Revelation 1:4-8

Subject: Second Coming of Christ
Scripture: Revelation 1:4-8
Sermon: “The Source of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ”

Introduction:
A.  Jacques Ellul in What I Believe:  Life has an orientation, a final end toward which everything moves. I realize, however, that I can say this only because I am a Christian. I know that the human adventure moves on to fulfillment, not in glory, but in a rupture followed by a re-creation which is the consummation of this whole history. If I step outside this faith, the human adventure has no orientation of its own. It is not true that history as such has meaning. ... Human history is in fact a tale told by an idiot.

B.  We try to foretell the future – people are so interested in knowing the future that they go to psychics, etc – Zion’s Fire Marv Rosenthal has said that the world will fall into economic chaos because of Y-2k bug on Jan 1, 2000 – God has never wanted us to know more of the future than what His word tells us!

Bible Background:
A.  Introduction:
1.  Rev 1:1-3 = Introduction
2.  Rev 1:4-6 = Source
3.  Rev 1:6-7 = Theme

B.  Throughout the OT God has continued to demonstrate that He is the One who is sovereign and controls salvation and judgment

Transitional Sentence: God is the Source of Salvation and Judgment

I.  Source of the Salutation  Revelation 1:4-5a

A.  The Servant John  Rev 1:4a-b
1.  Usual form of the beginning of a letter
(a)  The epistolary form of the address distinguishes this from all other Jewish apocalyptic works
(b)  It is also set apart from all other Jewish apocalyptic literature in that it addresses historical churches
2.  John stands in close relation to these churches demonstrated by his intimate knowledge of their affairs and that God chose him to bear the message to them
3.  Writing to the seven churches of Asia
(a)  More than seven churches in Asia = other churches in the province of Asia besides the ones mentioned in chapters 2-3 = Colossae (1:2) Hierapolis (4:13) Troas (2 Cor 2:12) Miletus (Acts 20:17) Magnesia and Tralles (Ignatius)– why just seven?
(b)  Seven refers to completeness in the book of Revelation – so it may refer to all the churches or it could be that the churches of Rev 2-3 are the mother churches of all the churches in Asia or just the fondness of John for sevens (probably not) or because it was a sacred number to the Jews (probably not)
4.  The Salutation: something we do not deserve
(a)  Grace to you = Greek greeting (cari") = grace is the favor of God and Christ –grace of God highly developed theme throughout the NT
(b)  Peace = Hebrew greeting (Shalom) = peace = peace with God through Christ – !/lv; = wish of well-being to others including all aspects of his person – eijrhvnh goes further because of Christ's death and the fulfillment of the OT anticipations accomplished there – a person can experience and know he has peace with God through Jesus Christ
ILL R. Geoffrey Brown, "Look! A Great White Horse!”: When Robinson Crusoe's good man Friday asked him, "Why doesn't God destroy the devil?" Robinson Crusoe gave him the right answer, the only answer, the great answer. He said, "God will destroy him."
    God is not slow about His coming but is patient towards you not wishing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance – 2 Pet 3:9

B.  The Sovereign Trinity  Rev 1:4c-5a
1.  God the Father
(a)  lit. “The One who is and the One who was and the One who is coming” – the oJ before each ptc referring to the existence of God is emphatic – Heb 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please God for he who comes to God must believe that God exists (“Is”)
(b)  This is a title of God conceived in terms of time – the first two names come from the verb “to be” = I AM in OT (Exod 3:14 Tetragrammaton = Yahweh) I AM in the NT (John 8:58  ejgw; eijmiv)
(c)  Emphatic of:
(1)  God’s Eternity
(2)  God’s immutability as He orders the times and controls history (also 4:8)
(d)  Why say God the Father is coming? God is coming so it is true of all three persons of the Godhead
2.  Holy Spirit
(a)  “Seven Spirits” is not found anywhere else in the Bible nor in any secular Jewish writings
(b)  Some believe that the Seven spirits are seven angels – John uses angels and spirits interchangeably but this is not the case here
(c)  Why refer to HS in this way?:
(1)  Not because of seven churches
(2)  Not Isa 11:2 for only 6 items are listed
(3)  Must trace the origin to Zech 4:1-10 where it speaks of the 7 lamps (Rev 4:5) that are the eyes of the Lord which range throughout the whole earth and is close to Rev 5:6 – "not by might or power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts (Zech 4:6) – John identifies the seven eyes of Zechariah with the seven spirits that belong to the Lord (Zech 4:10; Rev 5:6) and the seven lamps of Zechariah (Zech 4:2) are also synonymous with the seven spirits (Rev 4:5)
3.  Jesus Christ – why listed last instead of second? – literary style has more to say about Jesus – last time “Jesus Christ” appears in Revelation until and “Jesus” isn’t found again until 22:20, 21

