The Revelation of Jesus Christ: The Father’s Perfection Part 1
Message on The Lord in Revelation Chapter 1
All scripture is from NASB
Let us go on a journey of discovery, and that discovery is the revelation of God the Son, presented by God the Father. This book is a whole, and I must hasten to add that God holds the book of Revelation very precious, and in no way can it be tampered with or dismissed. You can dismiss it by neglect; neglect is culpable and dishonoring. We must pause to take notice of a special warning given to all generations – Rev 22:18-19 “I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God shall add to him the plagues which are written in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the tree of life and from the holy city which are written in this book.” This is God’s stamp of inspiration right throughout this book. Indeed, right throughout the Bible, but emphatically so in this last book of the inspired canon of scripture.
Those verses settle the matter of authority, but we will begin with verse 3 – Rev 1:3 “Blessed is he who reads, and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it, for the time is near.”
This is the only book in the entire Bible where a promise of blessing awaits anyone who reads this book or hears it being spoken. That is quite a promise, yet the book of Revelation remains one of the least considered books in the entire canon of scripture. Why is that? The church generally has shied away from this book probably through lack of understanding of what has been written, or not wanting to enter into contention with those of opposing views. There is no excuse for those with lack of understanding because so many great resources are out there (and must be chosen discriminately). But most of all, spend time with the Lord and in the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit. The fact that the waters are horribly muddied by false teaching and confusion is no reason not to proclaim the word with authority as from God Himself. Let the churches not be cowards.
My purpose in this examination is to open the window on only a small portion of this book because we only want to scratch the surface with this introduction. I want to open the window on the revelation glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, especially in this Chapter 1, not on the unfolding of the prophecies of the book, or even on the state and prophetic history of the 7 churches. Not in this message. I would love to do that, but it is not my purpose here.
The word revelation is from the Greek root apokalupto, meaning a revealing as in a revelation, but is best understood as an unveiling such as where a curtain is removed from a painting or plaque. It is like the peeling of an onion, layer by layer with each layer, or the party game “Pass the Parcel” revealing another precious truth about the Lord Jesus Christ, then another, then another. Thus, this book provides layer on layer, revelation on revelation, picture on picture about the Lord Jesus Christ. I have given up using the word “Apocalypse” for the name of this book. The word is not wrong, but Hollywood has ruined the meaning of the word, typical of the garbage from Hollywood.
The book is the Revelation of Jesus Christ, not a revelation of man, much less, the revelation of John, or worst of all, of St John the divine as titled by the KJV. John was the longest lived of all the apostles and died around the age of around 96 in Ephesus, after having been exiled on Patmos around the year AD 95/96. John would have been horrified at being titled “the divine.” He was one of the chief apostles, yet he never made claim to the apostolic term in his writings. The very nearest he came to any title was, “John, your brother,” in verse 9 of this book, and “elder” in his epistles. In verse 1 he merely identifies himself as a “bond servant.” What a lovely attitude in grace and humility; whether we be considered more or less important by man, in God’s sight we are but brothers if we are the children of God.
It is in this book that we can see the revelation of the Person and Character of the Lord shining through. Chapter 1 is so full of the Person and the work and the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. Thus, we have “The Revelation of Jesus Christ – The Father’s Perfection.”
Rev 1:1 “The Revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must shortly take place, and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John.”
* The chain of revelation = Father’s revelation à Jesus Christ à Angel à John à Churches à God’s People.
* The Person = Jesus who is Saviour – Matt 1:21 “She will bear a Son and you shall call His name Jesus, for it is He who will save His people from their sins.” “Christ” is the Messiah, The Promised One.
* The future = Revealer of secrets – as was Daniel – Dan 2:22 “It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things. He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with Him.”
* The slave and the awl. Exodus 21:6. A bond slave forever. Christ our Master to whom we are (or ought to be) bound (to Him).
We begin the Revelation of Jesus Christ – Revelation 1:1, “The Revelation of Jesus (Saviour who shall save His people from their sins, Joshua the Conqueror) Christ (He is the Messiah, the Promised One to His people Israel, the Anointed One) which God gave Him (The Revealer of secrets) to show to His bond-servants (The [Our] Master of what is fair and just and righteous) the things which must shortly take place (The Revealer, The Prophet), and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant (Our Master) John.”
Rev 1:2 “who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw.”
* We are to be ones who bear witness to the truth, i.e. to Jesus Christ, The Truth. John was the faithful witness, as was his Lord.
* John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:14 “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
* Elsewhere John speaks of the witness of Jesus – John 3:32 “What He has seen and heard, of that He bears witness and no man receives His witness.” John 3:33 “He who has received His witness has set his seal to this, that God is true.”
