Revelation Sermon - 51

Lars Janssen

Revelation Series • Sermon • Submitted 4 years ago

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Revelation: Reigning with Jesus

Revelation 20:4-6

1. Introduction – As we begin this morning, I want to draw your attention to some very important words…Words we’ve seen and studied before…

a. Then I saw… Now, we’ve talked about these words before because they show up periodically in the last book of the Bible.

i. These are important words because they remind us that Revelation is not book written in sequential chronological order.

1. When reading and studying Revelation – it’s not about studying the sequence of events so we can draw a timeline and know what is going to happen.

a. The book is not structured around what happens next, it’s structured around what John sees next.

b. I’ve said a few times throughout our study that we shouldn’t ask ourselves the question, “What happens next?” but we should always ask the question, “What did John see next.”

i. Because sometimes what John sees next is in the future, sometimes its in the past…what he sees next doesn’t necessarily happen next.

1. Clear example…at the end of chapter 11 – a glorious throne room scene of worship – we find ourselves at the end of history…

a. The kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of Christ, and he shall reign forever and eve.

ii. But the very first verse of the next chapter says, “Then I saw…” and John goes on to describe for us the events of Christians – an event that has obviously already taken place.

1. The final vision of chapter 11 and the first vision of chapter 12 obviously didn’t follow each other in sequential chronological order.

c. We must pay attention to the words used in the text…they aren’t there by accident, but there to help us along in our interpretation and understanding of the text.

i. “Then I saw…” not “Then this happened…”

1. Now, do the events of 20:4-6 follow chronologically the events of 20:1-3…maybe.

a. But chronology and sequencing aren’t the issue here. We can get so focused on the timing of all of this that we miss what the passage is actually saying.

i. We can get so focused on minor issues, that we miss the gloriousness of what this vision is portraying.

d. Then I saw… Let’s look at what John is looking at.

i. Let’s leave the timing up to God, and let’s focus on the hope that this passage can bring to struggling Christians.

2. Thrones – John says, “Then I saw thrones…” This is actually a really hard verse to translate and interpret.

a. Literally the verse says, “And I saw thrones and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them.”

i. We are never told who ‘they’ are. Our translation this morning said, “and people sitting on them…”

1. That doesn’t really help. But then again, maybe it’s not important WHO sat on the thrones…it’s important THAT they were sitting on them.

a. It’s important THAT authority was given to them.

i. We could speculate till the cows come home about who these people are…but again I think that would be missing the point.

1. This morning I want us to bask in the gloriousness of this scene.

b. John saw thrones, and people were given authority to judge.

i. Let’s explore the meaning of that phrase. We’ve seen thrones before. The 24 elders were seated on thrones surrounding God’s throne.

1. A year ago at this time we studied what is happening in, on, around, behind and in front of God’s throne.

c. And here we’re told that people, maybe the elders, maybe the martyrs, maybe a group representing the whole…we’re told that this group on thrones is given authority.

i. And remember, anytime we encounter the words ‘has been given” in the book of Revelation, those words carry with them the sense of divine initiative.

1. This group has been given, by God, authority to judge.

a. What hope this would bring struggling and persecuted Christians.

d. In the 1st century, the world judged Christians. They were declared disturbers of the status quo – troublemakers…

i. They were guilty of not declaring allegiance to Caesar. The world judged Christians as guilty.

1. In the 21st century, not much has changed. The world still judges Christians.

a. We are declared disturbers of the status quo. We are called archaic and out of touch because of our beliefs. We are judged as intolerant and hateful.

i. We are declared guilty of not bowing down to the god of secularism and progressivism.

1. In some parts of the world Christians are killed for their beliefs.

e. But look at this scene, at this sentence… “Then I saw thrones…” I saw that this group on thrones has been given authority to judge…Wow!

i. What hope that would bring to struggling Christians. Pressed, persecuted, killed now…authority to judge in the future.

1. I see this verse corresponding with what the apostle Paul wrote in 1 Cor. 6:2, “Do you not know that the saints will judge the world?”

a. And here, we have it in a stunning scene in Revelation…a heavenly group given authority…by God… to judge those who had previously judged them.

i. What an incredible phrase…I saw thrones…and we’re just getting started this morning.

