Place:
Lurgan Baptist 30:9:2003
Reading:
Revelation 1:9-20
EXPLORING
THE FUTURE
2.THE COMING CHRIST
What the church needs today is a new awareness of
Christ and His Glory. We need to see Him "
high and lifted up." ( Is 6:1 )
There is a dangerous absence of awe and worship in our church fellowships
today. We are boasting about standing on our own feet, instead of breaking and
falling at His feet. For years Evan Roberts the leader of the Welsh revival at
the beginning of this century prayed, " Bend me, bend me," and
when God answered, the great Welsh Revival resulted. The need of the hour is
this, we must regain our vision of the sovereign authority of Jesus Christ. And
this must begin in the church. We must see Him as He is .... enthroned,
exalted, sovereign, ruling, reigning, and then we must be brought into humble
submission to His Lordship. Then and only then, will we experience that fresh
movement of the Spirit of God that we so desperately need !
An aged man, probably in his nineties, John was the
last living apostle. The year is about AD 95. and while imprisoned on Patmos
John heard a loud voice like a trumpet speaking. The voice was none other than
Jesus Christ ! John was told to record Christ's final call to His church. He
was instructed to write in a book what he saw and heard and send it to seven
churches in Asia Minor. But before John is told what to write to the churches
he is shown Who is the Head of the church. The church must see Christ's
sovereign
Lordship before she hears what He says. As John turns
to the voice he sees the awesome vision of Jesus Christ. Not the Lord Jesus as
He once was, in the form of a lowly bond-servant. But Christ as He is, the King
of Kings and Lord of Lords. Here in ( Rev 1 ) we see The Coming Christ.
When John received this vision the Emperor Domitian
was on the throne in Rome, and he was the most cruel of all Roman Emperors. He
declared himself to be God sentencing to death those who refused to worship
him. These early believers did refuse to worship Domitian, thus they were
sentenced to death by the thousands. Some were throw to the lions in the great
coliseum, some were burned at the stake. Others were wrapped in the skins of
wild animals and fed to the dogs or dipped in tar and lit as torches for the
emperor’s garden. Still others were crucified, including, mothers with babies
wrapped around their necks.
My …. the early Christians including John faced great
problems. But rather than focus on each painful step of his walk of faith, in
the midst of such suffering and stress, John “ turned his eyes on Jesus, he looked full in His wonderful face, and
the things of earth grew strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace.” My
…. sometimes when faced with great problems, our tendency is to focus on the
hands of God, what He has not done for
us, and what we want Him to do for us, instead of focusing on the face of God …. simply who He is. Often, in
the midst of great problems we stop short of the real blessing that God has for
us, which is a fresh vision of who He is.
Now it maybe that this vision of the Lord in
( Rev 1 ) explains an interesting episode at the end
of ( John 21 ) when at the sea of Galilee the Risen Lord commissioned Peter
with the words,
"
Feed my sheep," then prophesied that Peter would one day die a martyrs death. At that
point Peter speaking of John said, "
Lord and what shall this man do ?" ( Jn 21:21 ) " Jesus saith unto him,
if I will that he tarry till I come what is that to thee ? Follow me." Now
because of a misunderstanding of this conversation between Peter and the Risen
Lord, word went out among the disciples that John would never die, until the
Lord returned. I wonder does ( Rev 1 ) provide the explanation. John did remain
alive to see the Coming of the Lord. He foresaw the Lords Coming as an event in
history, but He also saw it in the form of a vision from God.
Now tradition tells us that John lived to a ripe old
age and was buried in Ephesus, but he did live to see the Coming of the Lord.
He saw the Lords Coming in symbols of royal garments, of brilliant light, of
blazing fire, of thunderous sound, of supreme power, purity, wisdom and
holiness. John saw The Coming Christ.