II.  Source of Salvation  Revelation 1:5b-6

A.  The Word of God  Rev 1:5b – has in mind Ps 89:24 24 “And My faithfulness and My lovingkindness will be with him, And in My name his horn will be exalted. 25 “I shall also set his hand on the sea, And his right hand on the rivers. 26 “He will cry to Me, ‘Thou art my Father, My God, and the rock of my salvation.’ 27 “I also shall make him My first-born, The highest of the kings of the earth. 28 “My lovingkindness I will keep for him forever, And My covenant shall be confirmed to him. 29 “So I will establish his descendants forever, And his throne as the days of heaven. – PS 89 is an inspired commentary on the Davidic covenant of 2 Sam 7:8-16
1.  Prophet = Faithful Witness = martu" appears only here and in Rev 3:14 in all NT
(a)  Refers back to his earthly life – faithfulness of Jesus as sealed in his death (2 Tim 2:13 If we are faithless, He remains faithful; for He cannot deny Himself.)
(b)  1 Tim 6:13 I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate = speaks of the witness borne by Him in His death)
(c)  Faithful witness in the past proven by his earthly life, in the present by his understanding of the churches and in the future in the consummation of all things in him
2.  Priest = Firstborn of the dead
(a)  Ps 89:28 in mind and from this "firstborn" became a messianic title" – not a point in time for even God the Father was called "firstborn of the world" – firstborn = not first one chronology but the highest one raised from the dead – this is the only time John uses this title but Paul does in Rom 8:29; Col 1:15, 18; and found in Heb 1:6
(b)  Col 1:18 He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the first-born from the dead; so that He Himself might come to have first place in everything.; 1 Cor 15:20 But now Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep. – firstborn from the dead not only includes the saving event of the resurrection but also addresses the present understanding of Jesus Christ for the churches which implies Christ's headship over the church
3.  King = Foremost of the kings of the earth
(a)  Christ is sovereign of the dead, ruler of the living – Isa 4:4
(b)  Lord over the cosmos and over history (Phil 2:1, 9-11; Eph 1:20-23; Matt 28:18, 20)
(c)  It appeared historically that Rome ruled without rival or equal – John from a remote island in exile proclaims that Christ is the ultimate ruler! – all three titles refer to Christ's future domination over the earth = His preeminence

B.  The Work of God’s Son  Rev 1:5c-6a – The mention of the person and offices of Christ causes John to break into a doxology of worship
1.  The Work of Prophet: faithful witness in His love for us
(a)  Hebraism "to Him who loves us and has made us" recurs 1:18; 2:2, 9, 20; 3:9; 7:14; 14:2-3; 15:3
(b)  Present loves us – usually the past tense of “loved us” referring to Jesus’ death, but here present tense = emphasizes God's continuing love for us – only place in NT where Christ's love for His own is pictured as continuing in the present
2.  The Work of Priest: released us (once for all) from our sins
(a)  Aorist ptc expressing loosed us – blood doesn't refer to the actual substance, but to Christ's death as in Paul (Gal 3:13; 4:5; 1 Cor 6:20; 7:23; 1 Pet 1:18) – blood represents sacrificial death
(b)  The one who loved us also loosed us from our sins – Jesus' shed blood at Calvary was the purchase price to obtain our release
(c)  Rom 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
ILL Swete: [praise is ascribed] "to the one who has an abiding love for believers which is demonstrated by His completed past work of redemption from sins by means of His blood shed for them."
ILL Katie Funk Wiebe in Border Crossing.  Christianity Today: What happened to the reality that forgiveness of sin, before God or before humankind, is a spiritual cleansing, not just a coping skill?
3.  The Work of King: Made us a kingdom, priests to God and His Father
(a)  Made us a kingdom
(1)  Christ not only delivers us from sin but makes us a kingdom – most kings want to Lord over their subjects their rule, but Christ makes us a kingdom to rule with him
(2)  The kingship here was to be an everlasting possession (22:5) – the completed work of Christ in making believers a kingdom is offered as another evidence of His on-going love
(3)  Kingdom = all believers in Christ traced to parables in Matt 13 (Col 1:13) – the present kingdom pales in comparison with the one spoken of in Revelation
(b)  Made us priests to God and His Father
(1)  God the Father is only designated throughout the book of Revelation as the Father of Jesus Christ and never as the Father of believers (1:6; 2:28; 3:5, 21; 14:1) – priests is another evidence of Christ's on-going love for believers – in OT law the priestly office was hereditary and only Aaron's family was eligible – Jesus has made all believers priests to God (5:10; 20:6; Exod 19:6; Isa 61:6; 1 Pet 2:5, 9)
(2)  Resembles Exod 19:6 – God's people are God's end time realized now – we are all priests so we no longer need the mediation of priests who have immediate access to God's realm – glory ascribed to Christ
ILL Bullinger: "a kingdom of subjects with direct priestly access to God."
(3)  1 Pet 2:5 you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. – Heb 13:15 Through Him then, let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name.
C.  The Worship of God’s Son  Rev 1:6b
1.  Doxologies to Christ in 5:13; 7:10; 2 Pet 3:18; 2 Tim 4:18; Heb 13:21; 1 Pet 4:11; Matt 6:13 – 1 Chron 29:11 seems to be the source of these NT doxologies
2.  Glory – “the glory” = glory belonging only to God
3.  Strength – “authority and power to rule” and to bring judgment
4.  Eternally – lit. “into the ages of the ages!” = forever
5.  Amen = common closing from Hebrew @mea; = be firm – used in 1 Cor 14:6 as the response to a prophetic utterance – in this verse it marks the assent and commitment of the writer to the truthfulness of all the words spoken about Jesus Christ, His identity and accomplishments, but especially His worthiness to receive glory and strength, as expressed in the doxology – amen is used this way seven times in Rev (1:6; 1:7; 5:14; 7:12 (twice) 19:4; 22:20)

