To all members of PaRD.
Grace and peace to you from CPK001. Tonight is the first of the ten series of the book of Revelation that we are studying at Church. I have been taking notes and I am going to try and portray what I heard at Church onto here.
When we think of the book of Revelation what do we think it is about? THE END IS NEAR! We shall look into this book and really see what the book of Revelation is all about.
Revelation 1:1-20 NIV
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[a] 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 to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.
7 “Look, he is coming with the clouds,”[b]
and “every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him”;
and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.”[c]
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,[d] 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 for ever 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[e] of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
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It is no secret that the book of Revelation comes with a lot of 'baggage'. You can rip a verse out of context and the results speak for itself. Does Revelation talk refer to 9/11 as the end? 9/11 came and went. What about the Global Financial Crisis? It came and went. Maybe Revelation was not referring to that as the end.
Who can forget about the date of May 21 2011, which was the end of the world prediction? Here we are 3 years on and still here.
Revelation may not be a book of the end times as much as we would perceive it to be. Revelation is about Jesus Revealed. What will you do on that day when you see Jesus in all his majesty? You will fall as his feet as John did in 1:17-18 "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 for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades." On that day you will see a figure as described above. A sword coming out of his mouth? You will have no choice but to fall at his feet. Even death is at his feet. Death looks like the victor in Earth but Jesus is the victor over death.
So Revelation is the last book in The Bible. It still has the same message as all the other books in The Bible, except it comes in different packages. The analogy given is a block of Dairy Milk Chocolate and then a packet of Dairy Milk Chocolate. It is still the same Dairy Milk Chocolate but it is just in a different package.
Revelation is a letter that is written to the Seven Churches: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea. So if Revelation is written to those Seven Churches, what relevance does it have to us now? Or is the book of Revelation like a time capsule that didn't have relevance back in the first Century but it now has bearing in
the 21st Century? You have to investigate who the book is written for and why? What can we learn from this?
It is no secret that Christians back then were suffering from severe persecutions for believing in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. John, who is writing this book, is on Patmos because of the word of God and the Testimony of Jesus. "1:9" The same thing still happens to this very day. The book of Revelation is also a book of warning that you must prepare for. Just like if there is a major storm approaching or a Tsunami you would love to receive a warning first right? The Seven Churches were about to get persecuted for their beliefs in the Lord Jesus.
Is the book of Revelation about some distant future event that is way down the track? No. The book of Revelation is primarily about an event that has already happened - Jesus dying on the cross and rising from the dead! So why do people think Revelation is about a future event? You will catch it very early on in verse 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.
Key word of Prophecy. What do we think of when we think of Prophecy? We think of future events. However, if you keep on reading you will see that Revelations Prophecy isn't about the future but it is about the past. 19:10 "At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, "Don't do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For it is the Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus."
Prophecy in the Old Testament is something up ahead. Prophecy in the New Testament is about the past. Prophecy at its heart is all about Jesus. One day Jesus will return to reclaim his victory.
So what were the last words of Jesus here on Earth? Here it says in Acts 1:6-8 - 6 Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
7 He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
So nobody knows the day or hour. So what is it that we are to do? It is for us to be his witnesses to the ends of the earth. Is it to know the times or dates? Jesus said it himself that it is not for us to know the times or dates. All this talk about the end of the world is not for us to know when. That is why any
talk about times or dates about the end of the world is all mumbo jumbo. It is not for us to know the times or dates. When the Holy Spirit comes down on us we will be his witnesses to the ends of the earth. Hope you have it by now.
So now we go on to talk about the language of Revelation. Revelation can be described as a picture book which is mind blowing - and it is mind blowing. All this talk about the 7 lamps and the 7 stars as the number 7 is perfect. The number 12 as there are 12 Tribes of Israel and 12 Apostles. Look at the description of Jesus in verses 12-16. Now when you look at the big picture you don't focus on one little bit. If you see the Mona Lisa you look at the whole thing. You don't focus on the fingers, the smile or just the eyes. You look at the entire picture. That is what it is like with Revelation. In verse 13 it says "and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man,[d] dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest." You see the figure described above, what are you going to look at the golden sash and go " Pfft, gold? Why not Magenta instead of gold?" No, you are going to fall at his feet, just like John did.
So if the book of Revelation is a warning then what is the warning of? It is a warning of what is going to happen yes but also that you must stand firm in your faith with Jesus. While you are young you will have sun but one day when you are old the storm will come and the moment of truth will arrive. Will you succumb to the worlds' temptation and bow down to save your own life or will you stand firm and bow down only to Jesus, even though it may cost you your life in the process? Are you willing to die for the one who gave it all for you?