God’s Gracious and Powerful Word to a Troubled People

Revelation 1:1-8

Psalm 34:19 says, “Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.” God’s people are often troubled. In every age they’re politically persecuted. They were torn by wild animals for not swearing allegiance alone to Caesar. They were burned by Queen Mary in England for “disloyalty” to Rome. They were tortured by Communists for not supporting Communist ideology. Many are the afflictions of the righteous. Believers in the world are forced to compromise religiously. When Athanasius defending Christ’s divinity, he was mocked by half the church. Thomas Cranmer was so fearful of death, he rejected his Protestant faith to live. Later, he recanted his recantation and was executed by burning. Today, Chinese pastors are persecuted for not registering their churches, for fear of compromise. Many are the afflictions of the righteous. Believers are also pressured to conform lest their livelihoods are subverted. Trade guilds ran the economy in first century Rome. Membership required idolatry. So when Christian businessmen refused to sprinkle incense on idols, they couldn’t sell. Even today, Christian bakeries are sued if they refuse to bake cakes for gay weddings. Many are the afflictions of the righteous.

But as Psalm 34:19 also says, “but the LORD delivereth him out of them all.” Believers won’t be troubled forever. This is the theme of Revelation. The Apostle John received this revelation as an old man. His friends had been killed, churches were persecuted, and John himself imprisoned. But he was comforted. That’s the purpose of this book - comfort. But many Christians have approached this book sensationally - to be informed. But the book has a pastoral purpose - to comfort Christians. And our Christian experience will be hindered if we miss this pastoral purpose. And this purpose is seen in the opening words. We’ll explore them in 2 propositions: firstly, God’s gracious revelation was given to bless his people; and secondly, God’s powerful assurance was given to comfort his people.

Firstly, God’s gracious revelation was given to bless his people. This was a revelatory and prophetic letter from divine, redemptive, and authoritative sources to bring immediate blessings to those who obey. It was a revelatory and prophetic letter. Verse 1 says, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John.” It’s a letter from God to Jesus Christ, transmitted down to John by an angel. It even has a greeting in verse 4 - “John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him.” And closing words in Revelation 22:21 has an ending benediction - “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.” But it’s also a prophecy; verse 3 - “Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy.”

As a letter, Revelation addressed real people with real circumstances - the 7 churches in Asia Minor - which verse 1 calls Christ’s servants. Now to be sure, there weren’t only 7 churches in Asia Minor but 10-12. Seven was used as a synecdoche - a number that symbolized fullness - representing all churches then and now. As verse 1 says, God sent and signified it. He wrote it in signs and symbols - not literal language. So it’s written to all Christians. But as a letter to the 7 churches, it had to be understood by them. Therefore, we can’t force our 21st century understanding onto it. The mark of the beast is not a barcode or computer chip or a vaccine. It can’t mean to us what it never meant to them. They knew and understood the symbols. It’s a revelation not a confusion! It’s the Word of God and testimony of Christ. Why would they want to hide anything from us? It says all who read, hear, and do are blessed, verse 3. God wants to bless us.

Also, the Greek word for revelation is apocalypses - an unveiling. This genre was popular from 200 BC to AD 100. It’s filled with imagery and symbols - like angels with many eyes. Numbers are repeated - like 7, 10, and 12. The original recipients understood and could interpret. So we must interpret like they did. Psalm 91 says God covers us with his feathers. It’s poetry. God’s not a bird! So we must interpret symbols like they did.

It’s also a prophecy. It’s not a long drawn future prophecy, but something soon. Verse 1 says it’s about things that must shortly coming to pass. Verse 3 says the time is at hand. In the closing, Revelation 22:6 says - “These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angel to shew unto his servants the things which must shortly be done.” Revelation 22:10 says, “Seal not the sayings of the prophecy of this book: for the time is at hand.” Now, this is very different from Daniel. Daniel 12:4 says - “But thou, O Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book, even to the time of the end…” Daniel’s prophecy had a long future fulfillment, but Revelation was to be fulfilled shortly. And as prophecy, it didn’t only tell the future, it gave instructions. Its words were to be obeyed. Verse 3 says those who read, hear, and keep the prophecy are blessed. How did they obey if it was far in the future? No, the people understood. They were already facing the beast, the antichrist, and persecution.

And it was to be obeyed because it came from divine, redemptive, and authoritative sources. It says clearly that God gave the revelation to Christ. This was a divine revelation. And it came from Christ to his servants. Because Christ is savior, the message was one of salvation and comfort. Christians don’t read this book to be afraid but to be comforted. It was sent by angels. Angels were messengers who repeated only what they were sent to deliver. Same with John, an apostle. He was commanded to make disciples of all nations, teaching them to observe all things whatsoever Christ had commanded, and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. It was a message of comfort given by God the Father and Son to his redeemed people, by faithful and authoritative messengers.

