“JESUS IS COMING BACK … SO LOOK BUSY”
Revelation Unraveled
September 20, 2015
Cornerstone Community Church
Years ago I was given a T-shirt that I wore so much I completely wore it out. The shirt simply said, “Jesus is coming back … so look busy.” One of the main points of the enigmatic Book of Revelation is that Jesus is coming back. When the Apostle John wrote Revelation to Christians living in seven different cities in Turkey, his readers wondered whether that was really the case. His readers had been told for years the Jesus was coming back, and that he could come back at any time, but by this time in history Jesus had already been absent from the earth for 60 years, and there seemed to be no hint of his comeback. “Where is he?” they wondered. “What’s taking him so long?”
Have you ever wondered that? From time to time through the years you’ve probably heard some pastor or read some book in which the return of Jesus to earth was discussed. Or maybe you read the wildly popular Left Behind series, the focus of which is the second coming of Jesus. But then you’ve thought, “Wait a minute. It’s been 2000 years since Jesus walked the earth, and he’s still nowhere to be found. Why are we still talking about this? How long do you expect me to keep believing in something that clearly is never going to happen?”
Or maybe you do believe Jesus is coming back; you believe it with all your heart. You are convinced that someday Jesus will return to earth and usher us all into eternity. But to be honest, you are kind of hoping he waits a little longer. At least until the Sharks win the Stanley Cup. At least until you get to walk your daughter down the aisle at her wedding, or until you see your son graduate from college, or until you get married yourself, or until you get to take that trip to Greece.
Or maybe you do believe Jesus is coming back someday, probably far in the future, and you’re really not sure what difference that fact makes in your life right now. Assuming Jesus is coming back – so what? Will I really get brownie points for looking busy when Jesus does return?
The Christians to whom the Book of Revelation was written had some doubts about whether or not Jesus really was coming back as promised, but for the most part that wasn’t their issue. Most of them still believed quite strongly in Jesus’ second coming, as I do, even though it felt like it had been a long time. Their issue was that they needed Jesus to come back and to come back soon. Do you remember the old Dudley Do-Right cartoons? In a typical scene Dudley Do-Right’s nemesis Snidely Whiplash would kidnap Dudley’s girl and tie her to the train tracks. Dudley’s beau would then scream for help as we in the audience held our breath, hoping against hope that Dudley would get there in time to untie her before the train arrived. At the end of the first century the Church – referred to in the New Testament as the bride of Christ – was tied to the train tracks, about to be run over by the Roman Empire. The first Christians weren’t just hoping Jesus would come back some day; they desperately needed Jesus to come back and to come back soon, because if he didn’t they were going to get killed. And it was to those Christians, Christians tied to the train tracks, that the Apostle John wrote the Book of Revelation to comfort them, to give them hope, and to challenge them to stay strong.
Last week we read the first three verses of Revelation; let me read to you the next five verses from Revelation 1:
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, 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, and has made us to be a kingdom of priests to serve his God and Father – to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.
Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it 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 1:4-8)
Jesus Is Really Coming
Now if you are to be tied to the train tracks, struggling to get free while you hear the whistle of the train in the distance, how would these words be helpful to you? How would this encourage you? Verse 7 is the obvious highlight, isn’t it – “Look, he is coming with the clouds…” Jesus is really coming back, John assures his readers. He’s not going to sneak back. He’s not going to come as “invisible man.” When he does come back, it will be a big deal. Every eye will see him. Other places in the Bible tell us that Jesus’ return will be accompanied by trumpet sounds and angel shouts. Don’t worry, John tells us – you won’t miss Jesus’ return. You won’t come out of the shower one day and find out that Jesus came and left while you were shampooing your hair. When Jesus comes back, everyone will know it.
But why, we wonder, does John say that all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him? Maybe you’ve seen the bumper sticker that says, “Jesus is coming back… and he’s really mad.” Guess what? There’s some truth to that.
Let me give you the big picture and then show you a few more verses. How many of you have ever felt that you were treated unfairly? We all have, haven’t we? Your parents gave your sister more than they gave you – that was unfair. Your teacher gave your entire class failing grades because one person cheated on the test – that was unfair. You lost your job when you were the company’s hardest working employee – that was unfair. You’ve been a stickler for only eating the healthiest food and you got cancer while your friend eats nothing but junk food and is as healthy as can be – that’s not fair.
On one of my trips to India I met a pastor who was from Nepal. He now lives in India, pastoring a church of Nepalese Christians. If you baptize someone in Nepal into the Christian faith, the punishment is six years in prison. So is that fair? I’ve baptized hundreds of people in San Jose, and I’ve never spent even one day in jail.
