Sermon from May 23, 1999
The book of Revelation went initially, not to a publisher of books, who was interested in religious fantasy. It went to Christian congregations, like ours, right down in the jungle of life. John wrote, To the seven churches in the province of Asia (v. 4). He addressed seven churches, because John used the number seven as a symbol for completeness. It was his way of saying, "What I write, I write for the whole Church." Other numbers have symbolic meaning, and we will pay attention to them all; but seven and its multiples hold first place among the symbolic numbers in Revelation.

Something else anchors Revelation in everyday life. John framed it as a letter and followed a threefold pattern for beginning a letter. Letters in the ancient world began by saying, "Pastor Bo to BVBC, greeting." The writer put his name first. In our letters we put our names last. Of course, the first thing we look for in a letter is the name of the person writing. If it is not on the envelope, we look at the end of the letter to find out.

Now, any part of the threefold pattern could be expanded. In Ephesians 1:1 the apostle did not simply write, "Paul to the saints in Christ." He said, Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God. In Revelation 1, John did not expand on his name or on the seven churches, but he expanded memorably on the greeting. His expanded greeting invites us to look at the world and the Church from a most unique vantage point.

Grace and peace to you was a common Christian greeting. Basically, it meant that the person addressing you thought of you with great favor and wished for your life to be rich and complete. Coming from another human being that is lovely. But John was not writing for himself. He was writing a revelation which an angel had given to him from Jesus Christ. This greeting came from ... well, he told us who it came from in verses 4-5, and this is what gives us a unique vantage point on the world and the Church. Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come (v. 4).

Exodus 3:13-14 preserves an exchange between God and Moses at the burning bush. Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?"

God said to Moses, "I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites, 'I AM has sent me to you.'" That unusual name meant, "Who I am and what I want from you will be revealed by my actions in the future." (Childs, Exo., 76). "Wait and watch me. I will show you who I am by what I do."

John expressed that same truth by means of three words: was ... is ... is to come. "Think of any unimaginable past you choose; I was there, child, and there I acted to accomplish the purposes of my heart. Think of any unimaginable present you choose, including your own that troubles you so; I am there, child, and there I am acting to accomplish the purposes of my heart. Think of any unimaginable future you choose, including the one you fear the most; I will be there, child, and there I will act to accomplish the purposes of my heart." From Him who is unbounded, permanent and deathless come grace and peace. He views us with great favor and intends for our lives to be rich and complete.

John's expanded greeting continues. Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come and from the seven spirits before his thone (v. 4). John called the Holy Spirit the seven spirits of God, because seven is his number for completeness, but why did he say it that way?

Many clues to the meaning of Revelation come from the Old Testament. I said last week that we need to be patient with the details of Revelation. That means being patient enough to go to the Old Testament and walk over the same ground that John walked, so that we can understand his unusual ways of saying things. Zechariah 4:1-6 connects the seven lights on the Jewish Menorah with the Holy Spirit.

Then the angel who talked with me returned and wakened me, as a man is wakened from his sleep. He asked me, "What do you see?"

I answered, "I see a solid gold lampstand with a bowl at the top and seven lights on it, with seven channels to the lights. If you can picture the Jewish Menorah, you will know what Zechariah saw. Also there are two olive trees by it, one on the right and the other on its left."

He answered, "Do you not know what these are?"

"No, my lord," I replied.

Verse 6 is the key to the meaning of Zechariah's vision and of John's language in Revelation 1:4. So he said to me, "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel (a Jewish leader): 'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty." In other words, there is a human might and power that gets things done in this old world, but that is not the power that accomplishes the purposes of God's heart. A different power does that, the all-sufficient power of the Holy Spirit. From Him whose power accomplishes the purposes of God's heart come grace and peace. He views us with great favor and intends for our lives to be rich and complete. Still John has not finished.

Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come and from the seven spirits before his throne, and from Jesus Christ (vv. 4-5). That name comes into the text like a sudden noise might awaken you from a dream. To speak of him who is, and who was, and who is to come and from the seven spirits before his throne is to speak in symbols. To utter the name Jesus Christ evokes very precise earthly memories. What John says about Him give shape to the book of Revelation.

First, he calls Him the faithful witness. Jesus Christ told the truth before Pontius Pilate, even though it cost Him His life. This fact is central to John's prophecy. This fact is what verse 2 referred to, when John testified to everything he saw – that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. Our Lord's faithful and costly witness before Pilate gave John what he needed to interpret the divine meaning of events that were near at hand for the seven churches of Asia, and also events that are near at hand for us.

The next statement calls Jesus the firstborn from the dead. At the end of all things there will be the resurrection of the dead, but Christ's resurrection has already given us a preview of the end of all things. Faithful witness may cost us our lives as it cost Christ His, but death does not have the final word. Christ is risen; the new creation has begun, and the next statement tells how far-reaching this new creation will be.

John's third statement calls Jesus the ruler of the kings of the earth. The proud and cruel Caesars who threatened the early Christians and the rulers of all ages have met their match. Christ is extending God's love and authority over all existence, and He will not be thwarted by the puny purposes of lesser sovereigns.

