REVELATION 1:1

Father, thank you, Father, that we can meet in the presence of Jesus and think about his word.

We acknowledge before you, Father, that it's Jesus' word.

Jesus is the Savior. Jesus is the Lord.

And I ask, Father, for myself that you help me to bring glory to you and serve this people

as I try to lead us in reading and thinking and applying your word,

that you might help all of us, Father, to be good soil so that we will hear your word

and receive your word and bear fruit in our lives to your glory through hearing and receiving your word.

So, Father, pour out your Holy Spirit upon us gently but deeply.

And this we ask in the name of Jesus, your Son and our Savior. Amen.

Please be seated.

I was once the model for the Antichrist.

I don't want you to stop.

This isn't some type of dramatic conversion story.

But it was when I was in my 20s and I went to church this one Sunday.

And so I was a visitor in the church.

And I didn't realize that I didn't know much about the church.

I was just going to go to church on a Sunday morning.

And they were having a prophecy conference with a special speaker.

And the speaker had like a flip chart.

He was doing drawings to illustrate things.

And it was a prophecy conference.

And back in those days, I used to have hair down to here.

And I had a big beard.

And I was dressed in a really, really rumpled shirt and jeans.

And it looked like everybody in the church looked like they could have been Mormon missionaries or the parents of Mormon missionaries.

And so I looked a little bit different than everybody else.

And I still remember the guy up in the front.

He's talking and talking.

He said, we're going to drive the Antichrist.

Looks around.

Let's make him a hippie.

So he made him with long hair and a beard.

I wonder where any of them are in this congregation other than me.

Anyway, people all moved a little bit away from me in the seats.

No, I'm just making that up.

I think a lot of people felt really embarrassed that he went ahead and did it.

That was one of those take no prisoner types of churches.

And that was sort of an interesting thing.

I know a fellow who fervently believes that the pope is the Antichrist.

So that when the pope dies, he says, well, I guess that wasn't the pope that's going to be the Antichrist.

I wonder if this next pope will be the Antichrist.

And he's very, very firmly convinced of that from his reading of the Bible that the pope is the Antichrist.

And we all know that the book of Revelation attracts kooky people.

It's probably before most of your times.

But a very, very early in terms of media sensation serial killer was a guy by the name of Charles Manson.

And he was completely and utterly besotted with the book of Revelation and actually put phrases from it in the blood of his victims after he and his followers butchered people in a house and sort of wrote it, some of the things from the book of Revelation on the walls.

And so it's a very, very controversial book.

In fact, I was just talking to a person from the congregation who said that when they heard that I was going to be preaching through the book of Revelation,

that they were wondering if they would go to a different church for the next three or four months.

Because I guess in some ways they didn't think that much good would come out of it.

It's a very difficult book.

And, you know, one of the things, and this is going to be something that you're going to maybe learn about yourself,

a lot of Christians don't read the book at all because it's just like, whoa, whoa, what on earth does that mean?

And others read it lots and lots and lots and listen to lots of tapes on it and everything like that.

And without realizing it, they always hear people who basically say the same type of way of reading the book.

And so we believe that we're very biblical in reading the book this way.

And if somebody reads the book or interprets it in a way that's outside of this way, then they get very upset.

And they'll end up thinking that that person maybe isn't taking the Bible very seriously, doesn't believe the Bible or whatever else.

So it arouses strong emotions.

It's a confusing book to read.

And we're going to read it together over the next few months.

Bit by bit by bit, there'll be a few weeks where we take off ramps and look at other texts.

I mean, we're Christmas.

We're going to talk about the Antichrist on Christmas Eve.

Although that might be interesting to do.

I don't know.

So we'll have different off ramps.

So just pray for me week by week by week that as we as a congregation open the Bible,

and we're just going to look at it.

We're going to begin at Revelation 1, verse 1.

Revelation 1:1

And week by week, we're going to go verse by verse throughout the Bible.

We're going to study this book, which either is completely and utterly neglected and abandoned by Christians,

or is almost like a fixation for Christians.

