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The Vision of the Glorified Son, Part 1 (Revelation 19–17a) John MacArthur · THE BELIEVER'S CHURCH | Let’s Build Our Faith Together

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  Speaker 1: We return now to the study of God's Word and
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  Speaker 1: the great book of Revelation. We are in chapter 1,
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  Speaker 1: and our text for tonight begins in verse 9. Revelation
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  Speaker 1: chapter 1, beginning at verse 9. We're going to be
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  Speaker 1: looking at the vision of the glorified Son. This is
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  Speaker 1: the first great vision of the Lord Jesus Christ revealed
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  Speaker 1: to John in this wonderful book. Now I remind you
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  Speaker 1: that the theme of Revelation is Christ in His glory,
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  Speaker 1: as contrasted, say, with the gospels, which are Christ in
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  Speaker 1: His humiliation. The theme of this book is the majestic
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  Speaker 1: revelation of the exalted, glorified Son of God as we
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  Speaker 1: look at Him after His ascension in heaven and in
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  Speaker 1: His second coming majesty. This particular description that runs from
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  Speaker 1: verse 9 down through the first part of verse 17
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  Speaker 1: is equal in grandeur only by one other description of
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  Speaker 1: Christ in the book of Revelation, and that is found
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  Speaker 1: in chapter 19, verses 11 to 16. That's very near
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  Speaker 1: the end of the book. This, of course, is very
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  Speaker 1: near the beginning. And these two glorious revelations of Jesus
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  Speaker 1: Christ Set the pace. They are the brackets in which
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  Speaker 1: all the other revelations occur. This vision of Jesus Christ,
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  Speaker 1: along with all the rest of them in Revelation, must
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  Speaker 1: have been a monumental encouragement to the persecuted, distressed, discouraged,
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  Speaker 1: beleaguered believers in Asia Minor who first received this great book.
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  Speaker 1: They were undergoing persecution, extremely difficult persecution, persecution which under
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  Speaker 1: Domitian had resulted in John himself, the author, being exiled
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  Speaker 1: and banished to the isle of Patmos. And in this
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  Speaker 1: very difficult time when it looked as if things were
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  Speaker 1: bleak for the church, it was a wonderful thing to
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  Speaker 1: receive a book which predicted the glory of Jesus Christ
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  Speaker 1: in the future. Not only that, which defined and described
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  Speaker 1: the present glory of Jesus Christ as we see it
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  Speaker 1: here in chapter 1. This vision of Jesus Christ is
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  Speaker 1: not a future vision, it is a present vision. It
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  Speaker 1: is not one that says this is what Jesus Christ
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  Speaker 1: will be like and what He will do in the future.
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  Speaker 1: It is one which says this is what He is
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  Speaker 1: like now and this is what He is doing now.
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  Speaker 1: And it is specifically a vision of the glorified Lord
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  Speaker 1: of the church. It depicts Jesus Christ in majestic glory
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  Speaker 1: in the present ministry to His church, which was going
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  Speaker 1: on even then and is going on even now and
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  Speaker 1: shall be until He comes again. My prayer for you
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  Speaker 1: as you look at this vision with me is that
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  Speaker 1: it will open your eyes to see the glory of
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  Speaker 1: your Lord, the Lord of the church. Now the passage
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  Speaker 1: opens in the first couple of verses with a setting
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  Speaker 1: of circumstances in which this vision came. Look at them
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  Speaker 1: with me, verses 9 through 11. I, John, your brother
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  Speaker 1: and fellow partaker in the tribulation... and kingdom, and perseverance,
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  Speaker 1: which are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos,
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  Speaker 1: because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.
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  Speaker 1: I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and
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  Speaker 1: I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound
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  Speaker 1: of a trumpet, saying, Write in a book what you see,
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  Speaker 1: and send it to the seven churches. to Ephesus, and
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  Speaker 1: to Smyrna, and to Pergamum, and to Thyatira, and to Sardis,
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  Speaker 1: and to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea. Now in that opening,
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  Speaker 1: John introduces himself as the writer and says some things
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  Speaker 1: about himself. And then he introduces the situation in which
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  Speaker 1: the first vision came, including a declaration from heaven itself
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  Speaker 1: to write down everything that he saw and heard. So
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  Speaker 1: you have here a statement about the author, a statement
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  Speaker 1: about his circumstances, and a statement from God regarding his
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  Speaker 1: commission to write. Before we can look at the vision itself,
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  Speaker 1: we must give some attention to these very important three verses.
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  Speaker 1: Beginning in verse 9, John wants to identify for us
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  Speaker 1: himself as the writer. He says,' I, John.' Leaving the
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  Speaker 1: preliminaries of verses 1 through 8, he speaks almost here
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  Speaker 1: with amazement. He has mentioned himself a couple of times,
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  Speaker 1: verse 1 and verse 4, as John, and now he
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  Speaker 1: adds the demonstrative personal pronoun, I, as if to say
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  Speaker 1: almost unbelievably, I, John, had this experience and was commissioned
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  Speaker 1: to write this book. It's almost as if he is
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  Speaker 1: so utterly unworthy that it shocks him that he would
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  Speaker 1: have such an inestimable privilege. He doesn't relate himself to
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  Speaker 1: the readers in a position of authority, though he could
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  Speaker 1: as an apostle. as that very unique apostle in the
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  Speaker 1: inner circle with Peter and James, as one who reclined,
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  Speaker 1: as it were, on the very heart of Jesus at
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  Speaker 1: the Last Supper, as one who was ennobled with eminent gifts,
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  Speaker 1: one who was given the privilege of writing a gospel,
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  Speaker 1: the gospel that is intended to exalt the deity of
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  Speaker 1: Jesus Christ, one who was given the privilege of writing
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  Speaker 1: three great and glorious epistles. He doesn't exalt himself in
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  Speaker 1: any of those ways, but rather speaks of himself in
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  Speaker 1: very common and familiar terms, I, John, your brother and
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  Speaker 1: fellow partaker. He reduces himself from any thought of elevation
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  Speaker 1: that his apostolic office or experience might have rendered him
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  Speaker 1: and he brings himself down as simply a brother and
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  Speaker 1: a fellow partaker. He wants no official status. In fact,
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  Speaker 1: he doesn't really speak as an apostle here. He simply
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  Speaker 1: writes as an eyewitness. He is one among many believers.
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  Speaker 1: He is not writing authoritatively. He is not writing as
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  Speaker 1: an apostle. He is not writing even as an elder
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  Speaker 1: which he calls himself in one of his epistles. He
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  Speaker 1: is really only a witness to these amazing visions and
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  Speaker 1: revelations and he writes as nothing more than a fellow
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  Speaker 1: believer a fellow partaker of the life of God, not commanding,
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  Speaker 1: not exhorting, not articulating argued doctrine, but simply bearing witness
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  Speaker 1: to what it is that he sees. He is a
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  Speaker 1: Christian brother. He is a Christian companion, sun koinonas, a
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  Speaker 1: fellow partaker or a partaker with you, just one of
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  Speaker 1: the believers. And so we find John humble here, A
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  Speaker 1: humble witness to the incredible revelation of Jesus Christ that
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  Speaker 1: begins to unfold with this first vision. Specifically, he goes
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  Speaker 1: even beyond that. Notice what he says in verse 9,
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  Speaker 1: that I am your brother and fellow partaker in three ways,
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  Speaker 1: in tribulation, in the kingdom, and in perseverance. Now he
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  Speaker 1: knows that these are three characteristics of the believers. In
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  Speaker 1: the first place, they are in tribulation. Not the tribulation
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  Speaker 1: in terms of some defined period of time in the future,
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  Speaker 1: but they are undergoing persecution. And he is as well.
