John and the book of revelation
Inspired by a sermon of Paul Humphrey
The book of revelation talks about the ‘end times’ that is the time after Jesus has died until the end of creation. We have been living in ‘the end times’ for the last 2,000 years. Some things have already happened and some are still to happen.
Since Roman authorities at this time were beginning to enforce the cult of emperor worship, Christians--who held that Christ, not Caesar, was Lord--were facing increasing hostility.
The believers at Smyrna are warned against coming opposition (2:10),
the church at Philadelphia is told of an hour of trial coming on the world (3:10). Antipas has already given his life (2:13) along with others (6:9).
John has been exiled to the island of Patmos (probably the site of a Roman penal colony) for his activities as a Christian missionary (1:9).
Some within the church are advocating a policy of compromise (2:14-15, 20), which has to be corrected before its subtle influence can undermine the determination of believers to stand fast in the perilous days that lie ahead.
We need the book of revelation because it tells us about the time after Jesus, our time. How can we believe in Heaven when there is so much wrong with the world? When there is so much starvation, inequality and suffering. When people are dying on the news and you get your credit card statement telling you how much money you owe the bank.
For an adequate understanding of Revelation, the reader must recognize that it is a distinct kind of literature. Revelation is apocalyptic, a kind of writing that is highly symbolic.
Although its visions often seem bizarre to the Western reader, fortunately the book provides a number of clues for its own interpretation (e.g., stars are angels, lampstands are churches, 1:20; "the great prostitute," 17:1, is "Babylon" [Rome?], 17:5, 18; and the heavenly Jerusalem is the Church 21:9-10).
The book of Revelation uses a base 12 counting system. This means they count like 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,A,B,10. To say something is big we talk of 100,000 people because that is 10,000 times 10. So they talk about 12,000 times 12 being 144,000 people. There is nothing special in the numbers, they are just saying there is a very big group of people.
Some people like to focus upon the symbolism of the book and they create this weird fantastical world, so most people are frightened to read the book. The following clip is too dramatic but does contain truth for us to consider.
Revelation 21:1-21:8
Today we are going to focus upon the idea of heaven.
I. There is a real heaven.
Because it uses symbols and stories the passage is able to compress quite a bit of teaching into a very small paragraph.
Here we learn that the church is married to Jesus.
REV 21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea.
2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."
REV 21:5 He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."
REV 21:6 He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life. (NIV)
Scripture is clear to us that there is a real heaven. Every description of it draws a picture of perfection, be it numbers, or be it dimensions, whatever the descriptions are in the book of Revelation, we find perfection.
This earth is not our rest.
The apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:19 “And if we have hope in Christ only for this life, we are the most miserable people in the world.”
Great prophets proclaimed their sadness of this world.
Elijah requested that he might die, 4 Then he [Elijah]went on alone into the desert, traveling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, LORD,” he said. “Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors.” 1 Kings 19:4
so did Jonah and so did Jeremiah saying, cursed be the day that I was born. Though there is joy in following and serving the Lord here on this earth, the curse is still here.
People who have had all sorts of wealth, Solomon, saying, it is all vanity. Heaven is not something that we can build here on earth. Heaven is the work of God.
The unknown is scary to us. In Scripture we have some glimpses of heaven, but ultimately the same Scripture says that “ear has not heard, nor eye seen what God has in store for us.” It is good beyond what we can even begin to imagine.
John saw a new heaven and earth.
REV 21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. (NIV)
Some believe in heaven as an earthly paradise, and in some ways it is, but the old earth is gone. It is a brand new creation. In the midst of this new creation John says:
2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. In the chapter that follows you see all of the perfect numbers.
What does the Bible compare to a bride? Yes, the church, all who are saved are compared to a bride. This new creation is populated by all believers. These verses go on to talk about the absence of the curse, “no more tears.” But before that is mentioned, something greater is mentioned.
3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, "Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.
So, as I said earlier, the most important thing about heaven is who we are with. Who wants to spend eternity with a God whom they wanted nothing to do with here on this earth?
Does your heart thirst for God?
. 4 He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away."
I have heard people argue over whether our new body would be a physical body with spiritual attributes or a spiritual body with physical attributes. You cannot die there, no more crying or pain. We are new creatures.
REV 21:5 He who was seated on the throne said, "I am making everything new!" Then he said, "Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true."
REV 21:6 He said to me: "It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life.
Absolute authority, nothing before him, nothing after him, always has been, always will be God Almighty! And, if your heart thirsts for him, then you can drink from the fount of salvation here and now, and in heaven through eternity.
II. Salvation is offered to us free of cost. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever should believe in him should not perish but have eternal life.
Someone asked Melvin Trotter, who was a hopeless alcoholic before his conversion, "How do you know you are a Christian?" Trotter replied, "I was there when it happened!"
In his book "Growing Strong in the Seasons of Life", the author Charles Swindoll tells a story about the 19th Century agnostic Thomas Huxley (some of you might know that it was Huxley who promoted Darwinism and Humanism in his attacks on Christianity). Huxley was in Dublin and was rushing to catch a train. He climbed aboard one of Dublin’s famous horse drawn taxis and said to the driver -"Hurry, I’m almost late ... drive fast". Off they went at a furious pace and Huxley sat back in his seat and closed his eyes. After a while Huxley opened his eyes and glanced out the window to notice that they were going in the wrong direction. Realizing that he hadn’t told the driver where to take him he called out ‘do you know where you’re going?’ The driver replied "No, your honour, but I am driving very fast’.
SOURCE: "Growing Strong in the Seasons of Life" by Charles Swindoll
[SermonCentral: Contributed by: Philip Cairns]
7 He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son.
III. Yet, there is balance in life too.
8 But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars--their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death."
The same Bible that tells of heaven also tells of a lake of sulfur. And, those who will be there are described in this verse.
Look at some of these items. The cowardly are listed are listed first. This may not seem significant in our day, but it certainly was in the day in which this was written, and it will be vital in the days in which these things are fulfilled as well.
The cowardly will deny Jesus. But doesn’t this knock Peter out? Didn’t Peter deny Jesus?
Mt 26:69 Now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him. “You also were with Jesus of Galilee,” she said. Mt 26:70 But he denied it before them all. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said.
The difference is that Peter repented.
The unbelieving are listed. Yet, if the unbelieving become believers it just may be that God will have used your words to kindle their faith.
Murderers are listed here. Wasn’t Paul a murderer?
Ac 22:4 I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison
And, yet, there was repentance.
The sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, those who worship other gods are all listed here.
Liars will be here? Doesn’t that include all of us?
Friends, these things are lifestyles apart from repentance. Without forgiveness, we are all cut off from God.
A man was watching the news one night when it was reported that a car was going the wrong direction on the freeway. The man knew his wife was on that freeway and became very concerned so called her on her cell phone. She answered and he said, "Dear, there’s one car going in the wrong direction on the freeway." She exclaimed, "One car! There’s hundreds of them!"
[SermonCentral: Contributed by: Mark Sutherlin]
The book of revelation is not designed to drive us to guilt or feeling bad about ourselves. Rather it is about turning away from the wrong in our lives.
In closing I would like to show you something that is a bit of fun with a pointed message. You cannot read the book of revelation without having a bit of fun.
This song comes from a band called Matchbox twenty and I heard the song on the top 30 radio station. It is very sarcastic about how far we have come as a society.
