Understanding Revelation: A Journey Towards Glorious Hope - Glorious Hope | Studies in Revelation

I remember almost seven years ago quoting Revelation quite early

on in some of my sermons here.

And I said that it's unwise to preach Revelation within the five

years of coming to a new congregation.

Well, it's now seven years, and we're about to begin a series

that I have been anticipating for the past two years in coming

to what is a glorious book in the Bible, one that can be understood

and should be understood, because it is a book that presents

to us glorious hope.

Now, I have had interesting conversations with some of you as

we approach this series.

I announced it at midweek in May and then in the summer from the

pulpit.

And those conversations have been helpful and they've been pleasant

conversations about it.

But of all the books of the Bible, even more than the prophets

of the Old Testament, the book of Revelation courts the most controversy.

Now, maybe controversy is a strong word, but it is the book that

has divided the Church in its interpretation.

Its style is unlike any other book in the Bible, except for some

chapters in Daniel that appear to have a similar structure.

The early church fathers who came in the centuries immediately

after it was written down by John saw it as written for their

time and with certain immediacy.

Well, as that age passed away and the events had not happened as

believed and the centuries kept climbing up, it was Augustine

in the 4000 AD that saw it more in its wider sense of the life

of the church until Christ returns.

When it came to the reformers of the 16th century, Martin Luther

famously said, christ is neither taught nor recognized in

it.

Now, who would ever have thought I would have had a negative

quote from Martin Luther?

But he set Revelation along with James, Jude and Hebrews.

He said they were disputed books and placed them at the end

of his German New Testament.

Although eight years later, he did change his mind and Revelation

was fully placed in the canon.

The French reformer John Calvin said Revelation was too obscure

to be useful for detailed exposition.

He feared speculative interpreters, like those circulating

in his day, would use it to form radical groups and bring discord

to what had been established in Geneva.

Heading into the 18th and 19th centuries, there was a great flurry

of activity in interpreting Revelation.

And this continued until World War I.

And today we have five main approaches to Revelation.

Now, this is as technical as it's going to get this evening.

The five main approaches are five main interpretations of how

we understand Revelation.

There's classical pre millennialism, there's dispensational

premillennialism, there's amillennialism, there's new creation

amillennialism and there's post millennialism.

Do you see the.

At least the one thread that works through it all, Millennialism.

And that's not just talking about a group of people who happened

to be born two decades ago.

Now, each one of us here, whether we know it or not, have been

influenced in our thinking on Revelation from those who have expounded

on these theological interpretations.

But culture has also had a huge part to play in how Revelation

has been interpreted.

Now, if you don't know what millennialism means, this is simply

interpreting how to view key passages in Revelation.

The millennial reign of Christ, the Second Coming, the Rapture,

the resurrection of the dead, Tribulation, and Israel and the Church.

Now, Revelation is not exclusive in pointing us to end times,

but it does contain the most information.

And before we begin, there are a few things that need to be said

in approaching a series.

First of all, I want us all to have an honest conversation with

ourselves regarding the Book of Revelation.

I had a conversation with someone a few weeks ago, and they

were very excited about a series on Revelation.

We chatted and talked about different ideas in the book, and

what I thought was a casual question turned out to be deeply

insightful.

I simply asked, have you read the Book of Revelation?

To which the response came, no.

When I asked how they learned so much about it, because they were

speaking very articulately about it, they confessed that all

their learning had been from YouTube and American pastors.

And in reading the Left behind series of books, I don't think that's

how we are to understand the Book of Revelation.

So let me ask you the same question.

Have you read the Book of Revelation?

Are you willing to read Revelation for the text that it is?

In my preparations for this series, I've found this little book

very helpful.

It's called a Scripture Journal.

On one side you have the printed text, and on the other you

have space to make your notes.

You can circle and highlight and everything like this.

I phoned the Faith Mission on Friday, and they're going to have

about five or six of these in stock by the end of the week.

I do encourage you, if you want to take Revelation seriously

and thinking about what it means, pick yourself up one of these.

They're £6.25.

I'm not on commission, as I assure you, but I have found this

exceptionally helpful and would encourage you that if you do

want to read Revelation, if you do want to study it, then this

is the opportunity to have that, to circle the text, to highlight

the text, but also to write notes that you find helpful or questions

that the text poses.

But while preparing for this series, particularly over the summer,

I was reading some of the Psalms and I came across this comment

from Dan Ortland about how we read Scripture.

