"4 John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace, from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood— 6 and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. 7 Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to 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."
For decades, those of us who understand the Word of God and who understand what the church is to be, who have addressed the issues that define and describe unfaithful churches, have carried a very heavy burden in our hearts, and on our shoulders. The church has become something different than it used to be in the past. We can no longer rely upon people to automatically return to church. However, I believe, that for
the true believer, the true follower of Jesus Christ, church is not an
option. There is a longing, a desire in the heart of the believer, to be in
fellowship with the very family of God.
People no longer feel guilt and shame about their sin, rather they
celebrate it. What is far worse, the church, has joined in
that celebration. I believe that there is a great danger in thinking that the church has to do something different to be effective in fulfilling their mission. I’ve witnessed a number of pastors burn out due to the pressure of coming up with a mission statement, program or new approach to ministry. Regardless of whatever else that is happening in the world, the church needs remain to be the church. I am far more concerned by false doctrine, than I am about the current events of this world, because God is in control.
For years, I have been addressing all these issues within the church, because I care deeply and love the church. In I John 4:20, the Apostle John said "If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen." My heart grieves much because of the blatant misrepresentation of the teaching of the Word of God. I believe, that the Lord has been sifting and purging His church. Judgment begins at the house of God. He has been separating the true church from the false church. God is going to judge His church, not in secret, but right in front of the watching world. God has always judged the unfaithful.
The Lord cares about His church. In Matthew 16:18, Jesus said "I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it."
Satan and his evil minions are behind this world's system, and the system is seeking the church to compromise. The faithful will be faithful, and the world will eventually see that. In this past year, there have been pastors who've been put in jail, simply for being faithful to the Word of God. The issue of social justice, critical race theory, compounded with the Covid-19 epidemic, has shed a spot light on the behavior of the church and it's leaders. In the midst of all this chaos, I believe that we have seen the mighty hand of the Lord moving in a powerful way. All of these events beg the question, "What in the world is the Lord doing in His church?"
To find the answer, all one need do is open the Word of God to Revelation chapter 1. Contrary to what many think, the entire book of Revelation is not about the future, in fact, chapter 1 is about the present. From verse 4 through the end of the chapter. And, as we begin to look at these verses more closely, I believe that you will see a picture of Christ in His church.
Let us pray
Heavenly Father,
Father, we thank You, as always, for Your Word. Lord, as we open this book today, and we begin to read and study Your Word, fill our hearts with enthusiasm and anticipation of what we shall learn. Let us receive the riches of Your wisdom, so that we may grasp the magnitude of this marvelous book. I pray for every person joining us today, would have eyes to see and ears to hear. That all might understand the revelation of Jesus Christ, which you gave Him to show to us.
Then let our hearts and our lips give worship and praise to the One Who deserves our everlasting worship and praise. Thank You for this great and magnificent unveiling. May it enrich the lives of the hearer, exceeding the greatest of expectations, that they would honor You and serve You more faithfully.
In Christ's name we ask and pray
Amen
Today's Message: What in the world is the Lord doing in His church?
When you look at the church in the days in which we are living, it is to become very discouraged and, even disillusioned by everything that has been taking place. Scandalous and unscrupulous pastors, with their bad theology, churches advocating things that blaspheme the holy name of God. Churches being shut down, at a time when the Word of God is desperately needed. I’ve never seen anything like it, or anywhere near, in my lifetime.
Everything that Jesus said, every word that Jesus spoke, everything that Jesus revealed through the Spirit in Scripture, is all coming to pass right before our very eyes, and in dramatic visual form.
Open your Bible with me to the book of Revelation chapter 1. As I began to read, and re-read this passage, I began to realize that I don’t need to introduce this study, because in the first three verses, John has already done that, and perfectly so. Before we begin, allow me to read them to you again, to refresh our minds. Revelation 1, verses 1 through 3.
"John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace, from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood— and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. Behold, He is coming with the clouds,
and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the
tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen. “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."
Revelation was written to a particular group of churches in the first century. For more than two millennia, it has been spoken to the church, and I believe it speaks to all of us today. Verse 4 begins with a salutation. Notice that he does not include the title of Apostle or anything extra. He writes the book of Revelation, simply as John.
