This past week we celebrated Commemorated the Day in which grace, the grace of God, appeared the fullness of time when God sent forth his son, born of woman, born under the law. And so Jesus, the second person of the Trinity, took on flesh and dwelt among us in all humanity and in all deity, fully God and fully man. And we know that yes, the gospel's origins are eternal according to the eternal council of the foundations of the world. But in some sense, we recognize with Paul that the birth of Christ is extremely significant.
Nine months of gestation and Jesus was brought forth into this world the God-Man in a manger. And yet it is Jesus who would grow up under the law and live a perfectly obedient life. It is Jesus Christ who would die for our sins. It is Jesus Christ who would be raised again.
And it is Jesus Christ who would be exalted unto glory where we wait for Him to come again. And so when we consider Christ this first Sunday after Christmas, exalted in glory, we proclaim with the Scottish theologian Rabbi John Duncan that the dust of earth now sits on the throne of the universe. Jesus and his humiliation took on flesh and died, but now having been raised again in victory over sin and death, ascending to heaven and being seated at the right hand of the Father, Jesus has been exalted. And indeed the dust of earth now sits on the throne of the universe.
And his humanity, Jesus has been exalted in as such is the first fruits of the resurrection, giving us a foretaste of what we can expect of our own resurrection in Christ, our own hope in future glory. This morning it seems fitting for us to be reminded that Christ, the God-Man, he reigns presently and he is our Lord. And when we consider the narrative of the New Testament as the apostles witnessed Jesus ascended glory, this is the last time we encounter our Jesus in the New Testament. But in John's revelation we encounter Christ again, don't we?
For likely the majority of the Western Church, in the words of one of my seminary professors, what we find for us in Revelation 1 is that Jesus we thought we knew. Right, me can gently holding a little U of the land. That's not what we find in our passage this morning. But we find a fierce and conquering King to whom has been given all dominion and all power to rule and to reign.
Let's consider this Christ who reigns at this very moment, the God-Man, who was Lord over his Church in all creation. So let's pray before you hear the reading of God's Word. O Lord, we do give you praise and we thank you and ask that you would work in us, your spirit that we might behold your Word and behold Jesus in your Word. And you might give us eyes to see and ears to hear and hearts to love and desire in minds to comprehend and hands that desire to work and labor for your name, second for your glory.
We pray that your Word would be precious to us as fine gold and sweet as honey. In the way that we might love you and honor you now. Be with us. We pray and ask these things in Jesus' name.
Amen. Be reading from Revelation 1, verses 9 through 20. We'll be focusing mostly on verses 12 through 16. But now hear God's Word.
I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation in the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus was on the island called Patmos on account of the Word God and the testimony of Jesus. I was in the spirit on the Lord's Day. And I heard behind me a loud voice like Trump, like a trumpet saying, write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea. Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me.
And on turning I saw seven golden lampstands. And in the midst of the lampstands, one like a son of man clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire.
His feet like burnished bronze refined in a furnace. And his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars. From his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword.
And his face was like the sun shining in full strength. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me saying, fear not. I am the first and the last and the living one.
I died and behold, I am alive forevermore. And I have the keys of death and Hades. Right there for the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this. As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches.
And the seven lampstands are the seven churches. The grass litters and the flower falls. The word of our God stands forever and ever. Thanks be to God.
Before we jump into our text this morning, before we jump into the exposition, I want to make one note about the book of Revelation. Preaching from or even listening to a one-off sermon from a book of the Bible can be a little daunting, can be a little disorienting. You know, we often hear preached through books of the Bible and there's something good about being rooted in the text Sunday after Sunday after Sunday. And yet this morning we don't have the luxury of 15-15 Sundays prior in this book, or 15 Sundays coming to slowly unpack things like historical setting and context and especially other interpretive matters regarding this book.
In order to be out of time, I want to pack all of this in a single sermon. It's not my intent. I do want to make a couple of comments about this book before we begin. First, this book is an apocalyptic prophecy and it's stylized as such.
We find this type of literature in books like Daniel and Ezekiel and Zechariah and even Jesus' own teaching regarding the things to come and the Olivet Discourse. This is also apocalyptic. And a hallmark of this type of literature is as highly stylized. It's symbolic and it's intended to be read as such.
