There is an interesting story about a messenger who brought a princess a token of love from her fiancé.The princess took the strange looking object, examined it briefly, and threw it to the floor!
“An iron egg!”, she screamed.“What good is an iron egg?”Retrieving it, the messenger begged her not to be so hasty in rejecting the gift.
Suddenly she accidentally touched a spring and the iron casing opened and fell to the floor, leaving a smaller egg of brass revealed.
It too had a spring button and when it opened, there was an inner egg of sterling silver.Opening this, a gold egg glowed in the light.And finally, gasping with delight, she gazed upon the beauty of a large diamond hidden within the gold.
The Bible and the prophetic book of Revelation especially is like that - many people hardly glancing at it, cast it aside as irrelevant.Merely an old book that’s hard to understand in today’s modern secular society.
But if we open it carefully, we’ll discover many precious promises and truths.
Within these is God’s law, reflecting His righteous character.Within the law we find it’s true essence, love to God and love to man.
Inside this golden case is the greatest treasure of all - God’s love expressed in a person - Jesus Christ.
The book of Revelation deals with the graphic and tremendous prophecies pertaining to the most awesome and challenging situations to ever confront mankind.
Using beasts and dragons to reveal the tremendous issues of the universal struggle for the soul’s of men it shows us what’s behind the curtain of history and world affairs.
But the real focus is Jesus.He is it’s Hero.The redeeming Lamb is shown to be a conquering Lord who is longing to reveal Himself to His church.
With rare insight a little child once called the Bible her “Jesus Book”.No more elaborate description could be more accurate.
From beginning to end it revolves around Him.He is it’s here - the grand theme from cover to cover.
No where is this more evident than the book of Revelation. Rev. 1:1
This book is a revelation of Jesus Christ.As no other book of the Bible it reveals Jesus and His divine program of redemption.
It is an unveiling of the character and program of God centering around visions and symbols of the resurrected Christ, who alone has authority to judge the earth and rule it in righteousness.
Before we discover more about what the dragon and antichrist are up to we need to understand more about Jesus as we focus upon Him.
Now I want you to picture the setting here for a moment. On a bleak and rocky island of Patmos, John was wrapped in somber contemplation.65 years had passed since the day Jesus ascended to heaven and the angel had promised He would return.Jesus too had promised to return someday.
But one by one John’s friends had fallen in death, many by persecution.His parents were both dead and James his brother had been beheaded for Christ’s sake.All the original 12 disciples were gone except him. Peter had been crucified, Paul had lost his head just like James.
How sad that Jesus hadn’t come back to redeem His church from it’s persecution. Would He ever return, would there be a resurrection someday?
These were no doubt the questions of John’s burdened heart as He was given his first vision recorded in Revelation.
Let’s Read - Rev. 1:9-11
Notice - what he saw in vision he was told to write in a book and send to the seven churches.These seven churches were actually churches that were existing at that time however, they are symbolic of God’s church throughout the entire Christian era to the close of time.
Seven is God’s number representing His completeness and perfection.
Revelation consists of a series of sevens - churches, seals, trumpets and bowls, which take us through history to the final victory of Jesus.
Let’s look at a few graphic descriptions given to us about the one who will be victorious.
Started no doubt - His old heart pounding - John turns to see who is talking to him. -Verse 12
To his amazement, the volcanic terrain of the island seemed aglow with seven lampstands burning brightly.
Verses 13-15 say -
Here is very same description Daniel gives in Dan. 10:5-7. Just like Daniel, John fell to the ground like a dead man.
John draws on the O.T. approx. 375 times in his 404 verses comprising the 22 chapters including 53 borrowings from John’s twin apocalyptic book - Daniel.
This means that the most important O.T. source is Daniel.The prophecies of each must be studied together.Daniel is the interpretive key to the vision of John.To miss this is to fail to understand Revelation entirely.
Now notice the term “Son of Man” - it is an expression used of Jesus more than 80 times in the N.T. and it often carries the association of Judgment.
Perhaps the most vivid are Daniel’s judgment scene in Dan. 7:9-19
Now the Judgment notion in the words of Daniel and throughout Revelation is always concurrent with the Biblical usage.
The judges of the O.T. were the deliverers of God’s people.
Individuals like Samson and Gideon - two giants of the book of Judges, were commissioned by God “to judge” by delivering His people and putting down the oppressors.
What encouragement to John on Patmos and to us when we think of the Judge and judgment from this perspective.He judges for each believer and against each rejecter.
We have every reason to feel absolutely secure about God’s judgment as long as we are part of His family by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
We find this theme emphasized more and more as we progress through the Apocalypse.
Another central focus of the book is also clearly spelled out in the opening verses of Rev. Rev. 1:5
“To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins.”This would have no doubt brought back vividly to John’s mind those wonderful texts he penned in his gospel.