"John to the seven churches that are in Asia," these seven churches are located in the western half of Asia Minor, which as we learned earlier, is modern Turkey. I'll briefly mention their names now, however, we will study these seven cities and seven churches in more detail in chapters 2 and 3. The seven churches are Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.
Then, John gives them the standard greeting, "Grace to you and peace." This greeting is very similar to the other greetings we find throughout the New Testament. Grace is the unearned and undeserved gift of God's favor. Peace, or shalom, in the Hebrew, is the result of God's grace. To put it another way, this is God, pouring out His love on us.
Notice that John then uses a unique name for God, "from Him who is and who was and who is to come." Now, many just pass over this, but I believe this is very important, because this is a Trinitarian benediction. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the term, benediction means "blessing."
God, the Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ are sending you His blessing. This is all three members of the Trinity, sending grace and sending peace to you. I can promise you this: if they wish it, you’ll receive it.
God, the eternal One, is source of all blessing, all grace, and all peace.
This is remarkable, God, Who is timeless, being show to us in time dimensions, because that is the only way we can understand Him. God is eternal, He was, He is, and He is to come, you see? In other words, this is looking at the past, the present, and the future. Kings and kingdoms may rise and fall but God is the eternal One, His years and reign have no end.
By the way, this title is used many times, we see it again in verse 8, which says "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."
Next, John moves to the second member of the Trinity, in verse 4, "And from the seven Spirits who are before His throne" Now, I know that many are confused about the number seven here. Seven, as we mentioned is the number of fullness, completeness.
Allow me to read this tremendous statement in Isaiah chapter 11, "The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord." Here, he is identifying the fullness of the Holy Spirit. Notice there are seven. That is the seven-fold ministry of the Spirit.
It is possible, it could be a reference to Zechariah chapter 4 and chapter 5, there's a close connection there. In chapter 4, Zechariah talks about seven lamps; which is the light of God. And, it talks about seven eyes, which are the Spirit. Either way, the Holy Spirit, in all His fullness, sends us grace and peace.
Then, in verse 5, John moves to the third member of the Trinity, "And from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth." This is truly a glorious description of our Lord. It worth mentioning, notice that John takes a bit more time with Jesus Christ than he did with the Spirit or with the Father. I believe that is because Christ dominates the entire book, He is the theme. The book of Revelation is a vision of Christ sent to encourage the Christians in Asia Minor about the future, they were persecuted, disheartened , and immensely suffering.
The first encouragement is that God loves them and has not forgotten them, and sends them grace and peace. The second encouragement is that God the Holy Spirit loves them, and sends them grace and peace. And the third encouragement, is that Jesus Christ, the Son hasn’t forgotten them. He too loves them and sends them grace and peace.
If you will remember, in Isaiah 55:4, prophesied that the Messiah, "Behold, I have made him a witness to the peoples." Here, John affirms He is the faithful witness. Christ always speaks the truth, He never deviates from what is true and always the faithful witness.
Next, John gives Him the title "the firstborn of the dead." That comes from Psalm 89, which says "“I also shall make him My firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth." Firstborn is the word "prótotokos," which means preeminent. In other words, of all who have ever been raised before or after, He is the preeminent one. This book is the story of God exalting His firstborn, of all who have ever been or ever will be raised from the dead.
John then calls Him, "And the ruler of the kings of the earth." He will make Him the ruler of the kings of the earth. To summarize these three titles a bit, "Faithful witness" speaks of His past. He is the "Resurrected Lord," that is His present role. He presently, in resurrection glory, seated at the right hand of the Father. And, "Ruler of the kings of the earth," is His future role. How exciting that we will see all of that unfold in future glory.
So far, we have learned the essential nature of the book, the central theme, the
divine source, the specific recipients, the prophetic character, the
supernatural delivery, the human agent, the spiritual blessedness, the
compelling urgency, the Trinitarian benediction.
John literally is unable to contain himself in verse 6, "And He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen."
This is an exalted doxology, a hymn of praise. God’s love is not a past experience, it is a present reality. It is as it was when Jesus died on Calvary. On the cross, He "released us from our sins by His blood." This is a beautiful picture of His atoning work on the cross. He first loved us, even while we hated Him. And, now that we belong to Him, He keeps loving us.
