Revelation (Part 3) Series

(Part 3)

Scott Bayles, pastor

Blooming Grove Christian Church: 10/15/2017

Well, according to self-proclaimed prophecy expert, David Meade, today is the day that Christ’s faithful followers will be raptured away, signifying the beginning of the seven-year period of tribulation foretold in the book of Revelation. According to Meade, the next seven years will be marked by hurricanes, tsunamis and eventually nuclear war. Of course, if we’re all still here at the end of the day, we can chalk this up to another false prediction based on a faulty and foolish understanding of the book of Revelation.

This is just the sort end-times sensationalism I hope to squelch as we continue this exciting adventure into the world of Revelation together. Again, if you missed the first installment of this series, I want to encourage you to watch that message online because that first message offered three keys to unlocking the mysteries of Revelation and effectively laid the foundation for the rest of this series.

Following that preliminary message, we jumped head first into Revelation 1 where John introduces us to Jesus as we have never seen him before. John first spotlights the Advent of Jesus, using the imagery of Christ “coming on the clouds of heaven” to represent Jesus’ judgement against Jerusalem. Furthermore, he highlights the Activity of Jesus, using the imagery of lampstands and stars to illustrate that Jesus walks among his churches—he knows what we’re going through and he’s with us in the midst of it. Finally, John describes the Appearance of Jesus, using every metaphor imaginable to underscore the supremacy and sovereignty of Jesus Christ.

Following this eye-popping introduction, Jesus spends the next two chapters providing personal compliments, criticisms and commands to each of the seven churches of Asia beginning with Ephesus and ending with Laodicea. We won’t take the time to examine each of these letters to the seven churches, but there are some common themes that run throughout the letters. Many of these churches experienced intense persecution and poverty coming both from the Jewish community as well as Roman authorities. Others had caved to these external pressures and lost their love for Jesus or grew lukewarm in their faith. These were devastating times for the first-century church. Things weren’t looking too good.

So as we reach Revelation 4, God wants to give John a fresh perspective. In sharp contrast to the bleak and abysmal circumstances on earth, John’s about to experience a vision of indescribable glory and awe and wonder and majesty—a scene so breath-taking and beautiful it could only take place in the Throne Room of Heaven.

If you have a Bible or an app on your phone, please open it up to Revelation 4, where John writes: Then as I looked, I saw a door standing open in heaven, and the same voice I had heard before spoke to me like a trumpet blast. The voice said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after this.” (Revelation 4:1 NLT).

What follows dazzles John’s eyes and staggers his imagination. The glory and grandeur of this heavenly vision left John half-blinded by the brilliance and bewildered by the spectacle. As he struggles to sort out the scene before him, John describes four significantly symbolic sights that remain just as meaningful for us today as they were for John’s original readers in Asia Minor.

First, John sees the Sovereign.

• THE SOVEREIGN

As his eyes come blinking into focus, John writes, “instantly I was in spirit there in heaven and saw—oh, the glory of it!—a throne and someone sitting on it! Great bursts of light flashed forth from him as from a glittering diamond or from a shining ruby, and a rainbow glowing like an emerald encircled his throne” (Revelation 4:2-3 TLB).

He goes on to say, “From the throne came flashes of lightning and the rumble of thunder” (Revelation 4:5 NLT).

What an awesome sight to behold! The thing that strikes me most about this scene in heaven’s throne room is that God himself remains utterly indescribable! Literally. John doesn’t even attempt to describe the One sitting on the throne of heaven. Instead, John describes the lights and sounds encircling Him and emanating from Him. But the One seated upon the throne defies and transcends description. The human tongue is no more adequate to describe the majesty and magnificence of God than the human mind is to comprehend it.

But as John stares into the splendor of God, he sees a rainbow of light dancing around like glittering gemstones. This imagery conveys the awe-inspiring glory, grandeur and greatness of God. The flashes of lightning and peals of thunder illustrate the unbridled, unrivalled power of God. As song writer, Rich Mullins, once put it, “There’s thunder in His footsteps and lightning in his fists.”