We're granted here in our text this morning, a glimpse of the things that are and a glimpse of the things that are and a glimpse of the things that will be. And we see them not from an earthly perspective, but through the perspective of the heavens, even as John is seemingly transported into the heavenly places. So here we have a heavenly perspective, not an earthly one. Secondly, we need to see that just because this book is highly symbolic doesn't mean that it can't be understood objectively.
Don't get me wrong, there are plenty of things in the book of Revelation that should cause us to scratch our heads and shred our soldiers. And I'm glad I'm only preaching from these verses here in Revelation this morning. But we don't view the symbolism of Revelation with a postmodern lens. The meaning of the text is not subjective.
Its meaning does not lie in the mind and the heart of the reader as if it's just because it's symbolic means we can make it mean whatever we want it to mean. Because if that were true, then the book of Revelation would have no meaning at all. In fact, we would see that it has no impact, it has no application, it has no understanding even for the original audience that this book was written to. Rather, we do have help in understanding this symbolic book.
Through the power of the Holy Spirit, we have an understanding and we have the whole testament. And as we'll see shortly, this seems to be the key to unlocking the meaning of the symbolic and frankly oftentimes very strange book. What do we see of the God-man here, exalted in glory? Well, we find that the incarnate Christ is our hope today and tomorrow and forever.
What you see first from this text is that Jesus is present with His church. Jesus is present with His church. It's likely that John is writing this book around 95 AD. There's disagreement over that date, but it's likely that this is taking place after the destruction of Jerusalem in the latter days of the first century.
John was the eldest of the apostles in the last of the called home to glory. If we consider the perspective of John and the churches to whom he's addressed this book to, much has taken place between the ascension of Jesus and the provision of this message. Those decades following the resurrection were something like a crescendo of growing persecution against Christians throughout the Roman world. We see there's a season of great political unrest.
There's the destruction of Jerusalem. And finally widespread persecution under Domitian rule, which would even see John exile to the island of Patmas where he is writing this book. He receives this revelation from God. And for all the proclamation and exaltation of Jesus Christ as their king, you can imagine the doubt of the people, their fear, and their worry.
Wondering if whether Jesus would return as he promised or wondering if they'd been forgotten or wondering if they'd been cast aside or wondering if Jesus was weak to reign and rule or perhaps they were not. In rule or perhaps they were being punished for something. Maybe you felt that way. In the darkness-orienting days of suffering and hardship, where is God?
So we come to a comforting aspect of this book. This is an epistle meant to be sent and read and understood. In fact, it's meant to comfort the faithful and bring conviction to the wandering. But what John sees as he turns to look to the one who has called on him to write these things down, he sees Jesus himself in the midst of the lampstands, which he identifies later as the seven churches.
But why should this be a comfort to you and I? Well, read not only of his proximity to the lampstands, but John goes on to describe what Jesus is like. Then I turn to see the voice that was speaking to me. And on turning I saw seven golden lampstands in the midst of the lampstands, one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest.
This language is directly related to Daniel's apocalyptic prophecy, which was read during our called worship. Here is a highly exalted individual, the son of man of whom Daniel spoke. It was to him that dominion and glory and a kingdom was giving of one that will have no end. That all peoples, nations and languages should serve him and his dominion is never lasting dominion, which shall not pass away.
And his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed. And so here's Jesus of whom John identifies as the son of man, prophesied from long ago, Dressing a long robe and sash likely priestly garments. And here he is in the midst of the lamps, which are the churches, and he's attending to them. This would have been a duty given to the priests to add oil to the lamps and presumably trim wicks and the light, and to maintain them that they might burn continually.
And you see John's point here. Jesus is tending to and caring for the churches. Jesus is tending to and caring for the churches. He is in fact in their midst.
And I think John attends for us not just to see that the lamps are being taken care of and tended to, but he intends for us to see who is doing the caring and the tending. Jesus, to whom all dominion has been given to whom a kingdom that will have no end has been granted. This is the one who is laboring in the midst of the lamps. Beloved our Lord is going about the priestly duties.
Our great high priest, whoever lives to intercede for you and for me is caring for his church. Beloved, that means he's caring for you. He's present with us. And friends again, the point of this book is to give us a perspective from Heaven.
It's God's perspective upon this world. These early Christians might lament at the seeming absence of God, and yet we see all the while he's in their midst. Sustaining all things by the word of his power, even his church and his people. Friends, he is not absent.
He is not far removed. He has not forgotten nor neglected you. In fact, he is presently and powerfully present to the abiding word and the power of the Holy Spirit in you. He has not left us alone to fend for ourselves or figure out our own way.