III.  Source of the Sentencing (God’s Judgment)  Revelation 1:7  (Theme of the book)

A.  Second Coming of Christ  Rev 1:7a
1.  idou = divine intervention = “Look, He is coming!”
2.  Without warning, the first prophetic oracle of the book is given – gives the topic of the whole book = the coming of Jesus Christ
3.  Combination of two OT quotes
(a)  First the "son of man" quote in Dan 7:13 – Daniel's verse is about the future coming of the Son of Man to assume rule over a worldwide and unending kingdom (Dan 7:14, 27) – He will come from above = heavenly origin
(b)  Second from the end time prophecy by Zech 12:10-14 – the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who have been rescued by God, full of repentance look on the one whom they have pierced – this was used in John 19:37 as a reference to the crucifixion of Jesus and both passages are used in Matt 24:30 of the coming of Christ by Jesus Christ Himself

B.  Shame of all People  Rev 1:7b
1.  Those who killed Christ were acting as representatives of all humanity in killing him – mourning for the judgment Christ brings with him
(a)  The return of Christ is anything but a comfort to those who continue in their rebellion against Him
(b)  But John exalts in the vindication of suffering believers – God’s people are overcomers
ILL Peter Marshall: “It is better to fail in a cause that will ultimately succeed than to succeed in a cause that will ultimately fail.”
2.  Double affirmation of the certainty of fulfillment = naiv ajmhvn = Yes! Amen! (22:20 "It is so, amen")
ILL Matthew Thomas, Jr., Lynchburg, VA.  Christian Reader, "Lite Fare.": As my grandmother and I were walking towards the United Nations Building in New York City, we came upon a street evangelist who was trying to get the attention of passersby. He urged those near him to flee from the wrath to come.
   "I warn you," he roared, "that there will be weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth!"
   An old woman in the crowd shouted snidely: "Sir, I have no teeth!"
   "Lady," the evangelist retorted, "teeth will be provided!"

Conclusion:  Rev 1:8
A.  Direct speech by God is found only here and in Rev 21:5-8 in entire book
1.  Emphatic declaration of God the Father as further verification of this fact – paraphrase = "I, the Almighty Lord of hosts, the unchangeable God, will accomplish all My will, fulfill all My word, and execute all My judgments"
2.  Uses the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet = totality = God is the beginning and the end by which everything is embraced (Isa 44:6)
3.  kuvrio" oJ qeov" is the title of God the Father throughout the OT and 1:4 is title for the Father – God the Father gives His affirmation to confirm the truthfulness of the prophecy
4.  “Almighty”
(a)  Regularly serves as the translation in the LXX for the Hebrew tob*c@ (ho}h=y` Lord of hosts) – in Job it translates Shaddai = Almighty
(b)  In the NT it is only found, apart from 2 Cor 6:18, in Revelation nine times (1:8; 4:8; 11:17; 15:3; 16:7, 14; 19:6, 15; 21:22)
(c)  Almighty = able to do anything within the limits of His character – reaffirmation of God’s sovereign lordship over history

B. 2 Pet 3:11 Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, 12 looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, on account of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat! 13 But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells

ILL In the movie Casualties of War, Michael J. Fox plays Private Erikson, a soldier in Vietnam who is part of a squad that abducts and rapes a young Vietnamese girl. He didn't participate in the crime.
   Afterward, as he struggles with what has happened, he says to the other men in his squad, "Just because each of us might at any second be blown away, we're acting like we can do anything we want, as though it doesn't matter what we do. I'm thinking it's just the opposite. Because we might be dead in the next split-second, maybe we gotta be extra careful what we do. Because maybe it matters more. Maybe it matters more than we ever know."
   Death, for all of us, is a breath away. And the nearer death is, the closer we are to answering to God for all we have said and done.