Morning Sermon

October 28, 2007

Fear Not

Text

I wonder how many of you, this very week, have experienced a measure of the troubles so common to this world. The tribulations of life. The trials and hardships associated with living in this age. I suspect all of you have known something of that. To one degree or another, I expect that every one of you knows what Jesus means when he said to his disciples,

John 16:33 "In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world." So I don't need to prove the truth of that to you. Instead, I will presume upon it as we study this portion of Revelation 1 this morning. "In the world you will have tribulation." I will presume that you come here this morning with some personal experience of those troubles. Some of you more and some less, but all of you knowing that these words are real, despite our best appearances. "In the world you will have tribulation."

John certainly had his share of troubles. He was faithful in his apostolic calling, and that meant that he was proclaiming the word of God. He was giving testimony, bearing witness to Jesus Christ. Faithfully. Boldly. Even fearlessly, we could probably say. And what did he get for all that? Banishment. He was exiled. To a dry and barren island used by the Romans for just such a purpose, a place for those thought to be dangerous or threatening to the authority of the Roman emperor. That prison island, filled with craggy volcanic hills, was only about eight miles long and four miles wide, and there, history tells us, he would die.

But it was there that God gives a grand finale to his self-revelation. Much like the closing spectacle of a fabulous fireworks display, there at the island of Patmos God shows himself and displays his glory in an extravaganza worthy of him alone. Nothing is held back, and you see those fireworks launched into the sky, one after another during the grand finale, it is nearly impossible to behold the beauty of each one. And so it was, at Patmos, that we have the final word of that prophetic revelation of God in a flash of blazing glory. v.9-10

This is so explicitly and consistently prophetic language. In other words, when the prophet speaks, God is speaking! That's the nature of biblical prophecy. God says, "I will put my words into his mouth." And so what is happening here is so clearly that,

I. JESUS SPEAKS TO HIS CHURCH. And he does so through the mouthpiece of the faithful prophet. So we begin with the human author of these words, John. In order for Jesus to speak,

A. John the prophet speaks. Here we have a further identification of John from the introduction of verse 4 which we studied a few weeks ago. It is unquestionably the Apostle John, the beloved disciple, one of the sons of Zebedee. Here he calls himself "your brother." Such a tender and affectionate way of communicating with these seven churches. This letter was personal, and written with the apostolic love of one who was a brother. And "a companion in the tribulation."

John didn't see his life of trouble as out of the ordinary experience of the Christian life. "In the world you will have tribulation." With good reason, as Jesus declares,

John 15:18 "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. 19 "If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 "Remember the word that I said to you, 'A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you."

We live in a world not only alien but hostile to Jesus Christ, so much so that John would be banished to what was, in effect, a life sentence in prison, "for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ." He was exiled because of the word of God. He was banished, imprisoned, because he named the name of Jesus Christ.

And such will be the normal and ordinary Christian life for all Jesus' followers. We are not called to escape such tribulation, but promised that we will endure it. In this age, that is what it means to be a citizen of the kingdom of Jesus Christ. We will endure opposition. Thus we read,

v.9 "I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos."

We must live with the "patience of Jesus," a word referring to perseverance under trial. Endurance in the midst of tribulation. And so comes the exhortation of,

Rev. 2:10 "Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer. Indeed, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life."

How sad it is when trial and tribulation today unsettles the people of God, as if that trouble proved that either God wasn't being faithful to them or they weren't being faithful enough to God! Nothing could be farther from the truth. The Bible presents tribulation as the ordinary course of the life of a Christian. So John writes not only as a brother, but as a fellow sufferer in the tribulation of this life. But at the same time, as fellow citizen of the kingdom of Jesus. So John recognizes that Jesus is king, and we'll come back to that in a moment, but he writes as a citizen of that great and glorious kingdom. As Paul had written to the church at Ephesus,

Eph. 2:4 "God...made us alive together with Christ ...and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus."

