Christ’s Church in a Pestilent World (Part 2)
View this sermon at https://youtu.be/TLziw12oYHs
Pastor Brad Reaves
Grace Community Church
Revelation 1:8-20
Introduction
We are continuing our series on the 7 Churches of Revelation. Before we get into Jesus’ words to these churches it is vital we cover thoroughly the introductory part of Revelation, meaning Chapter 1. This week we are going to the end of the chapter and then next week I am going to circle back around and address verses 4-8 and the subject of the second coming of Jesus. I believe this pestilence we are experiencing is a wake-up call for the church. We’ve grown comfortable in our buildings and with our programs in a world full of idolatry, immorality, and secularism. While buildings and programs in themselves aren’t wrong, they’ve become the main focus of the church. As I was saying earlier this year, the church has lost its compass.
I. The Revelator John
So Jesus gave a message to his most beloved disciple, John for this call of repentance. Why John? We studied his Gospel starting in 2017 for nearly 2 years. He was known as the disciple that Jesus loved. He was with Christ from the beginning and all through Jesus’s ministry. He witnessed first hand the miracles that John said if we were to collect in books there would not be enough books to contain them all. He was at the crucifixion and the first of the 12 to see the empty tomb.
I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. (Revelation 1:9-10)
John is the last living disciple of the original twelve. The others were systematically martyred in the most barbaric manner. It was rumored that John would outlive all the disciples in John 21:21-24. We can see now that prophetic word is also true.
It is around 95 AD and he sits on a barren island about 5 miles wide and ten miles long in the Aegean Sea about five miles wide and ten miles long. He was the lead pastor of the churches of Asia Minor – which is modern Turkey. John was the pastor of Ephesus and from Ephesus, he started the other six.
I hear Patmos is a fascinating place and it is on my bucket list of top places in the world I want to visit. IT is 40 miles off the coast of Ephesus in the Aegean Sea. From John’s perspective, however, he is in exile on Patmos. This is not a vacation spot. Exile to remote islands was a common Roman punishment and Patmos was one of 50 penal islands used for political prisoners
John was banished there, which would include the loss of all property, possessions, and civil rights (MacArthur). He was banished there under the persecution of Domitian when he was about 90 years old to work in the quarries. Historian Sir William Ramsay says that conditions were marked by constant chains, insufficient food, sleeping on bare rock, in a dark prison cave.
John’s crime was his unshakable loyalty to the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus. They tried to kill John. He just wouldn’t die. He was scourged, boiled in oil, stoned, you name it. Now he is exiled on an island. Things look bleak and hopeless. Was there a future? Was there a future for the church? Was there a future for the gospel? Why would John suffer if he is the most beloved disciple?
You should not be surprised by trials, “as though something strange was happening to you” (1 Peter 4:12). Contrary to some modern ‘prosperity’ teaching, membership of Christ’s kingdom does not shield us from suffering—rather membership of the kingdom was the cause of their suffering (Paul Beasley-Murray) Like John, we should expect difficulty for our faith. Jesus promised that “the one who endures to the end will be saved” (Matt. 24:13). Paul adds that “if we endure, we will also reign with him” (2 Tim. 2:12).
It was said that in Napoleon’s army, every French soldier carried a field marshal’s baton in his knapsack. The point was that any soldier could rise from the bottom all the way to the top. We might say the same of Christians, except that every Christian has a crown in his or her possession and every one of them will certainly wear it, but only through patient endurance under the tribulation of this world. John on Patmos showed us how. Despite his imprisonment, poverty, and affliction, he continued to worship and serve Jesus, and to bear witness to his salvation. We are to do the same.
It is here on Patmos that John sees - dare I say experiences - the vision we call The book of Revelation. It is given to John to tell him there is a future. “Jesus Christ is coming with the clouds and every eye will see him, even those who pierced Him, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen.” That’s our hope. The lamb wins. Jesus has not been defeated; He will come again. John, in writing this down, understands the comfort that’s coming.
II. The Recipient Churches
The Lord Jesus had a message for the churches of John’s day and the messages were to be sobering for the church and should be sobering for us today. As Peter wrote, “It is time for judgment to begin in the house of God” (1 Peter 4:17). I believe we are in a time not different from these 7 churches.
I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet saying, “Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.” (Revelation 1:10-11)
These are actual churches with actual people who make the congregations in actual cities. Two of the seven, Smyrna and Philadelphia are the only ones commended by Christ to be faithful. The others have a poignant message for a call to repentance. The final one, Laodicea is so nauseating to the Lord that he would spit it out of his mouth. These are real churches, with real people who identified at Christians.
John tells us in 1 John 5 that our faith makes us overcomers. Faith involves repentance. Saving faith is when we repent of our sins to receive the gift of eternal life. But there is a continual work of God’s love and mercy in our lives that involves God’s discipline and our continued repentance as we grow in faith. We don’t always think of a church repenting, but that is exactly what Christ was calling upon the early church to do and that is what he is calling the church to do today.
If we were to collectively list the sins of the churches, we come up with a list like this: sexual immorality, idolatry, compromise with the world, tolerance of sin, false teaching, false teachers, hypocrisy, seduction, and preaching prosperity. The church existed in a pagan world and these sins of the church, Jesus identifies as teachings that arise from Satan. It is these same sins Western Church finds hanging on its signpost today. It is here also that the church must repent.
III. The Revealed Christ
12 Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. 14 The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, 15 his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. 16 In his right hand, he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength (Revelation 1:12-16)
While John is on Patmos he hears a piercing, penetrating voice. It shakes him out of consciousness. When he turns around he sees the first of the visions in Revelation: Seven lampstands and the Son of Man standing among them (Rev 1:12-13) Why lampstands? Lamps in the ancient world were made out of clay or metal. You poured oil in them and lit a wick that was floating. If you want to brighten the light in the room you put it on the lampstand.