And it seems like there's very few of us who can sort of find somewhere in between where we can read the book.

So this week and all weeks, hopefully you bring your Bibles.

And there's always extra Bibles up here.

You're welcome to always come and take a Bible.

Keep it if you want or return it afterwards.

And it would be a great help to me now if we begin to see whether, in fact, the Pope is the Antichrist

or whether the rapture is going to come in 10 minutes and all of those other topics,

if you would join with me in looking at Revelation 1, verse 1.

Revelation 1:1

And the book of Revelation is an easy book to find in the Bible.

It's the very, very last book.

Just turn to the end, and there it is.

And let's read the first three verses.

I'll read them, and you can listen.

The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place.

He made it known by sending his angel to his servant, John,

who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw.

Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy,

and blessed are those who hear and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.

We're just going to pause here, and we're going to spend some time looking at these three verses,

which open the book, which introduce the whole book and the topic of the book to the reader.

One of the things which is really important to remember when we read a book,

a book of Revelation, is that it, in fact, was a book.

It is a book.

But if you could go back in a time machine and see John as he wrote it,

he probably wrote it on something like a scroll,

and he would have started up here, and it was, and then he would have just, you know,

he couldn't cut and paste and click and do all those things we do with the internet,

you know, with Word today, and he would have just kept on rolling it,

and then rolling it, and rolling it, and rolling it,

and just keeping writing, and writing, and writing until he was finished.

And so it begins a certain way, and the way it begins is very important.

And here's the first thing that we have to understand about the book of Revelation.

The first thing for us to understand about the book of Revelation is that Jesus reveals himself to me.

Now, by the way, normally when I do my notes, I put it,

Jesus reveals himself to me so that if you're making the notes and you're reading it,

then you're to take it that Jesus reveals himself to me.

But in other words, to you, I try to avoid plural words often

just to try to make it so that it becomes very, very specific to you.

But that's how the book begins.

It's going to be a book about Jesus, and ultimately by Jesus.

And that comes, it's not obvious when we read it in English,

but the very, very opening five words in English,

the revelation of Jesus Christ,

in the original language,

it could be the revelation of Jesus Christ,

the revelation from Jesus Christ,

or the revelation by Jesus Christ.

grammatically in the original language,

all of those are completely valid possibilities.

And so I would take it that John,

under the inspiration of Jesus and the Holy Spirit,

after the angel speaks to him or comes to him,

that John specifically wrote that type of ambiguity into the text.

Not to be ambiguous,

but to have something which is a very, very rich phrase

which only uses a couple of words.

So, even though,

if you went back in the time machine,

and you were able to find John,

on the island of Patmos,

you would see him there writing,

it's his hand,

the claim that John is making,

that the ultimate person responsible for the writing of the book

is Jesus.

And that the topic of the book

is Jesus.

This is a bit of a surprise to a lot of us.

We probably expected,

many of us expected,

it's going to begin,

you know,

this is the revelation of all the things

that are going to come in the future.

The revelation of the rapture,

and the tribulation,

and the millennium,

and the,

you know,

and all that.

And,

and actually the rapture isn't in the book of Revelation,

but many,

he's going,

there's going to be a whole lot of things

that are going to be talked about in the book,

but the book just says at the beginning,

the way we have to understand the book,

whenever we're reading it,

whatever chapter we're in,

is that it's,

it's something that Jesus,

right,

has ultimately caused to be written for us,

and it's going to be about him.

It's going to be about what he's done,

what he's doing,

and what he will do.

But you see,

here's one of the things,

one of the things that's really struck me in my,

it's one of the things in my summer,

that time,

sort of,

during the summer,

it's something that's really struck me in a new way.

I know it's old hat for a lot of you folks,

and,

you know,

but a lot of times in the Christian life,

you sort of forget things,

and then it really comes home to you again.

And one of the things that's really struck me this summer,

is that God has an assignment for each of us.

God has an assignment for our church.

And that,

the way that we get to know God,

is as we keep the assignments he gives us.