John 3:16 – And then John 1:29 - John could not have presented a more arresting symbol for Jewish and other Bible readers.For more than 1000 years the Lamb had been the central focus of their worship services.The offering of a perfect male Lamb on the altar of burnt offering twice a day.
This was done so punctually, and predictable that there was never a time when a lamb was not burning on the altar day or night. It brought the Jews a verbal shorthand.They called this sacrifice the daily.
The full import of John the Baptist’s cry “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” can be understood only in the context of Jewish sacrificial practice.
Not only is it the most prominent focus of the O.T. it is one of the major focuses of Revelation - Mentioned 28 times, it is first introduced in Chap. 5 as we will see in a moment.
But it is introduced with increasing frequency in later chapters where the Lamb is a major focus of the great events and issues.
So I want to emphasize, Jesus loves us before any action or change by us.Christ loves us just as we are. And because He loves us He has already freed us from our sins.
The verb is in the past perfect tense; our freedom from sin is already an accomplished fact.Sin’s grip was broken not by us, but in Him.He has freed us.
How did He free us?By His blood!It was by His death that Christ freed all men.
Jesus the Lamb is the consistent symbol throughout the book, which we must keep our eyes focused as the only source of Redemption.Now, as I said, the first usage of the term is found in Rev. 5:6
Again before I say anything else let me remind you.In the symbol of the Lamb we find that the cross is at the heart of the Apocalypse.Here the Lamb is introduced as “looking as if it had been slain”.
The imagery of the daily sacrifice is the symbolic portrayal of the cross.
And to emphasize that God’s response to the sin problem was not an after thought, John later tells us these important words of Rev. 13:8.Rev. 13:8
Inspiration assures us that He was “The Lamb slain from the creation of the world”.
Here we are faced with the gripping reality that the one who saves us made a decision to die for us even before sin would tear open His heart.
Yes, the Creator of the world would go to redeem it from sin’s curse by His own death on a cruel Roman cross 2000 years ago.
It’s no wonder that throughout the centuries since so many others would be willing to die for the one who had set them free from sin.
Let’s go back about nineteen hundred years to a Roman arena.
Ten thousand people are on their feet cheering as Christians are thrown to the lions.The church was not welcome in the Roman world.
Stories of Christian’s burned at the stake or thrown to the lions are familiar to us today.
Those who chose to die rather than renounce their love and faith in Christ. They believed that if they were loyal to Him, eternal life awaited them.Such was the faith of the martyrs.
But why did they place such death defying confidence in this particular man?Those early Christians saw in Christ the perfect fulfillment of the Messianic prophecies.
They recognized Him as the One to whom all O.T prophecies pointed. And on the basis of fulfilled prophecy, accepted Him as the Son of God.Throughout the New Test., the appeal of the early Christians was based on the same foundation as was Philip’s faith.
John 1:45 Philip’s appeal to Nathaniel was essentially this:
Jesus is the Messiah of prophecy.He is the One to whom the O.T. Scriptures point.
Speaking of Apollo, the mighty preacher of Ephesus,
Acts 18:28 says Jesus Himself proved His claim to divinity on the basis of His fulfillment of O.T. prophecy.
After His resurrection He met two discouraged disciples walking on the road to Emmaus.
At this point they did not believe He had risen from the dead.To convince them would have been the simplest matter.Jesus could have drawn their attention to His wounds - the nail holes in His hands and feet.To the spear wound in His side.
But instead of doing that, He actually did the opposite.
The Bible says something interesting:Luke 24:15,16He hid His identity at first until He had a chance to get them to see it in the scriptures for themselves.
Thinking Jesus was a stranger they confided in Him about how the events of that tragic weekend had destroyed their dreams.
Then the Bible says - Luke 24:25-27 - Obviously Jesus wanted to establish their faith, not only on something they had seen, but primarily upon the testimony of the word of God.
So instead of showing them the physical evidence in His hands and feet He reviewed the O.T. Biblical forecasts of the Coming of the Messiah.
He showed them what the prophets had foretold concerning His birth, His life, His ministry and resurrection.So their faith was not based upon the evidence of their senses but upon the certainty of God’s word.
Then they went out to proclaim the Christ of Bible prophecy.And this is what turned the world upside down.
Today we must realize that Revelation is Christ centered.When we realize and teach this, people will come to understand it’s true message and application.
Without this Christilogical focus we arrive at a false understanding of Revelation’s most important truths.
Briefly now let’s review a few of the prophecies that led the early Christians to an all-conquering death-defying faith.
It can do the same for us.If it changed their lives, it can change ours.
There are 37 remarkably precise prophecies of the birth, life, death, burial resurrection, and ascension of Christ in the O.T.Let’s examine just a few.