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  Speaker 1: He says, I'm just one of you, a brother and
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  Speaker 1: a fellow partaker of persecution. He being exiled to this
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  Speaker 1: island could completely identify with the suffering church that was
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  Speaker 1: even being killed for the cause of Christ in some places. Secondly,
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  Speaker 1: he says, I also identify with you as to the kingdom.
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  Speaker 1: What do we mean by the kingdom? Not some future
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  Speaker 1: kingdom again. We're talking in the present tense here. I
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  Speaker 1: identify you as a fellow member of the kingdom over
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  Speaker 1: which Jesus Christ rules. Not yet His earthly visible kingdom,
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  Speaker 1: but the spiritual invisible kingdom. The very same kingdom He
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  Speaker 1: referred to back in verse 6 when He said that
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  Speaker 1: Jesus Christ made us into a kingdom. In other words,
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  Speaker 1: I am, along with you, a subject of Jesus Christ.
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  Speaker 1: I am a member of the redeemed community over which
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  Speaker 1: He is Lord and over which He is King. I
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  Speaker 1: have a common kinship with you in that I share
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  Speaker 1: with you the reign of Jesus Christ in my life,
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  Speaker 1: and I wait for the glory of His millennial reign
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  Speaker 1: to come, of which He will write later. Thirdly, he says,
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  Speaker 1: I can identify with you in the matter of perseverance,
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  Speaker 1: that very familiar Greek word, hupomone, which means to remain under,
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  Speaker 1: and it speaks of endurance and perseverance in difficult times.
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  Speaker 1: So John simply says to them, I am amazed. I
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  Speaker 1: am astounded. I am shocked that I, as just a
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  Speaker 1: common brother and fellow partaker who knows what it is
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  Speaker 1: to be persecuted and to suffer, who knows what it
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  Speaker 1: is to be a part of the kingdom, who knows
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  Speaker 1: what it is to have to endure, just like you
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  Speaker 1: have been given the privilege of seeing and hearing and
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  Speaker 1: writing such great truth. And so does John in a
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  Speaker 1: humble and sweet way bring himself down to share with
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  Speaker 1: the persecuted Christians in joyful endurance the joy of waiting
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  Speaker 1: for the blessed coronation and reign of Jesus Christ. Would
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  Speaker 1: you notice also that in verse 9, He says that
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  Speaker 1: His particular circumstances, those which have come upon Him, are
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  Speaker 1: in Jesus. That little phrase is so wonderful. He simply
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  Speaker 1: makes the point that that these experiences are distinctly Christian.
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  Speaker 1: They belong only to Christians. For only Christians understand the
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  Speaker 1: tribulation of persecution in the name of Christ. Only Christians
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  Speaker 1: enjoy the presence of the kingdom. And only Christians have
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  Speaker 1: the supernatural power to endure awaiting the great coronation in
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  Speaker 1: the future. Well, so much for John. Look secondly at
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  Speaker 1: his circumstances. He says, I was on the island called
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  Speaker 1: Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony
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  Speaker 1: of Jesus. You will remember that he said that same
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  Speaker 1: thing in verse 2, the Word of God and the
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  Speaker 1: testimony of Jesus Christ. And I told you at that
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  Speaker 1: time that that's two ways of saying the same thing,
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  Speaker 1: for the sake of divine revelation, for the sake of
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  Speaker 1: the truth from God. It came as the Word of God.
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  Speaker 1: It came as the testimony of Jesus. Both phrases refer
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  Speaker 1: to the same thing. He says, I am exiled to
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  Speaker 1: this island because I preached what I received from God
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  Speaker 1: and what I received from Jesus Christ. Some would say
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  Speaker 1: the Word of God could be a reference to the
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  Speaker 1: Old Testament. The testimony of Jesus could be a reference
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  Speaker 1: to the New Testament. And so he is saying, I
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  Speaker 1: am here because I proclaimed the whole revelation of God.
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  Speaker 1: Because I preached the truth. Because I spoke the Word
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  Speaker 1: without equivocation, without hesitation. Because of that, I am on
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  Speaker 1: the island called Patmos. Patmos is a barren place, a
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  Speaker 1: rocky little island, belongs to a group of about 50
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  Speaker 1: islands in the Mediterranean. It's shaped like a crescent, and
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  Speaker 1: the crescent part, the open harbor part, faces to the east.
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  Speaker 1: It is about 10 miles long and at its widest
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  Speaker 1: point between 5 and 6 miles, and it's just a barren,
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  Speaker 1: rocky place. It was about 40 miles west of Miletus,
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  Speaker 1: which was the nearest harbor to the city of Ephesus
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  Speaker 1: and where the Apostle Paul, you remember, met with the
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  Speaker 1: elders of the church from Ephesus. It is in the
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  Speaker 1: Aegean Sea off the coast of Asia Minor, a really
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  Speaker 1: nondescript little place. And banishment to such remote islands was
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  Speaker 1: a common form of Roman punishment. And if the crime
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  Speaker 1: was political, the person banished to the island could have
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  Speaker 1: a certain amount of freedom to do whatever he wanted
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  Speaker 1: and move about. But if the banishment was criminal, then
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  Speaker 1: he was a part of what we would call a
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  Speaker 1: chain gang. So here was John having committed what would
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  Speaker 1: have been defined by the Roman government as a criminal offense,
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  Speaker 1: probably about 90 years of age. and serving as it
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  Speaker 1: were on a chain gang, probably breaking rocks or something
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  Speaker 1: on the island of Patmos, a part of a penal colony.
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  Speaker 1: Early Christian tradition says he was banished there under the
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  Speaker 1: leadership of Domitian when Domitian was reigning in the Roman Empire.
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  Speaker 1: Anyone who was banished lost all their civil rights and
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  Speaker 1: lost all their property. I'm not sure he had any
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  Speaker 1: property and would have needed any civil rights, but if
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  Speaker 1: he did have them, he lost them. And there he
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  Speaker 1: was in the mines and the quarries, a 90-year-old, at least, working.
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  Speaker 1: Since he had been the leader of the hated Christians
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  Speaker 1: and probably the last of the apostles that was still around,
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  Speaker 1: by this time, he is writing in about 96 A.D.,
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  Speaker 1: banishment must have been for him hard labor. Sir William Ramsey,
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  Speaker 1: the great historian, says, John's banishment would be, quote, preceded
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  Speaker 1: by scourging... marked by perpetual fetters or chains, scanty clothing,
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  Speaker 1: insufficient food, sleep on bare ground, a dark prison cave,
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  Speaker 1: work under the lash of a military overseer, end quote.
