“Behold, He is Coming”

Transcript

GR 1501
09-28-08
“Behold, He Is Coming”
Revelation 1:4-7
Gil Rugh

Turn in your Bibles to the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ. We've just begun our study of this book, it's the capstone, the climax of God's revelation to mankind. It brings together all that God has said and done in the history of His revelation, of the redemption of fallen, sinful humanity, and of a creation corrupted and defiled by sin so that Romans 8 can say, all creation groans in anticipation of the time when we will be unveiled as the sons of God. We gain an appreciation of the importance of the book of the Revelation when you consider this is God's final word to the church. There will be no additional revelation from God to His church until we stand in His presence following the rapture of the church. This is, in effect, His last word to us as the church of Jesus Christ. No further inspired messages. Many claim to be inspired messages, but this is the final word and that's why Christ concludes it with a word of condemnation, curse upon anyone who adds to it or anyone who takes away from it.

The focus of the letter we think of as prophecy. And that's what it is, a prophecy. But it is to have an impact upon us because we are to live in light of it. And that was the promised blessing in verse 3, to he who reads, to those who hear the words of the prophecy and heed, keep, the things which are written in it. Then what is written here, it is to shape the way that we live. Prophecy is not given to just satisfy curiosity about future events, it is given to unfold to us the plan of Almighty God and so that we can live in light of that plan. And John wrote in his first epistle in our Bibles just a little bit before Revelation, that everyone who has this hope fixed upon Him purifies himself just as He is pure. So it does impact the way that we live.

It brings comfort and encouragement during times of stress and trial. Reminds us what the ultimate outcome will be, where God is taking us as His people. We are going to be reminded again and again that we live on the brink of the return of Jesus Christ. That is to have a drastic impact on the way that we live, the way we think and the way we order our lives.

We are going to pick up with verse 4 and in the pattern of letters of this time John is going to talk about the destination as well as the origin of this letter. We've gotten a summary of the pattern of Revelation, it has come from God the Father to God the Son to angels to John to churches. Now he'll have more to say about that.

John, to the seven churches that are in Asia. He's already been identified as the human author of this letter when at the end of verse 1 he was the recipient from the Father through the Son through the angels to John. Now again, he is going to pass it on to other bond servants of Jesus Christ. John the Apostle, the author of the gospel of John, the author of the epistles of John—1, 2 and 3 John. The beloved disciple, the one so close to Christ during His earthly ministry, the one who had the position of intimacy and closeness with Christ at the Last Supper when he reclined at the table with his head toward the chest of Christ.

He is writing to the seven churches that are in Asia. They are the recipients, the direct recipients of this Revelation from Christ. There are seven of them, they are in Asia, what we know as Asia Minor, the Roman province of Asia, modern day Turkey. We talked about this, the city of Ephesus is one of these seven churches. They will be dealt with in detail and specifically and individually in chapters 2-3, beginning with the church at Ephesus in chapter 2. So we'll have more to say about these churches.

The number 7 is very prominent in the book of Revelation. It appears 54 times in the book. There are lists in a number of the commentaries and so on of all the 7s in Revelation. I thought of listing them all for you, but you get lost as you move down such an extensive list, so we'll be observing them as we move through. I take it that 7 is used literally, the number 7 is a literal number 7, and it is used because it does represent God's completion of fulfillment, going all the way back to Genesis 2:2. In six days God created everything, on the seventh day He rested. So in that seven-day period everything is completed and concluded, and God rests and ceases from His active work of creating.

So 7 is used, and why did He select seven literal historical churches? Because they will also represent churches wherever they are down through history. We'll say more about the significance of the churches. Because the letters are specifically addressed to these seven churches, but these seven were selected for a purpose. These aren't all the churches that are in Asia. We know one very prominent one that won't be included in the seven churches when we look in chapters 2-3—the church at Colosse, the letter to the Colossian church was written to them. But it is not listed in this seven. So these seven specific churches were selected to receive this revelation and specific information addressed to each church because, really, you can find your church and the church no matter where you are in history in these seven churches.

