved Jesus very much.
As God shows John this revelation He tells him that this revelation is to be shown to the servants of Jesus Christ. The revelation is not for John alone, but it is for all of us who have made Jesus the Lord of our lives. John was just a companion and brother to all of us.
Sunday
God gave this important revelation on Sunday.
He revealed the resurrection of Jesus on Sunday.
He revealed to us His Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, which was on a Sunday.
Now, this does not mean that God only gives revelations on Sundays; He is willing and wanting to speak to us every day.
John heard a voice that was loud like a trumpet. The loud voice came from behind him. Have you ever had a sudden loud voice blast in your ears from behind? I’m sure it got his attention.
So let me show you what that will be like! Everyone turns around, look the other way
Here is what that was like. (BLOW THE AIR HORN) Was it loud? Can you imagine the voice of Jesus…
The voice, which John heard was the voice of Jesus Christ. Jesus was declaring to John who He was. Jesus is the first and last, the beginning and the end. God is before all things and God will always be; God is eternal and everlasting. This is a Scripture that confirms to us that Jesus is God. So, God, Himself (the Lord Jesus Christ) is giving revelation to John.
He tells John that the first group of people He wanted to hear this message from God is the churches in Asia Minor. The first group of people God speaks to are the believers in these seven churches.
12 I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, 13, and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man,[fn] dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. 14 The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. 15 His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.
The book of Revelation is a revelation of Jesus Christ. It is not just a revelation of future events. What does He look like? Does He look like a lowly shepherd? Does He look like a soft, meek, broken lamb? No! He is revealed as the mighty Judge of the universe. He is no longer in the role of the suffering servant that He was to mankind the first time He came to earth. Now He is raised from the dead and is the Lord of lords and King of kings.
What did John see? John saw seven golden lampstands. The lampstands represent the seven churches. Churches should be like lamps to shine the light of Jesus to their city. In the middle of these churches stood Jesus Himself.
He saw Jesus with a robe that went down to His feet.
He saw around Jesus Christ a golden band that symbolizes righteousness and faithfulness (Isaiah 11:5). So Jesus looked like a righteous and faithful judge in the middle of these seven churches.
Next, John saw Jesus’ head. His hair was as white as wool. This was a picture of Him being eternal, like the ancient of days shown in Daniel 7:9.
His eyes were like a flame of fire, which represents His ability to see everything.
His feet were like shining brass. In the Bible, brass is often used as a representation of judgment. The Scripture tells us that it was brass that was refined in a furnace. Jesus is judge overall. He is a righteous judge who will one day judge the world.
And His voice sounded like a strong, rushing waterfall. His voice was powerful and authoritative.
In His right hand, He held seven stars. Stars can represent either angels or pastors. God controls and places those whom He wants to minister as leaders. He causes them to shine in the church. He holds the pastors in His mighty and secure hand where He always keeps them safe from harm.
Out of His mouth came a two-edged sword.
Do you want to stand with Him or be judged by him?
The whole picture of Jesus was shining like the sun, just as He looked on at the Mount of Transfiguration (Matthew 17:2). It was an awesome revelation of Jesus is.
17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18 I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hell.
The scene was overwhelming for John. It was so awesome that he collapsed at Jesus’ feet with fear and trembling. But Jesus put His hand on John and said, “Do not be afraid.” The same voice that could bring incredible holy fear and respect can also bring peace and comfort.
Jesus makes sure John knows who He is. He is God in the flesh. He was the same Jesus whose chest John leaned on at the Last Supper.
We saw Jesus as a humble servant who died on the cross. Now, we see Him as He always has been: King of kings and Lord of lords. He has always been king. He has always been the One who would be the judge of the godly and the ungodly, Christians and the lost, the righteous and the unrighteous. Jesus is the ruler over death and of hell. He has the authority over them both.
PRAY!
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