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  Speaker 1: Patmos has become famous. To this day, if you go
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  Speaker 1: to that part of the world, you can visit that
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  Speaker 1: little island and somebody will take you to a little
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  Speaker 1: cave overlooking the Aegean Sea and tell you the story
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  Speaker 1: that that's the cave in which the apostle John was
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  Speaker 1: given the visions of the book of Revelation. An island
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  Speaker 1: for criminals, but John makes it clear that his only
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  Speaker 1: crime was unshakable loyalty to the Word of God and
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  Speaker 1: the testimony of Jesus. And so the wrath of the
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  Speaker 1: wicked brought that saint nearer God as it always does.
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  Speaker 1: And the Patmos of persecuting Rome is suddenly the door
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  Speaker 1: to the most sublime and most majestic and most glorious
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  Speaker 1: communion any man has ever had with heaven. Doomed to
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  Speaker 1: a rock of exile, the apostle soared on the wings
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  Speaker 1: of prophetic revelation to the very throne of God. Shut
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  Speaker 1: out from the world, he traversed the heavenlies. And in
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  Speaker 1: these bleak circumstances, John was given the most extensive revelation
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  Speaker 1: of future things ever given. I can't resist saying, isn't
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  Speaker 1: this often God's way? That we gain the greatest knowledge
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  Speaker 1: of God through the deepest suffering. And so we hear
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  Speaker 1: about John himself and about the circumstances. A further word
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  Speaker 1: comes in verse 10. as we hear about the commissioning.
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  Speaker 1: I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day and
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  Speaker 1: I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound
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  Speaker 1: of a trumpet. Now this is an interesting note here.
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  Speaker 1: He says, I was in the Spirit. What is He
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  Speaker 1: saying here? Well, simply this. He was somehow transcended from
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  Speaker 1: normal human apprehension. He had gone beyond sight and hearing
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  Speaker 1: and taste and touch and smell. He was experiencing something
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  Speaker 1: that is not experienced by the normal human senses. He says,
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  Speaker 1: this is no merely human experience energized by my own mind.
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  Speaker 1: not even by my own human fantasy or imagination. He
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  Speaker 1: is saying I was brought by or empowered through the
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  Speaker 1: Holy Spirit to an experience that is beyond the normal senses.
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  Speaker 1: I was taken into a condition in which God could
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  Speaker 1: supernaturally reveal things to me. This would have been very
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  Speaker 1: much like the experience of Ezekiel. Very much like the experience,
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  Speaker 1: if you want a New Testament counterpart of Peter in
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  Speaker 1: Acts chapters 10 and 11 when he is given by
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  Speaker 1: God visions. John says, I was supernaturally transported out of
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  Speaker 1: the fleshly world and I was in the spirit. Awake,
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  Speaker 1: not sleeping. This is not a dream. But his senses
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  Speaker 1: were empowered with clarity to perceive revelation from God. He
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  Speaker 1: even tells us when this happened. Look at it. I
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  Speaker 1: was in the Spirit on the Lord's day. On the
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  Speaker 1: Lord's day. It's so good that the translators of the
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  Speaker 1: New American Standard translated that the Lord's day instead of
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  Speaker 1: on the day of the Lord, lest we think He's
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  Speaker 1: talking about some future prophetic eschatological day. The term the
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  Speaker 1: day of the Lord is a term used for the
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  Speaker 1: final judgment of God. And we will see that unfold
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  Speaker 1: in the book of Revelation. But here it is good
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  Speaker 1: that it's translated the Lord's Day to make a distinction.
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  Speaker 1: When we say it's the Lord's Day, are we talking
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  Speaker 1: about a final day of eschatological judgment? No. What are
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  Speaker 1: we talking about? Sunday. Now some have suggested that this
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  Speaker 1: refers to that final day that I was in the
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  Speaker 1: Spirit and I was transported to the day of the Lord.
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  Speaker 1: But that doesn't seem to fit this context. Because the
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  Speaker 1: vision that he has given here has nothing to do
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  Speaker 1: with the day of the Lord, absolutely nothing to do
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  Speaker 1: with it. Furthermore, the vision he receives here has nothing
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  Speaker 1: to do with the future. It has only to do
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  Speaker 1: with the present. Beyond that, this form in the Greek
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  Speaker 1: is an adjective rather than a noun. That is the
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  Speaker 1: form of Lord. is adjectival. So it describes day correctly
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  Speaker 1: in an adjectival way, the Lord's day, rather than being
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  Speaker 1: a noun, the day of the Lord. Finally, the Greek
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  Speaker 1: phrase here, kuriake himera, appears in a number of Christian
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  Speaker 1: writings from the very same era and refers to Sunday.
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  Speaker 1: I think we need then to see this as Sunday. Sunday.
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  Speaker 1: The Lord's Day came to be the customary way of
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  Speaker 1: referring to Sunday because it reminded everyone of the resurrection
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  Speaker 1: of Jesus Christ. So John says, and I love these
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  Speaker 1: little notes, it was Sunday on the Isle of Patmos.
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  Speaker 1: And the vision came. I heard behind me a loud
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  Speaker 1: voice like the sound of a trumpet. Say, whose voice
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  Speaker 1: is it? It's the voice of the Lord Jesus Christ.
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  Speaker 1: That's who it is. And he will identify himself after
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  Speaker 1: the vision. And to John, that voice was like the
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  Speaker 1: piercing brilliance of a trumpet. In fact, if you're questioning
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  Speaker 1: whose voice it was and you don't want to wait,
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  Speaker 1: just look at verse 18. the one who is dead
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  Speaker 1: and is alive forevermore and has the keys of death
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  Speaker 1: and Hades. He's the one speaking. Do you remember that
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  Speaker 1: in the account of the giving of the law in
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  Speaker 1: the Old Testament, the Bible says, quote, there were thunders
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  Speaker 1: and lightnings and a thick cloud upon the mount, that's
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  Speaker 1: Mount Sinai, and the voice of a trumpet exceedingly loud.
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  Speaker 1: Very often God's voice or the voice of Christ in
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  Speaker 1: supernatural glory sounds to the hearer like a great loud
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  Speaker 1: piercing trumpet. It was a brilliant, shrill and clear voice.
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  Speaker 1: And it came with the commanding clarity of a trumpet.
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  Speaker 1: You might want to make a mental note that throughout
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  Speaker 1: the book of Revelation a loud sound or a loud
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  Speaker 1: voice indicates the solemnity of what is about to be revealed.
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  Speaker 1: It is so common in the book of Revelation that
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  Speaker 1: I can't even take you through all of them. Chapter 5,
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  Speaker 1: chapter 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 14, 16, 19,
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  Speaker 1: and several times in those chapters you hear this loud voice,
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  Speaker 1: loud sound, and then comes the solemn revelation. This is
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  Speaker 1: the first of those. And what it indicates is the powerful, sovereign,
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  Speaker 1: commanding voice out of heaven. In this case, it is
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  Speaker 1: the voice of the risen, glorified Christ. And then the
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  Speaker 1: voice of Christ says, verse 11, write in a book
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  Speaker 1: what you see and send it to the seven churches,
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  Speaker 1: to Ephesus and to Smyrna, and to Pergamum, and to Thyatira,
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  Speaker 1: and to Sardis, and to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea. That
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  Speaker 1: tells you to whom the book of Revelation was sent.
