The Revealing of the King
Revelation 1:7-8
Purpose: To exalt Jesus as God and King of the universe.
Aim: I want the listener to humbly submit to Christ and worship Him.
INTRODUCTION: How can we know for sure that Jesus is coming back to earth? Our text today promises that Jesus is coming back, but how can we be sure?
A Wall Street clerk went for a tuna sandwich one snowy noon and returned to work and found $37.1 million in negotiable certificates of deposit in a pouch dropped by a courier. The clerk turned them over to his supervisor, who notified the securities company. The man received a $250 reward for his honesty. As it turned out, though, that was more than the certificates were worth to him—they could only be converted with special clearance.
People trust promises that are like those certificates. They seem important, but they aren’t. They seem so worthwhile, but they wind up being terribly disappointing. They promise millions, but return pennies. The world promises happiness through wealth and fame that are tantalizing and alluring but, ultimately they betray us.
They leave us bitter, heartsick, and spiritually bankrupt. Only the promise of God’s unshakable kingdom can offer what we really need: an undisturbed inner peace and joy, a sense of accomplishment, a faultless righteousness, and an unbroken life. [Hurley, V. (2000, c1995). Speaker’s sourcebook of new illustrations (electronic ed.) (111). Dallas: Word Publishers.]
➔A promise is no better than the one who makes it.
➔1:1-20 I. John’s Vision of the Past “the things which you have seen”
➔Vs.1-3 A. The importance of this book “The Revelation of Jesus Christ”
➔Vs.4-5aB. The character of God
➔Vs.4-5a1. The Father is eternal “Him who is…was…is to come”
➔Vs.4b 2. The Spirit is all-knowing “the seven Spirits”
➔Vs.5a 3. The Son is exalted “the firstborn of the dead”
➔Vs.5b-6C. The change Jesus makes
➔Vs.5b 1. Jesus cares for His own “Him who loves us”
➔Vs.5c 2. Jesus forgives His own “released us from our sins”
➔Vs.6a 3. Jesus empowers His own “made us to be a kingdom, priests”
➔Vs.6b 4. Jesus uses His own to glorify God “to Him be the glory”
LESSON:
Before we talk about how we can know Jesus is coming it back, we need to be sure we know:
➔Why is Jesus coming back to earth?
➔#1 To rescue His followers
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. 15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words. (NAU)
1 Corinthians 15:51-52 51 Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. (NAU)
The Lord has promised that His followers would not experience the full blast of His wrath against sin: Revelation 3:10 ‘Because you have kept the word of My perseverance, I also will keep you from the hour of testing, that hour which is about to come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. (NAU)
Isaiah 26:20-21 20 Come, my people, enter into your rooms And close your doors behind you; Hide for a little while Until indignation runs its course. 21 For behold, the Lord is about to come out from His place To punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity; And the earth will reveal her bloodshed And will no longer cover her slain. (NAU)
2 Peter 2:9 the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment, (NAU)
➔#2 To restore righteousness
Those who don’t follow Christ will be punished. 2 Thessalonians 1:7-8 7 … when the Lord Jesus will be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels in flaming fire, 8 dealing out retribution to those who do not know God and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. (NAU)
Sin has infected this earth with everyone on it and Jesus is coming back to clean it all up. Jesus is going to replace ugliness with beauty, harshness with gentleness, sickness with health, fear with contentment, and hatred with love.
➔Vs.7 D. The coming of King Jesus
John starts with the word BEHOLD. This is a very strong word that is meant to snap us to attention. In other words, “You need to pay attention to this!” This word is used 30 times in the book of Revelation. For example, Revelation 16:15 Behold, I am coming like a thief … (NAU) Revelation 22:7 And behold, I am coming quickly. Blessed is he who heeds the words of the prophecy of this book.” (NAU)
➔Vs.7a 1. Jesus is coming with clouds “He is coming with the clouds”
The verses in our text today remind us of Daniel 7:13 “I kept looking in the night visions, And behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, And He came up to the Ancient of Days And was presented before Him. (NAU)
These clouds are NOT ordinary clouds, they are clouds of glory. We see this in the OT. Exodus 13:21-22 21 The Lord was going before them in a pillar of cloud by day to lead them on the way, and in a pillar of fire by night to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. 22 He did not take away the pillar of cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before the people. (NAU) Exodus 16:10 … the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. (NAU)
So CLOUDS refers to the presence of the glory of God.
Jesus told us in Matthew 24:29-30 29 “But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 “And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky,[I believe that the sign referred to here is Christ with His wounds] and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. (NAU)
Remember that Jesus left in a cloud in Acts chapter one. It says that “a cloud received Him” (Acts 1:9) and then an angel said Acts 1:11 …This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.” (NAU)
➔Vs.7b 2. Jesus’ coming causes conviction “mourn over Him”
The coming of Christ will cause great misery for those who don’t follow Him.
Zechariah 12:10 10 “I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn. (NAU)
➔Who Pierced Jesus?
➔#1 The Romans
Luke 23:24 And Pilate pronounced sentence that their demand be granted. (NAU) It was the Roman guards who drove the nails into His hand and feet.