Micah 5:2 This prophecy was written 700 years before the birth of Jesus. Out of the thousands of places in the world where he could have been born, the prophet pointed out the exact place - the little town of Bethlehem.
Most of you remember that Mary and Joseph lived in Nazareth, 92 miles from Bethlehem.Only a brief trip by car today, it must have been at least four days journey in the time of Jesus.
Up until a week before His birth, Nazareth would have been His likely birthplace.But a decree of Caesar took the family to Bethlehem, where Christ was born the very night of their arrival.
Christ is the child of prophecy, born exactly where Micah predicted seven centuries earlier.
Isa. 7:14
Here we read a virgin shall conceive and bear a Son and shall call His name Immanuel.
Some liberal theologians attempt to reason away the virgin birth.
But this is a basic and important Bible truth.There is a lot of confusion among theologians and other so-called scholars about Jesus today. -
Confusion about His virgin birth leads to confusion about His identity - His divinity and His mission to save us from sin.
If Jesus had not been born of a virgin, I could not believe in Him.He would not be the man spoken of by the prophets.If He’s not our God-Creator, not be our Saviour.Devil wants to take away this from Jesus.
When Joseph found out Mary was pregnant he intended to have their engagement annulled quietly.
But at exactly the right moment, God sent an Angel to Joseph to assure him that Christ had no earthly father, but indeed was begotten of the Holy Spirit.
Matt. 1:19-23 Verse 23 says - Immanuel - God with us.”
This was no ordinary person who was coming into the world.It was God in the flesh.”
The apostle Paul put it this way in I Tim. 3:16
We cannot contest it.It is an indisputable fact, it is without controversy - the Bible says - “God was manifest in the flesh.”
Paul says it again in Cols. 2:9
He warns us here concerning this central issue and the other important themes relating to the divinity and Lordship of Christ in verse 8.
Man’s philosophies are empty works.Usually a bunch of excuses for obeying a “thus saith the Lord.”
Jesus Himself makes perfectly clear who He was in the flesh.
John 14:9On another occasion He spoke in unmistakable clarity so that no one would misunderstand.
John 10:30 The Jews sought to stone Him because they understood the meaning of these words.
And so the great Creator God would come to the world in the person of His Son to redeem it.
Born into the blood stream of humanity Jesus would live a life of perfect obedience so that He could die a perfect substitute for us on Calvary.
I like the way the inspired writer puts it in - Hebs. 2:14-16So Jesus did not come here as God - but as a man - nevertheless He was God in the flesh.
Listen to me though - He met temptation as a man - just like you and me the Bible says.
Yet He never sinned. - So in this way he was not like other men.But otherwise He was fully human, just like us.
Jesus was tempted.He could have sinned. There would have been not temptation for Him had there not been the possibility of Him sinning.
Thank God He didn’t sin.Now we can go free.
I don’t think Satan made it easy for Him.The wilderness temptation was just one view of what it was like all His life.
Satan offered Him the whole world.How many have sold out for this today.
And you know what - it occurred to me how that a large segment of people use Christianity for this purpose - to gain the materialism of the world in the name of the gospel.
Prosperity gospel - seed faith theology is based on this basic idea.Listen - one thing Jesus never promised was riches and material gain.
In fact, it was just the opposite.The message of Jesus was one of self denial.He asks us to have a willingness to forsake all for the claims of Bible truth.
We are to follow the example of our saving Lord who risked it all to save us.Take up our cross as He asks -SLIDE of cross
Listen to the gripping words of Paul - Phil 2:5-8
Notice “in the form of God - made in the likeness of men He laid aside His divinity to come as a man to save us.
My friend, the Bible reveals the astonishing fact that the one who carried that old rugged cross for you and me was our Creator as well as our Redeemer.Cols. 1:13-17 “All things created by Him” -“He is before all things.”
Even though Jesus came to earth as a man - He is not a created being - He is part of the deity of God.
The account of Creation sheds light here. Gen. 1:26
“Let us” - here we see someone else associated with the Father at creation of the world.
Who - again the Bible gives the answer.Ephs. 3:9 Created all things by Jesus Christ.
This wonderful truth is expressed all through this great book.
We must know and believe it, my friend, in order to experience His saving power in our lives.
John 17:3
We must know Jesus the one equal to the God of the Universe - as a personal friend and Savior.
We must know Him as Savior and Lord.
Story of Mark Twain -After Mark Twain, the American writer, had made his celebrated trip through Europe in the 1890’s, his young daughter said to him innocently, “Daddy, I guess pretty soon you will know everyone except God.”
In many ways this is potentially if not precisely our problem as contemporary Christians.
We are caught in the middle of a knowledge explosion that has brought within our grasp unbelievable progress in science, technology, medicine, manufacturing, education and travel.