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  Speaker 1: By the way, when he says write in a book,
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  Speaker 1: just a little note, the word book there is the
• 23:10
  Speaker 1: actual Greek word that referred to scroll. The scroll that
• 23:15
  Speaker 1: was rolled up. And this is the word that doesn't
• 23:18
  Speaker 1: refer to the animal skin type scroll, but Biblios refers
• 23:22
  Speaker 1: to the parchment, the papyrus. Write it on papyrus. By
• 23:28
  Speaker 1: the way, you will also be interested to note that
• 23:31
  Speaker 1: 12 times in this book, John is told to write
• 23:37
  Speaker 1: something down. 12 times. Once he's told, don't write what
• 23:42
  Speaker 1: you saw. He is commanded here to write this down
• 23:49
  Speaker 1: and to send it to the seven churches that have
• 23:51
  Speaker 1: already been noted in chapter 1, verse 4. When it
• 23:55
  Speaker 1: says Asia there, it means Asia Minor, which would be
• 23:57
  Speaker 1: modern Turkey. These were seven prominent cities. Just to give
• 24:02
  Speaker 1: you a little more input, historians tell us that these
• 24:05
  Speaker 1: seven cities were the seven postal districts in Asia Minor,
• 24:11
  Speaker 1: which made them central points in for the dissemination of information.
• 24:17
  Speaker 1: And because they were the seven postal centers, they would
• 24:20
  Speaker 1: have attracted the concourse and the influx and outgo of
• 24:25
  Speaker 1: people and would also be the key place for instant
• 24:28
  Speaker 1: dispatch to send these things further. And so they were
• 24:32
  Speaker 1: suited to the spread of There were also seven cities
• 24:37
  Speaker 1: in Asia Minor where churches had been planted. And by
• 24:40
  Speaker 1: the way, there were other cities where churches had been
• 24:42
  Speaker 1: planted also, but they're not included among these seven. Another
• 24:46
  Speaker 1: interesting note is that if you study a map of
• 24:49
  Speaker 1: Asia Minor, you will see that the order of the
• 24:53
  Speaker 1: cities is the route that a messenger would take if
• 24:57
  Speaker 1: he was going to visit all those places. And so
• 25:01
  Speaker 1: what he is saying is, write this down. and send
• 25:05
  Speaker 1: it off. And first it'll go to Ephesus, and then Smyrna,
• 25:08
  Speaker 1: then Pergamum, then Thyatira, then Sardis, then Philadelphia, and finally
• 25:12
  Speaker 1: it'll go to Laodicea. That would be the route that
• 25:14
  Speaker 1: a messenger would take. And we're going to learn a
• 25:19
  Speaker 1: lot about those churches and those cities and the circumstances
• 25:24
  Speaker 1: that existed there when we get into chapters 2 and
• 25:26
  Speaker 1: 3 because they're carefully detailed. And so is John commissioned.
• 25:33
  Speaker 1: Tells us about himself, about his circumstance, and about his
• 25:36
  Speaker 1: commission to write. And then comes the vision. Verse 12.
• 25:44
  Speaker 1: And I turned to see the voice that was speaking
• 25:49
  Speaker 1: with me. And having turned, I saw seven golden lampstands.
• 25:53
  Speaker 1: And in the middle of the lampstands, one like a
• 25:55
  Speaker 1: son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the
• 25:59
  Speaker 1: feet and girded across his breast with a golden girdle.
• 26:02
  Speaker 1: And his head and his hair were white like white wool,
• 26:05
  Speaker 1: like snow. And his eyes were like a flame of fire.
• 26:10
  Speaker 1: And his feet were like burnished bronze when it has
• 26:12
  Speaker 1: been caused to glow in a furnace. And his voice
• 26:14
  Speaker 1: was like the sound of many waters. And in his
• 26:18
  Speaker 1: right hand he had seven stars. And out of his
• 26:21
  Speaker 1: mouth came a sharp two-edged sword. And his face was
• 26:24
  Speaker 1: like the sun shining in its strength. And when I
• 26:27
  Speaker 1: saw him, I fell at his feet as a dead man.
• 26:32
  Speaker 1: That's the vision. John had his back to the voice.
• 26:38
  Speaker 1: So in verse 12, he says, I turned. And when
• 26:41
  Speaker 1: he turned, he saw the vision of the glorified son.
• 26:46
  Speaker 1: And he saw the Lord of his church. And he
• 26:51
  Speaker 1: saw him in the midst of his church. What is
• 26:56
  Speaker 1: this picturing for us? The ministry of the glorified son
• 27:01
  Speaker 1: in his church. Here and now, not some future time.
• 27:07
  Speaker 1: The voice is the voice of the risen glorious Christ.
• 27:10
  Speaker 1: I turn to see the voice that was speaking with me.
• 27:16
  Speaker 1: And as he turns, instead of seeing only the glorified Christ,
• 27:21
  Speaker 1: he sees, first of all, seven golden lampstands. What are they?
• 27:26
  Speaker 1: Look at verse 20, it tells you. Second half of
• 27:28
  Speaker 1: the verse. The seven golden lampstands. What are they? They
• 27:35
  Speaker 1: are the seven churches. So he is seeing then a
• 27:40
  Speaker 1: vision of the churches. These were portable lampstands made of
• 27:46
  Speaker 1: gold that would be set around a room and at
• 27:49
  Speaker 1: night a little oil lamp would be set in them
• 27:51
  Speaker 1: for light. The church then is seen as God's lampstand
• 27:59
  Speaker 1: from which the light of life shines. The church is
• 28:03
  Speaker 1: the light of the world, as Jesus said. God's people
• 28:08
  Speaker 1: are assembled in churches so that they can shine forth
• 28:11
  Speaker 1: the light. Each church, a light in its own location.
• 28:18
  Speaker 1: The lampstands are golden. Why? Because gold was the most precious,
• 28:22
  Speaker 1: the most lovely, most beautiful metal. The congregation of God's
• 28:28
  Speaker 1: people are not only to be lights in the world,
• 28:30
  Speaker 1: but they are to the heart of God the most costly,
• 28:33
  Speaker 1: the most beautiful, the most precious, and the most valuable
• 28:36
  Speaker 1: thing on the earth, so valuable that He was willing
• 28:39
  Speaker 1: to purchase them with His own what? Blood. And there
• 28:44
  Speaker 1: are seven of them. Why are there seven? Seven is
• 28:47
  Speaker 1: the number of completeness. You see that a number of times.
• 28:52
  Speaker 1: You can see it even back in Exodus 25, verses
• 28:56
  Speaker 1: 41 to 50, in God's design for the temple and
• 28:59
  Speaker 1: the tabernacle, a sevenfold lamp. You can see it in
• 29:03
  Speaker 1: Zechariah 4, verse 2. Again, both Moses and Zechariah had
• 29:08
  Speaker 1: seven lamps on their stands. It's a symbol of completeness,
• 29:13
  Speaker 1: symbolic of the whole people of God. And here, the
• 29:18
  Speaker 1: whole church, the whole body of Christ. So what do
• 29:24
  Speaker 1: we have then? We have a vision of the church.