He said, the Bible is not.

There's a spelling mistake.

First of all, it's not a family.

The Bible is not a set of books of advice telling us what to

do.

It is mainly a book of redemption telling us what God has

done.

The Bible is not commands with stories sprinkled into it.

It is a story with commands sprinkled in.

See, this is what Scripture is.

It's one big story from eternity to eternity.

We just happen to be in time at this moment.

And what Revelation does is fit in with the rest of Scripture

in what God's great plan of salvation is.

And so this leads us secondly, to how we will study Revelation.

This pulpit is not a classroom, nor is it the academy.

And so I will preach Revelation as I preach any book of

the Bible from start to finish, and it will be preached pastorally.

I will be applying the same techniques that I do with every other

book of the Bible and see how the Bible interprets, firstly, itself.

And thirdly, if you disagree with a bit or maybe with a lot, what

I want us to do is not fall out over this secondary matter of

interpretation.

My job is not to compare and contrast the different interpretations.

I respect your view because you have been biblically convinced

of it.

My aim is not to change your mind, because I can't change your

mind.

Only the Holy Spirit can change you, as only the Holy Spirit

can change me.

Rather, I want us to agree on what we can agree on.

That's why this series is entitled Glorious Hope, because that's

what the book of Revelation points us to.

The conclusion of the book and of human history is the same.

Christ is coming back.

Whether we think it is a return that will happen once or twice,

we are left with no doubt he is coming back.

So we're not going to fall out, but we're going to look ever

to Christ as the one who guides us in his truth.

Now we're reminded at the outset that the book of Revelation

has brilliance and it has beauty, outshining any attempt to

explain it.

John wrote Revelation to churches facing persecution, being

tempted to compromise with Roman imperial power and cave in

to the social pressures of pagan society.

He calls upon these churches to stay faithful until the end, reminding

them that God and Christ are sovereign over the evil that they

face.

And, you know, believers should rejoice that despite persecution

and Discrimination from opponents, they can be assured a

place in the heavenly city, since they are washed clean by the

blood of the Lamb.

If they endure until the end, they will enjoy God and they will

enjoy the Lamb forever.

Now, the book itself, we're told, is the revelation of Jesus

Christ given to John.

That's what the first three verses tell us by way of a prologue,

an introduction to, to this revelation.

And this sets the scene for the whole book and not just for the

first three chapters and the letters to the churches.

Because John receives the revelation while on the island of

Patmos, an island in the Aegean Sea opposite Miletus, off

the coast of modern day Turkey.

And as we read the book, we will see similarities in his writing

in the Gospel and also in his letters.

And John is on Patmos, having been exiled by the Roman authorities

under emperor Domitian around AD 95.

And John receives this revelation of Jesus Christ by an

angel, and he writes it down as the Word of God.

Now that's important for us.

This is given to John as God's words.

Therefore it comes to us as the Word of God.

So this is God's message for the churches where he says of the

things that must soon take place.

Charles C. Ryrie, American Baptist theologian, helpfully comments,

this word shortly does not indicate that the events described

in this book will necessarily occur soon, but that when they do

begin to happen, they will come to pass swiftly.

Now, John also bears witness to the testimony of Jesus Christ.

He has been a faithful believer and he has known the faithfulness

of Christ as he has lived through for him.

And it's in verse three that we get what this book means to us.

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.

This verse tells us that Revelation is for our good.

It's not here to divide us, trip us up, or to completely bamboozle

us.

God has given it so that we may be blessed.

And again, Charles C. Rare comments on this.

There are seven Beatitudes in Revelation.

This is the first.

John wanted the book read at once and preferable around in the

churches, sorry, allowed in the churches.

This is what this message is.

It is for the churches that they may hear and that they may know

the glorious and blessed hope that is in the Lord Jesus as they

face troublesome days.

Now, the purpose of this was to see the church blessed, to see

the church being drawn closer to Christ.

And verse four begins the introduction to the seven churches

in Asia.

And here you have those seven churches with Patmos there identified

around the little white box there in the Aegean Sea.

But there in Asia Minor you have the seven churches, and we'll

look at those over the next number of weeks.

And John's greeting here in Revelation 1 would fit in that of

any of the New Testament epistles.

He prays upon them.

Grace and peace in the name of the eternal God.

The seven spirits here are the Holy Spirit in His perfect fullness.

We never hear of grace and peace coming from humanity, only

from the Trinity.