And that we are to understand that the assignments that God gives us,

will always be assignments that are beyond our strength,

beyond our wisdom,

beyond our resources.

And therefore,

part of the way that we get to know who God is,

is that as we keep the assignments,

as we walk into the assignments that he gives us,

we realize that we can only walk into those assignments,

if we get the wisdom,

and the strength,

and the resources that only he has.

And so it is here,

that in the book of Revelation,

it's ultimately a revelation of Jesus,

from Jesus,

and as we're going to see,

it's about the things that Jesus has done,

is doing,

and will do.

It's about what Jesus is doing,

and how he changes lives.

And,

and,

and that's what the book is always going to be about,

no matter what else it's talking about.

And,

and,

and,

and the other thing about this,

well,

some of you might say,

George,

if,

if Jesus is revealing it,

then why on earth is it so weird?

Like,

are you saying that Jesus is weird?

Like,

why is it so weird?

Now,

maybe some of you,

if you've never read the book,

let me tell you right now,

the book of Revelation is weird.

Okay?

But,

but here's the thing.

I have a friend,

I am not making this up.

One of his hobbies is reading canon law.

If I was to send him an email and say,

whoa,

this denomination or this church just posted their whole canon law online,

and you can read it,

it would be as if I gave him the best Christmas present he'd had all year.

He would probably play hooky from work,

because he couldn't resist the temptation to go and read canon law.

He's weird.

Yeah,

I know.

If he was here in the room,

he would acknowledge that he's weird,

you know?

You know,

he'd even have a Bible verse to support it.

You know,

God loves peculiar,

you know,

God's calling us to be a peculiar people.

It's from the King James Version of the Bible.

And,

but,

you know,

there's all sorts of different people.

Some of us,

we love poetry.

Some of us,

we love stories.

Some of us,

we like law.

Some of us,

we like,

I like more philosophy.

And some of us,

no,

philosophy.

Just go to sleep.

Law,

sleep.

But then I say,

I'm going to tell you a story that have dragons,

talking birds,

angel armies,

seal,

seal things,

eating scrolls,

birds that fly in the heavens and announce doom,

and your ears pick up.

Dragons?

Talking birds?

Strange beasts?

Angel armies?

Demons?

Whoa!

Now we're talking.

And you see,

if the Bible as a whole is always,

you see,

what is always about God revealing Jesus,

and what,

in the case of the Old Testament,

it's about what Jesus is going to do.

You know,

but for us,

it's after the crucifixion,

the resurrection,

it's what Jesus has done,

what he's doing,

and what he will do.

If God wants to speak to all of us,

and for those of us

who just love the symbolic,

you know,

those of us who are more mystically inclined,

or who are painters,

or into theater,

you know,

or into sculpting,

or those who love fantasy novels,

the book of Revelation is going to really speak to us

in a very,

very powerful way.

Jesus will become more real to us

by reading such a book.

So it's not that Jesus is weird,

it just is that Jesus wants to speak to all sorts of people,

even those of us who just,

the idea of dragons is really,

really fantastic.

Now,

there's another thing about this book,

is that these three verses that I just read,

you might not realize it,

but it's actually,

it's bringing up a perpetual revolution

that the Bible brings into the world.

And it's going to continually talk about

very,

very controversial subjects,

but we might not realize it.

For instance,

verse three,

which I'll read again in a moment,

has a lot to say about

same-sex marriage ceremonies in churches,

and same-sex blessing ceremonies in churches.

And you go,

what?

George,

I wonder if you're going to get that from verse three.

I'll read it again in a moment.

But here's the thing.

On one,

well,

let's read it right now.

Verse three.

Blessed is the one who reads aloud

the words of this prophecy,

and blessed are those who hear

and who keep what is written in it,

for the time is near.

Blessed is the one who reads aloud

the words of this prophecy,

and blessed are those who hear

and who keep what is written in it,

for the time is near.

So here's the summary point.

I did this on Friday.

If I could redo it this morning,

I would have done it a little bit different.

But the summary point here

is that Jesus promises me blessing.

Jesus promises me blessing.

But it needs to be a bit unpacked.