• 29:29
  Speaker 1: And in the midst of the vision of the church,
• 29:31
  Speaker 1: he sees in verse 13, one like a son of man.
• 29:40
  Speaker 1: One literally who is the Son of Man, Jesus Christ.
• 29:46
  Speaker 1: So he sees the glorified Lord in the midst of
• 29:49
  Speaker 1: his precious church. Now what is he doing there? Beloved,
• 29:56
  Speaker 1: this is so thrilling. This is so exciting to my heart,
• 30:00
  Speaker 1: and I hope to yours, because we're now going to
• 30:03
  Speaker 1: find out what the glorified Christ does for His church,
• 30:08
  Speaker 1: what He was doing then for His church, what He
• 30:10
  Speaker 1: has been doing for 2,000 years for His church, what
• 30:13
  Speaker 1: He is doing for His church now, what He is
• 30:16
  Speaker 1: doing for us, what He is doing for you. First
• 30:20
  Speaker 1: of all, He empowers His church. He empowers His church.
• 30:26
  Speaker 1: That is implied in verse 13. In the middle of
• 30:29
  Speaker 1: the lampstands, one like a son of man. Son of
• 30:35
  Speaker 1: man is the messianic title for the Lord Jesus Christ.
• 30:40
  Speaker 1: And he sees Him, the Lord of the church. And
• 30:43
  Speaker 1: what is He doing? He is moving in the midst
• 30:48
  Speaker 1: of His church. It pictures Him there with His presence.
• 30:55
  Speaker 1: amidst the church. What is the import of that? Listen
• 31:02
  Speaker 1: to this. Jesus said, Lo, I am with you always.
• 31:10
  Speaker 1: Jesus said, I will not leave you as orphans. Jesus said,
• 31:16
  Speaker 1: If anyone loves me, I will make my abode with him.
• 31:24
  Speaker 1: The great promise that Jesus Christ gave His apostles was
• 31:29
  Speaker 1: that He would never leave them and He would never
• 31:31
  Speaker 1: forsake them, but He would take up His abode with them. Beloved,
• 31:38
  Speaker 1: I submit to you that what you see here is
• 31:40
  Speaker 1: the living, exalted, glorified Christ in the midst of His church.
• 31:46
  Speaker 1: And why is He there? For obvious reasons, to empower
• 31:50
  Speaker 1: His church. Paul says in Galatians 2.20, I am crucified
• 31:55
  Speaker 1: with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ
• 31:58
  Speaker 1: lives where? In me. And therefore, the life which I live,
• 32:06
  Speaker 1: I live not by the flesh, but by His power.
• 32:12
  Speaker 1: That's Paul's point. We are empowered by the indwelling, living Christ.
• 32:21
  Speaker 1: He is present to lead. He is present to empower
• 32:27
  Speaker 1: His church. We do not worship some crucified martyr. We
• 32:34
  Speaker 1: do not worship some dead heroic religious leader. We have
• 32:40
  Speaker 1: continual communion with the living Christ. Are you reminded in
• 32:45
  Speaker 1: 1 Corinthians chapter 10 where the Apostle Paul even says,
• 32:48
  Speaker 1: when we break bread and drink the cup, we are
• 32:50
  Speaker 1: partaking with the very blood and body of Jesus Christ?
• 32:58
  Speaker 1: Will you remember the promise of the Lord Himself in
• 33:01
  Speaker 1: Matthew 18 that when the church does its holy work
• 33:04
  Speaker 1: on earth and only two or three are gathered there
• 33:07
  Speaker 1: in that holy work of confronting sin, in that case,
• 33:11
  Speaker 1: there am I where? In the midst, he is in
• 33:18
  Speaker 1: his church to empower his church. Secondly, he intercedes for
• 33:27
  Speaker 1: his church. Verse 13 says, he was clothed in a
• 33:34
  Speaker 1: robe reaching to the feet and girded across his chest
• 33:41
  Speaker 1: with a golden sash. Two things, clothed in a robe
• 33:47
  Speaker 1: reaching to the feet. Kings wore such robes. In fact,
• 33:55
  Speaker 1: Jonathan and Saul, Jonathan being even a prince, wore such
• 33:58
  Speaker 1: a long robe. The Greek word is used in the
• 34:02
  Speaker 1: Old Testament Septuagint version even to refer to the robe
• 34:06
  Speaker 1: of kings. And not only did kings wear such robes,
• 34:11
  Speaker 1: but prophets too. wore such robes as well. In fact,
• 34:20
  Speaker 1: there came to Daniel in chapter 10 a messenger from God,
• 34:23
  Speaker 1: and that messenger had a linen robe made out of
• 34:26
  Speaker 1: fine linen that was all the way down to his feet,
• 34:29
  Speaker 1: and there the Septuagint uses the very same word that's
• 34:32
  Speaker 1: used here, potores again. So it is used in the
• 34:35
  Speaker 1: Old Testament to speak of the robe of a king
• 34:37
  Speaker 1: and the robe of a messenger from God. And so
• 34:40
  Speaker 1: it could be that it indicates Christ's kingly role. It
• 34:43
  Speaker 1: could be that it illustrates His prophetic role. Some think
• 34:49
  Speaker 1: it simply speaks of the great dignity of Christ. But
• 34:55
  Speaker 1: there's something beyond even this. Most particularly and most uniquely,
• 35:04
  Speaker 1: this kind of robe in the Old Testament belonged to
• 35:07
  Speaker 1: the high priest. And most of the occurrences of this
• 35:12
  Speaker 1: word in the Old Testament Greek version called the Septuagint
• 35:17
  Speaker 1: refer to the garment of the high priest. It seems
• 35:21
  Speaker 1: to me that what we see here is Christ in
• 35:23
  Speaker 1: His priestly role. And then when you add the fact
• 35:28
  Speaker 1: that He had across His chest this golden, not girdle
• 35:32
  Speaker 1: so much, but a golden sash, we are reminded that
• 35:39
  Speaker 1: that the priests in the Old Testament wore on their chest,
• 35:44
  Speaker 1: a little above their armpits, a sash. Exodus 28, Exodus 29,
• 35:51
  Speaker 1: Exodus 39, Leviticus 16, speak of it. And I believe
• 35:58
  Speaker 1: we see the Lord Jesus Christ in His priestly role,
• 36:03
  Speaker 1: acting as the royal high priest in behalf of His church.
• 36:09
  Speaker 1: You remember, don't you, these wonderful words? Therefore, he had
• 36:15
  Speaker 1: to be made like his brethren in all things that
• 36:17
  Speaker 1: he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in
• 36:20
  Speaker 1: things pertaining to God to make propitiation for the sins
• 36:23
  Speaker 1: of his people. For since he himself was tempted in
• 36:26
  Speaker 1: that which he has suffered, he is able to come
• 36:29
  Speaker 1: to the aid of those who are tempted. He is
• 36:31
  Speaker 1: a merciful and faithful high priest. And what does a
• 36:35
  Speaker 1: high priest do? He intercedes. That's in Hebrews 2, 17
• 36:41
  Speaker 1: and following. In Hebrews 3, 1, he is called the
• 36:43
  Speaker 1: high priest of our confession. In Hebrews 4, verse 14,
• 36:48
  Speaker 1: we have a great high priest who has passed through
• 36:51
  Speaker 1: the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God. He is not
• 36:56
  Speaker 1: a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but
• 36:59
  Speaker 1: one who has been tempted in all things as we
• 37:02
  Speaker 1: are yet without sin. Let us therefore draw near with
• 37:05
  Speaker 1: confidence to the throne of grace that we may receive
• 37:07
  Speaker 1: mercy and may find grace to help in time of need.
