Sermon Tone Analysis

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Intro: The book of Revelation is one of only two books in the Word of God that has encoded within it a divine outline of its contents.

It’s found in verse nineteen of chapter one: “Therefore write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after these things.

Revelation 1:19 (NASB95)

 

The things “which you have seen” are what John saw in chapter one (our text today).

The things “which are” are Christ’s words to the local churches in chapters two and three.

And the things “which will take place” comprise the remaining chapters, four through twenty-two.

Let me start right from the get go and inform you that we will not be studying the third division.

So you won’t find out who the anti-Christ is going to be, nor will you learn how Russia fits in to the end-times scenario, and you can forget about discovering just what is the mark of the beast?

That is for another time.

Today we will breakdown and dissect the first division: the things John saw, something every good preacher must do if he’s going to preach the second!

Let’s start with verses 9-10 where John gives us the background of the text…

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*I.        **The background*

*I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance which are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.

I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day… Revelation 1:9-10 (NASB95)*

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Who the author was… the apostle John, writer of the gospel and the letters, the closest  disciple to Jesus.

Also the one Jesus said would remain until He came.

Where he was… the island of Patmos: a rocky and isolated island off the coast of modern day Turkey.

It was used during Roman times as a kind of Alcatraz.

Why he was there… his faith: John most likely had been banished there by Emperor Domitian as a wave of persecution against Christians swept the Roman Empire.

MacArthur comments: “The apostle John had been banished to the island of Patmos, and at least one person, a pastor, had already been martyred (Rev.

2:13).

The persecuted, beleaguered, discouraged believers in Asia Minor to whom John addressed the book of Revelation desperately needed encouragement.

It had been years since Jesus ascended.

Jerusalem had been destroyed and Israel ravaged.

The church was losing its first love, compromising, tolerating sin, becoming powerless, and distasteful to the Lord Himself (this is described in Revelation 2 and 3).

The other apostles were dead, and John had been exiled.

The whole picture looked very bleak.

That is why the first vision John received from the inspiring Holy Spirit is of Christ’s present ministry in the church.”[1]

When it took place… John was “in the Spirit” - which means he was in a state of fervent prayer and meditation – on the Lord’s Day.

This term is peculiar to the book of Revelation.

It means it took place on a Sunday: the day our Lord rose from the dead, it was the day Christians gathered for worship and the breaking of bread.

Sunday is the Lord’s Day for the Christian.

John, though exiled and alone, was doing what all Christians should on Sunday: worshipping God.

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Next we hear what John heard…

 

*II.

**The Voice*

*… and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet, saying, “Write in a book what you see, and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.”

Revelation 1:10-11 (NASB95)*

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John hears a voice that is so clear, has such volume and tone, that it can only be compared to a trumpet.

The voice gives John a command to write what he sees and then send it to a particular audience: the seven churches (if some of you have some extra words in your translation, don’t panic).

These seven real local churches, located in what was then known as Asia Minor and today is modern Turkey, are the focus of our series.

The listing follows the postal route of ancient times.

A courier would carry the letter to *~*~*~* advance the map slide now ~*~*~** Ephesus, then Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and the finish at Laodicea.

These are the seven churches of our study.

You’ll get the scoop on each one, good and bad.

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Now we see what John saw…

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*III.

**The Vision*

There are three elements of this vision.

First John saw…

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*A.      **The seven golden lampstands*

*Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me.

And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands; Revelation 1:12 (NASB95)*

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Some of your translations may have “candlesticks.”

Even our graphic shows them as such.

But actually these are stands or a base upon which an oil lamp would sit.

Second and most important, John saw…

 

*B.

**The Lord Jesus Christ*

*and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man… Rev 1:13 (NASB)*

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If all John wrote was this, we might have some concerns about identifying exactly who it was.

But as we look at the details we’ll realize it is our Lord Jesus.

This figure was…

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*1.)     **Dressed as a priest*

*… clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His chest with a golden sash.

Revelation 1:13 (NASB95)*

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This describes someone dressed in priestly garb.

We know that Jesus is the High Priest above all others…

*Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider Jesus, the Apostle and High Priest of our confession; Hebrews 3:1 (NASB95)*

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Thankfully, we don’t have to sneak into some little box with a priest to confess our sins.

We can go straight to God.

But to get to Him we do have to go through a priest…

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*For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time. 1 Timothy 2:5-6 (NASB95)*

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He was dressed like a priest He…

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*2.)     **Looked like a judge*

*His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire.

His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters.

Revelation 1:14-15 (NASB95)*

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All of these things are found in OT descriptions of God and they all have to do with judgment.

The white head and hair symbolized His purity in judgment.

The eyes of fire symbolized His ability to burn through deception and façade.

The glowing hot feet of bronze symbolized His kingly authority.

Jesus is perfectly suited to be the judge of all the earth!

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*For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 1 Peter 4:17 (NASB95)*

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This is exactly what the seven churches is about: Jesus Christ judging His church looking for impurities.

He was dressed like a priest, looked like a judge, and…

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*3.)     **Armed like a warrior*

*… out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength.

Revelation 1:16 (NASB95)*

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Nothing can stand against the Word of God and Jesus is the Word of God!

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*For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

Hebrews 4:12 (NASB95)*

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*And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Ephesians 6:17 (NASB95)*

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Is there any doubt as to whom this?

If there are, there won’t be in a minute.

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John saw the lampstands, the Lord Jesus Christ, and he saw…

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*C.      **The seven stars*

*In His right hand He held seven stars... Revelation 1:16 (NASB95)*

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But look at the…

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*IV.