Persevere Knowing What’s Coming

Transcript

GR 1502
10-05-08
Persevere Knowing What's Coming
Revelation 1:8-12
GilRugh

We're studying the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ, so you can turn to Revelation 1, right at the very end of your Bible. And what a fitting place for it because it brings to completion what started, as we've already observed, in the book of Genesis when God brought all creation into existence. Now in the book of Revelation He tells us about the culmination and conclusion and the ultimate fulfillment of His plan for all creation.

You know it's important to keep before us that unless you have some understanding of how all things will end, you're left with a rather meaningless, purposeless existence. If we don't know where we're going, we don't have any idea of the outcome, we're left to flounder around and look for things to give life meaning and purpose, to get as much enjoyment now, to try to find something to give life purpose now. And you really have no question to the why. Why am I here? Why are these things happening in the world? Why should I put something else before my own personal pleasure and satisfaction? Why shouldn't I give my life to the pursuit of pleasure and personal fulfillment? Without some understanding of the end, there is no real basis for morality in our society. How do you come up with the conclusion of what's right and wrong if it's connected to the immediate now? The Bible says it is tied to the fact of awareness that God is moving all things toward His appointed conclusion, and that will include the judgments of all people. And everything is put in perspective in light of that.

Go back to the Old Testament to Ecclesiastes 11:9, rejoice, young man, during your childhood. And let your heart be pleasant during the days of young manhood, and follow the impulses of your heart and the desire of your eyes. Do whatever you want, get whatever enjoyment you want. But one qualification here—yet know that God will bring you to judgment for all these things. Over in chapter 12 verse 13, the conclusion when all has been heard is fear God and keep His commandments. Because this applies to every person. Why? Why should I? For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil. And that's what the book of Revelation does for us. It shows us that God's judgment is real, it is before all of us, judgment poured out on this world that is in rebellion against Him, a judgment that will become intensely personal and include every single individual who has ever lived. So it puts present life in a context. I have certain freedom to do as I would desire to do, but you understand everything you do will come under the judgment of God. And so in light of that the conclusion of the matter is fear God and keep His commandments.

Come back to Revelation. There are a number of other passages on that, but that gives us a perspective. Revelation 1:1-8 have formed an introduction to the book and have given some basic background material. And amazing what is being compressed in there. We had the trinity presented to us in verses 4-7—God the Father, God the Holy Spirit and God the Son. All represented, all presented here at the very beginning of the book. Then we're told in verse 7 which becomes the key verse 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. We noted this is a Messianic passage and it is given in the context of Christ coming to establish His kingdom. It goes back to Daniel 7:13, we'll be back in Daniel 7 a little bit later, Zechariah 12:10, Matthew 24:30. We noted here it's all the tribes of the earth will mourn. In Zechariah we were told that Israel will mourn in repentance at the climax of a coming 70th week of Daniel. And there will be a national conversion of Israel. But the nations of the earth will be brought to mourning because they recognize that they now come under the judgment of Almighty God and will be called to give an account before the One who has come to rule and to reign over all.

Verse 8 declared, I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty. That statement is given to assure the reality of what was said in verse 7, it will happen, because the sovereign God has determined it will. So that's the connection. Verse 7 really gives you the theme of the book of Revelation, what it's all about. Through the whole book we are moving toward the climax of the return of Christ in chapter 19 in the establishing of His kingdom, which is an eternal kingdom with 1000 years marked off as the first phase in that eternal kingdom. So He is going to come with the clouds and every eye will see Him. Well, I wonder, will it happen? So God gives the confirmation in verse 8. This is God the Father, I am the Alpha and Omega, says the Lord God who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty. He was identified that way in verse 4. Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come. We say, well maybe that's Christ, and remember we talked about it. No, it's God the Father because Christ is mentioned in verse 5, and in addition from Jesus Christ. And between, and from the seven Spirits, at the end of verse 4. So here God the Father speaks concerning the coming of His Son and He says, I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet—the alpha and omega. We'd call it the A and Z in our English alphabet. He encompasses all, He is the beginning, He is the ending. He is the sovereign over all. This is drawn as you might expect from the Old Testament.