(1) THE AWESOME SIGHT
The Book of Revelation is a book of symbols and these
symbols are important. ( 1:3 ) In this opening chapter we discover truth
conveyed in the form of symbols. The Lord Jesus is described in a way that is
not intended to convey His actual physical appearance but various aspects of
His character, His attributes and His role. Its interesting to notice the
stages through which John passed in receiving this particular vision. In ( 1:10
) he says " I heard," in (
1:12) " I turned," in (
1:12) " I saw," in ( 1:17 )
" I fell." Now the first
thing that John does is to turn and see Who is addressing him. ( 1:12-13 )
What are the seven candlesticks ? " The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right
hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the
seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches."( 1:20 ) And Christ walks
in the Midst. The Lord Jesus was always in the midst. In the days of His
childhood they found Him in the temple "
sitting in the midst of the doctors."
( Lk 2:46 ) When they nailed Him to the Cross, Christ
was " in the midst." ( Matt
27:38 ) Today He says to us, " Where
two or three are gathered together in My name there am I in the midst of
them." ( Matt 18:20) As the Lord of the Lamp stand’s He walks in the
midst of the churches. This is the
Centrality of Christ in relation to each local church.
What a revelation of Glory for an aged apostle who
vividly remembered the garments that were stolen, the head that was crowned,
the hands and feet that were pierced. How thrilling it must have been for John
who had witnessed the Suffering of Christ, now to see the Glory of Christ. They
had tried to confine him physically on an island 10 miles long and six miles
wide but now he’s transported away from it all and in the Spirit on the
Lords day what better to begin with than with a sight
of the Lord Himself. What compensation for an aged saint being denied the usual
privileges of the Lords day. Who did John see ?
(a) THE
RESURRECTED CHRIST:
"
One like unto the Son of Man." ( 1:13 ) That describes the Humanity of the King. It was a full 60 years since John
had at last seen Jesus. But he immediately recognises Him as " the Son of Man." ( Dan
7:13-14 ) The Saviour has not changed. He became a man at His birth in
Bethlehem, He was resurrected as a man, He ascended to heaven as a man, and He
will return as a man. And so John recognises His Lord, The Resurrected Christ,
the Son of Man.
(b) THE
REIGNING CHRIST:
The next thing that John notices about the Lord Jesus
is His clothing. He was clothed "
with a garment down to the foot " ( 1:13 ) This describes the Authority of the King. In
ancient times, this was the recognised apparel of Authority, Dignity, and
Ruler-ship. In OT times, a long robe was the attire of spiritual leaders of
high rank, whether it be the High Priest ( Exod 25: Zech 3:4 ) a King
( 1 Sam 24:5 ) a Prince ( Ezek 26:16 ) or a Judge.
( Ezek 9:1 ) This is how John sees Christ. Wearing
sovereign apparel. Bearing the garments of regal majesty. Adorned with absolute
authority. His verdicts are undisputed. His authority is unlimited. His reign
is unrivalled. (b) From His clothing,
John's focus looks upward to behold Christ's head and hair. He is:
(c) THE
RIGHTEOUS CHRIST:
"
His head and His hairs were white like wool, as white as
snow." ( 1:14 ) Is this not the
Purity of the King ? This dazzling white is a symbol of Christ's
absolute sinless holiness. ( Dan 7:9 ) Holiness means Separate-ness ! It comes
from a Semitic root that means " to
cut." Something would be cut in half and the two parts separated. It
means that Christ is Separated from all mankind. He is a cut above us. Unlike
us. Totally other than us. Infinitely perfect and pure. The Lord Jesus does not
conform to any standard. He is the Standard. The Bible claims that Christ " knew no sin." ( 2 Cor 5:21 )
He " did no sin." ( 1 Pet 2:22 ) He " had no sin." ( 1 Jn 3:5 ) It is holiness that Christ
requires of His church. We must be separated from the world .... different, not
like the world.
The Lord says, "
Be ye holy for I am holy."