So it would seem that as God is referred to as him who is and

who was and is to come, Jesus Christ is referred to in verse 5a.

And from Jesus Christ the faithful witness the firstborn of

the dead and the ruler of the kings on earth.

It would seem natural to understand the seven spirits this

way as the Holy Spirit and His perfect fullness.

And so John continues with a very christological formula and his

opening in the second half of verse five and verse six, if you

have the text, look at it there, because it won't be on the

screen for you.

Notice what he says about Jesus.

First of all, he says it is in Christ that we find freedom because

Christ frees us from our sins, all because of his sacrifice.

Here he is pointing us to the Lamb, whom we'll talk about later.

The Lamb who was slain, the Lamb that was foretold in the Old

Testament prophets.

And here he is, the one whom John affirms is the one that frees

us from our sins because of his sacrifice.

Secondly, he goes on that what he says about Jesus, it's because

of what was achieved on the cross and through the resurrection

that those who trust in him by faith are now dwellers of a different

kingdom.

We are called priests to his God.

This isn't simply an idea, this is a replacement.

This is where they have been moved from one place and replaced

in another.

They have been positioned in a different dwelling.

Although they may still live on earth, they have been called into

an eternal abode of which they have a new designation, priests to

his God.

And as John writes this to the Church, so this is for us.

We must know that we are not people of this world.

We may like the things of this world, but they must never be our

God.

We must never rely on them, because we are dwellers of a different

kingdom.

The now, but not yet.

And the final thing in verses 5 and 6, John also wants to keep

us in our place.

And the burst at the end of verse six is a wonderful benediction

of praise to God.

Listen to these words where he says to him, be glory and dominion

forever and ever.

It's almost as if it's Paul writing again, trying to get this

out of his heart, overflowing of just how good God is.

Yes, we may be dwellers of his kingdom, but he is still the one

who.

Who receives all the glory, all the dominion, everything that

is due his name.

And so, right from the outset, we have a Christological approach

to how we understand Revelation.

It is firmly rooted in the Lord Jesus as the risen Savior, as

the Lamb that was slain and risen and ruling.

And so, as we move from verse six to verse seven, we have truly

what is the glorious hope of this book?

Now, I'm not suggesting that it is the central verse of this book,

but as we begin, I hope it will set all of our minds on the

purpose of the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Verse 7 says, Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every

eye will see him, even those who pierced Him.

And all tribes of the earth will wail on account of Him.

Even so.

Amen.

Do you see what these words are saying?

There will never be no missing this event.

The whole world will see him when he comes.

His coming will not be secret.

Nancy Guthrie comments.

But his coming will not be a day of celebration for all who see

him.

For those who have rejected him, ignored him, and refused his

offer of grace and mercy, his coming will be mocked.

Him and refused to believe in him will finally see his glory.

And it will bring them to their knees, weighted down by sorrow

and regret and regret.

This is the reality of the end of the world in human history.

Christ's return will be tremendous to those who believe,

but it will be a horrific moment for those who have rejected

Him.

And revelation is about getting us ready for that return.

So we will be on the side of celebration and on the side of victory.

I'm old enough to remember different people who made wild claims

about dates for the coming of Christ, and they all got it wrong.

And if you search today, you will find others who still proclaim

to know when Christ will return.

South African pastor Joshua Mlakela claimed earlier this year

that Jesus will return on the 23rd and 24th of September, 2025,

citing a vision and linking it to the Feast of Trumpets, which is

a Jewish holiday celebrated on the first day of the seventh Jewish

month.

Well, it now being the 21st, we'll see what the next number of

days bring.

American Christian speaker Kent Hovind has suggested a date

at the same time in the Feast of Trumpets, but this time for 2028,

which will be between the 20th and 22nd of September.

So there's a date for your diary.

Now, we may have a wry smile at these, but these are people who

believe what they're saying, but they're also people who believe

them and people who are being misled.

Why do I say that so confidently?

Because of what Jesus said.

For in Matthew 24, verses 23 to 27, Jesus said, then if anyone

Matthew 24:23–27

says to you, look, here is the Christ, or there he is, do not believe,

for false Christs and false prophets will arise and perform great

signs and wonders so as to lead astray, if possible, even the

Elector.

See, I have told you beforehand.

So if they say to you, look, he is in the wilderness, do not go

out.

If they say, look, he is in the inner rooms, do not believe it.