Before you go there, though, go to the end of Revelation, Revelation 21. As you read the commentaries, some of these passages you'll find discussion, is it Jesus Christ who is speaking or is it God the Father. And you see how the deity of Almighty God is true of Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And so as you might expect the descriptions can be the same because in their nature, in their character, their being as God, their omnipotence and so on characterizes each of them. Revelation 21:6, then He said to me, it is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. The Old Testament says there was no God before Me, there will be none after Me. I am the only God. Look in Revelation 22:12, behold, I am coming quickly and My reward is with Me. There you would say it is Jesus Christ, God the Son. And I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end, because this is true of Almighty God, the triune God, one God eternally existing in three persons—Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. However you want to say it, He is everything, He rules over all, He brought it all into existence, He will bring it all to its appointed conclusion.

Come back to the Old Testament, just to pick up a couple of those passages. We'll go to Isaiah, limit ourselves to several passages in Isaiah, beginning with chapter 41. Look at verse 4, who has performed and accomplished it, calling forth the generations from the beginning? I, the Lord, am the first and with the last I am He. Look in chapter 43 verse 10, you are my witnesses, declares the Lord, and My servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe Me and understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed and there will be none after Me. I, even I, am the Lord and there is no Savior besides Me. Verse 13, even from eternity I am He. There is none who can deliver out of My hand, I act and who can reverse it. You see He is sovereign over all, so He has absolute total power. He is from eternity. And remember the prophecy concerning the birth of Christ, the One who would be born at Bethlehem was the One who dwelt in eternity. So that concept of the first and the last, the beginning and the end.

Look in chapter 44 verse 6, thus says the Lord, the king of Israel and His redeemer, the Lord of hosts, I am the first and I am the last and there is no God besides Me. The end of verse 8, is there any God besides Me? Is there any other rock? I know of none. You see what's encompassed and when you say I am the first and the last. One more while we're here, chapter 48 verse 12. Verse 11 and the context, for My own sake, for My own sake I will act. For how can My name be profaned and My glory I will not give to another. Listen to Me, oh Jacob, even Israel whom I called. I am He, I am the first, I am also the last. Surely My hand founded the earth, My right hand spread out the heavens. When I call them, they stand together and on it goes.

You see, so that's where we're drawing from now as we come back to the book of Revelation, verse 8, when He declares, behold He is coming with the clouds, verse 7, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn because now judgment has arrived, the day of judgment, the time of their judgment. And it is fixed. You can be sure of it, because the One who is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last, He has declared it is so. And there is no alteration.

He goes on in verse 8, says the Lord God who is and who was and who is to come. And we saw that in verse 4, the way the Father is described. The One who has dwelt in the past, dwelt in the present, and He is the One who is coming, because when Christ comes it is the Father's coming as well. And we'll get to that as we move toward the end of the book of Revelation.

He's also called the Almighty. We won't look at all the passages in Revelation, but 8 other times this title for God is us. This particular word only used one other time in a quote anywhere in the New Testament, but used 9 times including this passage in the book of Revelation. The same kind of stress that you had in I am the Alpha and Omega as we saw in those passages in Isaiah. The Almighty, the Eternal One. You know, we can't take lightly, when God speaks heaven and earth will pass away but His Word will not pass away. The Almighty God stands behind it, it cannot be altered, it cannot be changed. It is settled and fixed, and our hope is in that fact.

All right you come now to verse 9, we really move into the book proper. The first 8 verses having been an introduction to the book, John reintroduces himself in a different context, a different connection. I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance which are in Jesus. He was identified in verse 1, there he was a bond servant, a slave, at the end of the verse. Truth was communicated by His angel to His bond servant, His slave, John. Down in verse 4, John was the one writing to the seven churches in Asia. Now he identifies himself in association with those he is writing to. I, John, and remember we're talking about John the Apostle, the writer of the gospel of John, the three epistles of John. I, John, your brother. So he is in a family relationship with the rest of the redeemed. He, too, was the one loved by Christ in verse 5, and released from his sins along with the rest of us as believers in Christ. So I am now your brother. And God is our heavenly Father. I am a fellow partaker with you in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance, which are in Christ Jesus.

Fellow partaker. You're familiar with the word koinonia, koinonos, fellowship. We used to talk about that a lot in past years. Some of you remember calling your small groups koinonia groups and so on. Fellowship. This has the preposition with on the front of it. So a fellow partaker, a share together with you. And there are three areas, and these three areas are joined closely together. And you can pick that up in our English text here—I am a fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance. You have one definite article, t-h-e, connecting tribulation and kingdom and perseverance. Grammatically in Greek that ties these closely together, not three distinct separated concepts, but three that have linkage together, the emphasis being on tribulation, the first one mentioned here.