So in verse 3 there was blessing to the one who reads, the one who hears and the one who heeds what is written to these things. As we look at the end of each of these letters, look in chapter 2 verse 11, he who has an ear let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. So everyone with spiritual hearing is to listen and learn what the Spirit of God is saying to the churches. And what He says to the church at Ephesus, which is what we are talking about with chapter 2 verse 11, is for all the churches and everyone who will have spiritual ears to hear. And each of the letters to the seven churches, down in verse 17 of chapter 2, down in verse 29 of chapter 2, verse 6 of chapter 3, verse 13 of chapter 3, verse 22. So that call for everyone who has spiritual ears to hear the Word of God through the ministry of the Spirit is to take heed to this. So these seven churches, we'll look at in detail, they were churches of John's day that received this revelation, but it is intended beyond that as the context will make clear.

We ought to also note, these letters are addressed to seven local churches. They will have an impact on the church of Jesus Christ wherever it is, whenever it is in time. The manifestation of the church of Jesus Christ on earth in its entirety is in the local church. We sometimes lose sight of that as though well, the church in its worldwide existence, comprised of all believers on earth at this time is what is significant. But that's not where the focus of the New Testament is, we've looked at this on other occasions. And if you look at all the uses of the word church in the New Testament, you'll find that the overwhelming majority, 90-some out of 112 or so, rounded off, refer to local churches. So that's where the focus of this revelation is giving, to local churches.

All right, Revelation 1:4, John, to the seven churches that are in Asia. And as I said, we'll have more to say about those when we come into chapter 2. Grace to you and peace. Standard greeting, but not just idle words because they are standard. God's grace is God's unmerited favor and what comes of them is God's grace in providing for them in every way, their salvation, this revelation to enable them to know more of God and His plan and purposes for them, His grace which sustains and enables for every situation in life. And some of these churches are going to go through tremendously difficult times.

Peace. And that's the privilege of those who have God's grace. Because of God's grace we have peace with God, and because we have peace with God we have the peace of God, Romans unfolds for us. And Philippians unfolds the peace of God stands guard at our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. And it's in Christ we have become the recipients of God's grace and of God's peace.

Now what he's going to do, there is a threefold source of this grace and peace that is unfolded here. And here we have all three members of the trinity. All three persons who comprise the one true and living God are identified as the source of this grace and peace. Three prepositional phrases identify each of them, we have them translated from. John to the seven churches who are in Asia, grace and peace to you 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. So those three phrases identify each person who is God. But we don't have three Gods, each together comprise the one true and living God. But each in Himself is God. We are told in Colossians, in Christ all the fullness of deity dwells. So when you have Christ you don't have parts of God, you have God. And yet there is more to God than just Christ, there is the Father and the Spirit. And none of us grasp with our finite minds the reality of the trinity, and there are no examples or illustrations of the trinity that don't collapse in one area or another, because the triune God is unique. There is nothing like Him, there is nothing to compare Him to. I say this so you don't get discouraged and say, well, I don't know that I totally understood that. Well you didn't totally understand it because the preacher teaching it to you doesn't totally understand it and I can't teach you what I don't understand. But I can teach you what the scripture says and the revealed things belong to us and the secret things still belong to God. And in all honesty, there are things that we will not understand through all eternity, because we will never exhaust the knowledge of the eternal God. We will always be created beings and so even through eternity we won't have the completeness of knowledge that belongs to God alone because He is God and we are not.

All right, with that helpful introduction, let's look at each of these. You say, why are we even bothering? Because God has revealed this and we have to understand, we are required to understand what God has revealed, even though it won't give us completeness of understanding.

The first source of this grace and peace, it is from Him who is and who was and who is to come. Now the first reading of that you'd say well that would be Jesus Christ. I mean, He's the One who is to come. But Jesus will be mentioned down in verse 5, and from Christ. So we're not talking about Jesus Christ, here, we're talking about God the Father. And the emphasis here is identified as Him who is, presently. And who was, in the past. And who is to come. It's the One who is eternal, who exists in the present, He existed in the past and He doesn't say, and who will exist in the future. But He is the coming One. God is coming in judgment and He is coming to reign. Now we often think of that as the second person of the godhead, Jesus Christ. But you understand when He comes in judgment, when He comes to reign, the Father comes in judgment and He comes to reign. The Spirit comes in judgment and comes to reign. Like Jesus said, He who has seen Me has seen the Father. If you have Me, you have My Father, My Father will come and make His abode with him, I will come and make my abode with him as He talked in John's gospel.