So John introduces himself as one raised up with Christ in the kingdom of Christ. And he continues quite personally, v.10

This is the only reference in the New Testament to "the Lord's Day," clearly understand by almost everyone as a reference to the first day of the week, the day of the New Testament assembly and worship, the day we commemorate the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. Our Confession of Faith labels this day the Christian sabbath. It is the fulfillment and continuation of the seventh day sabbath as it was prescribed in the Old Testament.

And notice what John the prophet is speaking on the Lord's day. Or, I should say, how he is speaking. "I was in the Spirit."

If that expression were used today, many people would probably think that he had some sort of ecstatic emotional experience. Some form of spiritual high, and while that may well have been the case as John received this revelation, "in the Spirit" means quite simply that he was receiving a revelation from the Holy Spirit himself! This is the language of inspiration, of prophetic enabling. The cross reference would be,

2 Peter 1:20 "...knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, 21 for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit."

What that means is simple. When the prophet speaks, God speaks.

B. John the prophet speaks the word of God. For it was God himself who spoke to John. And John heard it! "I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet."

Remember Moses heard that trumpet, too!

Ex. 19:16 "Then it came to pass on the third day, in the morning, that there were thunderings and lightnings, and a thick cloud on the mountain; and the sound of the trumpet was very loud, so that all the people who were in the camp trembled. 17 And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. 18 Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the LORD descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly. 19 And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by voice."

So here we have it. God is speaking through his prophet. And the prophet will actually write the words down in a book. For the sake of the church. v.11-12

The imagery here is very clear, that the seven golden lampstands are the seven churches, those to whom John is instructed to send his book. And to make it explicit, we read, v.19-20

But why seven churches? Seven is the number of fullness and completion, seven churches represent the church as a whole, and so this is a revelation for all the churches.

C. John the prophet speaks the word of God to the whole church. And what a word it is, blending together several images from the Old Testament regarding the glory and majesty of God. In speaking to the church,

II. JESUS REVEALS HIS GLORY TO HIS CHURCH. Beginning with the reference from Daniel 7. v.13-15

Actually, it's a combination of passages, including,

Dan. 7:9 "I watched till thrones were put in place, And the Ancient of Days was seated; His garment was white as snow, And the hair of His head was like pure wool. His throne was a fiery flame, Its wheels a burning fire; 10 A fiery stream issued And came forth from before Him. A thousand thousands ministered to Him; Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him. The court was seated, And the books were opened."

And then, Dan. 7:13 "I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, And they brought Him near before Him. 14 Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, Which shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one Which shall not be destroyed."

We made reference to that same prophecy last week when we looked at, v.7 "Behold, He is coming with clouds."

The idea is that of a king. A sovereign and powerful king. A king installed upon his throne, to be sure. "Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, That all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him."

And a king who shall always reign upon that throne. "His dominion is an everlasting dominion, Which shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one Which shall not be destroyed."

With any awareness of biblical prophecy at all, those words so obviously refer to Jesus, and that's whom John saw. Jesus. King Jesus.

That is the idea of Jesus' favorite title for himself, "the Son of Man." Initially, you would think that title has reference to his humanity, but actually it's quite the opposite. Though Jesus this title probably to hide from the Roman rulers his claim to be king of the Jews, from Daniel's prophecy that is exactly what it means.

A. A declaration of kingly authority. Notice also,

v.16 "He had in His right hand seven stars."

He held the stars in his hand! John's readers would recognize a reference to the seven stars as an open cluster of stars called the Pleiades, mentioned by both Job and Amos in the Old Testament. Both references make it clear that the ruler of the Pleiades is none other that God himself, the almighty creator and sustainer of the universe.

Amos 5:8 "He made the Pleiades and Orion; He turns the shadow of death into morning And makes the day dark as night; He calls for the waters of the sea And pours them out on the face of the earth; The LORD is His name."