Let's look at each of these. I am your fellow partaker in the tribulation. All three of these are connected with being in Jesus. This is referring to the trials and tribulations we experience as God's children. That's going on now. He's not talking about the coming tribulation, as we refer to it, the 70th week of Daniel that will encompass chapters 6-19 of the book of Revelation, but what is presently going on. And these other fellow believers are partaking of it. So he's not talking about a future, he's talking about something that is going on now. A fellow partaker in the tribulations, in the trials that we experience as God's people.

And the kingdom. In the tribulation and kingdom. The kingdom is a reference to the coming earthly kingdom. It will come into view in particular in chapter 20, when the thousand-year reign of Christ begins, and He rules over creation for 1000 years, that's not the end of the kingdom because it is an eternal kingdom. We'll talk about the breakdown and why 1000 years and so on when we get there. But that's the kingdom that we're talking about here. I am a fellow partaker in the tribulation and the coming kingdom that Christ will establish. Now the scripture is clear that it is God's intention, because of the role He has given to us in representing Him in a fallen world, that we experience tribulations and trials. And those tribulations and trials are connected in the New Testament with preparing us for entrance into the kingdom that is yet future. That will unfold through the book of Revelation.

But back up with me to several passages, beginning in the gospel of John, which was also revealed to John the Apostle, who also received the revelation from Christ that we have as our book of Revelation. John 16. Jesus is with His disciples on His last night, He's about to be betrayed and crucified. And He says to them in John 16:33, these things I have spoken to you so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, thlipsi, the same word we have in Revelation for tribulation. You have tribulation in the world. Be of good cheer, take courage, I have overcome the world. So no rosy picture, here, from what you will experience as you serve Me in the world. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage, I have overcome the world. And in 1 John 5 John will pick up this concept of being an overcomer. It will come up in the letters to the seven churches in Revelation 2-3 as promises are given to the overcomers. And who is he who overcomes, but he who believes that Jesus is the Christ. Christ has overcome, and as a result of our faith in Him, we have become victors in Him. But we still are going through tribulations and trials. But even in those trials we have victory because we serve the victorious Lord and ultimately we will rule and reign with Him in His kingdom.

Come over to Acts 14. Here Paul on his first missionary trip, verse 21, after they had preached the gospel to that city, had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium and to Antioch. Remember from our studies in 2 Timothy, Lystra was where Timothy was resident, and on a return trip on the second missionary journey in Acts 16, he'll pick up Timothy at Lystra. What were they doing? Verse 22, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith and saying through many tribulations, there is our word, we must enter the kingdom of God. You see we're not in the kingdom, but this time now is a time of tribulations and trials and ultimately we will be part of the kingdom that He will establish. But it's not the kingdom now. Now is a time of tribulation, now is a time of trial and trouble, persecution, opposition. But that's kept in the context of we are going toward the kingdom in which we will rule and reign with Christ, as we'll be seeing in future studies.

Stop in Romans 8:16, the Spirit Himself testifies with our Spirit that we are children of God. And if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. You see glory is yet future, suffering is the present time. No one who is a believer in Jesus Christ ought to be surprised that there is persecution, that there is opposition from the world as we stand for Jesus Christ, as we present the message of the gospel, as we present the truth of the Word of God.

One other passage and we have to move on. Go to 2 Thessalonians 1. And Paul here is encouraging, the church at Thessalonica was born in the midst of opposition. Paul had to leave because of the intensity of opposition. And verse 4, he says, therefore we ourselves speak proudly of you among the churches of God for your perseverance and faith in the midst of all your persecution and afflictions which you endure. This is a plain indication of God's righteous judgment so that you will be considered worthy of the kingdom of God for which you are suffering. Then he gives them hope about the time. Verse 7, when the Lord will give relief to them, when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire. Verse 10, when He comes to be glorified in His saints and in between there the judgments are brought out. The return of the Lord, a glorious time for believers because He has come to set up His kingdom. But a time of His wrath in bringing judgment on an unbelieving world. You'll note verse 5, these times of suffering, persecution, tribulation so you be considered worthy of the kingdom. We are being tested and proven. Remember that concept of proven, tested, like gold put to the fire so it is refined and revealed for what it is. So that is what God is doing with us now—refining us, proving us, preparing us for the kingdom which is to come, of which we are heirs, which will be ours in glory as we will share the glory of Christ. That's a future time. So you see tribulation is associated with the kingdom, not because we are in the kingdom and suffering tribulation, but because we are in tribulation and what strengthens us during this time of tribulation is the reminder that the kingdom, that the glory that He has prepared for us is in our future.