So the reality is God the Father will be coming in judgment and coming to rule over His creation. We talked about the kingdom of God, we talked about that universal kingdom that has always existed and then that kingdom that will be manifested with His personal rule on earth, focusing in the person of the Son of God. But God the Father present in that. So He is the coming One, and when the Son reigns, the Father will be reigning. Just like this is the revelation of Jesus Christ. But where did it come from? God the Father. So grace and mercy come from the Father.

It gets even more involved. And from the seven spirits who are before His throne. And then the third person will be from Jesus Christ. I mention that because you see you have the seven spirits. It comes from God the Father, it comes from Jesus Christ, and in between he says, and from the seven spirits. Some say these seven spirits are angels. Not possible. We get toward the end of the book, John will be so overwhelmed with the revelations that have been given to him through the angel, he'll fall down to worship the angel. And what does the angel say? Don't do that. Why? I'm a slave like you are. You worship God. So you can't have angels here being the source of God's grace and mercy. God is the source of His grace and mercy—God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. So grace and peace come from the Holy Spirit.

Over in chapter 3 verse 1 you will have the same identification in the message to the angel of the church in Sardis write, he who has the seven spirits of God says this. This is the one Spirit manifested as seven spirits. Keep in mind, God is spirit, those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth, John 4 says. So here you have the One we identify as the third person of the triune God, God the Holy Spirit. How do you manifest Him in physical form for the benefit of created beings? For the benefit of John who will record this? Here He is manifested as the seven spirits before the throne, not seven individual persons because it will be the one Spirit manifested in seven spirits before the throne. And thus I take it the Holy Spirit in His perfection.
Look over in chapter 4 verse 5 where He will be represented in the seven lamps of fire. Out from the throne come flashes of lightning and sounds and peals of thunder. We're in heaven now, and chapters 4-5 will unfold the pattern of Revelation as we get a little further along in our study. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God. So here the Holy Spirit is manifested and represented with seven different manifestations. And we have that symbolism identified for us because the seven lamps of fire burning before the throne are the seven spirits of God. So another way to manifest the Spirit's presence. And we'll talk about that symbolic representation when we get here.

Over in chapter 5 verse 6, I saw between the throne with the four living creatures and the elders a Lamb standing as if slain. Now here you have the throne of God the Father, you have the Lamb, Jesus Christ, the One who was slain having seven horns and seven eyes which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. So here now the Holy Spirit represented as the seven eyes. So the symbol used, He manifested Himself in seven ways here as seven spirits, seven eyes, seven lamps. But it's the Holy Spirit of God in His perfection and completeness.

We have to go back to the book of Zechariah chapter 3. Remember the Old Testament, the book of Revelation is filled with allusions and references to the Old Testament, hundreds of them. No direct quote, but hundreds of references and allusions so we'll have to be coming back to the Old Testament from time to time to help you. Verse 8, we have to break into the context because we can't do all the setting of the Old Testament passages moving in. Verse 8, now listen, Joshua, the high priest, you and your friends who are standing in front of you. Indeed they are men who are a symbol. Now we're told, you stand here representing something. I'm going to bring in My Servant, the Branch. We know that from other passages of scripture. For behold the stone I have set before Joshua, on one stone are seven eyes. So you see where the seven eyes were picked up in Revelation 5:6, which we just looked at. The seven eyes, well you come back here, here are the seven eyes.