( 1 Pet 1:16 ) Despite the degenerating morals of our
day Christ has not lowered His standard one iota. H. Bonar said, " I looked for the church and I found
it in the world: I looked for the world and I found it in the church." While peering at Christ's
head, John notices His eyes. John sees Christ with fiery lasers flashing out of
each socket. He is:
(d) THE
REVEALING CHRIST:
"
His eyes were as a flame of fire." ( 1:14 ) That refers to the Sagacity of the King. He has vision that penetrates ....
or burns to the core. Today we might say He has X-ray vision. A.W. Tozer
writes,
" Because God knows all things perfectly, He
knows no thing better than any other thing
but all things equally well. He never discovers anything. He is never
surprised, never amazed." M. Henry wrote, " God not only sees men, He sees
through them." He sees
right through us. He knows about everything we've done. He knows about every
thought we've ever had. He hears every lie we utter. Unlike any earthly Judge
the Lord Jesus cannot be deceived. There was a story of a country man who was
arrested for a watch. At his trial, the prosecution did everything they could
to prove the mans guilt but there was not enough evidence. He could not be
found guilty so the judge told him, "
Sam you've been acquitted. You can go
home." And the man replied, "
Does that mean I have to give the
watch back ?"
The Lord Jesus cannot be deceived. Nothing escapes His
attention. He never has to gather information or ask questions. He never learns
anything. Who would teach Him ? He sees every Minister, notes every Member,
observes every Ministry, views every Motive, with X-ray vision. From His fiery
eyes John looks down to His red-hot feet, feet that are glowing like burnished
metal in a fiery furnace. He is:
(e) THE
RELENTLESS CHRIST:
"
And His feet like unto fine brass." ( 1:15 ) This speaks of the Severity of the King. Brass in the Bible symbolises
judgment. When Moses lifted up a brass serpent in the wilderness, it was a
foreshadowing of the cross where the Lord Jesus would become sin under judgment
for us.
( Jn 3:14 ) Here Christ's feet, which appear as
burnished brass, are going forth to judge. He is unstoppable: there will be no
escape from the wrath of God when Jesus' burning feet touch the earth. But even
today He will judge sin wherever He finds it. Especially in the church.
( 2:4 14-15 20 3:1 15-16 ) Christ Especially hates sin
in His own spiritual family. More so than in the world. Make no mistake The
Head of the Church will judge sin in His churches. " For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God." ( 1 Pet 4:17 ) Now up to this
point John has tried to describe the Appearance of the Lord Jesus but now he
moves from Sight to Sound and he sees,
(f) THE
REGAL CHRIST:
For he says that the sound of Jesus' voice is " as the sound of many waters."
( 1:15 ) That speaks of the Integrity
of the King. He speaks with a voice like mighty ocean waves crashing
against the jagged rocks of Patmos ! David says that " The voice of the Lord is upon the waters: The God of glory
thundereth: the Lord is upon many waters.
The voice
of the Lord is powerful: the voice of the Lord is full of majesty." ( Ps 29:3-4 ) Imagine arguing with Niagara Falls.
Imagine standing at the foot of the Falls with some twelve million cubic feet
of water roaring down each minute and trying to argue with a thunderous voice
like that. One day soon that voice as the sound of many waters, will break the
silence with a roar, and all voices raised in angry protest will be silenced,
drowned out by His. This is The Christ
Who is Coming. He is not coming as the bloodied and beaten Saviour but as
the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
(g) THE
REGULATING CHRIST:
"
And He had in his right hand seven stars."
( 1:16 ) That refers to the Sovereignty of the King. Who or what are these stars ? " The seven stars are the angels of the
seven churches." Angel
( angelos ) means,"
a divinely commissioned messenger."
One sent from God with a message. The Lord Jesus is holding the seven stars in
His right hand, the hand of power and that suggests that He has complete
control of all things. He is the regulator of the universe. God is still in
control, God's still running the show, God is still on the throne ! And one day
Christ will restore permanent order and harmony to His creation. The vision
unfolds further and John notes that out of His mouth proceeds a deadly weapon
.... a sword. For He is,
(h) THE
REVENGING CHRIST:
" And out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged
sword." ( 1:16 ) This is the Ferocity of the King. The sword
is the Word of God. ( Eph 6:17 Heb 4:12 ) Nothing can stand before Gods Word.