This concept of fellowship in suffering is a repeated theme in the New Testament. 2 Corinthians 1 Paul tells the Corinthians that God comforts us in our suffering so that we can comfort those who are afflicted. I mean, it's considered the normal Christian life that it will be a life of suffering, hardship, because we are strangers and pilgrims in this world. We don't fit, the world doesn't appreciate us. Jesus said, if the world hates Me, it will hate you. If they hate My word, they will hate your word because why? We just give forth the Word of Christ. Somehow this idea that as we get settled in to a prosperous world that we want to settle in and be prosperous and be accepted and be well liked and still faithfully serve our master who is hated. Remember, Jesus put it right out front, the slave is not better than his master. Why should we expect better treatment than He? Oh this is a different day, people think differently. Same fallen people, same fallen world, same god of this world, a world inhabited by people who are by nature children of wrath. And that's what we were until we were saved by God's grace. It's a time of tribulation, a time of trial.

Come back to Revelation 1. I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom. And we'll say more about the kingdom as we move along. So some of the concepts seen piecemeal, especially if some of this is new to you don't get discouraged because the revelation given by Jesus Christ to John will build on it, and the picture gets clear. It's like you're putting a puzzle together, the next piece you put in that puzzle starts to give more clarity. And so it is as we move through the book, kingdom will become a clearer concept.

The third thing joined here is perseverance, because as those going through tribulation now, looking forward to the kingdom. What do we need for the now time? Perseverance. A compound word that means to live under pressure. So perseverance, that we go through trial and we endure it. Why? I know God has a purpose in bringing this. What's the specific purpose? I don't know specifically, but I can tell you what the goal is. He is refining me in preparation for sharing His glory and His kingdom. So John says I am a brother of yours. You know what? I'm also one who shares together with you, I'm a fellowshipper with you in tribulation, in the coming kingdom and in the perseverance, continuing on. That will keep coming up as we go through the churches, the letters to the churches in Revelation 2-3.

Come back to Romans 5. He's been talking about the wonder of our salvation and the righteousness provided for us in Christ. Chapter 5 opened up, therefore having been justified by faith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we exalt in hope of the glory of God. You see it's the hope before us. And not only this, but we also exalt in our tribulation. There is our word. We rejoice in our tribulation. Why? Knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance, and perseverance proven character, and proven character hope, and hope does not disappoint. Why? Because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts through the Holy Spirit. For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. And if He died for us when we were ungodly, think of what He'll do for us now that we are the redeemed, we belong to Him. That's the emphasis. So you see the place now tribulation but we can rejoice in tribulation because we know God is developing our new character in Christ, producing His character in us. And it's going through trials.

You know you can't raise your children in a hothouse. Why? Somewhere they have to get out and get an ability to live in the world. You don't want a 35-year-old conducting himself like a 5-year-old, never learned to cope with life, to deal with pressure. Where is mommy? Where is daddy? I don't know what to do. Well in a similar kind of way God is developing us. You say, why, if God loves me, would He put me through this? Proven character, a refining. We want our children to learn. Difficulties and trials are part of life, you have to learn to deal with them properly. So God is developing us, preparing us. The end result is our hope is sharpened and that hope will be realized. We are back to where we are in Revelation, Christ is coming in glory and it is a settled matter because the eternal God who is Almighty has declared it, and He is the One behind our hope, the Holy Spirit producing it in our hearts. And isn't it true that suffering and trials sharpen your focus on the hope? Oh, if only Christ would come, oh if we could only be in glory with Him now, only if He were ruling what a difference it would make. No more sickness, no more sorrow, no more tears. I wish it were now. Suffering has a way of doing that to you, doesn't it. Now when the money is rolling in and the health is good, and we have all these things. We say, it's all right with me if the Lord doesn't come until tomorrow or the next day or the next day. Life is good. Praise the Lord for the trials and the difficulties that keep us from becoming too attached here and to fix our hope on His coming.