And so too often we have become distracted - even secularized by modern attractions and instant conveniences of the world.
While we welcome that which seems to make life easier and happier, we must also keep unseen realities in focus lest come to know everything except God and His Son, Jesus and His truth as revealed in this book.
Today people are “searching for the sacred they tell us.But many are confused by the many spiritual avenues offered.
The Bible and the prophetic Books of Daniel and Rev. are given to keep our eyes on the Conquering Lamb of God who only can take away the sins of the world as well as our own.
We must know Him and the Father as Jesus revealed Him to us.
Now no study on this subject would be complete without looking at John 1:1-4,14
“Word with God” - “Was God” - “All things made by Him.” “Word was made flesh.”
“Word” (Logos - Greek) - the thought, the expression of God came to reveal the Father - because He was one with Him.
Illustration - (Snow, sleet, rain)Oneness doctrine - John 17:1,5
Now I can’t explain this - silence golden.Have to be God to explain Him fully.
Can only give clear revelation’s of scripture.This should suffice.
Why would He leave heaven and become flesh?Only one reason
John 3:16 Luke 19:10
Yes, the only reason was His great love and desire to save us as Rev. 1:5 says - He “Love us and washed us from our sins” -
The greatest and most sublime fact is that Jesus Christ left heaven, tabernacled in human flesh, lived a perfect life and was nailed to a cross in an act of supreme love.
Dr. S.D. Gordon tells the story of an old Christian woman whose age began to tell on her memory.She had once know much of the Bible by heart.Eventually, only one precious bit stayed with her.
“I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.”
By and by, part of that slipped its hold, and she would quietly repeat, “that which I’ve committed unto Him.”
At last, as she hovered on the borderline between this and the eternal world, her loved ones noticed her lips moving.
They bent down to see if she needed anything.She was repeating over and over again to herself the one word of the text that she remembered - “Him, Him, Him.”
She had lost her whole Bible, but one word captured her attention.One word inspired her with hope, and in that one word she understood the most significant truth of the Bible - that Christ is all in all.John 1:4 says - “In Him was life.”
Until we have discovered Jesus in the Bible we have hardly begun to understand it.Much less to feel the current of its power surging into our lives.
In Sydney, Australia, a self-employed repairman developed a unique advertising sign to attract customers.It said simply, “Everything mended here” Then followed by the subheading, “Except broken hearts.”
But this craftsman’s exception is our Lord’s specialty.He can fix any mess we have made out of our lives.He’s a heart specialist without equal.
The one who healed the sick and raised the dead can transform our lives. The Bible says in 2 Cor. 5:17 these tremendous words.
2 Cor. 5:17
In Christ you are a new creation”.This living Christ, the divine Son of God can change your life.
He dwelt in human flesh 2000 years ago as a living demonstration of what happens when divinity is combined with humanity.
He desires to dwell in you now by His Spirit.He wants to reshape and remold the direction of your life from the inside out by His saving power.
Yes, my friend, only Jesus Christ the Divine Son of God has the power to change men and women.
Perhaps, you come to this series longing for something you do not have.
Tonight, I tell you it is Jesus you seek - only He can meet the needs of your heart.He is the Christ of Prophecy - He is your Redeemer - He longs to be your friend tonight.Perhaps, you long to turn around and make a new start.Jesus through the Spirit can change you as He changed me.
Tell my story briefly. I remember when I first began studying this sacred book and experiencing it’s life changing power.
I was stirred by the awesome reality that Jesus was coming again soon.I am more convinced from my understanding of Bible prophecy than ever before.
You are going to see just how close before we are finished.
One of the three major themes given in the introduction to Revelation is the focus upon the return of Christ.
It was the longing of John’s burdened heart.It is the longing of Jesus’.The three major themes go together.
1 - He loved us - Rev. 1:5 says 2 - Salvation by the Blood of the Lamb - who has washed us from sin through His blood.
3 - His return for a redeemed people - those who He loves and saved through His blood.
This is mentioned at the beginning and end of the book showing us the continuity of the whole glorious theme of God’s redeeming love and power.Rev. 22:7
Revelation begins and ends with this solemn reality.Cannot separate the beginning prophecies from remainder by 2000 years as some do.
Man has put gaps where inspiration never intended.He is coming quickly - soon very soon we shall see this final redemptive act of salvation history.
Are you ready for it dear friend? Roms. 13:11,12,14
Must put on the Lord Jesus Christ.
As we have seen the Bible and its great prophetic books places the spotlight on our wonderful Jesus. This is where our focus must be in these desperate times in which we are living.
This book is about Jesus and His saving message of truth - May our lives be centered on the same.
Then soon He will lead us to our eternal home in the New Jerusalem.