The Unveiling
Eyes Wide Open
Rev. 1:1-3
* Have you ever felt neglected? Felt like you had something to offer & never given the opportunity?
* In the 21st century, it would seem that Revelation is the one Bible book which receives that kind of treatment. Years ago, all we heard about was the Book of Revelation and that Jesus was coming again. Over the past 20 years of preaching, many fellow preachers tell me that they will not preach beyond chapter 3 of this book. There are many reasons for this. (I.E. opinions as weird, strange, symbolic, literal, dispensational, etc). Some will even term it as “frightening.” Whatever the reason, we ignore this book.
* Let’s begin a walk-through of the Revelation, seeing it like our Lord would have us view it. In it, the true born-again, child of God should receive it as encouraging, motivating, & a reminder of the “WHO” of our lives. This message is entitle “EYES WIDE OPEN” because too many for too long have attempted to walk the Christian life with their eyes shut to end time things. In fact, the only time we even consider that this world is on a collision course with the Almighty is after a storm or some ‘well-meaning but misguided’ individual makes a prediction which we can know NOT to be true. Let’s open our eyes to see, our ears to hear, & minds to know.(READ)
* Dr. Alton Butler was the last pastor that I worked with as a music minister. He and I were always teasing one another. One day I walked into the office went to my message box and found a newspaper article which said, “The World to End March 31, 1991 (A local group in Australia).” Attached to the article was this note, “Thought you may want to put this on your calendar.”
* I submit that, while some of the ‘revelations in Revelation’ has to do with how God will ultimately judge the world, to only see that message is to miss the wonders and the impetus of the closing book in God’s word.
* The very reason so many have ‘guessed’ WRONGLY about the end of the world & the second coming of Christ is because that God tells us in His word that no one will know (I.E. Matt 24:36, 24:44, 1 Thessalonians 5:2, 2 Peter 3:10). Candidly, NO ONE KNOWS when, but we know He Is coming and in God’s time table- the time is close at hand!
* Studying Revelation can reclaim, restore, refresh, & even can restart a life.
* Remember that the disciple John was chosen by the Lord to pen this ‘revelation’. Not only that, but God chose the circumstances from which John would write. John was in isolation on the Island of Patmos & he begins this writing with a lot of helpful information which assists you & me in understanding the end times. (Focus on four simple thoughts)
1. The Person – The biggest mistake made in looking at Revelation is to see the ‘stuff’ & miss the ‘savior.’ He is the person about whom the entire book is about. In verse 1 John begins with “The Revelation of Jesus Christ.” The word revelation literally is ‘apolkalupsis’ which means unveiling, disclosure, appearing, and coming. It all about Jesus. The gospels give us the human account of Jesus while this book ‘reveals’ Him.
* In the gospels He is crucified & in the revelation He is crowned
* In the gospels He is martyred & in the revelation He is majesty
* In the gospels He is suffering servant & in the revelation He is sovereign king
* In the gospels He is lamb & in the revelation He is lion
* This book we call “The Revelation” reveals or unveils Jesus, in His divinity not His humanity. We see Him in light of who HE REALLY IS.
* Instead of seeing the seals-see the savior, the trumpets-see the truth, the bowl judgment-see the blessedness of Him, and instead of the ‘mark of the beast-see the mark of the blessed. Jesus has been in control, is in control, & remains in control throughout eternity.
* This is testified to by God’s Word about Jesus. John 1 (same writer) says, “In the beginning was the word, the word was with God, and the word was God. He (Jesus) was with God in the beginning. All things were created through HIM (Jesus), and apart from Him NOT ONE THING was created that has been created. Life was in Him, and that life was the light of men. That light (Jesus) shines in the darkness, yet the darkness did not overcome it.” The testimony about Jesus is totally tied to God’s word.
* It is also tied to the things John saw. Think about why God might have chosen John to reveal all this prophecy to. John had witnessed Jesus’ life & ministry first hand. He was there when Jesus taught the multitude and was they at the feeding of the 5000. He was there when Jesus raised the dead and healed the sick. John was there when Jesus was abused, crucified, and died. He was the only disciple who is named as being at the cross. But John was also presence when Jesus divested Himself of humanity and was transfigured into deity. What a sight!