Well we have to come back to Revelation, I have numerous other passages on that but they will wait for a future day. We'll see more of that when we get to the letters to the churches and the need for that perseverance under trials and tribulations. What is John going through? Well verse 9, I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance which are in Jesus. These are all connected to Him, there is no way you can avoid tribulation, persecution, trials and fail to be identified with Christ. So he is talking about joining with those who are his brethren, whom he is joined with in fellowship in Christ and these things.

I was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. Patmos was a rocky barren kind of island, a shipping stop because it was an ideal seaport. The way it was located it provided a good, safe harbor from adverse weather in the day of sailing ships. The Romans used it as a penal colony, it was about 10 miles long and 5-6 miles wide at the widest. And it was a place where they would ship people that they wanted to confine. We're talking about Paul's Roman imprisonment. But imprisonment wasn't the preferred treatment that the Romans used. It was used primarily for criminals under condemnation and execution. We saw Paul in house arrest at the end of the book of Acts, a Roman soldier watching over him. Exile, banishment to an island like this, punishments that they would use. The early church historian Eusebius says that John was banished here by the Roman Emperor Domitian. Domitian was Roman Emperor from 81 A.D. to 96 A.D. Eusebius says that John spent 18 months in exile on Patmos and was released and returned to Ephesus following the death of Domitian in 96 A.D. John would have been about 90 years of age at this time, I mean, we're about 95 A.D. He was one of the followers of Christ during His earthly ministry, it's been over 60 years since the crucifixion of Christ. So John is an elderly man. Some of the church history writings say that John, here, was sentenced to work in the mine. We're not sure, there seems to be general agreement about his exile here. And when he says he was here because of the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus, that would indicate that his suffering here, his presence in exile was because he preached the truth, because he was faithful to the gospel, because of his willingness to be identified with Christ. The years have gone by but they haven't softened John, either. Remember Paul is going to go by execution. Here you have the man, John, 90 or 90+ years of age, but he is still at it, as long as the Lord gives him breath.

So he is on Patmos. I guess his ministry is over. No. Little did he know when he was exiled to Patmos. Why, Lord, at my elderly age and my faithfulness to you would you send me to such a place. He didn't know. Bibles would be a little bit truncated if they ended with the little epistle of Jude, wouldn't they. John didn't know he was going there to get one of the greatest revelations from God that would be given to man. And the church down through the centuries of time would benefit. You know, we don't always know what the Lord is doing, why He puts us through what we're doing, why the tribulations that come, come. But we can rest confident, our God is the Almighty God, He is the sovereign One, He is working all things for our good and His glory. Do I always know and be able to put my finger on yes, that's the good that is going to come of that. I don't, I don't know. That's why we walk by faith. My faith is in my God, not in my ability to discern specific purposes and everything He puts me through. Sometimes we'll say, I don't see how any good can come of this. Well maybe none of my Christian friends can see any good that can come of it, either. That's all right, it doesn't shake my confidence because none of my Christian friends are God and neither am I. And I know my God, the One who is the first and the last, the Alpha and the Omega, the Almighty. He knows what He is doing, and I do know He is developing proven character and perseverance in me. Now the specific details of all this, I can't sort out perhaps, but that's all right night, I don't need to. I can walk by faith.

So John is on the island of Patmos and he is there because of his testimony for Christ. What a testimony of a faithful life. He'll be 90 years of age and still be such a thorn in the side of an unbelieving world that they want to get rid of you, exile you to an island where you get minimal influence. But you can't outmaneuver God. Put John on Patmos and what does God do? Give him a revelation that will impact the world for coming millenniums. You can find John, I guess we shut him up, put an end to his influence, didn't we. Men never outmaneuver God, man never wins. Cut Paul's head off and we're still studying his letters. God always is victorious. We need to remember that. We are never defeated, because our victory is in Him. We are in Him and He has overcome the world so be of good cheer.