➔#2 The Jews
Acts 2:22-23 22 “Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know— 23 this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. (NAU)
➔#3 Anyone who turns away from Christ
Those who, Hebrews 6:5-6 5 have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, 6 and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame. (NAU)
John ends this verse with AMEN, which means “so be it.” john is saying, “Even though Christ’s return will spell the doom for the unsaved, I still want Him to come.” John closes the book with Revelation 22:20 He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. (NAU)
➔Vs.8 E. The superiority of King Jesus
➔Vs.8a 1. Jesus is altogether sufficient “Alpha and Omega”
This refers to the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet, so God is the “A-Z.” He is everything. Isaiah 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, And there is no God besides Me. (NAU)
This means that God is complete and eternal, there is nothing missing!
➔Vs.8b 2. Jesus is absolute ruler “Lord God who is…was…is to come”
When you take verse 8 in context with verse 7 then these are the words of Christ. Jesus is clearly Jehovah. Isaiah 44:6 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, And there is no God besides Me. (NAU)
Hebrews 13:8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. (NAU)
The prophet Micah said God is , Micah 4:13 13 the Lord of all the earth. (NAU)
➔Vs.8c 3. Jesus is all powerful “the Almighty”
The word ALMIGHTY It denotes “…One who holds together and controls all things” 1:8. The word Almighty (Παντοκράτωρ) occurs 9 times in Rev.
1. The Lord God is the Almighty. 1:8.
2. The 4 living beings say: Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty. 4:8.
3. The 24 elders say: We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty. 11:17.
4. The victors over the beast sing: Great are thy works, Lord God Almighty. 15:3.
5. The voice from the altar: Even so, Lord God Almighty. 16:7.
6. The battle of that great day of God Almighty. 16:14.
7. The great multitude: Alleluia: for the Lord God Almighty reigns 19:6.
8. The winepress of the wrath of Almighty God. 19:15.
9. The Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. 21:22. [Custer, S. (2004). From Patmos to paradise : A commentary on Revelation (9). Greenville, S.C.: BJU Press.]
No one will ever oppose Jesus Christ and get away with it. No one will ever stop His will.
Once we understand who is making the promise to return then we can know for sure that He will come back.
➔Vs.7-8 F. The certainty of the return of King Jesus “it is to be”
Jesus Himself promised: John 14:3 “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also. (NAU)
This idea is hammered home three times in these two short verses: “HE IS COMING…it is to be…who is to come”
Matthew 24:27 “For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes even to the west, so will the coming of the Son of Man be. (NAU)
Acts 1:11 This Jesus… will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.” (NAU)
➔God Presented Himself:
➔#1 As a Creator King to Adam and Eve
They rejected God’s right to set the rules for His own creation.
➔#2 As a Merciful King after the flood
The Lord gave us the rainbow to remind us of His promise of mercy to the world, and man promptly built the Tower of Babel to defy Him.
➔#3 As a Law giving King on Mt. Sinai
Man immediately demanded a golden calf to worship.
➔#4 As a Theocratic King to Israel
Israel turned around and demanded to have a human king just like all the pagan nations of the world.
➔#5 As a King of the Jews in Jerusalem
They hailed Him as a King but then promptly crucified Him several days later.
➔#6 As a Majestic King in Revelation
For the first time, God will completely crush all who oppose His rule and He will be worshipped as the One true God that He is.
Philippians 2:10-11 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. (NAU)
Isaiah 45:23 “I have sworn by Myself, The word has gone forth from My mouth in righteousness And will not turn back, That to Me every knee will bow, every tongue will swear allegiance. (NAU)
Psalm 72:6-11 6 May he come down like rain upon the mown grass, Like showers that water the earth. 7 In his days may the righteous flourish, And abundance of peace till the moon is no more. 8 May he also rule from sea to sea And from the River to the ends of the earth. 9 Let the nomads of the desert bow before him, And his enemies lick the dust. 10 Let the kings of Tarshish and of the islands bring presents; The kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts. 11 And let all kings bow down before him, All nations serve him. (NAU)
CONCLUSION: God understands that we need hope. In 1492, Ferdinand granted Columbus great titles, vast privileges, and a tenth of whatever riches Columbus could find. By 1500, when the size and wealth of the new world actually dawned on Ferdinand, he broke the agreement, though he had promised it by solemn treaty.
God understands that we live in hope and that deprived of hope; our spirit shrinks, then dies. God has encouraged us to believe in His promises, which never fail; but we are intent on believing our own, which seldom succeed. ➔ God’s promises will not fail, for they are founded on Him.[Hurley, V. (2000, c1995). Speaker’s sourcebook of new illustrations (electronic ed.) (188). Dallas: Word Publishers]
Charles Spurgeon said, “…it does delight my soul to anticipate that Christ may yet come to the scene of his former battles, and make it the scene of his future triumphs. I am rejoiced to think that the head, once crowned with thorns on earth, may on earth itself wear a crown of glory; and that the feet that were once wearied in his pilgrimage here with the flinty stones of Jerusalem may yet “stand on the mount of Olives,” while he ushers in “the day of the Lord in the valley of decision;” and that the shoulders which once wore the purple robe in mockery may yet be visibly clothed with the royal attire of universal empire, when “the Lord shall be King over all the earth.” [Homage Offered To The Great King. No. 3100 By C.H. Spurgeon]