And this revelatory and prophetic letter was meant to bring immediate blessings to those who obeyed it. It was written to 7 churches in Asia Minor who were going through intense trouble - many are the afflictions of the righteous. There were political persecutions. The Christians in Smyrna were cast into prison. Antipas of Pergamos was martyred for his faith. John himself was exiled to Patmos. There was religious compromise. Smyrna rejected the Judaizers from the synagogue of Satan, but Pergamos succumbed to the doctrine of Balaam, just as Thyatira had people who were led into doctrinal fornication by the false prophetess Jezebel. Then there was material subversion. Laodicea was lukewarm. Why? Because she was rich and her riches had made her self-sufficient. This letter was written to help them overcome. Again and again, Christ said to them - he that overcometh I will give him power over the nations and sit with me on the throne (despite political persecution); he that overcometh, I will make him eat of tree of life and hidden manna (and not succumb to earthly riches and food); he that overcometh, I will cloth him in white (and have not compromised religiously). It is a comfort to those who hear and obey. Many seek to destroy Christians. Revelation speaks of the beast - political rulers who persecute Christians; the dragon - Satan who seeks to corrupt us; and the harlot - mammon who subverts Christians by materialism. Is our church under attack today? Is this message for us today? Are we pressured to compromise our faith for political reasons? As Singaporean Christians, do we stand for Christ’s kingdom? Are you pursuing career more than Christ? Lots of money to be made if you don’t come to church. Are you are committing fornication with hyper grace - Christ forgives anyway, even if I sin again and again. Many of us don’t hold on to hyper-grace, but by your lac of obedience, you do. Is this church under attack? Yes! All the time.

And that’s why the message of Revelation must be preached. Verse 3 - “Blessed is he (singular) that readeth - or communicates aloud, and they (plural) that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein.” When it is preached and heard, and kept, we are helped - it comforts those bombarded in this world today. And the time is at hand. Blessing comes when you obey now. Beloved, our study of Revelation is not for you to say - wow, we’ve never done it before - I want to be informed. Many are guilty of this. You’ve told me yourselves! Your excitement is to be informed. But do you want to be blessed? To obey? To confront your dragons, beasts, and harlots now? Do I preach, do you hear and obey, because Christ is coming soon? Only then will there be blessing. Don’t be informed alone - hear and obey. That’s why God gave this book to us.

But secondly, this revelation is God’s powerful assurance given to comfort his people. It’s a Trinitarian comfort assured by a loving and successful savior, who will come in judgment at the end. It’s a Trinitarian comfort. Meaning, these comforting words are from Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Verses 4-5 - “John to the seven churches…Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne; and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth…” John wanted these weak churches to know grace and peace. Why? To be strengthened and to persevere. No one gets to heaven without persevering. And this help - this grace and peace comes from the Triune God.

Here God is described as the one who is, was, and is to come - I am that I am. But why doesn’t he say the one who was, is, and will always be? Why the one who is, was, and is to come? It was to stress that God was with them now even in tribulation. That’s why they can have grace and peace - because God’s always a present help, who’s always helped his people in the past, and will come to deliver them from bondage and to destroy their enemies.

And grace and peace is from the seven Spirits before the throne. Why seven Spirits? In Revelation 4:5, John interprets himself - “And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices: and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.” This imagery is from Zechariah 4. There, Zechariah saw a vision of a seven branched candlestick. Zechariah didn’t understand the vision, so he asked the angel with him. And the angel explained - “Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.” How will the seven churches - yea, all of God’s churches and servants - persevere through persecution, religious compromise, and material seduction? Not by carnal means. But by the Spirit who gives grace and peace - by being spiritual.

And the triple comfort also comes from Jesus Christ. Verse 5 says, “And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth.” The triple comfort came from Father, Holy Spirit, and Son. But why is Son last? That’s not the usual order. But it’s purposely done here for emphasis. Great comfort comes when know who Christ is. There was a triple comfort from the Trinity. But Christ also has a triple title - he’s the faithful witness, first begotten of the dead, and prince of the kings of the earth. He’s the faithful witness. He was faithful to his father unto death. He’s with us always, unto the ends of the world. And so he’s our model of faithfulness even unto death - since he didn’t sin in the face of persecution, religious opposition, and temptation to be rich, we shouldn’t. He’s the first born from the dead. Since he resurrected, he overcame death. Since he’s the first, it means others will also resurrect. Since he died from persecution, but lived; so too, even if we’re bruised from this world, we’ll live in heaven above. And he’s the prince of the kings of the earth. He rules over all things now. And therefore, no power on earth, no boss, no riches can have ultimate power over us. At the name of Jesus, all kings will bow to him and proclaim he’s Lord. The devil tempts us with lust, the boss threatens us with job loss, we feel the seduction of risky investments - we can actually resist them today. Christ’s is Lord! But this also gives us hope and endurance. Christ’s triple title is are in chronological order - he was a faithful witness in death first, then he resurrected, and he ascended on high. That’s the order of our lives too. Before we reign in glory, we must get to heaven. But before that, we’re struggling here as Christ did. But he resurrected. So will we and reign together with him.