I was in the spirit on the Lord's day and I heard behind me a voice, a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet. I was in the spirit. One of those things, my translation capitalizes spirit. Sometimes hard to tell whether he is talking in his spirit in the sense of being like in a trance, the way the Holy Spirit communicated to Peter, God spoke to Peter in Acts 10, the way He spoke to Paul in Acts 22 where Paul was in a trance and gave his testimony before the Jews. That could be here, it would still be the Spirit of God could be working. I was in the spirit on the Lord's day, I think it may well be referring here to in John's spirit, he was transported and has these visions. They are not actual physical things that happen, but they are happening to him as they are unfolded in the visions and so on, that will take place. Either way you come to the same point because the Holy Spirit is involved in all revelation. The same Holy Spirit who moved in men of old, moved John because John is going to be told to record this and he records it under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, so we come to a similar point.

I was in the spirit on the Lord's day. We have another expression here, the Lord's day. What are we talking about? We think of the Lord's day referring to Sunday as the Lord's day. Is that what he's talking about? Or are we talking about the Day of the Lord, that formal period of time that encompasses Revelation 6-19. Either one would be true, it won't change the interpretation of the book of Revelation, but I think in the context here he is probably talking about more the Lord's day as perhaps Sunday. One commentator took it as the day the Lord was giving him special revelation, which would be fine. He's not in the Day of the Lord yet, and incidentally this is not that exact expression—the Day of the Lord. Here you have an adjective used, it's a different grammatical form here. It won't change the interpretation of the book of Revelation if it is the Day of the Lord because much of the book of Revelation is about the Day of the Lord. But I think in the context here, in light of the subject matter, because there is going to be revelation given to John immediately. Verse 10, he is in the spirit on the Lord's day and the rest of chapter 1 and all of chapters 2-3 and 4-5 will be given to him before the Day of the Lord. The tribulation, the 70th week of Daniel starts in Revelation 6, so it's not technically true that he was in the Day of the Lord here when he heard behind him a loud voice like a trumpet. He's not there yet. He has the revelation of the first 5 chapters as we have it, to unfold before he gets into the Day of the Lord. That's another reason I don't think it's the formal Day of the Lord here. Perhaps the first use of that as the Lord's day referring to Sunday.

He hears a voice behind him and it is a loud voice, it's like a trumpet. It calls for attention, that voice that demands you listen, there is authority here. The revelation given to Ezekiel in the opening chapters of his prophecy, he hears a loud voice, it's like an earthquake, a rumble, the sound as God comes to speak. There is that power, that authority, that majesty that calls for attention. And this voice, he is commanded, write in a book what you see and send it to the seven churches. You write it in a book, in a scroll, a biblios, referring to the parchment, the less expensive scroll material, not the animal skins which would be a little more expensive, costly writing material. And this would be a long scroll, I think one person estimated that as they piece together the various pieces of parchment that John would write on that they would be sewn together and rolled up as a scroll. Fifteen feet, I'll double check that because I don't have it written down, but I think that was estimated for a book like this. It would be a long scroll of parchment, put that under your arm and walk around. You have a scroll here that will contain everything, the rest of the book of Revelation will be in it.

He is to write it in a book, in a scroll what you see and it is to be written for the benefit of the seven churches. And they are listed—Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, Laodicea. They were mentioned in verse 4, not by name, but as the seven churches that are in Asia, the Roman province of Asia. We call it Asia Minor, modern day Turkey. And these were the postal centers and they are listed in the order that would have been traveled to deliver the mail. And what is going to happen is these letters will be transported to each of the seven churches and evidently as they are delivered you start with Ephesus. There will be a special message to Ephesus, but the message to each church is for all the churches, as we'll see. Remember they conclude, he who has an ear to hear what the Spirit says to the churches, plural, even though each one is addressed to an individual church. So evidently as you get to Ephesus, you have the message there, you have the whole scroll, the whole book of Revelation, and so it is suggested the first thing that would have been done is they would have made a copy so they have it. And then you go on to the next church and a copy would be made. That would be a possibility, the details aren't given, but it is to be taken and read for all the churches and their benefit.