Here's the thing.

In the pagan world,

in the time that John was writing this,

there was the gods,

and there was right and wrong.

And the gods had, in a sense,

nothing whatsoever to do with right or wrong.

And right or wrong, on one level,

had nothing to do with the gods.

They were completely separate.

And so, you could know all sorts of things

about the gods,

but knowing things about the gods

wouldn't actually tell you anything

about right and wrong.

And you could know all sorts of things

about right and wrong,

but that actually wouldn't help you

to know anything about the gods.

And when the gods speak to you

and tell you to do something,

well, what they speak to you to do

and tell you to do

hasn't necessarily anything to do

with right or wrong.

It might be,

I'm feeling grouchy and grumpy

do a sacrifice.

I'm feeling grouchy and grumpy

do some heroic act.

It might be that I,

you know,

actually,

you're basically nothing more than an ant to me,

and I'm really, really pissed off

at this other god,

so could you go and do something

against this other god

or this other goddess?

And so it might be something liturgical.

It might be something

in terms of a sacrifice.

You know,

it might be something good,

by the way.

It doesn't,

it's not always,

it wasn't always evil,

but, you know,

when a god speaks

and tells you what to do,

first of all,

you couldn't be at all confident

that what the god wants you to do

is all connected to your blessing.

Because as far as you know,

the god might be treating you

like an ant,

and you're just part of,

a little bit of a pawn

because he's mad

or she's mad

at what some other god has done.

You have no idea

whether it has anything

to do at all with blessing,

and you have no idea at all

whether it has anything

to do with right or wrong,

and it's just something

you've got to do

because the gods are the gods

and we are not,

and it's just something

you have to do.

And so the world

described here,

where in verse 3 it says,

blessed is the one

who reads aloud

the words of this prophecy,

and blessed are those

who hear and who keep

what is written in it

for the time is near.

There's Jesus

is speaking to us,

and Jesus is saying

that ultimately

I'm going to speak to you.

This book of Revelation

is a word to you,

my servants,

and I want you

to hear the word,

and I want you

to keep the word,

I want you to live the word,

and you have to understand

that all of my words

are for your blessing.

But here's the thing

it's connected to

for same-sex blessings

and same-sex marriages.

Maybe this is something

you're familiar with,

maybe it's just,

it's going to sort of

boggle your mind,

but one of the ways

that churches

allow same-sex marriages

or blessings to happen

is they say

that, you know,

as long as we affirm

creedal things

in the creed

and core doctrine

about God,

that's something

that we can't change,

but things like

how we live our lives

are right or wrong,

that's never core

or creedal.

We can differ on it.

And so,

well,

I don't see

same-sex blessing

or marriage

is happening in churches.

I don't see that

anywhere in the creed,

like we just read the creed.

It doesn't mention it.

You know,

therefore,

you know,

we all understand

who God is.

He's the creator

and, you know,

Jesus,

you know,

God of God,

light of light,

and the Holy Spirit.

We all understand

all that stuff.

And that's just

all good about God.

And then there's,

oh,

doesn't that sound

like paganism?

That's pagan.

There's the God.

You know all

about the gods.

Right and wrong

are way over here.

It's paganism.

That's what it is.

Paganism.

It doesn't matter

if the person

claims to be

evangelical

or charismatic.

It's pagan.

What does Jesus say?

Jesus is saying

that my words

are going to demand,

not that you perform

certain liturgies,

not that you perform

heroic deeds,

not that you

have to wonder

whether anything

that I say

is ultimately

going to hurt you

because ultimately

you're just an ant

and I don't care

if you get squished.

I am not at all

like the pagan gods.

I'm not at all

like the pagan world.

I am,

I actually speak

and you can hear

and I want you

to hear what I say.

I want to hear

what you say

in the book of,

I say in the book

of Revelation.

I want you to heed it

and keep it

and live it

and it's going

to involve

different things

in ethics

and how you actually

live your lives

in an ethical

and moral way.

it's going to change

what you long for,

what you fear,

what you need

to repent of,

what you're going

to pray that you're

able to actually keep.

