Revelation 1:9-20

Has Jesus Abandoned Us?

A sermon by Pastor Joe Haynes

Preached on January 21, 2018 at Beacon Church

Revelation, or "The Apocalypse of Jesus Christ", is an unveiling shown to the Apostle John, to show believers something believers need to know. And it comes with a promise of blessing for those who read, hear and obey it. So we should be interested. The whole thing came from God to Jesus, from Jesus through an angel, to John for us, whoever are "servants" of Jesus Christ. Jesus sent an angel to show John the vision, and he was told to write it down, and (from the end of each of the seven letters to the churches) we can see the Holy Spirit speaks to the churches through John's pen (c.f. 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22, seven times, "he who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches"). So now we can see why John's greeting involves the whole Trinity, promising "peace" from the Father, the Spirit, and the Son. What is in this book originated with God the Father, the Subject and Sender is God the Son, and the written words come from the Holy Spirit. So we should pay attention. Why? What's the purpose of the book? To show Christ's "servants" what "must soon take place" (that's the book's purpose statement in verse 1). This book should matter to us, and it should make a difference in how we face tomorrow.

 John's first words in the main body of this book show his readers that he is in it with them. He calls himself their "brother", pointing out they all belong to God's family as brothers and sisters adopted through Jesus, and "partner", a word meaning a "fellow participant"[i] in three things: in tribulation, in the kingdom, and in the patient endurance. That might not sound encouraging, but these three things are things every Christian in Jesus will experience. You might wish you could jump straight to your share in the kingdom, especially if you are already experiencing the "tribulation"--the affliction, or oppression that often comes to those who follow Jesus. But we will not experience the kingdom of Christ if we don't first learn the "patient endurance" of Christ. Remember what Jesus endured, and ask yourself, are you following Him? That's how John ended up as some kind of prisoner in exile, possibly doing forced labour: because of "the word of God and the testimony of Jesus". Following Jesus, preaching the Word of Jesus, got John in trouble with the authorities, just as the decision to follow Jesus got lots of Christians in trouble in the first century, when opposition to the Gospel came from Jewish leaders in cities and towns throughout Roman lands, or when Christians were targeted by the emperor himself. But the way things were going, they were going to need a lot more of that "patient endurance". The seven letters Jesus dictated to John in chapters 2-3 show that Christian congregations were facing threats from the outside and decay from the inside. The only thing that could save those churches was if they held on firmly to the teaching of the Apostles of Christ, which they preserved in the documents we call the New Testament. This wonderful book is the final piece. The final prophecy of Jesus through His apostle, John.

The beginning of John’s vision

So there was John, praying and worshipping and commemorating the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, on the day when Jesus rose, Sunday (and that's why Christians gather on Sundays still to this day), and he found himself surrounded by the presence of the Holy Spirit. So much so, that he found himself in a waking dream, having a vision (in fact, in the book of Daniel, predictions of the future always came in dream-visions).

10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet  11 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." (Rev. 1:10-11 ESV)

I need to point out two things here: what John was told to write, and for whom it was written. He was commanded to write what he saw. That's a big deal. So when he writes about seeing a man with stars in his hand, or about a seven-headed dragon, that's not John being creative and imaginative. That's John literally doing what he was told: writing what he saw. And this leads me to one of the most overlooked starting points in understanding this prophecy about events that were soon going to start happening. John saw symbols. Where Revelation 1:1 says, Jesus "made it known to John" (ESV); "communicated it" (NASB); "signified it" (KJV); or "presented it" (NLT), it means it was given as a series of symbols and signs. Just like the signs that Daniel wrote about in his prophecies. Except that 4 of Daniel's prophecies came with God-given interpretations to decipher their symbols. So what about John's vision? How are we supposed to make sense of all the signs? Used bookstores are full of proof that people make up all kinds of meanings for what John saw. But time after time their prognostications fail, and the former bestseller goes for 25 cents at a yard sale.

The people John was writing to needed practical help from this book. Not vague principals, platitudes or even just timeless truths. They were about to head into a dark period of history, where many would suffer worse than John did, and many of their teachers would begin to lead churches astray, and they would need to know, time after time, has Jesus abandoned us? Where is God in all this? Surely God would not have allowed this to happen to us? It is not an accident that pastors in almost every century since this book was written, found these prophecies to be a source of light to help their congregations patiently endure so many dark times.[ii] And as we will see, when the night grew darkest, the light they found in this book shone brightest. Jesus has never abandoned His Bride, His Church, His people. He promised He would never leave us or forsake us; that He would be with us even to the end of the age. He is "the Alpha and the Omega… the Almighty…" and from the start of this vision, He helps His people to see. The first things He signifies to John, for us, are these: seven lampstands; then a glorious Son of Man; then John sees seven stars in His right hand (I will explain the third sign, second). And He does not leave us in the dark about what these signs mean.