John is curious, and we have to stop here, but we just have to poke our heads into it. Verse 12, then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands. And in the middle of the lampstands I saw One like the Son of Man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet and girded across his chest with a golden sash. And the description goes on down through verse 16, which will have great impact and effect on the Apostle John who falls as a dead man before His feet. So an awesome scene that unfolds in preparation. Here you have this awesome revelation and vision being given to John to start the book. And when he turned to see who was speaking with him, he saw seven golden lampstands. And now we have symbolism here. We saw that symbolism already. The voice was like the sound of a trumpet. It's not a trumpet, but it's like a trumpet. We use analogies to describe voices. What was his voice like? Oh it was like ................. Well, it was tinny. What do you mean tinny? We know what that sound is, we're describing a certain kind of voice. Didn't mean it was literally tinny but it had a tinny sound. So we know what we're saying with the trumpet.

So here, I turned and I saw seven golden lampstands. The lampstands represent something. There are literally seven of them in the vision. But down in verse 20 we are told, the end of the verse, the seven lampstands are the seven churches. So these lampstands represent churches. There are seven of the lampstands, individual lampstands. Each one represents one of the seven churches, seven literal churches. So you note there is a connection. We want to be careful here that we get this because some of those who don't believe in a literal interpretation of Revelation do away with all the numbers of Revelation because we are in the context of a symbolic book and since this is a symbolic book the numbers will be symbolic and not literal, too. The number 7 may represent something in its completion, but it doesn't change the fact, we're going to talk about seven literal specific churches. And they are represented here now by seven specific lampstands. Now we're not talking about the lampstand like we normally think of associated with the tabernacle and temple in the Old Testament where you had one lampstand with one centerpiece and then three prongs out each side. The King James Version calls these candlesticks. But they didn't have candles in those days, either, nor did they have light bulbs. They have oil lamps. Now this is not one of those seven-pronged candlesticks or lampstands, but each one is a single lampstand. And what it is, is a stand and on it you put an oil lamp in which olive oil has been put and you put the cloth wick out, the oil soaks up the wick and you light the wick and now you have a light. So it's the lamp on that stand and you have seven of these. And we are told in the context that each lamp represents a church. That would fit with what the churches are to be, what believers are to be—lights in the world. And so there is a connection why a lampstand, giving off light in the darkness to represent the churches. There is a clear connection in the symbol here in what is being presented. You just can't make up anything.

In our next study we will look at a few of the passages that describe this. And remember that God is light, in Him is no darkness at all. And we are lights in the world and we don't put our light under a bushel. And we are to be lights in the darkness. These kinds of passages. So what is pictured in a symbol is a clear, literal truth of churches giving off the light of the knowledge of Jesus Christ that Satan does not want shining in the darkness, as Paul writes to the Corinthians.

What an awesome scene to start. John in a situation in his advanced years of suffering, we think he might be enjoying his good retirement. He's been preaching the Word of God and banished for it. But he sees himself just as a fellow sufferer. Join with others who have been faithful. In these days I fear it may be hard to find someone who can say, we're fellow sufferers because of our testimony for Christ, because we allow our testimony to become so muted that there is relatively little suffering associated with it. But for John he includes it as a normal pattern. I didn't expect to be in a retirement home at 90, I expected to be testifying for Christ if I were still here. And I can write to other believers, write to the churches and say, I'm a fellow sufferer with you. Here I am at Patmos. So take heart in your suffering, I'm suffering along with you and God is about to unfold the marvel of the revelation of coming events in a detail not before given. And we can appreciate what our God has planned for the future.

Let's pray together. Thank You, Lord, for Your grace and Your graciousness, Your mercy and love. Thank You that You have loosed us from our sin, set us free, made us new. We are now Your children. You, the Almighty, the eternal God, the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, You are our heavenly Father, the One who loves us and cares for us, watches over us. No tribulations, no trials, no difficulties come into our lives apart from Your perfect plan for us. All part of Your preparing us for glory. Lord, may we rejoice to be able to know that You are at work in our lives for good, even in the most unpleasant of circumstances. Thank You for John, thank You for the testimony of his long life, even at the end of his life here he is at Patmos and he has been a strong, burning testimony for You and thus been banished, been recognized as a center of the gospel, one who proclaims the truth and so been sent to an island where he could do little damage. But Lord, Your plan is perfect and the impact of his being Your slave is for our benefit, even to today. I pray that the truth of Your Word as we have heard it today and the fellowship we've had with like-minded believers might encourage us as we go out to serve You in a variety of ways and a variety of places in the week ahead of us. May our testimony be strong and clear. May we be bold and be willing to be identified with Jesus Christ and the message of life in Him. We pray in His name, amen.