3. Martyrs – Next, John says, “And I saw…” He tells us he saw the souls of the martyrs.

a. But there’s something happening here that we need to pay attention to.

i. I believe this is a case of a part representing the whole.

1. John says, “I saw those who were beheaded.”

a. We shouldn’t limit this phrase by interpreting it literally.

ii. Yes, Christians in the first century were beheaded. But they were also crucified, fed to wild animals, lit on fire and used as pawns in the Colosseum.

1. But what John further describes in this verse and vision leads me to believe that he sees God’s people who have passed victoriously from this life into the next.

b. John is once again giving hope to persecuted Christians. They’ve seen their family and friends killed for their faith in Jesus.

i. They seen homes and businesses taken away because of faith in Jesus. Perhaps questions are starting to creep in… is this life worthy it? If everything, even life itself is being taken away…is following Jesus worth it?

1. Isn’t it easier to worship the beast and declare Caesar lord? Well, look at what John writes at the end of v.4… They all came to life again AND they reigned with Jesus for a millennium.

a. Is it worth it to follow Jesus? Absolutely!

c. And as I’ve said, I believe this is a place where the part is being used to represent the whole. John says he saw the souls of those who had been beheaded…

i. But he further describes them as – those who didn’t worship the beast, worship the beast’s statue, or receive the beast’s mark.

1. And if you recall back to when we studied the mark of the beast – this is what we learned.

a. We learned that the mark of the beast is not a literal mark or tattoo with 666 on it.

i. It’s not a microchip implanted under your skin.

ii. To have someone’s mark is to have their character implanted on you. Christians have the name of Jesus written on them

1. To have the name of Jesus written on you means that you act like Jesus, think like Jesus.

a. But unbelievers have the mark of the beast – meaning they have the character of the beast implanted in them, they act like the beast, think like the beast.

i. To have the mark of the beast is to have the character of beast implanted on the soul.

d. But what John sees here are those who have overcome – they overcame the beast through their testimony and by the blood of the Lamb – as we learned in chapter 12.

i. We have to keep reminding ourselves that Revelation was written to 7 real, 1st century churches who were experiencing different levels of persecution.

1. Up until that point they had existed relatively peacefully along side all the other religions in the Roman Empire, but in the mid to late 1st century, they were persecuted like they never had been before.

e. Perhaps they were experiencing a crisis of faith. Maybe they were expecting Jesus to return in their lifetime – there was a belief in the 1st century church that Jesus would return immediately.

i. So maybe these Christians didn’t know how to handle the death of their church family members.

1. They didn’t know what to do when persecution came their way…when Christians were martyred for their faith.

f. A similar situation happened in Thessalonica. The church there was struggling with church members dying. They were expecting Jesus to return at any moment, and they didn’t know what do now that some had fallen asleep.

i. They were having a crisis of faith. So, Paul writes these famous words to encourage them.

1. He writes that hope isn’t lost. Yes, we should grieve our loss, but not without hope.

a. In fact, he says that hope should be strengthen and bolstered, because on only will Christians see their deceased family members again, but those who are dead in Christ at Christ’s return will rise FIRST – far from not experiencing the resurrection…they will be given a place of priority.

g. So here in Revelation, to churches struggling with persecution and martyrdom, with some churches already succumbing to societal pressure – John writes…It’s worth it to stay faithful to Jesus.

i. It’s worth it to not worship the beast, his statue. It’s worth to have the name of Jesus written on you, not the mark of the beast.

1. Why? Why is it worth it? Look at the end of v.5 – because they ALL…not some, not most – they all come to life again and reigned with Jesus for a millennium.

4. Compare/Contrast – Then in vv.5-6, John makes a statement about the 1st resurrection.

a. Now again, I don’t want to discuss when or where or how about the first resurrection.

i. By focusing discussion only on timing, we can read all kinds of things into the text. We, however, are interested in pulling out of the text what it says and means.

1. But focusing simply on timing, we run the risk of missing point entirely and we run the risk of imposing on the text of kinds of issues that its not even concerned with.

b. So, what’s the point of vv.5-6? How does these verses bring hope to 1st and 21st century Christians?

i. Well, I believe the point of these verses is to once again compare and contrast the eternal destinies of believers and unbelievers.