From this Witness, this Firstborn from the dead, this Ruler of the kings of the earth come grace and peace. He views us with great favor and intends for our lives to be rich and complete. This triune greeting elicits the lavish praise, which now follows in verses 5-6, and further expands heaven's view of earth's realities.

To him who loves us (This is the only time that the New Testament expresses Jesus' love for us in the present tense. What great favor! At the heart of the universe is a heart that loves – us!) To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood (Even greater favor! We have escaped bondage greater than Israel escaped in Egypt. This world may hate us, but this world has lost its hold on us. He has delivered us from this present age!) To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father.

That last statement gives the Church a credential it has scarcely used. Christ has made the Church a kingdom. Kingdom is a political term for a political entity; but the Church does not aspire to wrest political control of the old creation away from the powers that exist. It has a higher calling. We are a kingdom of priests. The Church embodies God's favorable disposition toward all humanity. It is a calling we forget far too easily.

Four years ago, about 400 of us gathered at the LA Convention for a three-day prayer and fasting conference. That is what we did: we fasted and prayed. Nationally known evangelicals like Bill Bright and Kay Arthur each spoke for five minutes to introduce a prayer topic, and then we prayed. Among the speakers was Pat Robertson. He introduced prayer for our nation, and he said something I will never forget and will never agree with. He said, "The United States is the last, best hope of the world." When he said that, the man sitting next to me and I looked at each other and almost simultaneously said, "No, it isn't." I still feel that his statement flirted with blasphemy.

It also blurs the spiritual meaning of our times. In our generation God has led the church of North America into a test, which is also a temptation by the devil. The test is this: Can we Christians be people of integrity in a culture where we are free to do anything we can get away with? The fire for Christians in the West is staying true to Jesus Christ when around us all allurements entice when no one is watching. The only answer to the test that matters will be the sacrificial answer of our lives. Revelation will give a crucial perspective on this test.

Do we not know that it is our culture preeminently that embodies that temptation for the Church? Having eyes, do we not see, and having ears, do we not hear its unceasing offers to do anything we can get away with? Do we not yet perceive or understand that the seductive power of our nation's economic and cultural might charms us into believing that there is less and less to "get away with." It is all okay, provided you have the resources to pay for it and a good doctor to remove or minimize any undesirable consequences. It is our nation that is filling the earth with this idea. Is America earth's last, best hope or the corrupter of the whole earth?

Christ has made the Church a kingdom. Amid the seductions of unparalleled liberty and unprincipled pleasure its calling is "to embody an alternative order that stands as a sign of God's redemptive purpose in the world" (Hays, 196). Jesus Christ did not come to patch up democracy. He came to "make possible a new world, a new social order," (Hauerwas, 49), embodied in the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church. It has survived the total disintegration of the Roman Empire, the Dark Ages, the Holy Roman Empire, Hitler, Stalin, Mao and a hundred lesser tyrants. It will also survive the American Century. To him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.

The view from heaven offers one more unique perspective on this old world.

Look, he is coming with the clouds,
     and every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him;
     and all the peoples of the earth will mourn
          because of him.
                                                                         So shall it be! Amen (v. 7).

Revelation tells the story of how the love and authority of Christ counter the murderous hatred of the beast, which comes against the Church in all ages. The Second Coming will establish His love and authority over all the earth. Verse 7 speaks the language of the New Testament, but the New Testament learned to speak this way from the Old Testament. Look, he is coming with the clouds comes from Daniel 7.

Let's look at the context of that one line. It will give us a better idea of what John expected at the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. "In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed," (v. 13-14). I want you to notice a curiosity, the main thrust and another dominant theme in these verses.

When Revelation or Paul or Jesus says, Look, he is coming with the clouds, we picture the Lord coming down to earth on a cloud. Did you notice that in Daniel 7 the opposite happens? There before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. Daniel's language pictures Him, not coming down to earth, but entering the presence of God. Do we need to reinterpret all those New Testament passages that speak of Jesus coming with clouds? Perhaps, but neither interpretation changes the main thrust here.

He enters the presence of God to take up His authority over the whole earth. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed. As Revelation 1:7 goes on to say, His love and authority will reach to the uttermost. Every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. They will mourn because of the great suffering which their sins caused Him. They will mourn because of the judgment He will bring upon the earth. This is the ruler of the kings of the earth. This is what we pray for when we say, "Thy kingdom come."

Daniel 7:14 reveals another theme that will be prominent in Revelation: all peoples, nations and men of every language worshiped him. We often think of the Second Coming as judgment, and so it will be. It is also the occasion for the conversion of the nations. You will be amazed at how often Revelation speaks of this.

And now this exalted praise ends, and it is God who speaks. "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty," (v. 8). Divine sovereignty, though challenged at every step, declares its dominion within and over and beyond anything and everything that exalts itself against the Lord and His Messiah and His Church. From our 2000-year perspective we may say that those who have defied Him have become "colossal wrecks," while the Bride of Christ stands forth in all her multi-colored, earth-straddling beauty.