June 27, 2021
I wish to
report a theft! Someone has stolen one
of the Bible's books; we only have 65 books now. I was told that it was only "lost,"
not stolen. They say it's only lost,
because it isn't taught by most preachers, or read by most Christians. Well, I know better, it isn't lost;
Revelation has been stolen. And I know
who stole it; it was stolen by the Enemy, Satan! How did he do it? How did Satan steal Revelation? He has convinced the average believer of two
lies:
LIE #1 Revelation is too complex to understand
Revelation is
a book filled with symbolism (e.g., weird beasts and images). There are wings, horns, and multi-headed
creatures everywhere. We assume that it
is too difficult to understand what each symbol represents. Who can know it? Lie
#1 -- It's too complex.
LIE #2 Interpretation can be confusing
Frankly, we
are afraid to be confused; we don't want to be like the people who set dates
for the Lord's return; God alone knows when that will be. In a casual reading, even with a strong understanding
of the other 65 books of the Bible, one is apt to become confused, so we avoid
reading Revelation. Too complex and too
confusing; I wish to report the theft this morning, and expose the lie.
The
truth: Revelation is not complex;
it's comprehensive.
Revelation is not confusing; it's
clear.
The Book does
just what the name says, it is an unveiling of Jesus Christ.
The Greek
word apocalypse means to take-away a veil, or covering. In Revelation the veil, which hides the
future, and a clear picture of the Lord Jesus' plan for mankind, is stripped
away; Jesus is clearly seen. Frankly,
anything that helps me see Jesus clearer is worth studying! There are at least two reasons that is true:
1.
Revelation is a positive message of hope
Revelation is
a book of victory. In it we see the
reign of God; He puts an end to stress!
It is such a blessing and comfort to know our future is secure in
Christ. One preacher said that
Revelation is ...like a great union station where the great trunk lines
of prophecy have come in from other portions of Scripture. Imagine that – all the prophecies, all the
plans of God converging and emerging in a great unveiling of what God wants to
do with us. Have you ever wondered where
it all is going? Have you ever wondered
what it all means?
Revelation is
the unveiling of our hope; it is the picture on our four-color, fold-out travel
brochure, showing us the reasonable way through this foreign land called
life. Revelation gives us our
destination. It is a positive
message of hope, and I cannot wait to unfold it together!
2.
Revelation is a book with a promise of blessing
God blesses the one who reads the
words of this prophecy to the church, and he blesses all who listen to its
message and obey what it says, for the time is near. Revelation
1:3
The promise
of blessing is to those who engage in the public reading – in other words – a
worship service. G. Campbell Morgan put
it this way: The picture presented then is
that of a reader reading aloud to a group of listening people; and the
beatitude is for that reader and for those who are listening. It must be observed, however, that the
blessing is not only upon the reading and the hearing, but upon the keeping of
the words.[1]
We will
gather to read aloud the Revelation of Jesus Christ and hear the Revelation of
Jesus Christ, and then keep the words – or do what the Revelation of Jesus
Christ says to do. And so, let's go on
to the main thrust or key to the understanding, and keeping of the words of the
Revelation of Jesus Christ.
How do we interpret Revelation?
There is a
principle that we must always keep in mind when considering Revelation is a book
written to real people like you and me who love God. It was written in time, and for all
times. It is relevant and timely, never
out of date.
Revelation all
ties together, particularly with the rest of Scripture, or you have the wrong
interpretation. It is just like all the
rest of the Word of God – consistent!
For instance:
·
You can’t build a doctrine of stewardship on one verse
that speaks about prosperity for God's people; otherwise
you'd have to rip out the verse that records the words of Jesus, that we'd
always have the poor with us.
·
You cannot maintain that God will always heal in every
situation, so if God doesn't heal, our faith is weak. Otherwise Paul would not have gone to his
grave with a thorn in the side.
God is
certainly consistent, and He doesn't put that aside in the Book of the Unveiling. It is consistent with history, and it is
consistent with all of Scripture.
One writer has it, Prophecy maintains a cordial
relationship with history and keeps the future related to the present.[2]
Our text is
the first verse of The Revelation of Jesus Christ:
This is a revelation from Jesus
Christ, which God gave him to show his servants the events that must
soon take place. Revelation 1:1
The Style, a Secret Code
The style of
Revelation is a secret code. The main
thrust of our text is to help us understand the why, what, how and who of that
code. Why is Revelation written in
code? The answer may seem simple, and
less than deeply spiritual. The reason
for the code was to avoid persecution.