Remember when Jesus said, “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:13-15) The church is the lampstand of the gospel to make sure the message of hope in Christ is shining brightly.
These are also Old Testament visions. 70% of all biblical references in Revelation are from the Old Testament. The lampstand is seen in Daniel and Zechariah among others. It is prevalent in the furnishings of the Temple and the Holy Place. It is a costly fixture. The oil was not cheep. Maintaining the lamps were costly. Without the light of the lamp sitting on the lampstand, we are living in virtual darkness.
The lamp stands represented the churches. Why seven? There were seven churches in Asia Minor, but also seven was the number of completeness. Among these lampstands, John saw once again the risen Christ, The Son of Man. He’s in his full glory. “Son of Man” is a messianic title given to the Lord Jesus Christ because He is the fulfillment of that prophecy in Daniel 7.” (MacArthur). He is the Lord of the Lampstands:
1. The Churches are under Christ’s rule
2. The church received Christ’s care
3. The church is subject to Christ’s Judgement
4. The church relies on Christ’s power
5. The Church is unified in Christ’s presence
“Think what this vision would have meant to persecuted churches to whom John was writing. Think of the comfort knowing they were held in Christ’s hand.” (Wilmshurst). We too can and should know in all this that we are in these same hands. He cares for us, disciplines us, comforts, and rules over us. His presence is ever with us as he promised. Take comfort in these thoughts.
The description John gives of Christ Jesus has 7 distinct characteristics
1. He was wearing a robe down to his feet with a gold sash. This is the clothing of a priest. "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin." (Hebrews 4:15)
2. His hair was white as wool and snow and his eyes were aflame with fire. John is seeing Jesus’ purity and purifying work. Not only does Jesus intercede for his Church, but He is purifying his church. His eyes are all-knowing and always watching. This is holy, wise, omniscient.
3. His feet were refined, burnished bronze. The emphasis here is on judgement and the purging work of Christ. Everything was and is under the rule of the King’s feet. His feet are pure and refined, but also purging, molten, and gleaming for perfect judgment. Not only in the church but in your life. For the believer this is a great comfort, for the sinner it is dreadful
4. The description of his voice is much like Ezekiel’s description in Ezekiel 43:2. which describes God’s voice was the sound of many waters. When he speaks the church must listen. And that will come through his spokesmen too. His voice comes to us in many forms. Visions, dreams, preachers, and still small nudges that we are to listen for in our lives. But mainly through the Word of God
5. In His hand is the seven stars. It is sometimes translated messengers, which some hold to be angels, but the best interpretation is the 7 pastors of the churches. We can be disappointed by many leaders, but the true leaders of the church are held in the hands of Christ. There may be persecutions, but leaders who are faithful to Christ and his word are held in his hand. It is so critical to raise and teaches our men!
6. The sword from his mouth is the truth of his Word. The church is to be faithful to the Word of God and we also know that the Word of God is protecting His church and the saints of the church. Jesus said, “I will make war against [my enemies] with the sword of my mouth” (Rev 2:16)
7. Lastly, we see that Jesus’ face shined like that of the sun and moon. The Righteousness and holiness of God glow the shekinah glory of God. He is perfect in every way.
IV. The Revelation Revealed
When John sees Christ glorified among the lampstands, John say he falls down as if he is a dead man. It is the same reaction Isaiah has in the throne room of heaven. He’s not excited with glee, he is filled with dread. Here Christ speaks
17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. 19 Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this. 20 As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
Jesus’s words to John are not cutting but strengthening. Do not be afraid (Rev 1:17). We as believers need to be reminded of that don’t we? We need to be reverent. We need to be humble. We need to be repentant. If we are like John, we don’t need to be afraid. “Don’t be afraid John. I’ve already risen. I’ve defeated your death and your grave. You are an overcomer. Therefore be faithful to what I’m telling you. Write this down. I have a message for the churches.” Revelation Fear Not!
Jesus went on to explain his authority to banish our terror: “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one” (Rev. 1:17–18). This statement connects back to the words of God the Father in verse 8: “ ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.’ ” By taking up similar words, Jesus declares his oneness with the Father in a deity. As “the first and the last,” Jesus is sovereign over all that comes between, that is, overall time, history, and creation. As “the living one,” Jesus possesses the power and life needed to cast away all fear.
Conclusion
Here we see John’s vision. We’re part of the plan. This is not our church. This is Christ’s church. We need to be reminded of this. He’s our priest interceding on our behalf. He’s holding us in his hand. Are we faithful to him and his word? What do you think the risen Christ would say about GCC or your church? Are we under his rule, his purity? How about you, pastor, teacher, and church leader. Are you faithful to the Lord or to the culture around you?
What happens when the church gets started down the wrong road all the way to Laodicea? Are we the Western church reaching the point that if we don’t change, the Lord would rather just spew us out of his mouth? I say we are. The church is empty - void of believers and filled with unbelievers. People who care little about the mission of the Gospel - the Great Commission - and only interested in their own prosperity and comforts. We desperately need to be faithful again.
But how about you, Christian? Are you ready? What is your faith like today? Does this picture of our risen, exalted, glorified Lord in the midst of his church terrify you or bring you hope. Christ is in our midst, even now and he is looking for churches and believers who will be faithful at all costs. Are there things in your life you need to repent today?
As we look next week, he is coming again soon. The slumbering ones will miss it. It will catch them off guard. He’s looking for the church to awaken. This message to the 7 churches is our reminder from Him.
Take it to the Cross
Pray