"And He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father." We, who believe, are all in the sphere of God’s kingdom, His rule through Christ, and we enter by faith in Jesus Christ. He made us into a community of saints, forever bound together in the confines of a kingdom over which He rules, under His loving authority, because He loves us so much. How spectacular is it, that we have been given the wonderful privilege of being ruled by the King of kings, and reigning with Him in the kingdom.
John then adds, "He made us priests to His God and Father," this means we have permanent, direct access to the throne of God. In the Old Testament, if you will remember, a priest is the only one who had the right to enter God’s presence once a year, into the Holy of Holies, where God was. Now, we are all priests, we all enter into the Holy Place of God. No wonder John says "To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen." Amen means "Let it be."
John can’t even get out of his introduction without becoming lost in praise. Look at verse 7, "Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen."
Here in verse 7, we have the first prophetic oracle in the book. ""Behold, He is coming." I'd like you to notice, John does not say, He may come, or He will come. John says He is coming! This is in the present tense. The present tense verb John uses is the word "erchomai," which implies He is already on His way. The process of His coming has already begun, He will be here at any time. This is the hope and the promise of Christ's glorious return. This us back to Daniel 7, which speaks of One like the Son of Man coming with the clouds. When Jesus gets here, "every eye shall see Him, even those who pierced Him."
"The Coming One" was a special name for Messiah. Back in Matthew chapter 11, when John the Baptist was in prison, he sent word to Jesus by his disciples. And they said to Him, "Are You the Coming One?" It was the messianic title. Jesus is the Coming One! By the way, the word "erchomai, whether directly or indirectly, is a reference to Christ, and is used nine times in the book of Revelation. Seven of those times, Jesus is referring to Himself as "the Coming One."
We need to open our hearts and our mind to greatness of tremendous event, and just how important it is in the Scripture. To help you get a grasp of it, this prophecy takes up one-fifth of the Scripture. And, one-third of that refers to the second coming of Jesus Christ. It has been calculated that there are some 660 general prophecies, 333 about Christ, 109 fulfilled at His first coming, and 224 about His second coming.
And, of the 46 Old Testament prophets, 36 of them speak of His second coming. That's more than 1500 Old Testament passages, that reference in some way to the second coming of Jesus Christ. And, in the New Testament, one out of every twenty-five passages refer to the second coming of Jesus Christ. For every mention of His first coming, the second coming is mentioned eight times. Twenty-one times, Jesus Himself refers to His second coming. More that fifty times, we are told to be ready for His return.
The Bibles has much to say about the return of Jesus Christ! The Apostle Peter said in II Peter 3, "Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation."
These mockers and scoffers have always denied the second coming because it is directly connected to the Day of Judgement. A day they do not want to face! However, as you have seen, Scripture makes is very clear, Jesus Christ Is Coming!
Numbers 23:19 says " God is not a man that He should lie." Jesus Himself promised that He would come back. If God says this will happen, and He does you be assured, it is going to happen!
God has promised He is coming. Jesus Himself has promised He is coming. And the Holy Spirit has said that He is coming. The credibility of the Trinity is at stake. He must come!
In verse 8, now, God speaks. "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."
Alpha and Omega, by the way, are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. The Beginning and the End. Aleph and Tav in the Hebrew. A to Z, in the English. God is the sovereign Lord over everything that takes place in the entire course of human history! There are twenty-six letters in the alphabet, an infinite number of words can be formed from those twenty-six letter. The alphabet is an ingenious way to store and communicate all knowledge. God is saying, "I am sovereign, supreme, in which is contained all knowledge. Therefore, there is no truth, there is no understanding, there is no wisdom, which I do not know. There are no possible unforeseen events that could sabotage His second coming. For I AM God, I know it all."
In Closing..
In our world today, everything to be occurring in rapid fire succession. Just when it seems that things are beginning to return to some normalcy, that there is something else that happens. Covid-19, world powers shifting, governments failing, division, hatred and violence are escalating, adverse weather on every coast, and at the same time. God is letting the Christians who are about to suffer persecution, know that He is
right here with us and He is in control of everything that is happening. The Taliban cannot rule forever!
So, what is the Lord doing in His church? He is giving life to His true church.
"I’m going to come and I’m going to save you with an eternal salvation."
May it be so..
And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;
The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.
Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen
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