In John's day the Roman emperor was Domitian. The emperor was a vile, wicked man, who
started the second great persecution of the Church around AD 90. Domitian sent John into exile on the isle of
Patmos. This little island was one big
rock in the Mediterranean Sea. It was an
"Alcatraz-like" prison quarry in the hillside caves. John was an old man, a Pastor, and he missed
his church family at Ephesus. His only
connection was writing to them, and receiving their letters. It was here God unfolded to John in a vision,
that which would be the future of mankind.
John could
not very well write to the churches, and say, I need to tell you what a completely vile, wicked, and Godless man the
emperor, Domitian is turning out to be.
John had more sense than that. He
was an old man, but his brain was still working! John used a symbol of a multi-headed beast to
represent a ruler who controlled many kingdoms.
The code was to avoid persecution back then.
The world was
in an awful state then. We seem to have
returned to that condition. It has been
building since the end of World War II, and the late 1940’s return of the Jews
to Palestine. Consider what three men of
note have said about the climate of our day:
·
"This world is at the end of its tether. The end of everything we call life is close
at hand."—H.G. Wells
·
"We have had our last chance."—General
Douglas Macarthur
·
"Without a moral regeneration throughout the
world there is no hope for us as we are going to disappear one day in the dust
of an atomic explosion"—Dwight D. Eisenhower
What is the key to the code?
Codes are as
old as drawings on cave walls, as old as brands on cattle. Picturesque codes
are used on everything: Everyone knows
you're watching the NBC network when you see that colorful peacock. Kids don't buy shoes without the logo.
Symbols stick
in our minds. John used several symbolic
methods. Three are important keys:
a. Numbers
represent attributes...7=holy
6=imperfection 5=penalty 10=completeness 12=wholeness
b. Colors
represent actions/characteristics
black=famine
red=war gold=value white=conqueror
c. Animals
represent people 7 headed beast =
Domitian Lamb = Christ
How is the Revelation unfolded
Revelation is
a drama of 7 acts, with 7 scenes in each act.
One of the reasons I can say that Revelation is not confusing or
complex, is that it is laid-out in such an orderly manner, it outlines itself
and explains itself more than most of Scripture.
·
Act 1 - Seven church letters Ch 1-3
·
Act 2 - Seven seals
Ch 4 - 8.1
·
Act 3 - Seven angels with trumpets Ch 8.2 - 10
·
Act 4 - Conflict of Satan & Christ Ch 11 - 14
·
Act 5 - Seven angels
Ch 15
·
Act 6 - Seven judgments (bowls of wrath) Ch 16 - 19
·
Act 7 - New Jerusalem
Ch 20 - 22
G. Campbell
Morgan suggested only three divisions,
·
Chapter 1 Jesus'
glory unveiled (The person)
·
Chapters 2-3 Jesus'
grace unveiled (His church)
·
Chapters 4-22 Jesus'
government unveiled (His kingdom)
However you
choose to see the main divisions of the Revelation, please remember that it is
not an unknowable thing which God has given to confuse the
saints. Our text declares that God gave
it so Jesus could show it to us.
God doesn't want us to be ignorant of His plan for our future.
Who is
revealed, or unveiled?
Dr. J. Vernon
McGee says it plainly: The
major theme of the entire Bible is the Lord Jesus Christ. The Scriptures are both theocentric and
Christocentric. Since Christ is God, He
is the One who fills the horizon of the total Word of God. This needs to be kept in mind in the Book of
Revelation more than in any other book of the Bible, even more than in the
Gospels.[3]
This simply
means Jesus is the message, as well as the One who gives the message to
John. He delivers to us a message of
hope and promise and power.
The challenge
issued by this book of judgment and hope is to live victoriously in the
present, knowing that Christ has the future in hand. The closing words of this book (of all
inspired Scripture) include the natural response to this book:
Even so,
come, Lord Jesus. Revelation 22.20b
·
John Calvin said, Scripture uniformly enjoins us to look with
expectation for the advent of Christ.[4]
·
Clement, Bishop of Rome in AD 96, said, let
us every hour expect the kingdom of God...we know not the day.
·
Ignatius was the Bishop of Antioch, and the successor
to Peter said, Consider the times and expect Him.
G. Campbell Morgan, Great Chapters Of the Bible, (NY,
Fleming H. Revell Co, 1935), 329
Morris Ashcraft, Broadman Bible Commentary, (Nashville, Broadman, 1972), 253
J. Vernon McGee, Thru the Bible With J. Vernon McGee,
Vol V, (Pasadena, CA, Thru the Bible Radio, 1983), 880
John Calvin, Institutes, 3