Ten times in ( Gen 1 ) we read, "
And God said." Flaming suns
sprang into being, and life in many forms arose vibrant from the dust. When the
" Word was made flesh," (
Jn 1:14 ) demons, disease, and death fled. Whether it is the Word going forth
to Replenish the Earth as in
( Gen 1 ) or to Redeem
the Earth as in the days of His flesh, or to Reclaim the Earth as here in this majestic scene, the result is
always the same. Whether as Creator, Comforter, or Conqueror that Mighty Word
is invincible. Finally, John sees Christ face shining with the glory of God. He
is,
(i) THE
RESPLENDENT CHRIST:
"
And His countenance was as the sun shineth in his
strength." ( 1:16 ) This refers
to the Glory of the King. Once
that face was marred and spat upon, here its shines in resplendent glory.( Matt
17:2 ) And it is this Divine Glory that John now beholds. Unveiled. Unmasked.
Unadulterated. ( Jn 17:5 ) What a vision of Christ. This is The Coming Christ.
(2) THE ABJECT SERVANT
The effect of this dazzling sight upon John was
nothing less than paralysing. Before such an awesome sight, what could John do,
what could any human being do, but fall at the feet of Christ as though dead.
John had once walked with Christ for three years. He had witnessed His miracles
and heard His sermons. He had leaned upon His breast in the Upper Room and
watched Him die on the Cross. Finally he had rejoiced in His resurrection and
viewed His ascension. But that had all happened some 60 years before. Now as he
sees the Resplendent Redeemer in all His blinding brightness he drops as at His
feet as a dead dog.
(a) HIS
HUMBLE SUBMISSION
" And when I saw him I fell at His feet."
( 1:17 ) Immediately, John collapsed to the ground,
left to grovel on the floor. Very nerve fibre in his body was trembling. He was
looking for a place to hide. Anywhere to get out from under the holy gaze of
Christ. But there was no place to hide. John lay exposed before Christ. Undone.
Unmasked. Unravelled. The holiness of Christ exposed John's own impurity. He
caught one glimpse of the Holy One and his self-esteem was shattered ! Was it
not the same for Isaiah ? When he saw the Sovereignty, Purity, Authority, of the Lord Jesus, he cried, " Woe is me for I am undone."
( Is 6:5 Jn 12:41 )
Was it not the same for Peter ? After a long days
fishing endeavour, the Saviour told Simon to shove back out and let down his
nets again. Simon snapped back, "
Lord you stick to the preaching and
let us do the fishing." Begrudgingly, Peter launched out. But to his
amazement, his catch was so big that their nets began to break. When Peter saw
this he realised he was standing in the presence of a Holy God. Instantly he
fell at Jesus' feet, " Depart from
me for I am a sinful man, O Lord." ( Lk 5:9 ) A vision of the
glorified Christ will always drive us to our knees. Like John we must find
ourselves at His feet. Lower and lower we must descend, driven downward by His
Divine Presence. When we compare ourselves with others, we seem Respectable.
But when we see ourselves in comparison to Him, we are Ruined. Shaken down to
our roots. The closer we draw to the Light, the more the dirt of our own heart
is exposed. This must be the posture of the church .... flat on our faces
before the Lord.
(b) HIS
HOLY FEAR:
"
And when I saw him I fell at his feet as Dead,”
( 1:17 ) John collapsed at Jesus feet as a dead man.
He was speechless, motionless, and all shook up. In contrast to the silly,
frivolous, false and boastful claims of many in our day who claim to have see
God, the reaction of those in Scripture who genuinely saw God was inevitably
one of fear. Solomon wrote, " the
fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge." ( Prov 1:7 ) A fear
of God. Lets face it. There's to little fear of God in
our churches today. But a true vision of Christ will
instil us with Holy Fear.
Some years ago Queen Elizabeth was visiting in Los
Angeles. She was being taken through some of the most underprivileged
neighbourhoods. As she approached one project area in a ghetto she asked her
driver to stop. When he did she got out of the car unannounced and went into a
very poor apartment chosen at random. The lady of the house was overwhelmed.