It's going to affect

your life.

It's going to affect

your life

in a way

that is connected

to me

and Jesus is only good.

God is only good.

See,

that's in the biblical world.

In the biblical world

there's God

and God is good.

That's the biblical world.

It's the biblical revolution.

The constant revolution

whether it's into

an Indian culture

or a Confucian culture

or a Buddhist culture

or a post-capitalist

Western culture

and all of those

attempts to try

to separate out

morality from

whom God is

in all of those

that constant

human desire

and drive

to separate out

morality from

who God is

and what is ultimate

in the midst of this

constant drift

of human life

the Bible provides

this constant revolution.

God is good.

There's not goodness

in God

but God is good

and Jesus speaks

so that we will hear

and keep it

and in keeping it

we'll be blessed.

Here's something

which is very,

very important for us.

A couple of years ago

I was talking

to a woman

she was the head

of a Christian organization

well-known

Christian organization

her family were

in fact

her family members

were Anglican ministers

was an Anglican minister

and you know

she heard about

our stand

for the gospel

and for the Bible

and she started

to talk to me

and she said

oh well you know

George the problem

is that this is

such a complicated issue

and she went on

and on and on

for me

for a few minutes

about how it was complicated

and then you know

I read the book

how to win friends

and influence people

and you know

those of you who know me

I just always practice that

you know

and you know

and some of you know

I have a counseling degree

so you know

I practice

you know

unconditional positive regard

and to be non-judgmental

and all that

no actually I don't

so I mean

actually a lot of us

would be better off

if we read

Norman Vincent Peale a bit

let me tell you

some of us

could take off

some of our rough edges

okay

but I listened to her

it was one of those things

and I said

you know

you got it completely wrong

you know me

I'm all into gray

and ambiguity

I said

you got it completely wrong

the problem is

that the issue

is too simple

and clear cut

and you don't want

to do it

boy there was

an awkward pause

in that conversation

and it actually

ended after

a couple of minutes

after that

because you know

she pushed back

and I said

no no no no

the problem is

you read the Bible

on this

the Bible is very clear

it doesn't give us

an out

and you don't want

to do it

some of you have

heard this story before

it was one of those

really

one of those

times in my life

where God just so

humbled me

and spoke into my life

in a way that

really has

you know

hasn't changed my life

as much as it

needs to

and I'm still working on it

but it's really changed me

and it's the story

of I think it was in

Colossians

or something like that

and I was struggling

with trying to prepare

my sermon

and I was out

for my run

and it was as if

God just spoke

to me directly

and he said

George the reason

you're having so much

trouble with your sermon

is that the Greek

and the text

is really clear

and you are afraid

to say it

and so you are using

all of your cleverness

and all of your IQ

and all of your

linguistic resources

to try to create

nuances

and off ramps

and shadings

and images

to try to fool

the congregation

so they don't actually

hear the clarity

of the text

you know what the problem

was

those of you

who have heard

the story before

the problem was

it said

the Bible text

said that if you're

outside of Jesus

you're a corpse

and I was afraid

to say it

I wanted to nuance it

and make it more relevant

and all that stuff

and the second

I realized

that that's what

was going on

I realized

I had to stand up

on a Sunday morning

and tell the congregation

that apart from Jesus

they were a corpse

and by the way

the sermon was easy

to do after that

here's the thing

that we get from this

when we hear verse 3

when we hear verse 3

and it says

blessed is the one

who reads aloud

the words of this prophecy

and blessed are those

who hear

and who keep

what is written in it

for the time is near

here's the thing

as I walk the Jesus way

by God's grace

I obey my way

to clarity

as I walk the Jesus way

by God's grace

I obey my way

to clarity

I don't think

my way to clarity

I'm not denying thinking

by the way

but you know

at the end of the day

if you sort of know

what the word is saying

and you don't want

to do it

you refuse to do it

you refuse to accept it

then all of your cleverness

and all of your skills

will just be