1. We’ve seen this done in other places throughout this book, most notably in ch.14 when the earth was harvested.

a. Blessed are those who die in the Lord, but in the same chapter we saw that those who belong to the earth – those who reject Jesus in this lifetime, will be rejected BY Jesus in the next.

c. Well, here the same comparison is being made. John talks about the first resurrection, but he also speaks of the second death.

i. Now, understand this, for those who participate in the 1st resurrection, the 2nd death holds no power over them.

1. The first resurrection is reigning and judging with Jesus, but what’s the second death?

d. Well, this concept has been mentioned before and it will be again.

i. John writes to the church in Smyrna – a suffering church – that those who overcome, they will be given a crown of life, and they will not be harmed by the second death.

1. In 20:14 – we’re told that the lake of fire IS the second death, and that statement is repeated in 21:8.

a. The second death is eternal separation from God.

e. But, for those who are in Christ, for those who didn’t…those who don’t worship the beast, his statue or receive his mark…

i. For those who are faithful in testimony to Jesus…they will not be harmed by the second death…the 2nd death, the lake of fire, holds no power over them.

1. Now, which one would you rather be a part of??? The 1st resurrection or the 2nd death?

f. I’ve heard it said this way…Believers, Christians, they die once by live twice…

i. While unbelievers live once, but die twice.

1. I want to be sensitive about this because we’ve had a death in the church family this week… unless Jesus comes back before this happens, everyone on earth is going to die. We will all experience the physical death of soul being separated from body.

a. Unbelievers will experience physical death, but then they will also experience an eternal separation from God when the final judgment takes place and they are thrown into the lake of fire…

i. An experience so horrific, John writes that it is like dying again.

ii. But for believers, even though we will experience physical death, death is not the end and does not have the final say, for those who die in the Lord, they will be resurrected to spend eternity in in God’s presence.

1. We die, only to live forever in the new heaven and new earth.

a. Believers die once, but we live twice.

g. How we need to hear this. We’ve had a death in the family this week. Our beloved brother Jerry went home to be with Jesus this week.

i. And we grieve. He was a dear friend, a sweet man. He lived a hard and difficult life with many health problems. We grieve the loss of a friend. We grieve with Bill and Sue as they lost a son.

1. But our grief is for our own loss, it is not for Jerry. Because Jerry died in the Lord, Jerry put his faith in Jesus, was baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit…

a. And Jerry is now more alive than he has ever been.

i. Death no longer has a hold on Jerry, for he has died once, but lives twice. The second death has no power over him.

h. Jerry, and all of our Christian brothers and sisters who have passed on, they livedo n this earth and they died…

i. But they are alive…living eternally in God’s presence – living with an unimaginable quality of life.

5. Blessed – Is it any wonder that this section ends with a blessing? A 2-adjective beatitude – the only one in the Bible.

a. Blessed and holy. The blessing focuses on the reward of living a life faithful to Jesus. Such hope-filled words to close this section. Those who participate in the 1st resurrection are blessed and holy…why?

i. John states 3 reasons. The 2nd death holds no power over them. We’ve looked at that already.

1. Secondly, they will be priests of God and of Christ.

a. The eternal life of believers in God’s presence will be an active one.

i. We will serve God – performing priestly duties.

ii. This is a fulfillment of a promise God made to Israel at Mt. Sinai. He told them if they were faithful to him, he would make them a kingdom of priests.

1. And in eternity, that’s exactly what believers will be…what we will do. We will serve God day and night.

b. And finally, John writes – those who participate in the 1st resurrection will reign with Christ.

i. Far from the persecution and hardship and martyrdom they and we experience in this life – believers will reign with Jesus in the next.

6. Conclusion – Aren’t these wonderful words?

a. Isn’t it incredible who God’s meets us where we are – and gives us words of encouragement and hope at a time when we desperately need it? I had planned on preaching this passage 3 weeks ago, but given my surgery and recovery from it…they land on this Sunday – and their impact is heightened.

i. Oh, how we, as a church, needed to hear these words of hope and encouragement this morning.

1. Getting past the timing and the when and where and how of this chapter and simply focusing on the WHAT brings such hope and joy.

a. Hope of a resurrection, hope of eternal life, or our own priestly activities and hope of reigning with Jesus.

b. Hope that as believers we die once but live twice. That for us, for Jerry and for our pre-deceased Christian brothers and sisters – hope that for them… death was not the end, it was simply the gateway to life…

i. To eternal life, lived in the glorious presence of God.