We have no light of our own

“Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands,” (Rev. 1:12 ESV). The first things John sees in his vision as he turns around, are seven golden lampstands. And verse 20 gives God's own interpretation of the symbolic meaning of "lampstands". “the seven lampstands are the seven churches,” (Rev. 1:20 ESV). Lampstands=churches. The seven lampstands are symbols of the seven churches John was writing to in the Province of Asia (c.f. v4, 11). We saw in the last sermon, that by addressing seven particular churches that happen to have existed in 7 cities along a highway that ran right across their province, the book would be copied and spread around to all the churches in the Province. And we saw that by choosing specifically "seven" representative churches, Jesus meant this for all churches. Like how the "Sabbath" is a reminder that God created all things. So John is writing in general for all Christians everywhere, but in particular for these seven churches at the end of the 1st century in the Roman Empire. Those lampstands are the original recipients of this letter. But what is said to those churches is applicable for all churches.

Lampstands are part of a scene of Old Testament images, but filled with New Testament realities.[iii] The setting is of the tabernacle or Temple in the Old Testament. In Exodus 25, God gave Moses instructions for one lampstand made of gold, with seven branches and seven lamps (Ex 25:31-39). One scholar wrote, "In the Exodus typology, the seven lamps symbolize the covenant community of Israel, the people of God, who are to light the world." So what does it mean that in John's vision, we don't see one lampstand with seven lamps, but seven lampstands? They symbolize the new reality that through the spread of the Gospel, there is now not just one community of God's people, but many, multiplying all over the world. But notice the word: lampstand. Jesus used this word in Matthew 5:15, not for a lamp, but for the stand on which you might put a lamp. A lampstand has no light of its own. On our own, by ourselves, every church is in the dark. Even pure gold only shines reflected light. Beacon is no different. You and I have no light of our own. The seven letters that follow this have some hard words and criticisms for churches that wander away from the Apostles’ teaching, that fall for Jewish legalism, or superstitious so-called deep “knowledge”, or give themselves over to immorality. If you ever find yourself in a church that is making up its own “light”, get out of there while you can.

Jesus' messengers proclaim His light

Taking the third sign, “stars”, in second place, we find a symbol that at first, unlike the lampstands don't seem to belong to the Old Testament scene: “In his right hand he held seven stars,” (Rev. 1:16 ESV). However, in Daniel 12:3, “those who turn many to righteousness [are] like stars [that shine] forever and ever.” And when we look into Jewish history from John's lifetime, there is evidence the idea of “stars” was connected with early Jewish synagogues—I’ll come back to that. First, in verse 20, Jesus gives the true meaning of the symbol of "the seven stars": “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,” (Rev. 1:20 ESV). Therefore if you were writing out a legend to identify the symbols in Revelation, you would now have two definitions in your list: lampstands = churches; stars = angels. But the word "angel" today has lost some of its older meaning. When we hear of "angels" we probably think of supernatural beings with wings or something like that. But in the New Testament, although sometimes it means an angelic, heavenly being, the basic meaning was just "messenger". So John the Baptist is called an "angel" in the Greek text of Mark 1:2, where English translations use the word "messenger". The very name of the prophet "Malachi" in the Old Testament Hebrew means, "my messenger" and the Greek translations use the word "angel" (c.f. Mal 3:1). In the first century, there is a tradition that the seven-branched lampstand, or menorah, was symbolic of righteous leaders who are like "stars".[iv] We also find a tradition that teaching elders in synagogues were described as "angels".[v] At the time, a star did not just mean other "suns" in other solar systems, but also any object beyond earth that reflected the sun’s light.[vi] In Jude 13, false teachers are compared to "wandering stars", or meteors and such.