For as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as

the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

No one knows when Christ will return, so we needn't pay attention

and we needn't even try to figure it out.

The date of Christ's return has been placed in all eternity to

come back in our human history.

And so Jesus tells us to avoid these predictions and see them for

what they are.

Rather, as he concludes in verse 27 and as John tells us in

verse 7, we will not ignore the sight of Christ's return, nor

will we ignore the implications of his return.

Great celebration for believers and great sorrow and torment

for those who have rejected Him.

But look at what John writes in verse 8.

I am the Alpha and Omega, says the Lord, who is and who was and

who is to come?

The Almighty.

Now, here are the words of the Lord God.

They almost feel out of place.

But this is an emphatic statement of God's sovereignty.

God declares himself the first, and he declares Himself the

last.

At the outset and the conclusion of this book of Revelation,

God claims this title.

He reigns over all history from beginning to end.

And if he rules over the beginning, and if he rules over the

end, then he rules over everything in between.

As Martin Luther's great hymn says in its concluding verse, that

word, above all earthly powers, no thanks to them, abideth

the Spirit, and the gifts are ours.

Through him who with us sideth, let goods and kindred go

this mortal life, also the body they may kill.

God's truth abideth still.

His kingdom is forever.

You see, it turns out we know the conclusion.

We don't have to try and work it out.

We don't have to Guess will be in the words that we'll finish with

this evening.

Who will not tremble when you stand?

Christ the victor.

You see, Revelation points us to a victory.

Revelation points us to the victory of Christ, a Christ who calls

us to trust in him in these last days, so that as we await his

return, not knowing the date, but as we await, so we will be certain

that there will be celebration when we see him appear as a lightning

flash that that goes from the west to the east.

So as we finish tonight, this introduction to Revelation, I hope

that we have a bigger vision of the book that we're about to read.

I want to encourage you to read it.

Don't wait until we go through maybe 10 or 15 or 20 verses each

week.

Take it and read it.

40 minutes will get you through it.

Read it and read it again.

Because as much as I want us to have a bigger vision of the book

of Revelation, that we may indeed enjoy it and know that it

is for our benefit and our blessing, even more so, I want us

to have a bigger vision of Jesus.

His return is sure.

And ultimately, the question that these eight verses poses for

us is, are you ready?

Are you ready?

You see, there won't be a false start.

It's not as if Jesus is going to dip his toe across the starting

line and then back again when he comes.

He will come and you will know.

The question is, will you be ready for when he returns?

Because the time of his return has been set in eternity.

And yes, it will be soon this evening.

Do you know him as Savior?

And so you await the great celebration, because if you don't

know him as Savior, then you're rejecting him.

You're thinking you're going to be okay, but that okay will be

too late.

Because living in sin and obstinance, well, then that day of

Christ's return will be one of great sorrow and torment.

And actually, as we go to the end of the book of Revelation, we

have words to heed in Revelation 22 from Jesus.

So Revelation 22 and verse 12 says, behold, I am coming soon, bringing

my recompense with me to repay each one for what he has done.

The warning signs are there.

Why are we ignoring them?

Why do we think we know God better?

Is it because we're too comfortable?

Is it because we like the things of this world too much?

Do we actually think that doing wrong things is better than

living in glorious and with glorious hope?

That hope that Christ will come and what a day it will be?

Revelation will take us through many twists and many turns.

There will be much to agree on and there will be much to disagree

on.

But let me bring us back to where we began.

Jesus is coming back and he will take his own home.

Are you counted among that number?

So that indeed it will be a true day of celebration.

I hope that it is.

Let's pray.

Our Father God, we thank you for this, your word, a book that

we open, a book that we've maybe closed quickly again because

we don't understand what we're seeing and what we're reading.

But yet, Father, you did not give it to us to punish us or to

make it complicated.

You reveal yourself to us in it.

And so, as a group of your people here in the southeast of Northern

Ireland, over this next year or so, we look ever to you to instruct

us that we will be sure of Christ, that we will know Christ

is coming back.

And, Father, that indeed we will be a people who are ready for

that day.

May we each be honest with ourselves, not just about reading

Revelation and how we've come to our understanding of it, but may

we be honest with ourselves about Christ.

May we be honest before you, whether we know him as Saviour or

not.

And be assured this night, Father, that we have a Saviour who

is mighty to keep, and we look ever to him.

So may we respond well to you and to your word this night.

Amen.

Sam.