they'll just be

spinning your wheels

we need to obey

our way to clarity

we need to obey

our way to clarity

I mean

you know

to the man

who's thinking

of committing adultery

on his wife

or has committed adultery

with his wife

and now starts to tell me

all about his conflicted emotions

about his wife

or anything like that

I mean

the fact of the matter is

is you have to stop

sleeping with the woman

who's not your wife

you just

you gotta stop

well I don't know

if my needs will be net

I don't know if this

I don't know if that

well you know what

goodness is good for you

and I don't know

all the different ways

that God's gonna work

in your life

I'm not God

I don't know what's gonna happen

but I know that you need

to obey your way

to clarity

and you have to obey

your way to seeing

the good things

that God is gonna work

in your life

something like tithing

is completely

and utterly

counterintuitive

how is it that

giving away

10% of our money

could possibly

be good for us

doesn't God know

how tight

things are

I mean

how could that

possibly be

how is it that

God could possibly

still meet my needs

if I did something

like that

well we can try

to think it through

and think it through

all we want

but the bottom line

is we need to obey

our way to clarity

and there's so much

in the Bible

that just requires us

to trustingly take

those at least

first steps

of obedience

as God

brings clarity

to our hearts

and minds

and lives

as we try to follow

what he teaches

so here's the first

two things

that are very very

big things about

the text of the

book of Revelation

the first thing is

that whatever it is

whether we're reading

about birds

that fly

in the heavens

announcing doom

or whether it's

about weird beasts

or whether it's

about a dragon

or whether it's

about weird creatures

bowing down

before the throne

of God

or circling angels

dancing and singing

and all those

other weird things

is that as we read

the book

it's always about

Jesus

what he's done

what he's doing

and what he will do

and there's something

in there for us

to live

the book of Revelation

is always contemporary

to my life

it's not just so

God will tell me

things about

when Jesus returns

whether that's

in a thousand years

or in a week's time

or in fifty years

there's things about that

I'm not saying

there isn't

but it's not just

about that

it's always about

things that will

affect my life

day to day

a couple of weeks ago

I think it was

my first week

back from holidays

it was the gay

pride parade

and I have a coffee

shop that I go to

after the church service

and on my way home

I treat myself

to a dark roast

coffee on the way home

and it was right

on the gay pride parade

route

and so I pulled

in the spot

I was going to park

to go and walk

and get the coffee

and there was

a lone man

standing there

with a cross

and on the cross

all it said was

are you ready

he looked nervous

I had to say

to myself

gosh you've got guts

and he just stood there

all the rainbows

and all that

going by

he just stood there

didn't say anything

just holding

a big wooden cross

says on it

are you ready

and that's a really

really hard thing

to do

we can all debate

later on

whether it's the right

thing to do or not

but you know

whether it's the

wisest thing to do

we can have

honest debate

about that

maybe we have to

obey our way

to clarity

on this one

by the way

friends

I'll just tell you

one other story

I can't remember

what the issue is

it might have been

about the very

very first steps

towards same-sex

marriages

but it might have

been something

to do with abortion

I'd only been

in this church

about two years

or something like this

when I came to

this church

people didn't want

me as their

pastor

there was lots

of complaints

about me

it wasn't a church

which was used

to having the

Bible preached

on Sunday mornings

and inviting people

to give their lives

to Jesus

and somebody

called me

on a Friday

and said

George you've

got to call

it was a bit

of a phone train

you've got to

call your

congregation

to pray on Sunday

this issue

is going to be

it's being snuck in

it's going to be

debated in the house

on Monday or Tuesday

and we're trying

to mobilize

Christians to pray

and I have to

confess

I am not

I am embarrassed

about this

but I have to

confess

the first thing

that went

through my mind

is I wish

they told me

about this

after Sunday

because now

I'm stuck

if I'd read

about it in the

paper on Wednesday

I could oh

you know

those bad

politicians

and oh

you know

if I had known