Rev 1:2 “who bore witness to the word of God (It is here as he writes, the words spoken but John is the disciple most acquainted with the Word of God as he wrote in his gospel chapter 1) and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw.” (Jesus is the Witness and Testifier.)
Rev 1:3 “Blessed is he who reads, and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it, for the time is near.”
In God’s time, “near” can be even two thousand or three thousand years hence. This can be shown from the Old Testament prophets. It is now 2,000 years but we do really look at this world and know the time is near.
Rev 1:4 “John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace, from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne.”
* Titus 1:4 “To Titus, my true child in a common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Saviour.” “Grace and peace” was the common greeting of Paul in nearly all his letters. It was used by John and by Titus, indicating it was a universal common greeting in the early church. Paul used it as his special trademark.
* John 14:27 “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you, not as the world gives, do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.”
* Seven Spirits = the Holy Spirit in his full and complete perfection, 7 being the perfect number of completion. 7 is used over and over in Revelation.
* Among all the Apostles and leaders in the Apostolic Church, John was the one who kept to the fore more than others, the divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus was from the beginning, dwells in the present, and is in the future. (More on this later on.)
Rev 1:4 “John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace (the Gracious One and the Author of Peace; the Prince of Peace) from Him who is and who was and who is to come (the eternal God, the Almighty, the Promised one, the coming Lord, the great I AM), and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne,
Rev 1:5 “and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the first-born of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us, and released us from our sins by His blood” –
* John 5:36 “but the witness which I have is greater than that of John, for the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish, the very works that I do, bear witness of Me that the Father has sent Me.” John 8:18 “I am He who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me.” John 10:25 “Jesus answered them, ‘I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, these bear witness of Me.’” The faithful Witness.
* 1 Cor 15:20 “But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.” 1 Cor 15:23 “but each in his own order: Christ the first fruits; after that those who are Christ’s at His coming,” The First-born of the grave, the first-fruits of those who will follow.
* John 12:24 “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains by itself alone, but if it dies it bears much fruit.” From the dead. Christ was that grain of wheat that fell into the ground and died, resulting in such a harvest of souls.
* Rev 19:16 “On His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, ‘KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.’ Zech 14:9 “And the LORD will be king over all the earth; in that day the LORD will be the only one, and His name the only one.” Ruler of the kings of the earth. Lord of all!
* John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.” He loved us even to death.
Loved with everlasting love,
Led by grace that love to know;
Spirit, breathing from above,
You have taught me it is so.
Oh, this full and perfect peace!
Oh, this transport all divine!
In a love which cannot cease,
I am His, and He is mine.
His forever, only His:
Who the Lord and me shall part?
Ah, with what a rest of bliss
Christ can fill the loving heart.
Heaven and earth may fade and flee,
Firstborn light in gloom decline;
But, while God and I shall be,
I am His, and He is mine.
* Gal 5:1 “It was for freedom that Christ set us free. Therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.” Released us from slavery.
* John Baptist could say, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” Rom 5:9 “Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.” Lamb of God; justified by His blood. Released us; snapped the chains.
Rev 1:5 “and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness (The faithful witness who witnessed to the Father’s glory, truth and all other things), the first-born of the dead (the first-fruits of the resurrection – the grain of wheat that died and rose to produce a harvest), and the ruler of the kings of the earth (He is the Lord of Lords and the King of kings, the King of the Jews who came and who is to come; The Millennial King). To Him who loves us (He is the loving One – the God of love – the sacrificial love, the One who loved us unto death, and continues that love in the present tense), and released us from our sins by His blood (The Lamb of God, our Deliverer, our Justifier. He broke the chains) –
THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST SO FAR IN REVELATION 1 (Verses 1-5)
Verse 1 – Jesus, Saviour, Joshua, Conqueror, Christ, Messiah, The Promised One, The Anointed One, The Revealer of secrets, Master of what is fair and just and righteous, The Prophet.
Verse 2 – The Witness, Testifier.
Verse 4 – The Gracious One, and the Author of Peace; the Prince of Peace, the eternal God, the Almighty, the Promised one, the coming Lord, the great I AM.
Verse 5 – The faithful Witness who witnessed to the Father’s glory, truth and all other things, the first-fruits of the resurrection – the grain of wheat that died and rose to produce a harvest; He is the Lord of Lords and the King of kings, the King of the Jews who came and who is to come; Millennial King who comes. He is the loving One – the God of love – the sacrificial love, the One who loved us unto death, and continues that love in the present tense. The Lamb of God, our Deliverer, our Justifier. He broke the chains.