Text: Revelation 1:9-20

My purpose for this message:

Delivered: April 25, 2010

Face to Face with Jesus Christ

Revelation 1.  Some of you know my earthquake story.  I travelled to California in 1986—first time ever, to visit Talbot Seminary.  Day after I arrived, 6.3 earthquake hit at 7:45 AM.  Several hours later when I was sitting in a classroom, an aftershock hit and I actually saw a brick wall ripple.  Nothing I had ever seen before prepared me to believe or understand that.  Only the earthquake I’d just experienced gave me any way to understand that solid wall move like that.

The weirdness in Revelation that you don’t have categories for starts today.  Fortunately, we’re told how to interpret some of it.  But like a fantasy movie, Revelation forces us think outside the box; boxes of language, ideas, and images.  You’re going to find that dozens of times John describes something by saying it looks like something else: Jesus looked like a son of man, the 4 living creatures looked like a lion, ox, man’s face, flying eagle, and the evil spirits look like frogs; startling, unfamiliar images to John that he’s forced to try and explain with limited language tools.  What some images represent is apparent, others, less clear.  Reading with humility should guard us against foolishness, dogmatism, and skepticism.  READ Revelation 1:9-20.

Pray.

 

1. Intro to the vision (1:1-8 was intro to the letter)

For the 3^rd time the author identifies himself simply as “John” so apparently he was wellknown to his readers.  And like his readers, persecuted.  “I’m your brother and companion” in suffering for Christ (9).  Banished from his home in Ephesus for preaching a risen Christ, probably on the orders of Emperor Domitian.

We’ve been insisting that suffering is the normal life in Christ.  Nobody seeks it but it’s a prospect which comes with faith.  2 Timothy 3:12: ...everyone who wants to live a godly life in Jesus Christ will be persecuted. 

Make sure when you talk to people about Jesus, you convey the bad news along with the good news.  The good news is that with Jesus your sins can be forgiven; the bad news is that with Jesus you could die.  John says this Jesus’ path requires “patient endurance” (9), not something native to me, maybe not native to you either.

Between the suffering and required endurance, John sandwiched the good part: we’re members of a kingdom—one currently limited to Jesus’ followers but which will one day cover the planet and apply to all.  A kingdom whose birth this very book predicts and describes briefly.

 

2.     Occasion for the vision

We think for a year and a half or so, John was far from home and friends.  But his ordeal as not as severe as fellow apostles who were crucified or beheaded.  (Maybe being in his nineties protected him from being treated worse.)  In addition to time and materials with which to write down this vision, he apparently had Sundays off (“Lord’s Day”). 

Unlike Jews who worshiped and rested on the Sabbath (Friday sundown to Saturday sundown), the early church’s worship day became the first day to commemorate when Jesus’ rose from the dead (1 Corinthians 16:2, Acts 20:7).  On this particular first day of the week, John was worshiping (in the Spirit)—apparently alone, when a trumpet-like voice startled him.  “Trumpet” meant it was loud, not that it was musical!  That voice told him to record what he was seeing and send it to 7 churches in Asia.  Starting in two weeks, we’ll look at the messages Jesus had for each one: some were comforting, some meant to challenge, some were outright rebukes.  Messages for those historical churches, but for us too. 

There were more churches than these in Asia.  We know of two more from Scripture: Colosse and Hieropolis (Colossians 1:2, 4:13), and two others from church history.  These 7 may have been singled out as most prominent since they were located in the main postal cities of the province, scattered 30-50 miles apart on a circular road; in other words, you could get on one road and visit each of these 7 churches. 

 

3. Impact of the vision

This vision did John in.  Knowing his OT well, John was not confused about who stood before him.  The man’s robe was the kind described in Jesus’ Bible as the high priest’s robe.  The gold sash—running diagonally from shoulder to waist, spoke of royalty.  His hair was blindingly white “like wool” just like the “Ancient of Days” (Daniel 7:9), God.   The eyes, the feet, the voice…, well, let’s just look at Daniel 10:4-9.

John knew Jesus as the “son of man”.  He called Him that a dozen times in his gospel.  Describing this man the same way leads to only one conclusion: John is once again face to face with his old friend, his leader…, his Savior.

You would think that’s something that would have thrilled John, something he would have anticipated with great joy.  After all, he’d ministered closely with Jesus for over 3 years, he was member of Jesus’ inner circle, and he was “the disciple whom Jesus loved” (John 13:3, 21:7, 20).  So why did he collapse when he came face to face with the glorified Christ?

Because this is what happens to people who “see” God.  READ Isaiah 6:1-7; Ezekiel 1:1, 4, 25-28.  This is what happens to people in the presence of the one and only true God, the Holy God.  (By the way, this is where our understanding of the trinity should kick in, where we’re not surprised that the Bible deliberately blurs the line between God the Father and God the Son.)

  Awe, terror, wonder, haunted…  Why?  Just because the light is bright?  Just because the images are so incredible?  No!  Isaiah hit the nail on the head when he cried, “I am doomed because I am a sinner living among other sinners and yet I have seen the sinless God.”  I’m sure his neighbors thought Isaiah was a “good” man—a “nice” man, but all the spinning and posturing, all the posing and pretending, all the downgrading and denying of our sinfulness comes to a screeching halt in the presence of God who viewed my sin to be so terrible He had to kill His Son in payment for it.

Sinners can’t fraternize with God; that’s what John, Isaiah, and Ezekiel thought.  Sometimes for us, it’s different.  We understand God’s grace to be forgiveness extended to unworthy sinners.  But honestly, some of us are yet to be convinced we’re an unworthy sinner.  Others of us believe that Jesus died for our sins and now our sins don’t matter.  That is, we see the cross as permission for future sin rather than condemnation of all our sin—past, present and future.  There’s a big difference between sin that is paid for and sin that doesn’t matter; the first is the result of Christ’s work of the cross, but the second is the result of man’s continued failure to get what Isaiah, Ezekiel and John got: “My sin is huge and awful.”

When we get that, that’s the beginning of repentance.  Which is when Jesus bends over, touches us with His right hand of fellowship and says, “Do not be afraid; I hold the keys to death and hell.”  Jesus’ rescue work is all-sufficient but He did not come to rescue those who believe they are good enough; he came to rescue those who believe they are pond scum, and who want to trade their affection for that stagnant pool for Christ.  Jesus died not only to rescue you and me from the penalty of sin, but from the power of sin.

In chapters 2 and 3, most of what Jesus is about to say to the churches—to these lampstands surrounding Him which are supposed to give light to the world, will be painful to hear.  Most will not be words of admiration, accolades, or commendations.  Instead, He will say things like “I have this against you; I have a few things against you; you have a reputation of being alive but you’re actually dead; you are lukewarm and if things don’t change, I’m going to vomit you.”  And we need to listen to what parts of these messages may be for Keystone, of for one of us.

Out of Jesus’ mouth came a two-edged sword.  A sword is a weapon with which to cut down the enemy.  Hebrews 4:12 says that the Word of God (which we understand to be the Bible and any other self-revelation; which is why it’s right that John calls Jesus the “Word of God” in Revelation 19:13) is living and active, sharper than a double-edged sword.  It penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

And it goes on to say.  Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight.  Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give an account. 

 

Concl:

During the 7 weeks we look at Jesus’ message to the churches, it’s going to be tempting to turn away from the correction.  Don’t.  We will be in the presence of Jesus and no doubt He has some things to say to us individually, and to us corporately.