• 37:11
  Speaker 1: He is interceding for us before God. We have this
• 37:17
  Speaker 1: great high priest among us. He's moving among the lampstands.
• 37:21
  Speaker 1: He's moving in his church. He has unequaled capacity to
• 37:25
  Speaker 1: sympathize with us in all our dangers and sorrows and
• 37:29
  Speaker 1: trials and temptations. He was exposed to all of them,
• 37:33
  Speaker 1: and he is our sympathetic high priest. And because of
• 37:39
  Speaker 1: what it says in chapter 1, verse 5, that He
• 37:41
  Speaker 1: loves us and released us from our sins by His blood,
• 37:46
  Speaker 1: we know that He will continue in that love to
• 37:48
  Speaker 1: be a faithful, compassionate, merciful high priest. He was in
• 37:55
  Speaker 1: all points tempted like as we are yet without sin,
• 37:57
  Speaker 1: so He knows the path of victory in every temptation.
• 38:03
  Speaker 1: What comfort this is for the persecuted church. to know
• 38:06
  Speaker 1: they have the high priest moving in their midst, seeking
• 38:11
  Speaker 1: their blessing. So we see the glorified, exalted Christ is
• 38:16
  Speaker 1: present to empower His church. He is present to intercede
• 38:19
  Speaker 1: for His church. And then another ministry strikes the eye
• 38:23
  Speaker 1: of John. He sees that He is there to purify
• 38:27
  Speaker 1: His church. He is there to purify His church. Verse 14,
• 38:33
  Speaker 1: His head and his hair were white like white wool,
• 38:38
  Speaker 1: like snow. We'll stop at that point. After describing his clothing...
• 38:47
  Speaker 1: In verse 13, he moves to his person, his head,
• 38:51
  Speaker 1: his hair, then his eyes, then his feet, then his voice,
• 38:53
  Speaker 1: then his right hand, then his mouth, and then his face.
• 38:57
  Speaker 1: And now he is not seeing the clothing. He's gone
• 38:59
  Speaker 1: from the lampstands to the clothing to the very features
• 39:03
  Speaker 1: of the exalted Lord of the church. And here he
• 39:07
  Speaker 1: sees him primarily in his purging, purifying, disciplining, chastening work,
• 39:14
  Speaker 1: though other features are certainly present. apparent as well. I
• 39:19
  Speaker 1: don't think I need to make a big issue out
• 39:21
  Speaker 1: of the fact that the New Testament is very clear
• 39:24
  Speaker 1: on the standard that Christ has set for His church.
• 39:27
  Speaker 1: Paul said he wants the church to be a chaste virgin.
• 39:31
  Speaker 1: Paul said the Lord Jesus Christ gave Himself for the
• 39:34
  Speaker 1: church that He might sanctify and cleanse her, that she
• 39:37
  Speaker 1: might be glorious without wrinkle or spot or any such blight.
• 39:43
  Speaker 1: Paul said He wants the church blameless and holy. Paul
• 39:48
  Speaker 1: said that Jesus Christ reconciled the church in order to
• 39:51
  Speaker 1: present her before Him that is before God, holy and
• 39:55
  Speaker 1: blameless and above reproach. Peter even reminds us that he
• 40:02
  Speaker 1: wants the church as holy as he is. Hebrews chapter
• 40:08
  Speaker 1: 12 says that if need be, He'll discipline and He
• 40:11
  Speaker 1: will chasten and He will scourge His own people for
• 40:16
  Speaker 1: their purifications. If he has to, John 15 says, he'll
• 40:20
  Speaker 1: take out the pruning knife and he'll cut off the
• 40:23
  Speaker 1: sucker branches that bleed the productivity of any believer. And
• 40:30
  Speaker 1: sometimes his chastening is even fatal as it was for
• 40:34
  Speaker 1: Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5 and as it was
• 40:37
  Speaker 1: for some in the Corinthian church who were sleeping because
• 40:40
  Speaker 1: they had abused the Lord's table. Is it any wonder
• 40:44
  Speaker 1: that Peter said in 1 Peter 4, verse 17, judgment
• 40:48
  Speaker 1: begins with the household of God. He will cleanse His church.
• 40:55
  Speaker 1: He will purge His church. And we see Him here
• 41:00
  Speaker 1: in that purging vision. Notice... His head and His hair
• 41:07
  Speaker 1: were white like wool like snow. That's an obvious reference
• 41:09
  Speaker 1: to Daniel 7, 9. However, in Daniel 7, 9 it
• 41:13
  Speaker 1: is describing God. Here it is describing Christ. What a
• 41:18
  Speaker 1: marvelous parallel that is to indicate again to us that
• 41:20
  Speaker 1: Jesus Christ is in fact God. He has the same
• 41:25
  Speaker 1: attributes and the same characteristics as God. Would you see
• 41:29
  Speaker 1: the word white for a moment? And please notice, this
• 41:32
  Speaker 1: is not white like a flat white color. It's not
• 41:35
  Speaker 1: white like a white piece of paper or a white
• 41:37
  Speaker 1: wall or a white garment. That is not the idea.
• 41:41
  Speaker 1: It is the word white which means a blazing. It
• 41:47
  Speaker 1: is not a flat white color, but it has the
• 41:50
  Speaker 1: potential to mean a blazing, glowing white light. He is
• 41:55
  Speaker 1: seeing glory here. The symbol of eternal, glorious holiness. Whenever
• 42:03
  Speaker 1: God showed His Shekinah, He was showing His holiness. It
• 42:08
  Speaker 1: demonstrates His purity of life. It demonstrates the purity of
• 42:12
  Speaker 1: His truth. He is wise and He is holy. He
• 42:16
  Speaker 1: is blazing, glowing, brilliant, shining light. And then He adds...
• 42:25
  Speaker 1: And his eyes were like a flame of fire. What
• 42:27
  Speaker 1: is he seeing? He is seeing the blazing, white, brilliant,
• 42:32
  Speaker 1: shining glory of Christ and coming out of it like
• 42:36
  Speaker 1: two lasers, one from each eye, come the very flames
• 42:43
  Speaker 1: of fire. What is this? This is the holy, glorious,
• 42:48
  Speaker 1: exalted Lord with searching, penetrating gaze looking to the depths
• 42:54
  Speaker 1: of His church. That's what it is. In chapter 2
• 42:59
  Speaker 1: of Revelation, verse 18, the Son of God there also
• 43:03
  Speaker 1: is seen with eyes like a flame of fire penetrating
• 43:07
  Speaker 1: in to see the church. We see the same thing
• 43:11
  Speaker 1: at the end of the book of Revelation, chapter 19,
• 43:13
  Speaker 1: verse 12. Those gazing, penetrating, supernatural lasers that penetrate right
• 43:20
  Speaker 1: through with holy intelligence to reveal to Him everything He
• 43:23
  Speaker 1: wants to see. Listen, when Christ moves through His church
• 43:27
  Speaker 1: in His holy glory, His penetrating eyes see absolutely everything.