But he is in our midst some 2,000 years later we wait for Christ to come again, and only God knows the timing in which he will come. But he is still ever present with us today, even as he was with the churches in 95 AD. Secondly, we don't want you to see this morning as that Jesus is one with the Father. Jesus is one with the Father.
John goes on to describe what he sees. He says, here's one as the Son of Man, but he also says, the hairs of his head were white like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire. His feet were like burnished bronze refined in a furnace and his voice like the roar of many waters.
And this continues to confirm for us that our hope rests securely and assuredly upon the Lord who is powerfully present with his people. For John continues to point us back to Daniel's vision in Daniel 7 where he has this dream concerning four beasts who rage with violence and we know them to be great kingdoms that have come and gone. And they're terrifying and they're menacing and they're threatening. But then what happens in Daniel's vision, almost like the pan of a camera, the attention shifts from the emergence of these violent beasts and it cuts to the scene that unfolds and Daniel writes this.
He tells us what he sees. And I looked, thrones were placed, and the ancient of days took his seat. His clothing was white as snow and the hairs of his head like pure wool. His throne was fiery flames.
Its wheels were burning fire. A stream of fire issued and came out from before him. A thousand thousands served him and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The courts sat in judgment and the books were opened.
And I looked then because of the sound of the great words that the horn was speaking and I as I looked the beast was killed. And his body was destroyed and given over to being burned with fire. As for the rest of the beast their dominion was taken away but their lives were prolonged for a season of time. Now here we see the beasts appear and the beasts they rage and surely this is a frightening and terrifying perhaps even seemingly hopeless situation.
But then Daniel tells us, but then the ancient of days takes his seat upon his throne. And it comes to pass the Lord exacts and he brings about his judgment. These beasts will not stand before the ancient days. They may rage, they may fight, they may kill, but it's the Lord who rules and reigns.
Now why is this important? Well in Daniel's vision the ancient of days and the son of man are two distinct individuals. First the ancient of days who grants and gives dominion to the son of man who comes on the clouds. But here in John's vision Jesus is described as both the son of man and he is identified as the ancient of days.
They're one. John describes Jesus with the same language that Daniel describes the ancient of days. The hairs on his head were white like white wool like snow. In this description commentator's note is associated with great wisdom, infinite wisdom.
The one who rules does so with all wisdom. What this shows us is that Jesus and the Father are one. And this shouldn't come as a surprise to us. Should we shouldn't wait until the first chapter of the book of Revelation to see this.
Jesus himself told us this plainly. I and the Father are one in John's gospel. But where Jesus uttered those words in humiliation, John reveals to us the glorious exaltation of Christ. And so Jesus reigns as the God-man in full deity and in full humanity.
Well, so what? Well John goes on to describe the other features of Jesus. His eyes were like a flame of fire. His feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice like the roar of many waters.
Now I want to point out John's own intention here. Notice John says his eyes were like a flame of fire. Feet like burnished bronze. Voice like the roar of many waters.
John is trying to communicate in an earthly and humanly way when he is seeing an infinite divinity. He's not communicating a literal description of Jesus, but a symbolic representation which has meaning. First we see he describes him with flaming eyes. And this is likely another reference to Daniel.
The five that comes forth from the throne of the ancient of days. You know, John's even attribution here is an approximation. He says that he's opening the scrolls and quoting Daniel, but he's referring back to Daniel's seven. And we should understand the symbolism here plainly.
John isn't suggesting lasers or flames coming from the very eyes of Jesus. But if we take this simply, what do we do with our eyes? Well, we see, don't we? To quote one commentator, this seems to suggest that nothing escapes the penetrating eyes of Jesus.
Nothing escapes the penetrating eyes of Jesus. He sees all. And if we're honest with ourselves this morning, this is both equally comforting and terrifying, isn't it? Think of the seven churches receiving this epistle from John.
And they're suffering and experiencing persecution for the sake of their faith. Jesus sees them. To Smyrna, their hardships, though they suffer. They don't escape the eyes of Jesus.
Or consider the church of Philadelphia, their faithfulness is not gone unnoticed. And this is not to suggest that they in any way earn God's favor through their faithfulness or obedience. But to say that their works are known by their master. Their love and affection for Christ is known.
