It's all about Jesus!
Notes
Transcript
Recap:
Recap:
It is going to be very crucial for us to continually go over the our foundation of this incredible book. This book falls under three different types of genres: letter/epistle, prophecy, and apocalyptic.
In dealing with Revelation it is important to understand that there is 3 major sections to it:
I. The things that John had seen in chapter 1.
II. The thing which are: this is where we get the 7 different addresses to the churches throughout the Roman province of Asia, which is in the eastern part of modern day Turkey. As found in chapters 2-3.
[HW]: What were the seven churches referred to here?
7 churches in Asia. Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.
III. The thing which will take place after this, and this portion is the least covered and probably the most controversial. Covering chapters 4-22.
Last week we looked at several different way to interpret Revelation:
The Preterist View: This approach believes that Revelation dealt only with the church in John’s day. In the Preterist approach, Revelation doesn’t predict anything. John simple described events of his current day, but he put them in symbolic code so those outside the Christian family couldn’t understand his criticism of the Roman government. In the Preterist view, the Book of Revelation was for then.
The Historicist View: This approach believes that Revelation is a sweeping, disordered panorama of all church history. In this approach, Revelation predicts the future, but the future of the “church age”—not the future of end-times events. This view hold, that Revelation is full of symbols that describe now. And example of this view many of the Reformer s called the Pope the beast of Revelation 13. Believing that Revelation spoke of their time, without necessarily speaking to the end times.
The Poetic View: This approach believes that Revelation is a book full of pictures and symbols intended to encourage and comfort persecuted Christians in John’s day. In the Poetic or allegorical view, this book isn’t literal or historical. Revelation is a book of personal meaning.
The Futurist View: This approach believes that beginning with chapter 4, Revelation deals with the end times, the period directly preceding Jesus’ return. In the Futurist view, Revelation is a book that mainly describes the end times.
This is my opinion. Each one is true in some regard. The book of Revelation did speak to John’s day. It speaks to church history. And it does have meaning for our personal life. Along with the understanding that it speaks of a time not yet.
Our application from Last week was that we need to keep our eyes fixated on Jesus. Our emphasis needs to be to magnify and glorify Jesus Christ our Savior!
Introduction:
Introduction:
Last week we looked at the purpose of Revelation of Jesus Christ, the reveling, record , and the blessings of studying Revelation. This week we are going to continue starting with the people this is written too.
vv.4-6 The People:
vv.4-6 The People:
[HW]: What does the phrase, “who is and who was and who is to come” teach us about God?
John brought a greeting from God the Father, who is described with this title. And it speaks to the eternal nature of God. It has the idea of being a timeless Being, and it connected with the name YHWH found throughout the OT:
3 I appeared to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, as God Almighty, but by My name Lord I was not known to them.
15 And Moses built an altar and called its name, The-Lord-Is-My-Banner;
It is never enough to just say that God is, or to just say that He was, or to just say that He is to come. As Lord over eternity, He rules the past, the present and the future. This description if you notice applies to God the Son and God the Holy Spirit as much as it does to God the Father. In fact, the title YHWH describes the Triune God, the One God in Three Persons. Yet it seems that the focus here with that title is on the Father. This is because God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are mentioned separately in the following words of this verse.
[HW]: What may the seven spirit refer to here?
The idea of the seven Spirits quotes from the OT. Isaiah 11:2
2 The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him,
The Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
The Spirit of counsel and might,
The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.
In that verse it describes seven aspects of the Holy Spirit: Spirit of the Lord, wisdom, understand, counsel, might, knowledge, and the fear of the Lord. The point of this isn’t for us to think that there are seven different spirits of God, rather the Spirit of the Lord has these characteristics, seven being the number of perfection and completeness. It is not surprising that the number seven is found 44 times in Revelation.
[HW]: What does verse 5 teach you about Jesus? (faithful witness, firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of kings)
Jesus is the faithful witness: this speaks to Jesus’ utter reliability and faithfulness to His Father and to His people, even unto death. The Greek word translated witness is also the word for martyr: μάρτυς. Implying one who witnesses at cost of life.
[HW]: In what way was Jesus the “firstborn of the dead?”
Firstborn from the dead: This speaks of Jesus’ standing as preeminent among all being, that He is first in priority. Firstborn from the dead means much more than that Jesus was the first person resurrected. It also means that He is pre-eminent among all those who are or will be resurrected. Romans 8:29
29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
The use of firstborn doesn’t mean that Jesus had a birth date and is therefore a created being, and not God. The ancient Rabbis called YHWH “Firstborn of the World.” They also used first born as a Messianic title.
[HW]: What hope does this give to us today?
What a beautiful title for Jesus! “To Him who loved us.” It points us back to a particular time and place where Jesus loved us… It looks back to the cross. Every believer should be secure in God’s love, not based on their present circumstances (which may be difficult), but based on the ultimate demonstrating of love at the cross. This is worth praising Jesus about!
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
It is a sad affair when believers question their, if Jesus loves them. They are only focused on their present circumstances to measure His love. Instead, they need to look back to the cross, settle the issue once for all, and give praise to Jesus, to Him who loved us!
We are also washed of our sins! What Jesus did on the cross cleansed us from the deep stain of sin, so that we really are clean before Him. 1 John 1:9
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
If there were any other way to wash us from our sins, God could have done it that other way. To wash us in His own blood through… meant the ultimate sacrifice of God the Son.
“The priest could only cleanse with the blood of bulls and goats; but He has washed us from our sins ‘in his own blood.’ Men are willing enough to shed the blood of others. How readily they will enter upon war! But Christ was willing to shed His own blood, to pour out his soul unto death, that we might be saved.
But wait there’s more! “made us kings and priest to His God and Father:” This is the statues Jesus gives to those whom He loved in His work on the cross and who are washed in His own blood. In the OT, it was forbidden t ocombine the offices of king and priest. King Uzziah of Judah is an example of a man who tried to combine the two office, and paid the penalty for it. Getting leprosy. However under the New Covenant, we can be like Jesus in the sense that He is both king and Priest:
31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”
14 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
vv. 7-8 The Person:
vv. 7-8 The Person:
Application:
Application:
Home Work Questions:
Home Work Questions:
What did John have in common with his audience?
Why was John on Patmos?
What likely motivated his opponents to put them there?
How can we see that God providentially used this for the advancement of the kingdom?
What can we learn from this about God’s providence?
What does it mean that John was “in the Spirit?”
What was John commissioned to do?