Jump down to chapter 4 verse 2, and he said to me, what do you see? I said I see and behold a lampstand all of gold with its bowl on top of it, its seven lamps on it with seven spouts. So here you have a lampstand and it's like a candle stand, if we can use that, here the oil lamps burning. And there are seven branches. So you have the seven lamps on it with seven spouts belonging to each of the lamps which are on the top of it. Jump down to verse 6, he said to me, this is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel saying, not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts. So what are we talking about? We are talking about the Holy Spirit and God's work ultimately is not accomplished by power, but by My Spirit. It doesn't take the forces of earthly armies and so on, it's the Spirit of God who does the work of God, represented here as seven eyes, as seven burning lamps, these oil lamps.

You come down to verse 10, for who has despised the day of small things, but these seven will be glad when they see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. These are the eyes of the Lord which range to and fro throughout the earth. We are told in the wisdom literature, the eyes of the Lord run to and fro on the face of the earth, beholding the evil and the good. The seven eyes, they are the eyes of the Lord, the Spirit of God. Remember at creation in Genesis 1? The Spirit of God hovered over the face of the deep, the presence of the Spirit of God beholding. So it's number seven, and these identifications of seven eyes, the seven burning lamps, that identify for us it's not by might nor by power, but My Spirit, says the Lord of hosts. So we know we're talking about the Holy Spirit of God here.

Go back to Isaiah 11, some would also connect it with Isaiah 11. I'll mention that. Verse 11, then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse and a Branch from his roots will bear fruit. We just saw that representation in what we just read in Zechariah. 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, going on to describe Christ. Some would say this is a reference to the Holy Spirit here. You'll note, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, that's two; counsel and strength, that's four; knowledge and fear, that's six. To get the seventh you have to include the general reference to Him, He's the Spirit of the Lord. I don't have any problem with that, that may well be because we know the Spirit did rest upon Christ in His fullness, and so on. And we saw Him descending upon Christ at His baptism by John the Baptist as the beginning point of His ministry as the Messiah of Israel. So Isaiah 11 may be included in that ........... But again, the Spirit in the sevenfold references, seven the literal number here, and what the writer, Zechariah or John, is literally seeing. But why seven? It represents Him in His fullness, in His completion, and that's how He is being revealed to us. How else do you reveal the Spirit of God who has no bodily form? There was the Son of God who took to Himself humanity so we could have all the fullness of deity dwelling among us in bodily form. But here you have the Holy Spirit manifested in a visible way for John's benefit and for our benefit.

All right, come back to Revelation. So grace and mercy come from God the Father—from Him who is and who was and who is to come. And from the seven spirits who are before His throne and the Holy Spirit of God. Now we come to verse 5, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness. And he has reversed the order here that we might have expected. We might have expected it would have gone from God the Father to God the Son to God the Holy Spirit. But he put God the Holy Spirit second here as the source because he is going to elaborate to a much greater extent on Jesus Christ as the source here. Because He is the focal point of God's revelation to us. It is the second person of the triune God, God the Son who was selected in eternity past in the council of the godhead, Ephesians 1 tells us He counseled with Himself. It refers to the godhead. The Son would take to Himself humanity to reveal God to man and be the Savior for mankind. So you have much fuller development, you have all of 5 and 6 here unfolding what takes place and then even the 7th.

So Jesus Christ, He has a three-fold title here. He is called the faithful witness, He is called the firstborn of the dead and He's called the highest of the kings of the earth. Let's look at this. Verse 5, from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, Christ the faithful witness. During His earthly ministry He was the One who testified to the truth. You have to come back to John 18. We're going to look at New Testament passages, then when we've looked at all three of these references we're going to go back and see a key passage in the Old Testament that stands behind them. But in John 18:37 Jesus is before Pilate. Pilate said to Him, you are a king. Jesus answered, you say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, for this I have come into the world, note this, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice. I came to testify to the truth. He is the faithful witness, faithful One who testifies to the truth.

Come over to 1 Timothy 6. When Paul writes this first letter to Timothy in chapter 6 verse 13, he refers to what we just read in Jesus' statement to Pilate in response to Pilate's question. 1 Timothy 6:13, I charge you in the presence of God who gives life to all things and of Christ Jesus who testifies the good confession before Pontius Pilate, keep the commandments. So Jesus is the faithful witness. When we get to Revelation 22 we'll see a repeated emphasis of the testimony of Christ.