Further, for John's readers, the seven stars appeared regularly on the Emperor's coins as symbols of his supreme political sovereignty. David Chilton goes on to writes, "At least some early readers of the Revelation must have gasped in amazement at St. John's audacity in stating that the seven stars were in Christ's hand. The Roman emperors had appropriated to themselves a symbol of dominion that the Bible reserves for God alone - and, St. John is saying, Jesus Christ has come to take it back. The seven stars, and with them all things in creation, belong to Him. Dominion resides in the right hand of the Lord Jesus Christ."

John's exile hasn't made him any less bold in his declaration of Jesus!

Then, v.17 "I am the First and the Last."

Here Jesus claims to be God, with the full kingly authority of God, borrowing from,

Is. 44:6 "Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel, And his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: 'I am the First and I am the Last; Besides Me there is no God."

Then, verse 18, "I am He who lives." Self-existent, independent, the all-controller, no longer even subject to the power of death. He is God, the only true God, the ruler of heaven and earth.

No wonder the Roman rulers banished him to Patmos! Even there he would fearlessly proclaim King Jesus. Yet all of this points not merely to the rule of a king, but also to his judgment. It is,

B. A declaration of powerful judgment. Go back to, v.16 "...out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength."

Not just the sword of a conquering king, but a two-edged sword, with the two edges of both salvation and destruction. He came to destroy. He came to kill. He came to judge.

The image comes from, Is. 11:1 "There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots. 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. 3 His delight is in the fear of the LORD, And He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, Nor decide by the hearing of His ears; 4 But with righteousness He shall judge the poor, And decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, And with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked."

That's what Jesus came to do! "He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth." He "shall slay the wicked...with the rod of His mouth."

We read of that very king in, to whom God the Father speaks, Ps. 2:8 "Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession. 9 You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter's vessel.'"

The application of that Psalm is immediately obvious, Ps. 2:10 "Now therefore, be wise, O kings; Be instructed, you judges of the earth. 11 Serve the LORD with fear, And rejoice with trembling. 12 Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, And you perish in the way, When His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him."

Notice more closely, this two-edged sword comes from his mouth. What a strange image. But think about it. What comes from your mouth? Words. The two-edged sword of God's salvation and judgment is the Word of Jesus.

Heb. 4:12 "For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account."

This is what this revelation of Jesus is all about. The two-edged sword of his own eternal judgment. And this is what we will come to later in the revelation,

Rev. 19:1 "After these things I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, "Alleluia! Salvation and glory and honor and power belong to the Lord our God! 2 "For true and righteous are His judgments, because He has judged the great harlot who corrupted the earth with her fornication; and He has avenged on her the blood of His servants shed by her." 3 Again they said, "Alleluia! Her smoke rises up forever and ever!...11 Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. 12 His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. 13 He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. 15 Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS...21 And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeded from the mouth of Him who sat on the horse. And all the birds were filled with their flesh."

Beloved, that is not the popular view of God, nor is it the popular focus of those who preach Jesus. But this is Jesus. This is the glory of Jesus revealed to his church, including the glory of his judgment and justice. And all of this, in even broader terms is,

C. A declaration of resplendent majesty. Going back to verse 13, the robe reaching down to his feet and golden band around his chest are reminders of the official of the official dress of the High Priest, whose appearance was designed to symbolize the radiant image of God. The description comes from another prophecy of,

Dan. 10:5 "I lifted my eyes and looked, and behold, a certain man clothed in linen, whose waist was girded with gold of Uphaz! 6 His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like torches of fire, his arms and feet like burnished bronze in color, and the sound of his words like the voice of a multitude."

The picture is one of glory upon glory. v.14

The whiteness of his head and hair, the flaming fire from his eyes, the feet, verse 15, like bronze glowing in a furnace, "all these combine to make the point of Christ's appearance in a flashing, brilliant blaze of glory."

His voice thundered, as well, v.15 "...His voice as the sound of many waters."

With the climax, v.16 "His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength."

Derek Thomas concludes all this, "Of course, the point is clear: we cannot look directly at the sun without risking permanent blindness; its rays are too strong for the naked eye. Similarly, the resplendent majesty of Christ is a thing too dazzling to see."

