Sermon Revelation 1 – Spiritual Reality

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

First Presbyterian Church of Ocean City

Sermon Revelation 1 – Spiritual Reality

April 3, 2016

            I am beginning today a series of sermons drawn from the Book of Revelation, the last book of the Bible.  This book has been interpreted in many different ways.  You may have heard several different interpretations.  So we will look at it closely and interpret it the way we would any other book of the Bible.  Our guiding principle will be that in reading the book we will be blessed.  We will get to this, but first let’s pray.

            “Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

Listen to the prologue of the Book of Revelation

Revelation 1:1 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.

            The first word in the Book of Revelation is the Greek word Apoka,luyij  From this word we get the English word “apocalypse”, which means the final violent destruction of the world.  Apocalypse, is a popular form of entertainment in today’s culture.  One of the most popular television shows today is The Walking Dead.  In this show the world as we know it has come to an end in a zombie apocalypse.  The Book of Revelation is nothing like this.

            The word Apoka,luyij  should be translated into English as “revelation”.  Something is revealed.  Suppose you are walking down the beach and you see a shell.  You bend down and pick it up to see what is underneath.  What’s under the shell was hidden, but is now revealed.  In the Bible a revelation is usually a spiritual reality that exists beyond our abilities to see and hear it.  The only way we can know about it is if God reveals it to us.  And that is what the Book of Revelation is.  God has revealed a hidden spiritual realty to us.

            God has revealed this hidden spiritual reality to us through the testimony of Jesus Christ.  Jesus came to earth to show us the spiritual reality that is hidden from us but is nevertheless present.  Jesus revealed this spiritual reality to us through his life, his teaching, and most especially his resurrection.  It is the resurrected Jesus whose testimony is given to us through the Book of Revelation.  And we are told that the process Jesus uses to transmit this testimony to churches is through angels or messengers, and preachers of the gospel.  The angels have brought Jesus’ testimony for the Book of Revelation to a preacher named John. 

            John wrote this testimony of Jesus, probably on a parchment scroll.  One copy was taken to seven churches in the western part of modern day Turkey.  It is included as the last book of the New Testament.  When the Book was received by the churches they would read it out loud, cover to cover, in Sunday worship.  According to John those who read it and those who listen to it are richly blessed.  And it should bless us as we read it in worship because it is truly good news from our resurrected Lord.

Here is cover letter John sent with the book.

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 to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.

            This letter is addressed to seven churches in the Roman province of Asia, modern day Turkey.   Seven is an important number in the Book of Revelation.  We will hear it over and over again.  The reason seven is important is because it is the number of completeness.  How many days did it take God to complete creation including his day of rest?  Seven!  How many days is a week?  Seven!  Seven means all of them, everyone.  So seven churches means all the churches and that includes us.  God wants to reveal to us this spiritual reality, and has communicated it to us through Jesus, an angel, John, a letter, and finally the New Testament of the Bible.

            Now, let’s look at what is being revealed.  This could get you into trouble.  As Christians we believe that Jesus Christ was raised from the dead even though scientists tell us the dead can’t come back to life.  As Christians we believe that our Lord Jesus has power and authority over all governments on earth, a political belief that could get us arrested from treason.   So there is risk involve in our belief.  But there is also a great reward.  Christians who believe receive forgiveness of sin, participation in the Kingdom of God,  and the ability to talk directly to God in prayer.  So Christians accept the risk and enjoy the reward.

            Now we turn to what the Book of Revelation is about.  Like all prophecy it clearly sees the spiritual reality behind the world we live in, but it goes beyond this to reveal God’s plan for the future.  Our future hope, as Christians, is that Jesus will return.  And when that happens here is what we can expect.

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.

            After his resurrection Jesus ascended to heaven where he now sits at the right hand of God.  One day he will return to earth the way he left.  But this time everyone will know that the messiah is coming.  This is good news for us because we are waiting for his return.  But it is bad news for all who reject Jesus.  That is why it is so important for you to reveal the good news to people to need to hear it.  Let people know of the blessings of knowing Jesus.  Talk about forgiveness.  Talk about hope and trust.  Talk about eternal life.  And prepare people for day when Jesus returns.

            The cover letter John attached to the Book of Revelation shows who the true author is. 

Here is the signature.

8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”

            And so the author of the Book of Revelation is God.  God has revealed a spiritual reality that could not have otherwise been seen.  And this brings us to vision John saw.

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.”

            It took a lot of guts, in the first century, to declare that Jesus is Lord.  Caesar had declared himself to be “God and Lord”.  Christians could never agree to this and were persecuted for it.  John was probably arrested on political charges and exiled on a rocky island in the Mediterranean called Patmos.  He was unable to preach God’s word to his church so he wrote the Book of Revelation and sent it to churches to be read aloud.  The content of the Book of Revelation is a vision that John saw.  This vision took place on Sunday, the Lord’s Day, and so was probably in the context of worship.  While worshiping , John heard a voice commanding him to write down his vision and send it to the churches.  And here is what he saw.

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.

            There first thing John saw were seven lamp stands.  Seven is the number of completeness.  Light is a symbol of faith.  John saw the faithful Christians assembled in all the churches on Sunday morning.  John saw us.  And while watching us in worship John saw a spiritual reality that is usually hidden, but is now revealed.  He saw Jesus with us.  The spiritual reality is whenever faithful Christians assemble for worship, Jesus is present in our midst.  He is dressed as a high priest.  His voice booms like a waterfall.   Jesus holds the churches in his hands and he speaks words of judgment.   And in his face the love of God is revealed in all its brilliance. When John saw Jesus present with us, he did the only thing he could do, he fell at Jesus’ feet in worship.

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.

            All of this may seem very strange to us, but Jesus wants us to know that this is the spiritual reality.  Jesus is spiritually present with us in worship on the Lord’s Day.  Jesus is in our midst right now.  Jesus is with us as we gather around this table for the Lord’s Supper.  And there is nothing to be afraid of because this spiritual reality is really good news.

            Chapter 1 of the Book of Revelation ends with Jesus explaining what all this means.

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.

            And so John has seen a hidden spiritual reality that is present in all churches when the faithful worship.  This spiritual reality is that Jesus Christ is with all churches in worship.  Let’s pray.

            Lord Jesus we thank you for your presence with us.  We thank you for hearing our prayers.  We thank you for your healing and your teaching.  We ask your blessings as we gather around your table.  In your glorious name we pray.  Amen.