Come back to Revelation. Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, that's what He did during His earthly life, that's what He is doing through the book of Revelation. A second way He is identified. He is called the firstborn of the dead. And firstborn has the idea of priority, sovereignty, sometimes time. But because of the context it comes to mean priority. He is the firstborn of the dead. So you can take this in logical order. He was the faithful witness during His earthly ministry as His testimony before Pilate said. He came to testify of the truth. He was crucified, He was raised from the dead. And as we saw in our study of 1 Corinthians 15 He is the firstfruits of the dead. He is the first to receive a glorified, resurrected body. There were prior resurrections to physical life, but Jesus Christ is the first to receive a body raised from the dead in its glorified state, indicating that there will be coming resurrections to follow.

Christ is referred to as the firstborn in several New Testament passages—Romans 8:29 would be one of them. But turn over to Colossians 1, and this is one of those churches in Asia which are not going to be among the seven are the direct recipients of this letter, this revelation. In Colossians 1:15, Christ it the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. Verse 18, He is the head of the body, the church, He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead. And there is the same phrase we have here in Revelation, the firstborn from the dead. Why? So that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. For it was the Father's good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him and then through Him to reconcile all things to Himself. Over in chapter 2 verse 9 we're told that all that fullness refers to all the fullness of deity dwelling in Him in bodily form. He is the firstborn. Doesn't mean in chapter 1 verse 15, He was the first created thing. But He is the One who brings all creation into existence as John 1 says. By Him all things were created, and apart from Him nothing has been created that has been created. Nothing is in existence that He didn't bring into existence. So He is the priority, the superiority, He is the firstborn because He is the Creator. So we have that emphasis here in Colossians 1:16, for by Him or in Him all things were created. That includes visible and invisible things, angelic beings, spirit beings as well as human beings. All things, the end of verse 16, have been created through Him and for Him. So you see that emphasis in firstborn, His superiority, His priority, His sovereignty being brought into play. We'll see that in a moment in an Old Testament passage as well.

Come back to Revelation 1 and look at verse 18. The end of verse 17 he says, I am the first and the last, then verse 18, and the living One. I was dead, behold I am alive forevermore. I have the keys of death and of hades. He is sovereign over death, over hades where the spirits of the dead go until they are finally sentenced to hell. So He is the sovereign One.

Back in Revelation 1, He is the firstborn of the dead, He is the ruler of the kings of the earth. So His sovereignty, He is the Lord of lords and King of kings as will be repeated in the book of Revelation. Lord of lord, King of kings, what does that mean? He is Lord of all lords, He is the King of all kings. So here we are told He is the highest of the kings of the earth, He has supremacy over all. And this ultimately looks to the time when He will rule on the earth. We're not talking about now a spiritual kingdom when He has authority, there will come a time when all the kings of the earth acknowledge His kingship, all the rulers of the earth recognize He is the sovereign ruler of all rulers.

Hebrews 2, the writer to the Hebrews is starting out by demonstrating the superiority of Christ to everything in Israel. It's been demonstrated His superiority to angels as he started out. So in Hebrews 2:5, He did not subject to angels the world to come concerning which we are speaking. So that coming world when Christ will reign. For the Jews you have the present time and then you have the coming age, the age of the Messiah. But that won't be under the rule of angels. But one has testified somewhere saying, what is man that you remember him and the Son of man and so on as he quotes the Old Testament. Verse 8, you have put all things in subjection under His feet. For in subjecting all things to Him, He has left nothing that is not subject to Him. But now we do not see all things subjected to Him. But we see Christ. And that's God's plan for the ultimate subjecting of all things to Christ and then to us who belong to Christ.

Come back to Psalm 89 and we'll see some of what we have just read about Christ set forth for us in Psalm 89. Psalm 89 is a psalm about God's covenant with David, the Davidic Covenant that was given in 2 Samuel 7. We studied that a while back in our study of 2 Samuel. It starts out, I will sing of the lovingkindness of the Lord forever. Come down to verse 3, I have made a covenant with my chosen. I have sworn to David my servant. So that's what we're talking about here, the Davidic Covenant. And some interesting things. Verse 4, I will establish your seed forever and build up your throne to all generations. So the reign of the seed of David is going to be permanent, forever, through all succeeding generations.