* This is the message of the Revelation; see Jesus! See Him in His humanity as He lived, taught, touched, healed, cared, and died. See Him that He loved the world so much that He died for the lostness & sin of mankind. See Him in His divinity as a Risen Lord who has defeated sin, death, & hell. See Him as the Risen Lord who offers you eternity in heaven, if you’ll believe in Him. This is THE PERSON you want to KNOW. Knowing THE PERSON of Revelation will give meaning to Revelation.
* If you go to a bus terminal, you’ll discover that behind the scenes are people known as dispatchers. They know bus schedules inside & out. They have a lot of information. Still, if their mother is on one of their buses, that bus has much more meaning because they now have a vested interest in that bus. The same is true for Revelation.
2. The Purpose – While unveiling Jesus in His humanity, this account is given so that God’s redeemed children have an idea of the things which are going to happen. Verse 1 says, “to show His slaves what must quickly take place.’ Why was this important & is this important? Historically, John was living in a time of great persecution. Some 20-25 years earlier Jerusalem has been destroyed by the Romans & the believers were being persecuted & martyred, so the need was to be encouraging. The contemporary question was “what will the end be like?” Is it really worth all this?
* When one read this book out of curiosity, it is probably not comforting or encouraging. I am reminded of Paul’s words to Thessalonica, “Comfort one another with these words.” After years of study, I believe Revelation 4 is a symbol of the God calling the church away in an event we have termed, “The Rapture.” Chapters 4 & 5 never speak of the ‘church on earth’ but rather, the ‘believers in the arms of Christ’. This is THE HUGE encouragement! How can we encourage each other IF we must endure the 7 years of tribulation? John was so encouraged by what He witnessed and wrote that his last words are “Even so, Lord Jesus, COME!”
* Be encouraged. If you know Christ, be encouraged that He is on the throng & has you in His mind. His plan is to rescue you from this perverse world. If you do not know Christ, be encouraged. His nail-scarred hands reach out to you in mercy. Through His earthly life, death, & resurrection, He offers you abundant life here & eternal life beyond the grave.
3. The Promise – The OT Book of Daniel is a companion book to the Revelation. In Daniel 12, the prophet is told to close & seal the book.
* However, Revelation is an open book. It is a book which carries a tri-conditional promise. Basically, verse 3 is a ‘Beatitude.’
* Reads – this word means ‘recognize, to distinguish, to acknowledge. In other words we are to read until we have developed knowledge of it.
* Hears – this word means ‘to listen with understanding’ or to ‘consider or perceive what has been said.’ This shoots a hole in the concept that ‘it doesn’t really matter’ because Revelation says it “DOES MATTER.”
* Keeps – this word means ‘to guard, to preserve, to reserve, & even to observe (like observing a holiday).’ When we ignore any of God’s word we fail in our responsibility as believers. A ‘falling short’ before God is always termed sin.
* And to do this is to miss the blessing of God. Blessed is he who reads, hears, and keeps (obeys, observes, preserves) the words of this word dictated to John on the Isle of Patmos. To neglect reading this text is to miss the blessing of God. In this book you’ll see Jesus as the Sovereign one, as the Shining Light, and even the Savior of the world.
* He is the Savior of the world, the question is; “Is He your Savior?” If He IS your Savior, then He is your Lord. If He is your Lord, then He is in control of your life. And If He is in control of your life, the words of this Revelation bring comfort, peace, and even anticipation about the future.
4. The Pledge – Our Lord’s pledge is this; “THE TIME IS NEAR!” Some will argue that because John wrote this almost 2000 years ago, then John didn’t know what he was talking about. Yet Peter reminds us that we only discern ‘time’ as we know it in human term. 2 Peter 3:8 says, “A day is like 1000 years & 1000 years is like a day – to the Lord.” The time is near on His time table.
* We can watch the ‘signs’. Matthew 24:4-8 paints a picture which we see happening now (Read). Matthew 24:9-14 is unfolding before our very eyes. 2 Timothy 3:1-7. Consider the state of the church & the culture today – and see if any of these things are huge happenings.
* We can be sure that the day is coming; Matthew 24:37-42. It will come when no one thinks it’s coming. With all the predictions, who really ‘thought’ it was going to happen? Not many.
* Think about this text; Luke 21:28. With eye wide open, Come today!