I would have

done something

and oh

blah blah blah

blah

but the second

I knew

I knew

I could not

evade

my responsibility

it was

I

you know

it was sleepless

I'm not saying

that obeying our way

to clarity

is an easy thing

to do

I'm just saying

it's the biblical

way to do it

it's what Jesus

is telling us

to do

he's telling us

to hear the words

and to keep them

and as we keep them

God will bless us

that's what

it's telling us

so here's the thing

back to the guy

the lone guy

on the parade route

for the gay pride parade

standing holding

a big wooden cross

like this

with on it

are you ready

we're honest

when we look

at the world

it looks like

there's all sorts

of things going on

in the world

which are way

too big for us

to do anything about

that are just

overwhelming

like if we're honest

there's a whole

pile of things

like tsunamis

which are just

coming in

overwhelming

it struck me

lately

how many

modern

create praise

choruses

make references

to chaos

in it

it shows

that for many

of us Christians

we have this

sense of something

engulfing us

which is not

Christian

which is causing

problems

and so if we're

honest

whether it's

this juggernaut

that seems to

want to allow

legalized

doctors

to put people

to death

legally

or all these

other things

and then you can

pick your own

favorite one

or the march

of global

capitalism

or the march

of Islam

or you know

just you take

your pick

maybe if we went

out and had

coffee or

something afterwards

we'd all have

maybe we'd have

some common

things which are

overwhelming

and maybe we'd

have different

ones that maybe

reflect our

political beliefs

or something like

that but it's a

very very common

sense that things

are overwhelming

us

that there are

all these big

things going on

in our culture

and I don't

know if that's

worse now than

it was 30

years ago

or 50 years

ago or 80

years ago

or 90 years

ago

I can't remember

30 years ago

very well

I mean I was

alive and

everything but I

can't remember

that very well

I'm probably

going to get

my memories

all mixed up

and every age

think they're

different than

other ages

just like every

age think that

the young people

are slackers

and will never

amount to

anything

you know those

who are 10

years old now

they're going to

say that about

their own kids

or grandkids

I mean that's

just a common

human problem

and so there's

this conflict

that's true

right

come on all

you boomers

right okay

you know there's

other you know

anyway so

and those people

who've been stuck

with boomers

as parents

we have this

view that there's

all these

overwhelming

looming things

and if there's

one other thing

for us to get

out of the book

of Revelation

as we go into

it in the week

by week

by week

and as we

remember week

by week

by week

there's always

about Jesus

it's always

about what

he's done

what he's

doing

what he's

going to

do

and it's

always

there's

going to

always be

something

in here

that we

can keep

that we

can obey

it's going

to speak

into our

lives

and one

of the

things

that's

going

to speak

into

our

lives

is this

Jesus

is big

and people

are small

and in

him

there are

no little

people

Jesus

is big

and people

are small

and in

him

there are

no little

people

turn and look

at verses

four to

eight

if we

don't get

this week

by week

by week

that the

book of

revelation

is not

talking about

images that

give us

insight into

our unconscious

it's not

just talking

about

it's not

just metaphors

for social

processes

it's not

just political

code to

encourage us

under oppression

it's not

it's not

it is

talking about

immensities

it is

talking about

the living

God

it is

talking about

the redemption

of the human

race

it is talking

about things

that shake

and shape

the planet

and the stars

and the cosmos

it's talking

about angels

and Jesus

dying

and God

taking little

tiny people

like us

and fitting

us for

heaven

it's talking

about

immensities

and God

knows

that we

spend our

days

thinking that

those involved

in capitalism

or those involved

in socialism

or those involved

in Islam

or those involved

in this movement

that they're

really big

and we all

feel like

we're little

tiny

itsy bitsy

people

and the book

of revelation

is all about

Jesus

is big

and people

are small

small

but in him

by God's

grace

there are

no little

people

there are

no little

people

I'm not

about

leprechauns

okay

there

I don't

think there

are leprechauns

by the way

okay

hobbits

didn't sort