Look in verse 27, I shall also make Him my firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth. Here he joins together what we have as unfolded into two separate things concerning Christ that we just looked at, the three things—the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead and the highest of the kings of the earth. Here I will make Him my firstborn, I will give Him preeminence, and that will include ruling as the highest of the kings of the earth. Because the ultimate fulfillment of the Davidic Covenant will be when the Son of David sits on the throne of David. This is not happening yet. We can't transfer this to some kind of heavenly throne on which Christ is now sitting, ruling over the hearts of men. I mean, this was given to David who had a throne on earth and a guarantee to the physical seed of David and must be fulfilled with the Son of David sitting on the throne of David, ruling from Jerusalem, as the highest of the kings of the earth. So you can see the reference back here. I make Him my firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth where He ruled with supremacy.

Interesting also in this chapter, the assuredness of the covenant God made with David. If David's descendants violate the law, verse 30, and so on, they'll be punished. But verse 33, I will not break off my lovingkindness from him nor deal falsely in my faithfulness. It would be dealing falsely to say, I told you, it's not a literal throne, it's not on the earth, it's not ruling literally over the kings of the earth. It's a heavenly throne, it's a spiritual reign. No, I will not deal falsely in my faithfulness. My covenant I will not violate nor will I alter the utterance of my lips. There are people who think well, the New Testament changes the promises of the Old Testament. You understand what God says, I will not alter where I have spoken. It is fixed, there will be no changes. There will be clarity given to the revelation, but no changes in the revelation. There is additional revelation and additional revelation will give clarity of understanding. The book of Revelation is going to do that, but the book of Revelation will change nothing that had been promised in the Old Testament. We sometimes wonder, why do people have so many different interpretations? One main reason is some people think you can change what the Old Testament said because the New Testament now has come so we redo the Old Testament. But God says, I won't alter what I have said regarding these promises. He's talking about a covenant with David, once I have sworn by my holiness, I will not lie to David. His descendants shall endure forever, his throne as the sun before Me. It shall be established forever like the moon and the witness in the sky is faithful. That word faithful there, the throne of David will be established as a testimony of God's faithfulness. And remember Christ started out as the faithful witness. Just like you have the sun and the moon in the sky, the throne of David is going to be there. And it will be a faithful witness and testimony, so the faithful witness that Christ bore during His earthly ministry will continue. And He is the faithful witness. And when He sits on the throne of David, that will demonstrate He is the faithful witness and testifying to the fulfillment of the promises of God literally, exactly as He gave it. So it prepares us for what is to come.

Come back to Revelation 1. There is a lot in these verses, isn't there? A lot of scripture packed in to little spaces. Now think about it, how privileged we are. I'm telling you, turn in your Bibles, it's in black and white. Remember in John's day somebody had to stand up and say, I'm going to read you the book of Revelation this evening. Listen closely. And here we go. How blessed we are. Back in Revelation 1. The mention of Christ here, from Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, the ruler of the kings of the earth leads him into a doxology of praise to Christ. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins, by His blood. 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. Behold He is coming. And we get the idea John is caught up in what is being revealed to him, and the awesomeness of this truth. To Him who loves us, the One who is the supreme ruler of the kings of the earth, the firstborn from the dead, the faithful witness. He is the One who loves us, present participle. He loves us. He is writing to the churches, writing to His bond servants in verse 1. This is revelation given to show to His bond servants, His slaves, those that He has purchased for Himself, those who have believed in Him. To Him who loves us. We are the objects of His love, His ongoing love. He loves us and released us from our sins, by His blood. We've moved from a present participle to an aorist participle and the act of Christ in shedding His blood, dying on the cross to pay the penalty for our sin, to set us free from our sin. He has released us from our sin.