But we should also be assured by his love for us and guaranteed success. We’ll experience this triple comfort if we know his triple work. Verses 5-6 say “Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” John worships and praises Jesus. Unto him be glory and dominion forever and ever! Why? Christ loves his people. That means a lot. In the midst of slavery to sin, persecution, religious pressure - he loves us. When Israel was struggling with oppression in Egypt, God heard their cries. He loved them and sent Moses to rescue them. They were washed by the blood of the lamb. And at Sinai, God covenanted with them - they’d be his kingdom of priests - his treasured possession. And here, John took this picture of Israel and applied it to the church. Through a new Moses - the Lord Jesus Christ, by a new Redemption - through his blood as the Lamb of God, they were made the new people of God. So in the midst of this persecution - by the Caesars of Rome, through many beasts - they were a royal priesthood that was redeemed. That’s why they could glorify God. The 7 churches - struggling so badly - needed to hear this. We need to hear this. What are you members of this church struggling with? We may not be like other churches - with more obvious political persecution, or forced to compromise religiously. But I can definitely say this - we are being made sleepy by the harlot of wealth. She has attacked us, and we don’t even know it. And to keep our comfort, we make concessions in case we’re persecuted as a church. This should greatly concern us. Many in our midst no longer follow Christ because work is too important. You know them. They’re your children. Your friends. You let them have sexual fornication with the harlot of wealth!

But the time of our and their deliverance is at hand - because of Christ, who will come in judgment at the end. Verses 7-8 - “Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.” Are you weary from the attacks of the devil? Is sin getting you down? You’re facing enemies? Tough time at work? Feeling tempted all the time? Having moral struggles in the world, making choices? You can have comfort because of who Christ is, and what he has done, and also what he will do. He’s coming one day. That Final Day of the Lord - he’s the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, and he is coming in the clouds.

Verse 7 is a combination of 2 texts - Daniel 7 and Zechariah 12. One says Christ is coming with the clouds and the other says every eye will see him, even those who have pierced him - they shall wail! Now, this happened. When Jesus ascended, a cloud took him out of their sight. At Pentecost, he sent his Spirit - and those that crucified the king of glory saw his power and wailed in repentance. But there’s another day where Jesus will come with the clouds. At his ascension, the angel said in Acts 1:11 - “Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner (with clouds) as ye have seen him go into heaven.” This combination is also seen in Matthew 24:30-231 - “And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”

This is that great and terrible day of the Lord! How does John respond in verse 7? “Even so, Amen!” Or, yes! Let it be so! Jesus is returning in judgment to gather the elect; there will be judgment for the wicked - wailing and gnashing of teeth. And John says - Even so, Amen! Why? Why does he long for judgment? Because it is good. Executing of God’s justice is good, the vindication of God’s people is good; the deliverance from Satan’s oppression, from daily sin and temptation, from political persecution, from the pains of religious compromise, from trouble - it is all good! And there’s a triple assurance that the judgment is final. Jesus is Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. He’s almighty - sovereign over all kings. And he’s the God who is, who was, and is to come. Now, this phrase is said twice - in verse 4 and 8. What’s the point? He’s coming. Jesus is coming - in the clouds, with power to gather his elect - those who’ve been oppressed by the dragon, the beast, the harlot - those who face daily temptations, persecutions, subversions. And the dragon, and the beast, and the harlot shall wail. Even so! Amen!

So now, dearly beloved, how shall we apply this? Firstly, study Revelation for comfort and to worship Christ. Why are you interested in Revelation? For the sensational? To know what future fantastical things will occur? The predictions had significance to and fulfillment for the suffering people in those days. Comfort! And they have comfort for us now. But comfort only for those who hear and keep. No comfort for those who only want information. So for me as the one who reads it aloud to communicate it, and you who hear it, we must both keep those things which are written therein. After each sermon - to talk, discuss, urge, and keep one another accountable to obey the words. Someone facing the beast today? How about the dragon? Maybe the harlot? Jesus has won. Be comforted.

Secondly, look to Christ. Who is he? He’s the one with the triple title - “faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth.” He’s the one who has a triple accomplishment - “he has loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father.” And at his coming, we see his triple finality of his coming - that as Alpha and Omega, it’s the end; he’s coming in to gather his elect, and it’ll be final because he’s almighty God.

You know, what do we look to when we’re facing problems and difficulties? We delay when it comes to spiritual problems. We blame structures and organizations - if only we have better parents, better friends, better children, better boss, better job, better church. But do we seek the Lord in his word and prayer - the one who loves us, died for us, made us priests who can seek him out? Are we looking to Christ or to institutions? Are we praying together? Israel in the time of Samuel, looked for an earthly king - when already, they had a prophet to point them to a heavenly and powerful king. Are we looking to Christ?

Thirdly, know where you stand. Jesus is coming to separate the sheep from the goats. He’s going to gather God’s elect. Who are you now? What are you now? If you don’t find comfort in these words. If you are fearful at his coming - mourn in repentance now, that you may find comfort. Then rejoice and say, even so, Lord Jesus come! There’s no middle ground - either you’re an overcomer and will live in the New Jerusalem, or an outlier, cast one day in the lake of fire. Who is Jesus to you today? Can you say in your heart together with John - Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen!

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