Sunday August 14, 2016 Phone: 570.829.5216

Pastor David Miklas e-mail:

Message: Book of Revelation 1-5 Text: Revelation 1:1-10; 19

The Revelation of Jesus Christ

INTRODUCTION: This Sunday morning we commence our study of the book of Revelation and as we do please notice with me as I read Revelation 1:1-10, 19

“The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John: (2) Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw. (3) Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand. (4) John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne; (5) And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, (6) And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. (7) Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. (8) I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. (9) I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. (10) I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet…” Finally in verse 19 we read, “Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter;”

In verse 1 the word translated "revelation" simply means "to uncover, to reveal, to make manifest." The correct title to this book is found in the first five words of verse 1 “The Revelation of Jesus Christ.”

Revelation is an OPEN book in which God reveals His plans and purposes to His church.

When Daniel finished writing his prophecy, he was instructed in Daniel 12:4 to “shut up the words, and seal the book.” But John was given the opposite instruction in Revelation 22:10 to “Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book.” Why? Because in Revelation 1:3 it says “the time is at hand.”

Revelation is primarily the revelation of Jesus Christ, not the revelation of future events. You must not divorce the person from the prophecy, for without the person there could be no fulfillment of the prophecy. "Christ is not incidental to its action; He is its chief subject."

In Revelation 1-3, Christ is seen as the exalted priest-king ministering to the churches.

In Revelation 4-5 He is seen in heaven as the glorified Lamb of God, reigning on the throne.

In Revelation 6-18, Christ is the Judge of all the earth.

In Revelation 19 He returns to earth as the conquering King of Kings.

In Revelation 20-22, the book closes with the heavenly Bridegroom and His Bride, the church, in the glorious heavenly city.

Notice the title given in verse 8 that makes it clear God is able to work out His divine purposes in human history. “Alpha and Omega” are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet; so God is at the beginning of human history and also at the end of human history.

Revelation is a feared book because it is the only book which clearly sets forth the end of Satan, the Church, the Jew, the Gentile, the individual nations and religions (especially Catholicism), and the Universe! Men resent any negative statements concerning themselves, their future, and the future of things which they hold dear.

Revelation, along with Genesis, is in direct opposition to evolution, scholarship, and science. Only the Bible believer willingly submits to the declarations of Scripture, including prophecy, even when it goes against his human reasoning.

Revelations needs to be interpreted by what is called the Golden Rule of Interpretation:

“When the plain sense of scripture makes common sense, seek no other sense. But take every word at its primary, literal, historical, contextual meaning unless the facts of the immediate context clearly indicate otherwise.

When you interpret the Bible literally, you interpret it as it is. The meaning of Scripture is determined by the language of the original languages (Hebrew and Greek) and the historical context.

Nearly 300 references to the Old Testament are found in Revelation! This means that we must anchor our interpretations to what God has already revealed, lest we misinterpret this important prophetic book.

Revelation has twenty-two chapters, four-hundred and four verses, and twelve thousand words. God promises in the very opening verses of the book “a blessing” to all who read, hear and obey what it says. Thus my prayer is that we shall all receive the promised blessing.

Even today, with many years of study behind me and having not only preached through this book but also taught it in school, I am still fascinated by its message. Our focus will be on Chapter 1 this Sunday as well as next.

In this message from chapter 1,,we are going to introduce to you the Book and the Servant of God used to write the book. In our next message also from chapter 1, we will focus on the Person of the Book, the Son of God, and introduce you to chapters 2-3.

FIRST: We have the SOURCE of the message in verse 1:

Given by God the Father to God the Son;

Given by God the Son to an angel – possibly Gabriel; and

Given by the angel to the earthly messenger, Apostle John.

The Holy Spirit used the Apostle John to give us five New Testament books, The Gospel of John, the Epistles of I, II, III John and Revelation. He identifies himself as John no less the five times in the Revelation; three times in chapter 1.

SECOND: We have the PROMISE of the message in verse 3: “Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein:” Here we have the first of SEVEN beatitudes in Revelation.

Revelation 14:13, “…Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labours; and their works do follow them.”

Revelation 16:15,”Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.”

Revelation 19:9, “Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.”

Revelation 20:6, “Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.”

Revelation 22:7, “Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.”

Revelation 22:14, “Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.”

THIRD: We have the REASON for the message in verse 3: “For the time is at hand.” Here the word for time is not “Chromos” the regular word for clock-time, but “Karios” referring to a fixed season.