Come back to John 8. Interesting, so much of what John writes in his gospels shows up in his epistles and also form the background for what he writes in Revelation. God has prepared him as you would expect, for what He would reveal through him. In John 8, during Jesus' earthly ministry, He's addressing the Jews. Verse 31, He was saying to those Jews who had believed in Him, if you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine. You'll note here, it is not enough to hear the Word, not enough to profess to believe the Word, but there is persistence in the Word, faithfulness to the Word. And you will know the truth and the truth will make you free. The Jews said, we are Abraham's descendants, they thought physical lineage was enough. And we have never yet been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you will say you won't become free? Jesus answered them, truly, truly I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. Verse 36, if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed. He released us, He loosed us from our sins, our slavery to sin. Paul elaborates on this in Romans 6, that we have been set free. He loosed the bondage we had to sin, the slavery to sin. He set us free. And all of us were enslaved to our sin. For all have sinned and he who sins is the slave of sin, and the only way to freedom is through the finished work of Jesus Christ.

And that's why he said, back in Revelation 1:5, He released us from our sins by His blood. And at times there are some strange ideas about what is represented here by blood. And we almost get to some kind of mystical sense that is the physical blood of Christ itself. The blood represents His death. The wages of sin is death. If Jesus Christ had bled but not died, there would be no forgiveness of sins, you understand. It's not as though His blood has some kind of almost Roman Catholic mystical quality about it. It's by His blood, meaning He shed His blood. We still talk about it today. We say there was bloodshed, there was a lot of bloodshed, referring to death. We refer to it in wars for our country, a lot of men shed their blood. What do we mean? They got scratched, they got cut? No, they died. So we're talking about here that Christ died. The wages of sin is death. His crucifixion is not referring to how much blood came from His wounds, it is referring to the fact He died. That's what Romans 6 develops. And we died with Him when we placed our faith in Him. So He loosed us from our sins by His blood, by His death. And when we believe in Him we are identified with Him in His death, in His burial and in His resurrection. In His body on the cross He bore our sins, Peter wrote in I Peter 2. So we have been set free.

Furthermore in verse 6, He has made us a kingdom, priests to His God and Father. Collectively He has made us a kingdom, individually we are priests. God has promised Israel that they would be a kingdom of priests in Exodus 19:6. This does not mean the church has become Israel, but it does mean it is the people of God, saved, both from Israel and the church that will comprise the kingdom when Jesus the Messiah of Israel establishes it on earth. But Israel will still be Israel, the church will still be the church, and the nations will still be the nations, even out into eternity as we'll see as the book of Revelation unfolds this truth to us.

We're looking in anticipation of the coming kingdom. Look over in Revelation 5. Here we move to the throne room scene of heaven, following the time of the churches. And in Revelation 5:9, this is an acclamation of praise to Jesus Christ, the Lamb that was slain to provide redemption. Verse 9, they sang a new song, saying, worthy are you to take the book and to break its seals, for you are slain and purchased for God with your blood, men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. You have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they will reign on the earth. You'll note, the fulfillment of this anticipates the time when we will reign on earth. Will we reign with Christ now spiritually? Forget it, that's not what he's talking about, he's talking about the time when we will reign on the earth as a kingdom, as priests to God.

Jump over to Revelation 20:6, blessed and holy is the one who has part in the first resurrection. Over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years. You see when this kingdom takes place and is established, we have an order presented here. We will first have to have the first resurrection, we haven't had that yet so we're not in the kingdom, we're not reigning yet. But it will be a provision for those who are part of the first resurrection, which is a quality of resurrection that will include church saint resurrected at the rapture, Old Testament saints resurrected at the Second Coming along with tribulation saints. That's when we will reign with Him, there will be a kingdom and priests. So we just want to be careful we take these things as God gives them and are sure to be precise in following what he is talking about.

Come back to Revelation 1. So what does he say to that? To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. I mean, what else can I say? He falls down to praise the living God and the One who is our Savior, the One who loves us, the One who died for us to loose us from our sins so that we could rule and reign with Him in the kingdom He'll establish on the earth. To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever, all honor, all glory because God has ordained that every knee will bow, every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father, Philippians 2. So to Him be glory, to Him dominion forever and ever. Amen. I mean, it's true.