• 43:33
  Speaker 1: And His vision is accurate. There are no secrets. There
• 43:37
  Speaker 1: is nothing hidden from Him whatsoever. That is why the
• 43:40
  Speaker 1: writer of Hebrews says it very straightforward. There is no
• 43:44
  Speaker 1: creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open
• 43:48
  Speaker 1: and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom
• 43:51
  Speaker 1: we have to do. Hebrews 4.13. Sees it all. The
• 43:55
  Speaker 1: Lord of the church is holy. The Lord of the
• 43:57
  Speaker 1: church sees everything. And He'll deal with the sin of
• 44:01
  Speaker 1: His church. Verse 15 points it up. His feet were
• 44:07
  Speaker 1: like burnished bronze when it has been caused to glow
• 44:11
  Speaker 1: in a furnace. What is that? Red hot. You've seen
• 44:17
  Speaker 1: metal in a furnace glowing, burning brass or bronze. By
• 44:25
  Speaker 1: the way, as a footnote, all of the temple and
• 44:29
  Speaker 1: all of the tabernacle furniture that was in any way
• 44:33
  Speaker 1: used in a sin offering was always brass. When you
• 44:39
  Speaker 1: see brass in this situation, you know it has something
• 44:43
  Speaker 1: to do with sin. And here you have feet glowing hot.
• 44:54
  Speaker 1: Very clear reference to judgment. Anytime anybody came before the king,
• 45:00
  Speaker 1: the king always in ancient times sat on an elevated throne.
• 45:04
  Speaker 1: And when a criminal came in to be sentenced, he
• 45:06
  Speaker 1: was always below the feet of the king. He would
• 45:09
  Speaker 1: bow down and look up to the feet and then
• 45:11
  Speaker 1: the throne and the body and then the head. The
• 45:14
  Speaker 1: feet of the king became the symbol of His authority.
• 45:20
  Speaker 1: And here we find Jesus Christ with red hot feet
• 45:25
  Speaker 1: moving through His church to exercise His chastening authority. Blazing, molten, pure, refined,
• 45:34
  Speaker 1: gleaming feet of judgment. This medal is pure. refined by
• 45:40
  Speaker 1: the holiness and the glory of God and ready to
• 45:43
  Speaker 1: deal out pain, if need be, to a sinning Christian
• 45:50
  Speaker 1: and a sinning church. And so the glorious Lord of
• 45:56
  Speaker 1: the church is present to empower the church, not just
• 45:59
  Speaker 1: to empower the church to intercede for the church, not
• 46:02
  Speaker 1: just to intercede for the church, but to purify the church. Fourthly,
• 46:08
  Speaker 1: He is present... to speak authoritatively to the church. The
• 46:15
  Speaker 1: end of verse 15 says, His voice was like the
• 46:18
  Speaker 1: sound of many waters. When He spoke, no longer was
• 46:22
  Speaker 1: it the crystal clear, sharp note of a trumpet, but
• 46:25
  Speaker 1: John described it like the crashing of the surf against
• 46:28
  Speaker 1: the rocks of the island. By the way, Ezekiel 43,
• 46:33
  Speaker 1: 2 has the same thought about God again. It is
• 46:38
  Speaker 1: the voice of authority. It is the thundering voice like
• 46:42
  Speaker 1: the crash of Niagara. The voice of power. The voice
• 46:47
  Speaker 1: that commands. It is the voice that John 5, 28
• 46:52
  Speaker 1: and 29 says will someday speak and every grave will
• 46:55
  Speaker 1: cough up its dead victim from all the eons of
• 46:59
  Speaker 1: human history. It is the voice of Christ speaking to
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  Speaker 1: His church. Yes, He speaks with authority to His church.
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  Speaker 1: You remember Hebrews 1, God at sundry times in diverse
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  Speaker 1: manners in time past spoke unto the fathers by the prophets,
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  Speaker 1: has in these last days spoken unto us by His Son.
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  Speaker 1: He is the one who speaks to His church. He
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  Speaker 1: speaks through the Word. He speaks to us through the epistles.
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  Speaker 1: He speaks to us through His Spirit. The Lord of
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  Speaker 1: the church is there to empower. The Lord of the
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  Speaker 1: church is there to intercede. The Lord of the church
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  Speaker 1: is there to purify. The Lord of the church is
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  Speaker 1: there to speak. John sees something else. Fifthly, he's there
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  Speaker 1: to control his church. Verse 16, and in his right
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  Speaker 1: hand he held seven stars. Hmm, what does that mean?
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  Speaker 1: Go down to verse 20. As for the mystery of
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  Speaker 1: the seven stars which you saw in my hand and
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  Speaker 1: the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are literally the
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  Speaker 1: messengers of the seven churches. In His hand He holds
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  Speaker 1: the seven stars. Some might think, well, that's safety and protection.
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  Speaker 1: I don't think so. The majestic, holy glory of this
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  Speaker 1: vision of the Lord makes it more likely that what
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  Speaker 1: that means is that He controls the church. And each
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  Speaker 1: of those churches has a representative messenger. Somebody who represents
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  Speaker 1: the church. And he controls them. The right hand also
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  Speaker 1: is the right hand of power. It's the right hand
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  Speaker 1: of might. It's the right hand of authority. It's the
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  Speaker 1: right hand of strength. And you will see that same
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  Speaker 1: thought again in chapter 2, verse 1, and in chapter 3,
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  Speaker 1: verse 1. And they both suit the idea of control.
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  Speaker 1: The Lord of the church controls the seven stars. Who
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  Speaker 1: are they? The seven messengers. The word angelos literally means messenger.
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  Speaker 1: It can mean angel and does throughout the book of Revelation.
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  Speaker 1: But I don't believe it can refer to angels here.
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  Speaker 1: Because we have no teaching in the Some suggest these
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  Speaker 1: are seven men who represent the seven churches, and I
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  Speaker 1: agree with that. And most likely they are seven prominent
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  Speaker 1: leaders in the church, elders, pastors. And Christ is saying,
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  Speaker 1: I hold you in my hand as a symbol that
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  Speaker 1: I hold all the leadership of that church in my hand,
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  Speaker 1: and I hold that church in my hand. Each must
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  Speaker 1: be a significant leader to be held in the hand
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  Speaker 1: of Christ. They're not just messengers who are going to
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  Speaker 1: deliver the letter as some think. And they're not angels
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  Speaker 1: because the Lord would never give a letter to angels
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  Speaker 1: to give to the church. But rather they are seven
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  Speaker 1: key leaders representing the eldership of those churches. And he says,
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  Speaker 1: I hold those key leaders in my hand as I
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  Speaker 1: hold all the leaders in that church in my hand.