This “fixed season “ is that described by Daniel in Daniel 9:24-27 as the 70th Week or the time of Jacob’s Trouble known as the 7 years of the Great Tribulation that is to come as described for us in Revelation 6-18.

In verse 1 we read that God desires to “show unto his servant’s things which must shortly come to pass.” The word “shortly” can also mean rapidly.

We believe as the world’s events are rapidly transpiring before us today, the coming of the Lord for His church in the Rapture is imminent. The challenge is to keep your eye on the Eastern Sky for our Redemption draweth near. Folks, Jesus may come in the Rapture today, even before this service ends. And once the Lord Jesus Christ meets us (as I Thessalonians 4:13-18 tells us) the events of Revelation will begin to take place.

FOURTH: We have the RECIPIENTS of the message in verse 4: “to the seven churches which are in Asia.” In verse 11 we read,

“…What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.”

Here Christ chose seven representative churches and addressed himself to these. It has been suggested that the listing of these seven appears in the sacred record to accomplish at least three purposes:

A. The contemporary purpose: That Christ had a direct message to seven literal churches existing at that time.

B. The composite purpose: That these messages are meant to be applied by all churches existing in all ages.

C. The chronological purpose: That the characteristics of these churches serve as a prophetic preview of the seven great periods in Christendom from Pentecost to the Rapture.

John did not send this prophecy to the churches to satisfy their curiosity about the future. God’s people were going through severe persecution, and they needed encouragement. They are pictured as lampstands, each giving light in a dark world. Remember, “The darker the day, the greater the light must shine.” As you read Revelation 2-3, note that the Lord always reminded them of who He is, and encouraged them to be "overcomers."

In Revelation 2 and 3, the Savior speaks his mind to his churches. It is therefore in these chapters - and not in Matthew 28 or Acts 1 - that the final words of Christ to the church are recorded. We will address this in our next message as you are introduced to Revelation, chapters 2-3.

FIFTH: We have the THEME of the message as the person and work of Jesus Christ. We will unveil more of this in our next message. But for now, please notice:

His past work is REDEMPTION found in verse 5, “And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood…

His present work of SANCTIFICATION is found in verse 6, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

His future work of GLORIFICATION is found in verse 7, Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

It should be noted that NO believer should study prophecy merely to satisfy his curiosity. Instead the promise of Jesus Christ coming again should be to all Christians at all times a motivation for obedience and holy living.

When John received God's revelation of the future, he was overwhelmed for in verse 17 he fell down as a dead man.

“We need to approach this book as wonderers and worshipers, not as academic students.”

SIXTH: We have the DOXOLOGY of the message in verse 6, “to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” We are going to discover in Revelation chapters 4-5 the heavenly scene we as believers will one day witness as we give “blessing and glory and power” to the one on the Throne – the Lord Jesus Christ. What a day that will be when we see Him who has redeemed us for all eternity.

SEVENTH: We have the LOCATION of the message in verse 9, “I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.”

The Apostle John wrote Revelation about A.D. 95, during the reign of the Roman Emperor Domitian. The emperor had demanded that he be worshiped as "Lord and God" and the refusal of both Christians and Jews to obey this edict led to severe persecution.

It was the Emperor Domitian who sent John to the Isle of Patmos, a Roman penal colony off the coast of Asia Minor. Patmos was a rugged, volcanic island about ten miles long and six miles wide.

It is said that he was allowed to return to Ephesus following the Emperor's death in A.D. 96 shortly after completing the book and could have personally circulated it among the seven churches of Asia Minor to which it was written before his death.

EIGHTH: We have the OUTLINE of the Message in verse 19, “Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter…” To the best of my knowledge, the Book of Revelation is the only book in the Bible that contains an inspired outline of the contents of the Bible:.

"The Things Which Thou Hast Seen:" Vision of the Son of Man – in chapter 1.

"The Things Which Are:" Messages to the Seven Churches – in chapters 2-3.

"The Things Which Shall Be Hereafter:" Events found in chapters 4-22.

Now you have been sitting here listening (I hope intently) as “The Revelation of Jesus Christ” has been introduced. Perhaps you are asking, “Just how is all this going to help me in my every day Christian life? Well, to answer that question and for the remainder of this message, let’s return to the promise of this passage found in verse 3, “Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.”