Then you have the key verse of the book of Revelation—verse 7. This states the theme of the book, 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. He is the coming One, He is the One coming to rule and reign. Behold calls attention to something of great importance. It's used over 30 times in the book of Revelation. Pay attention, listen carefully. Behold, He is coming with the clouds. Looking forward to the coming of the Son of Man in glory to receive His kingdom.

We have to go back to Daniel 7:13. And here we've come to the climax of earthly nations. We'll be working through this in Revelation 6-19. Now we're ready to set up the throne of God on the earth and you read in verse 13, I kept looking in the night visions and behold with the clouds of heaven one like the Son of Man was coming. Verse 14, to Him was given dominion, glory and a kingdom that all the peoples, nations, every language might serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away, His kingdom is one which will not be destroyed. To Him be the glory and dominion forever and ever, as John said. Behold He is coming with the clouds. And indeed He will have dominion over everything. So that is the Messianic reference coming from the Old Testament that is behind such a reference. Every eye will see Him.

Stop at Zechariah 12:10, I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and of supplication. Now note here, this is a special work of God and a work of the Spirit of God. The spirit of grace and supplication so they will look on Me whom they have pierced, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only son, they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping of a firstborn. This comes at a time of Israel's salvation, because God's Spirit works supernaturally, and the spirit of grace and supplication here. And they are mourning over, now their eyes are opened, they realize their guilt in crucifying their Messiah.

Look at Matthew 24:30, and then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky and all the tribes of the earth will mourn. Now here is a different mourning. In Zechariah 12:10 we saw the mourning of Israel, a mourning of repentance because of the grace brought to them by the Spirit of God. Here you have the tribes of the earth mourning and they are mourning in the face of coming judgment. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. Can you believe a preterist says that this happened in 70 A.D. in the destruction of Jerusalem?

Come back to Revelation. Every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him. All the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So you see the combination here—every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. The coming of the Lord is not a good time for unregenerate people, it is the time of their destruction, it is a fearful time. And we'll see this as we unfold.

But Christ is coming, that's the theme of the book. And He's coming in judgment, He's coming in deliverance, He's coming with salvation. So His coming is a wonderful time for His servants, and through the book of Revelation that will be something anticipated by those who become believers during this time. And it is a time of our hope, and we look forward to when we will rule and reign with Him. But it is a time of judgment, for most of the book of Revelation focuses on the time of judgment climaxing with the return of Christ in Revelation 19. So from Revelation 6-19 we're talking about judgment like the world has never seen. Billions of people will die under the judgment of God during that relatively brief period of time. Then Christ will return and He'll bring salvation to the nation Israel and He'll bring judgment to a non-believing world. I am the Alpha and the Omega says the Lord God who is, and was and who is to come, the Almighty. And we'll look more fully at that when we pick up next time, unless the Lord comes for the church, then it will all be clear to us in glory.

Let's pray together. Thank You, Lord, for Your grace. Thank You for the revelation You've given. Lord, indeed we are in awe with John, we would not know where to begin. Amazing what You have chosen to make known. Lord, we are just beginning and yet John has to declare the wonder of Your grace and Your mercy and declare that You, the living God, are worthy of glory and dominion. Your Son is the One who will reign. You will be sovereign over all, the nations of the earth will bow. And, Lord, the wonder of our redemption is that it has been so complete, it has satisfied the demands of Your justice, Your righteousness, Your holiness so that we might be accepted in Your presence as those who have been set free from our sin. And, Lord, ordained to rule in a kingdom that You will establish on this earth, to be priests to God, to serve in Your very presence. Lord, what a wonder awaits us in what is yet before us. We have tasted of the beauty of our salvation, but the fullness of the glory that You have prepared for those that love You is yet before us. Lord, indeed this truth should shape us in the way that we live our lives, even in the days of this week. And, Lord, may we be reminded that we live with the expectation that our Lord may come for His church even before the day is over. And that is our blessed hope and our excited anticipation. We thank You, in Christ's name, amen.