And it doesn't go unnoticed. But also we read here, right, that nothing escapes the penetrating eyes of Jesus. Consider the church in Sardis who has the appearance of being alive but is dead. Or the church in Laodicea, lukewarm, in a difference.
Or the church in Ephesus who have forsaken their first love or the church in Pergamum in need of repentance. Regardless of sinful living or tolerating or promoting false teaching or denying the faith. The Lord sees. Nothing escapes the penetrating eyes of Jesus.
Friends we live in Corom Deo and the presence of God under his watchful eye. But Jesus is not just all seeing as if he is merely an omniscient observer. But we see here he's also powerful to act. We see that his feet are of burness bronze.
He has feet like that of bronze or maybe brass. The literal word means something of an alloy or a compound. The fact is that they've been through a furnace having been refined. And this could mean they're so polished as they might reflect his glory or maybe they're even glowing as they've been just brought forth from the furnace.
But what's important here is that according to David in Psalm 110, the Lord said to my Lord, sit in my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool. And this imagery seems to communicate the strength and the power of Christ to trample his enemies. And to trample the wicked underfoot. You see Jesus is not just mighty to see, but he's strong to act.
We see here that he has the voice like the roar of many waters. And we see that he's not silent, is he? He is not silent. John describes his voice like that of many waters, the roaring of ocean waters or the grand waterfalls like Niagara Falls.
It's deafening and it's strength. And the prophet Ezekiel attributes this to God. His voice, Ezekiel says, was like the sound of many waters. And here John speaks of Christ.
And friends, this all this not well up in the believer. Confidence and assurance. His vision not applied to us by the Holy Spirit to maintain and to preserve our faith. The love of the point of this is that we worship no weak God.
Our God is not weak. And while we tend to think and the focus of the book of Revelation is Christ's second coming, and surely we read in this book of the things that must come to pass and must soon take place, we see here the one who is coming again. Don't miss the glorious revelation that we find in this book, not just the Christ who is to come, but the Christ who is today, who will perfectly keep you, who will powerfully preserve you, and who will utterly love you. He is the God-man who brings justice against the wicked and will surely defeat his enemies.
And he will make all things right on that coming day when he appears again. This brings us to our last point here that Jesus reveals to us the glory of God. He reveals to us the glory of God. This is the Jesus, our Lord, whom we've come to believe in.
And even this morning we've come to worship and what John tells us is that he has revealed to us. He has shown forth and he is showing forth the glory of God. There's this last phrase in this section that reads strangely. It's typical symbolism in the book of Revelation.
And in his right hand he held seven stars and a sharp double edged sword came out of his mouth. And his face was like the sun shining in its full strength. And Jesus tells us that these seven stars are like the angels of the seven churches. And a plain reading of the symbolism here would render angels to be messengers.
Those who would bear the message of Christ not just contained in this book, but all that the Lord has spoken, those that would bear the good news of the gospel message. And so it's those who would speak. It's those whom God would appoint. It's those whom God would use that he would hold tightly and grant the authority to bear the things of God to his people and to the world.
The Lord is with your elders. The Lord is with your pastors. The Lord is with your officers and deacons. The Lord is with you, even families as you sit around your table and you bring the things of God to bear upon your children.
The Lord is with you. And so we come to see here that there is an association between the Lord's sovereign provision and the Lord's sovereign proclamation. Associated here are the messengers with the sword that comes from the mouth of Christ. That double-edged sword may ring a bell to you to use to describe God's Word in the book of Hebrews as it's living and active.
And the Word of God being sharper than any two-edged sword, dividing to joints and marrow, laying bare before us the Lord to whom we must get account. And so it's this very word that both slays the wicked and yet performs surgery on those the Lord would declare righteous. Bringing to light our sin that we might in the power of the Spirit run to the throne of grace as the author of Hebrews goes on to say. What happens when we are laid bare before the Lord and that great spotlight of the Scripture shine to the darkest parts of our hearts?
Well we see that we are sinners in need of grace and the Lord bids us come. And so it's with that same sword that he performs heart surgery on his people. It's that same sword that he will use to tear down the evil one and to bring judgment upon the wicked. The Lord wages war not with earthly machines and martial weapons but with the spiritual.
His Word will carry the full and final judgment to declare and to bring to pass God's wrath on all unrighteousness. And it's the very word and sword that God will use to protect his people from the fiery darts of Satan. Right? It's this word that God will use to preserve you in the face of the evil one, to speak truth in the face of his lies.