of survive

whatever happened

with the big

people winning

and now

anyway

you know

in a world

where people

are big

and God

is small

the world

is filled

with little

people

but in the

world

where God

is big

Jesus

is big

and people

are small

it's to change

how we look

we are not

to read

and understand

events

from the

perspective

that people

are big

and God

is small

but that

Jesus

is big

and people

are small

but there

are no

little

people

listen to

what

verses 4

to 8

say

and it's

going to be

all the way

through the

book

part of the

reason

it uses

dragons

and beasts

and angels

and scrolls

and a third

of the earth

dying

and blood

this high

and going

that far

it's giving

us big

giant

images

so that

we will

get

that

Jesus

is big

listen to

verse 4

John to the

seven churches

that are in

Asia

grace to you

and peace

from him

and how's he

going to refer

to God

who is

and who was

and who is

to come

who is

and who was

and who is

to come

who's the

true and living

God

the true and

living God

is the one

who's always

been

who's here

right now

who always

will be

and capitalists

or socialists

or

islamo-fascists

or pick

your group

we can shake

our hands

and do

whatever we

want

but God

has always

been

is here

right now

and always

will be

way bigger

than time

way

I will

come and

go

all those

other

movements

will come

and go

God

is the

one

who is

and who

was

and will

be

and the

seven

from the

seven

spirit

who are

before

his

throne

I'm going

to talk

about this

next week

more

but that's

actually

just a

poetic way

of referring

to the

Holy Spirit

and from

Jesus Christ

the faithful

witness

the firstborn

of the dead

what's that

saying

Jesus has

died on

the cross

he's died

as a

substitute

for ordinary

people

he's risen

from the

dead

and he's

now the

firstborn

of the

dead

it means

that when

we get

in him

we are

part of

a new

humanity

that has

a completely

different

now

origin

it's not

that my

origin

that I'm

determined

by the

genetics

of my

mom

I'm not

determined

by my

caste

I'm not

determined

by my

social

class

I'm not

determined

by my

sexuality

I am not

determined

my true

origins

isn't

that I was

born in

Canada

or that I

had the

child of

Irish

immigrants

is that

when we

get into

Jesus

there is

a completely

new

identity

and destiny

which is

now mine

because Jesus

is the

firstborn

he is

the first

born

and that

means

it implies

that there's

others who

are born

after him

and that I

am now

part of

when I get

in him

that what

happens is

I am now

in that

lineage of

the first

born of

the dead

that death

no longer

has dominion

over me

that death

is no

longer

the final

word

about me

that it

is not

the primary

descriptor

of me

that the

primary

descriptor

of me

is now

going to

come from

Jesus

who gives

me a new

beginning

and a new

destiny

and that

that destiny

is absolutely

secure

and that this

is not just

for me

this is for

an untouchable

in India

this is for

the person

who lives

in the worst

slum

of the

the worst

part of

the worst

slum

in Kenya

this is for

the person

who

this is for

the person

who is living

in Syria

and that every

single side

keeps kicking

them

this is for

the rich

this is for

those who are

same sex

attracted

this is for

soccer moms

this is

this

is a new

identity

a new way

of living

and a new

destiny

comes from

being in

Jesus

see that

that's why

I'm going to

keep reading

this

that's why

when Jesus

is big

and people

are small

there are

no little

people

the worst

handicapped

person

the person

with the

worst

Alzheimer's

that's what

they're now

enduring

but they

are if

they have

actually come

into a

relationship

with Jesus

and they

are in

Jesus

and he

is in

them

they

are now

of the

lineage

and the

life

of the

firstborn

of the

dead

and that's

their destiny

that's

their ultimate

identity

and the

ruler of

the kings

on earth

verse 5

again

and from

Jesus

Christ

who is

Jesus

he's the

faithful

witness

the firstborn

of the

dead

and the

ruler

of the

kings

on earth

the ruler

of socialism

socialist

leaders

capitalist

leaders

gay pride

leaders

those who

don't like

gay pride

take your

politics

I don't

want to

be left

or right

in this

it's not

a left

wing

sermon

it's not

a right

wing

sermon

it's a

Jesus

sermon

left

and right

they'll all

ultimately

have to do

this

left and

right are

political

categories

not Jesus

categories

and the

ruler of