So this helps us understand why the sign of seven stars is appropriate for teachers and preachers of God's Word, who are merely "angels"--merely messengers passing on what has been given to them for the sake of the churches of Christ.[vii] That's why each of the letters to the seven churches in Revelation 2-3 begin with the words, "to the angel of the church in Ephesus/ Smyrna/ Pergamum/ Thyatira/ Sardis/ Philadelphia/ Lacodicea". The letter was sent to the teaching elder or pastor of each church so that they would be the "messenger" who reads it aloud and teaches it to the congregation. But no pastor or teacher no matter how admirable, or how big a following he has, has any light of his own. Jesus holds these ministers of His Word in His right hand, in this sign, underlining the same reality He taught in John 15, that He is the vine, the source of life, and we--all believers--are the branches who depend on Him: the same goes for "messengers" or "ministers. If we "abide" in Jesus, and He in us, then we can "bear much fruit", but apart from Him we "can do nothing". (John 15:5)

Jesus is not a light, but the Light

The focus of this scene, however, is not any reflected light, but the source of the Light.

13 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.  14 The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire,  15 his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters.  16 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.  (Rev. 1:13-16 ESV)

Remember this is a sign, a symbol. The symbol is “one like a son of man”—this is not what Jesus looks like, but a sign that teaches us what Jesus is like. And there is no doubt this is a sign of Christ Himself: verse 18 says, “I died and behold I am alive forevermore”. But as it is becoming more and more obvious that the book of Revelation is meant to be read almost like a continuation to the book of Daniel, “the sign of the Son of Man” was already well-known. In Daniel 7:13-14, Daniel saw a vision in which “one like a son of man” rose up through the clouds to Heaven, was presented in victory before God the Father, and was given all power and authority to rule forever. So Jesus is called “the Son of Man” 81 times in the four Gospels. And in Daniel 10, the beginning of Daniel’s final vision, Daniel sees Him again [read Dan 10:5-6, 9]. There can be no doubt that John’s vision and Daniel’s vision are revealing the same glory of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, or, as in Rev 1:8: “‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.’," (Rev. 1:8 ESV). The main difference is that here He is shown in the fullness of His divine glory, “being in very nature God”: so his white hair and beard belong to the Ancient of Days in Dan 7:9, symbolizing the eternal timelessness of God the Father. God the Son is likewise eternal, as verse 8 says, “who is and who was and who is to come”. His fiery eyes (v14b), reveal His penetrating, all-knowing sight by which He judges the righteous and the wicked; His feet of burnished, refined bronze (v15), reveal His holy purity; the roar of His voice like the crashing waves of all the oceans on Earth (v15b), reveal the authority of His Word over the nations; in His right hand (v16a), he upholds and protects the “messengers” of His Word; the sword from His mouth (v16b), reveals He will judge and destroy His enemies, including false-teachers, with justice (as we will see in 2:16). And His face—just look at the end of verse 16—shining like the full strength of the sun, reveals the unfiltered glory of His deity, His shekinah Glory! The same glory of God that flashed on Mount Sinai, that filled the Tabernacle, that overwhelmed Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel, so that they fell to their faces as though dead, “such was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD” (Eze 1:28), that when in his turn, John saw the sign of the Son of Man, he writes,

17 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,  18 and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.  (Rev. 1:17-18 ESV)

In the midst of such holy glory, we find mercy and grace. The Son of Man is presented in the robe and sash of a High Priest, just like in Daniel 10. This is again from the scene of the Old Testament Tabernacle and Temple, filled with New Testament meaning. He stands among the seven lampstands, His churches throughout the world, and He Himself tends the lamps He places on their lampstands. We have no light in ourselves, but Jesus is the Light. He did not leave John to die right there where he fell. In these weak and sin-soaked bodies, we cannot even hope to stand in His presence and live. Like Moses, if we saw His glory we would die, so that He must shelter us in the cleft of the Rock, show Himself to us only by faith and not yet by sight; give us a sign to reveal Himself, to make us ready, to help us stand. When John fell before the Son of Man, He stretched out His divine right hand and raised John up. The same right hand that holds the seven stars, touched John and strengthened the old Messenger to write down the Revelation of Jesus Christ: “Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this,” (Rev. 1:19 ESV).

Oh my friends, don’t believe in an abstract Saviour. Trust who He is. Depend on His death for your sins and on His resurrection for your everlasting joy. Rely on the light and strength He gives by His gentle touch. In your weakness, fall down at His feet and count on Him to help you stand again. Through a lifetime of tribulation for the sake of Christ, in patient endurance, until the coming Kingdom, Jesus is enough. He has never abandoned His churches; He stands among them. But will we neglect Him?  “And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age,” (Matt. 28:20 ESV).