To bring assurance in the light of his sowing doubts. To bring clarity and precision to his desire to model and to deceive. Right? It's by the word that we are not only strengthened.
It's by the word that we are not only nourished, but it's by the very word of God that we are protected. Consider church that God made all things by the word of his power and by faith we believe this. The other Hebrews also tells us that it's by God's word that he sustains all things by the word of his power. And yet we read here that he shall also met out his wrath and bring destruction by the word of his power.
We believe that this is a heavy text. One that illustrates itself in many ways. I wonder if you recall the days of being out in the school we are at recess. There'd be a pick up game of basketball or a pick up game of football and there was always that dreaded task of dividing teams.
This may come as a shock to you all, but I was never picked first on the school field. I've never been really all that skilled or any meaningful sport. I've never had much athleticism. I've certainly never been all that tall, but no one's been glad to see me on their team.
Really, you wouldn't want me on your team. In a very simple way, John is revealing to us in this passage the all surpassing glory and wonder and might of Jesus Christ. Here he's writing to an audience that is toiling in a pagan culture and tempted toward false worship and enticed a sinuous living. Mike, they wonder at the power of their God to save and to work and to act and to protect.
And John is communicating to them that there is none other that they should desire or long for. There is no other in whom they should trust. There is no other in whom they should bend their knee and submit. There is none other that they would want to be on his side.
Lord has revealed to John and to you and me the glorious wonder of being in Christ, among the elect, of whom God chose for the foundation of the world to set upon them his divine love and compassion. And so if you were here this morning in Christ, this is your God. If you're here this morning in Christ, this is your God. This is your Redeemer.
And as God's glory is revealed through his word, we see by faith that there is none other in whom we should trust. And this ruling in reigning King is the one who has purchased you and has plucked you from the pit of hell and has done so so mildly and powerfully and perfectly. And he has united you to himself in such a way that when the Father looks upon you, he sees his Son. In no spiritual power, no principality of darkness, no King, no ruler, no nation, not the evil one himself, nor even your self.
Might see you plucked away from the hands of our mighty God. But see there's a flip side of this text this morning. If you hear this morning, you have not repented of your sins. If you have not believed upon Christ alone as your Lord and Redeemer, this is still your God.
But he is your judge. It is Christ, as he says, who holds the keys of death in Hades. It is the same judgment that he will met out upon the evil one, that those who are far from the Lord will know on the last day. One author, Dennis Johnson, writes, the symbol seen by John in the vision reveal not what Jesus looks like, but what he is like.
His identity as the searcher of hearts full of consuming holiness and boundless wisdom, the perfect priest standing for his people before the Father, the perfect King defending them against the devil by his invincible word. You even see here he is a great priest. Love him, he finds a great Savior. You find here a great judge.
It would be that we would all come to believe upon Christ and to trust in him alone and to rejoice that he is ruling and raiding now, that we might delight to see him on that coming day when he comes again. I want to draw your attention to the response of John when confronted with Christ. What does he say when I saw him? I fell at his feet as no dead.
And yet Jesus bids John and he bids you and me to fear not. For the impending and weighty glory of Christ will not crush us, it will not consume us, it will not put us to death, but it will mean for us life. For Jesus says fear not I in the first and the last, the living one. I die to be whole down alive forevermore and I have the keys of death in Hades.
Jesus alone through his death and resurrection and subsequent exaltation has been granted all authority to give life. The one who was born the God-man, who died the God-man, who was raised the God-man, and now rules as the God-man. This is the one who will come again and will make all things new and will rejoice in him and before him forever. This Jesus who took on flesh now rules and flesh that we might know a sure in certain redemption and that we might have a sure in certain hope, no matter what today brings.
And friends, this is good news to all people. Let us say thanks to him and pray to him, would you pray with me? O God, we come to you and rejoice that you are our Lord, and we give you praise and thanks that you do reign perfectly and supremely. And God, we pray that you would humble us before you.
God, that we would bend in need before you as our exalted King. And Lord, that we would long to see your will done, your reign made known. And God, we pray that you would come quickly. O Lord, that we might behold you.
On that day, whenever you need, will bow and every tongue confess that you are Lord. Lord, we thank you for granting us life, for granting us a spirit, for granting us even a foretaste of future glory even today. And God, we pray that you would strengthen us and encourage us. And we ask these things in Jesus' name.
Amen. Respond with song as we stand together and sing our Carol of Trust, Good Christian, and rejoice.