So how should we respond? Just look at how John responded. v.17 "And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead."

That's what the presence of God should do to you. That's the response that the presence of God should evoke in you. Not a sense of comfortability. Oh, no, God is not comfortable at all! Not a sense of casual familiarity. Oh, no, God is not one with whom you ought to be casual. Certainly not a sense of your own worth and esteem. No. When you come face to face with God, you ought to fall down before him as though dead!

That's how,

III. THE CHURCH RESPONDS TO JESUS. It is the same response as you see with Isaiah the prophet.

Is. 6:1 "In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. 2 Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one cried to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!" 4 And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 So I said: "Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The LORD of hosts."

Moses was called to the very same response, when he beheld the glory of God,

Ex. 3:2 And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed. 3 Then Moses said, "I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn." 4 So when the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am." 5 Then He said, "Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground." 6 Moreover He said, "I am the God of your father--the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God."

The appropriate response to such a vision is,

A. The recognition of our lowliness compared to Jesus' glory. That's what this passage ought to do to you. As you behold Jesus, fall at his feet as though dead. Cry out before God, "Woe is me, for I am undone." For this is what we know about God,

Is. 57:15 For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: "I dwell in the high and holy place, With him who has a contrite and humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones."

And so it is that at this very point, at the very point of our apprehension of the resplendent majesty of God, at the very point of the recognition of our complete and utter brokenness before the glory of Jesus, it is there where we gain,

B. The experience of Jesus' mercy. Just look at how Jesus responded to John.

v.17 "And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, "Do not be afraid."

Fear not. Do you see the mercy in that? Don't be afraid. Again, Derek Thomas, "We fall down before his exalted majesty, and we fell the reassurance of his hand upon our shoulder encouraging us not to be afraid. There is no other Jesus and there can be no other adequate response. We are awed by his majesty and drawn by his grace."

What is so wrong with the modern approach to God is that it emphasizes the casual and the comfortable in our public worship. The whole idea of seeking to be informal, familiar, unceremonious, and casual before God is just simply wrong. And ultimately, you cannot understand nor fully experience his mercy until you first come to recognize his glory. You cannot know his mercy unless the awareness of his presence first casts you down upon the ground as though dead!

And then, there, at that point, we read, "He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, "Do not be afraid."

And so, people of God, you who share in the tribulation and trouble of this world, fear not! You who come ever conscious of your sin and yet trusting in Jesus Christ for your salvation, FEAR NOT! You who are struck down by your own sense of worthlessness before the glory of infinite and eternal Creator of Heaven and Earth, fear not.

You who might even face death, as, of course, we all do, fear not! For this is what Jesus says...

v.17 "Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. 18 I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death."

Without Jesus, there is much to fear!

Rev. 19:15 "Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. 16 And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS."

Yet to you who trust in Jesus, to you who rest upon him alone for your salvation, to you who are his people, this is the word of utmost encouragement. And it is personal. "He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, "Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last."

I am reminded of Psalm 29, and will end with these words which call us to worship,

Ps. 29:1 "Give unto the LORD, O you mighty ones, Give unto the LORD glory and strength. 2 Give unto the LORD the glory due to His name; Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness. 3 The voice of the LORD is over the waters; The God of glory thunders; The LORD is over many waters. 4 The voice of the LORD is powerful; The voice of the LORD is full of majesty. 5 The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars, Yes, the LORD splinters the cedars of Lebanon. 6 He makes them also skip like a calf, Lebanon and Sirion like a young wild ox. 7 The voice of the LORD divides the flames of fire. 8 The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness; The LORD shakes the Wilderness of Kadesh. 9 The voice of the LORD makes the deer give birth, And strips the forests bare; And in His temple everyone says, "Glory!" 10 The LORD sat enthroned at the Flood, And the LORD sits as King forever. 11 The LORD will give strength to His people; The LORD will bless His people with peace."

Fully Searchable
Bible