The first missionary ever sent out from America was Adoniram Judson, who went with his wife to take the message of Jesus to the people of Burma. Because Burma got into a war with England, and because Judson spoke English, the Burmese arrested Judson and put him in prison. For nearly two years Judson spent the majority of his hours being hung upside down from his ankles. And I imagine that Adoniram Judson wondered, “How long, Jesus? How long before you come back? How long before you do something about this injustice?”
It was to Christians who knew firsthand the kind of injustice and pain Adoniram Judson endured that John wrote these words: “Look, Jesus is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, and all the peoples of the earth will mourn.” Why will they mourn? Because when Jesus comes back he will make right every wrong, and he will deal with the wrongdoers. Listen to these words from 2 Thessalonians:
God is just; he will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction … on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed. (2 Thessalonians 1:6-10)
Life is not fair, but don’t despair – Jesus is coming back, and when he does he will make everything right. For those of us who follow Jesus, that is good news. But for those who have rejected Jesus, it’s not.
I wish we had time to go through every phrase in Revelation 1, because every phrase is packed with meaning. We all know what “small talk” is. Before you dive into the real meat of a conversation – whether it’s in a business meeting or lunch with an old friend or your weekly small group – you need to spend some time in small talk. And that’s what we suspect John is doing in these first few verses of Revelation; this is just small talk. We want to get to the good stuff, the stuff about Armageddon and the Antichrist. But these first verses aren’t small talk; none of Revelation is. Let me just use one phrase to show you what I mean.
In the middle of verse 5 John writes, “To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood…” That sounds a little like small talk, doesn’t it? But think again about the people who first read these words. They are tied to the train tracks. Life is hard. They’ve lost their jobs simply because they believe in Jesus. They have seen family members put to death for believing in Jesus. Everything is going wrong. And when everything is going wrong, don’t you sometimes think to yourself, “God must be punishing me. I must have done something very wrong for God to do this to me.” I’ve thought that; I’ve had people suggest to me that the reason certain bad things were happening to me was because of my sin. And I imagine these early Christians wondered the same thing.
But here’s what John, their pastor, has to say to them: “Folks, you aren’t in trouble because of your sin. This book is from the one who loves us and has freed us from our sin. Jesus already paid for our sins. He’s not going to make you pay for your sins by making you miserable; that’s not how it works. Jesus loves you and has forgiven you. So don’t think for a second that the reason these bad things are happening to you is because God is punishing you.” And that’s a message we all need to hear, especially when life is hard. You lost your job? You lost your wife? You’re sick and you don’t know if you’re going to get well? Hear this – these things aren’t happening to you because God is mad at you or because he’s punishing you. Your sin is forgiven. The price has already been paid. That’s not why this is happening to you.
So why do bad things happen to people who love and trust Jesus with all their hearts? Don’t worry – John will get to that. The book is 22 chapters long, and we’re just at the beginning. But know this – Jesus, the one who loves you, the one who died for your sins, is coming back, and when he does, everyone will know it and every wrong will be made right.
Keep Doing What You Know Is Right
So, what do we need do in the meantime? What do we do while we wait? Here’s the answer; it’s one of the main points of this book – keep doing what you know is right. Be faithful. Persevere. Continue to worship the Lord Jesus. Look at the next few verses:
I, John, you 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. On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, which said, “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches…” (Revelation 1:9-11)
Last week we talked about the background of this book. It was written by John, the last of Jesus’ original twelve disciples, and the disciple who was closest to Jesus. John was the pastor of the church in Ephesus, but now he is in exile on the island of Patmos, having been arrested for telling people to worship Jesus instead of the Roman emperor Domitian.
And notice what John is doing on Patmos. He’s not whining. He’s not complaining. He’s not petitioning the authorities for his release. He’s continuing to do what he knows is the right thing to do. He’s worshipping. Verse 10 says, “On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit…” Commentators tell us that by these words John means us to understand that he was at worship. It was the Lord’s Day – not Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath, but Sunday, the Lord’s Day, the day Jesus rose from the dead. And while John was worshipping, what happened? Look again: “On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet…”
In a way that he’s never experienced before, John meets God. I wonder how many times John faithfully went to worship, Sunday after Sunday, before he finally met God like he met him on Patmos? John had been a follower of Jesus for about 60 years. If he had gone to worship every Sunday for 60 years, that would have been over 3100 times. Maybe you can identify with John. All your life you’ve faithfully come to church. You’ve worshipped God the best way you know how, whether you felt like it or not, and you did it because you knew it was the right thing to do. But you’re still waiting to really meet God, to meet him in a dramatic, life-changing way. Here’s what John would tell you – Don’t give up! Keep worshipping, keep pursuing, keep obeying, keep seeking. God will come if you keep doing what you know is right.
Don’t Be Afraid
So what did John see when he met God that day? Here’s what he reports:
I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lamp stands, and among the lamp stands was someone “like a son of man,” dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like a sun shining in all its brilliance. (Revelation 1:12-16)