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  Speaker 1: And by the way, there's a plurality of elders, as
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  Speaker 1: we know, taught in the New Testament, but there can
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  Speaker 1: be one who represents that plurality as a spokesman, even
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  Speaker 1: as twelve equal apostles had one spokesman, namely Peter. And
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  Speaker 1: so he is saying, I control the church. I mediate
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  Speaker 1: that control through the leaders. You see, that's what a
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  Speaker 1: spiritual leader in the church does. He's simply a tool
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  Speaker 1: through which Christ mediates His leadership. He is simply an
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  Speaker 1: agent by which the sovereign Lord of the church controls
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  Speaker 1: the church. That's why in the New Testament the standard
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  Speaker 1: for being a leader in the church is so high
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  Speaker 1: because all you are is an intermediary through which Christ
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  Speaker 1: can control His church. And you have to be committed
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  Speaker 1: to doing His will no matter what the cost. The
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  Speaker 1: Lord of the church is present to empower His church, intercede, purge,
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  Speaker 1: speak authoritatively, and exercise sovereign control. And then I love this.
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  Speaker 1: He's there to protect His church. Verse 16 says, Let
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  Speaker 1: me just tell you what this signifies. Judgment. Judgment. Judgment.
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  Speaker 1: Over in chapter 19, verse 15, from his mouth comes
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  Speaker 1: a sharp sword so that with it he may smite
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  Speaker 1: the nations. You know what this says? The Lord of
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  Speaker 1: the church has a sword and he wields it in
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  Speaker 1: defense of his church. Chapter 2, verse 12, to the
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  Speaker 1: messenger of the church in Pergamum write, the one who
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  Speaker 1: has the sharp two-edged sword says... Verse 16, repent or
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  Speaker 1: I'm coming to you and I'll make war against them
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  Speaker 1: with a sword of my mouth. Listen, anybody inside the
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  Speaker 1: church that threatens the life of that church, anyone who
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  Speaker 1: tries to sow lies, any unbeliever who comes in to
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  Speaker 1: corrupt the church as they tried to in that church
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  Speaker 1: in chapter 2, he says, I'll take my sword out
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  Speaker 1: and I will use it. I'll use it. He'll protect
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  Speaker 1: His church. And He doesn't mean to fight the battle
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  Speaker 1: on the outside. He means to fight it on the inside.
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  Speaker 1: The word sword, ramphai, is a large, two-edged, broad sword
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  Speaker 1: that would do tremendous damage. It's almost as if He
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  Speaker 1: is echoing, I will build My church and the gates
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  Speaker 1: of Hades will not prevail against it. Here is the
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  Speaker 1: Lord of the church defeating His enemies, those who attack
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  Speaker 1: His people, those who would destroy His church. Inside or outside,
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  Speaker 1: He'll take the sword of His mouth and He'll deal
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  Speaker 1: with them. His word is potent and destructive, and so
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  Speaker 1: is His power. Finally, the Lord of the church reflects
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  Speaker 1: His glory through His church. The end of verse 16,
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  Speaker 1: his face was like the sun shining in its strength.
• 53:39
  Speaker 1: He simply says here that I looked at his face
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  Speaker 1: and it was like the blazing sun. Takes us back,
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  Speaker 1: doesn't it, to the first glimpse he had when he
• 53:47
  Speaker 1: said his head and his hair were white like wool,
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  Speaker 1: blazing white. Here he sees it in full brightness. Now
• 53:53
  Speaker 1: listen carefully. This is wonderful and we're going to close,
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  Speaker 1: but listen to this. John saw his face and it
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  Speaker 1: was like the sun at its blazing fullness on a
• 54:00
  Speaker 1: clear day. John borrowed that expression from Judges, way back
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  Speaker 1: in Judges chapter 5 verse 31. In Judges 5.31 it says,
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  Speaker 1: but let those who love Him be like the rising
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  Speaker 1: of the sun in its strength. Listen to this. He says,
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  Speaker 1: I saw His face and it was like the sun
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  Speaker 1: shining in His strength. The sun at its blazing height.
• 54:34
  Speaker 1: And back in Judges, that's what the Holy Spirit wrote
• 54:41
  Speaker 1: about those that love God. That they were like the
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  Speaker 1: blazing sun at its height. The link is wonderful. In
• 54:53
  Speaker 1: Judges 5.31, the ones that love God are like the
• 54:56
  Speaker 1: blazing sun. In Revelation 1.16, Jesus Christ is like the
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  Speaker 1: blazing sun. What's the point? The point is that the
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  Speaker 1: Lord shines in His church and He shines through His church.
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  Speaker 1: We who love Him reveal His glory to the watching world.
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  Speaker 1: By the way, that note in Judges 531 about the
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  Speaker 1: faces of those who love Him shining like the sun
• 55:29
  Speaker 1: is linked with the idea of judgment. In the very
• 55:34
  Speaker 1: same verse, Judges 5.31, and that also supports the interpretation
• 55:37
  Speaker 1: of the two-edged sword here as a sort of judgment
• 55:40
  Speaker 1: to protect the church from destruction by its enemies. So
• 55:46
  Speaker 1: the Lord will show His glory through His church. It's
• 55:50
  Speaker 1: what He desires to do. That's what He will do.
• 55:53
  Speaker 1: In Ephesians 3.21, to Him be the glory in the church.
• 56:00
  Speaker 1: He wants to shine through His church. There it is,
• 56:03
  Speaker 1: the opening vision. The glorious, exalted Lord of the church,
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  Speaker 1: present to empower, to intercede, to purge, to speak, to control,
• 56:11
  Speaker 1: to protect, and to be glorified through His church. There
• 56:15
  Speaker 1: you have His work. And what was John's response? When
• 56:21
  Speaker 1: I saw Him, I fell at His feet as a
• 56:26
  Speaker 1: dead man. Absolute shock. Shock. overwhelmed, motionless, almost lifeless. One
• 56:41
  Speaker 1: other time on the Mount of Transfiguration, it says he
• 56:45
  Speaker 1: fell on his face and was afraid. This time it's
• 56:47
  Speaker 1: even worse. He's like a dead man. Why? The awesome
• 56:53
  Speaker 1: glory of the Lord of the church has struck him.
• 56:59
  Speaker 1: And may it strike us Father, we thank You for
• 57:02
  Speaker 1: this Word, this incredible vision. We thank You that You
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  Speaker 1: have opened our eyes to see the glorious Lord of
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  Speaker 1: His church doing His marvelous work, and we with John
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  Speaker 1: would fall motionless at His feet, overwhelmed. For this is
• 57:30
  Speaker 1: not This is not the view of Christ we get
• 57:34
  Speaker 1: in the Gospels. So humble and meek and suffering, this
• 57:44
  Speaker 1: thrills us and encourages our hearts to see Him as
• 57:50
  Speaker 1: He is now, even in our midst as we gather tonight.
• 57:58
  Speaker 1: May His glory shine through us In his great name
• 58:04
  Speaker 1: we pray, amen. You've been listening to John MacArthur, Bible
• 58:10
  Speaker 1: teacher with Grace To You. For free access to all
• 58:13
  Speaker 1: of John's lessons and a listing of study Bibles and
• 58:16
  Speaker 1: books available for sale, visit Grace To You's website at gty.org.
• 58:22
  Speaker 1: John MacArthur and Grace To You reserve all copyright protection
• 58:26
  Speaker 1: under applicable law. Our copyright policy is available at gty.org.
• 58:32
  Speaker 1: and it includes instructions for and limitations on duplicating this
• 58:36
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