The Queen in her humble abode. Unaware of then proper protocol appropriate for
addressing royalty, she did not know to curtsy or bow. Nor did she know to
address the Queen as Her Majesty. Instead when she approached the Queen she
wrapped both arms around her giving the Queen a warm bear hug. The Queen's entourage
was appalled. The media was shocked. The Secret Service was aghast. No one
touches the Queen. This woman had no idea how to address Royalty. There was no
fear. No awe. No respect. Consequently her approach was inappropriate. Is that
not where we are in the church today ? No fear. No awe. No reverence. May holy
fear fill the church again.
(3) THE ABSOLUTE SOVEREIGN
As John lay prostrate before the feet of Christ, the
Lord did something that was typical of Him: He reached down and touched John.
(a) HE
CONVEYS HIS SYMPATHY:
"
And He laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, fear not."
( 1:17 ) As you read through the Gospels you see that Christ was always
touching people. When He healed a leper He touched him. When He restored sight
to the blind, He put His hands upon their eyes. The touch of His Hand brought
His strengthening grace. No wonder Christ reaches out and touches John. The
elderly apostle, now in his nineties, has almost died of a heart attack because
the Lord unveiled His Glory. He needs to be Restored and Reassured. Now in
order to comfort John, Christ gives a fuller
revelation of Himself. You see true strength always
comes from a deeper knowledge of Christ and so,
(b) HE
REVEALS HIS IDENTITY:
Here are staggering claims for Deity, uttered by our
Lord. The idea is, " John look to me
and be comforted."
(1) " I AM "
John would recall those words " I AM." John himself recorded the series of " I AM," claims in his gospel.
" I am the bread of life," ( Jn 6:35 ) and so on. " I AM," was the divine name
that God chose for Himself. " And
God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and He said, thus shalt thou say unto the
children of Israel, I AM hath sent me
unto you." ( Exod 3:14 ) Not "
I was that I was," nor " I
will be that I will be." But, " I AM THAT I AM," the
self-existent eternal, sovereign God. In taking this name the Lord Jesus is
claiming, in no uncertain terms to be GOD !
(2) " THE FIRST AND THE LAST "
In the OT God said, " I am the first, and I am the last and beside me there is no God."
( Is 44:6 48:12 ) By saying, " I am the first," Christ lays claim to eternal pre
existence. By saying, " I am the
last," He is eternally immutable. He is
the same "
yesterday, and today, yes and forever." ( Heb 13:8 )
(3) " THE LIVING ONE "
" I
am he that liveth." or " I am the Living
One."
( 1:18 ) That was another name that was applied to
God. To Joshua God said, " Hereby ye shall know that the Living God is
among you." ( Jos 3:10 ) Peter used this name to describe God, " Thou art the Christ the Son of the
Living God."
( Matt 16:16 ) Clearly when the Lord Jesus takes this
title He is saying, " I am
God." " John there's
nothing to fear. I have conquered sin, death, Satan, and hell. I am alive forever."
(c) HE AFFIRMS
HIS AUTHORITY:
" And have the keys of hell and of death." (
1:18 ) Christ's keys signify His sovereign authority to open and close the
grave. He decides who dies when. And He alone can get them out. " John I have all power over death. You're not finished yet. Your life is not
yet over. I'm not yet ready to take the key and put it into the door of death
for you." My …. Is this not encouraging ? You see, despite cancer,
growths, tumours, heart attacks, bombs, and old age you’ll never go through the
door of death until He puts the key into the door.
He is the All
Sufficient One: “ I am the first, …. ,”
He is the All
Victorious One: “ I am that liveth,”
He is the All
Powerful One: “ And …. the keys,”
Christ will be with us to the end, in the end, and
beyond the end. This is the Christ who
is Coming.
“ When He
comes our Glorious King
All His ransomed home to bring
Then anew this song we’ll sing
Hallelujah, what a Saviour.”