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The One Who is to Come
Near the end of his life, John received a vision from the Lord. The vision contains an important message that must be clearly understood by the seven churches in Asia and all the churches throughout history. It promises a blessing to those who listen to its words and follows what it says. Brothers and sisters, do you know that Revelation is the only book in the 66 books of the Bible that promises a blessing to those who listen to its words and does what it says? Every book of the Bible is important, but, Revelation is such a very special book, we should put our every effort to read it and clearly understand it the way God wants us to understand it. Let’s study the first eight verses of the first chapter of Revelation. It explains how and for what purpose the book was written. It can be divided into three sections: 1. Revelation 1:1-3 is the Introduction 2. Revelation 1:4-6 is the Greeting 3. Revelation 1:7-8 is the Theme Revelation1:1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants-things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John, 1:2 who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw. This book is the revelation of Jesus Christ. God gave Jesus Christ the revelation of the things that must shortly take place, and Christ, in turn, revealed it to John through an angel. It unveils: 1. Christ’s identity; 2. His second coming; 3. His victory over evil; and 4. The establishment of His kingdom. Revelation is not simply the timetable of the future events. It bears witness to the infinite love, power and justice of our Lord Jesus Christ. Revelation 1:3 “Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.” God will bless those who read the book of Revelation and to those who hear it and keep its teachings. But where would someone read or hear about Revelation? Yes, it is where we worship. It is in the sanctuary that Revelation is read, and people listen to it. And God’s blessing comes here. But why is it so important to have the book of Revelation read in the service? Because it says that the time is near. What is that time? The answer is found in Revelation22:7. "Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book." The time of Christ’s coming is so near that it is important to have the Revelation read in worship. Let’s read the following greeting. As you read it, please ask yourselves; “What kind of God is He who discloses the Revelation? and What kind of people are they who read it?” Revelation1:4 John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, 1:5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, 1:6 and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. The book was written to “the seven churches which are in Asia.” Asia, referred here, is the Roman province of Asia, that is, Asia Minor in Turkey. But, as you may know, “seven” is also a symbolic number of perfection in Revelation, meaning that this book was written to the whole church throughout history, including our congregation. Now what kind of God is He who wrote the book of Revelation? He is the One who exists in the past, present and future. He will be there even when future events take place, and will protect us from dangers. Secondly, this God works with the seven Spirits who are before His throne. The “seven” is not the number of the Spirits, but is the symbolic representation of the universal activity of the Holy Spirit. So, God fully associates with the Holy Spirit and works into all faithful people who read the Revelation. Thirdly, this God works with Jesus Christ, who has three titles: 1. “the faithful witness,” 2. “the firstborn from the dead,” and 3. “the ruler over the kings of the earth.” In court, a witness speaks the truth, and likewise Jesus, as the faithful witness, speaks the truth about us. He speaks the truth about our actions and our thoughts. He speaks the truth about Satan. He speaks the truth also about Himself as “the faithful witness.” Jesus has another title called “the firstborn of the dead.” It doesn’t mean that He was the first person ever raised from the dead. In fact before His resurrection He raised to life the daughter of Jairus, the son of the widow of Nain, and Lazarus. The word “the firstborn of the dead” means “outstanding” or “most important”. In Bible times, the first son born into a family received the principal inheritance. The first born son was the most important among the brothers. Therefore, the firstborn of the dead means the most significant person ever to have died and come back to life. Jesus Christ is the firstborn of the dead who experienced the most significant resurrection, because His resurrection guarantees our future resurrection. Jesus has also a third title of “the ruler over the kings of the earth.” It means His authority to judge the evil in the world. He can solve all the earthly problems which are full of inconsistencies. If we trust and obey Him, He will do everything for us and we do not need to worry about it. Thus, Jesus tells the truth, having experienced resurrection with all authority in heaven and earth. So through Him, God the Father reveals the book of Revelation. So we can confidently say that it is a worthwhile book to trust and obey. Please look at the latter part of verse 5 and verse 6. There you find three activities of Jesus Christ corresponding to His three titles. They are to 1. Love us; 2. To release us from our sins by His blood; and 3. To make us a kingdom of priests. His love is not simply to say, “I love you.” His love is so great that He has freed us from our sins and has made us a kingdom of priests. What is the main task of a priest? That is prayer. He does not only pray for himself. He prays for the forgiveness of the sins of his family, his friends, his church, the government and his neighbours. It is Jesus who has entrusted us to do such amazing work. And it is this same Jesus who has written the book of Revelation. So brothers and sisters, why don’t you pray as you read this book and pray for our neighbours? Revelation1:7 Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen. 1:8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End," says the Lord, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty." Here you see the most important promise in the book of Revelation. That is Christ’s second coming. Everyone will see Him. Even those who pierced Him will be raised in a special resurrection in time to see Him return. They include all who contributed directly to His crucifixion, for example, the Jewish leader Caiaphs. All eyes will see the great coming of Christ’s return. All eyes will acknowledge the righteousness of His acts. And those who reject Christ will mourn for Him. Why does God declare the second coming of Jesus with such conviction? That is because He knows this event well. He is the Alpha and the Omega. He sees both the beginning and the end. He even sees in advance the future coming of Jesus. And He is the One who is to come. The One who is to come means God will accompany Jesus Christ in the second coming. Jesus revealed this clearly to Caiaphas by saying "It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power (God the Father), and coming on the clouds of heaven." So Christ’s coming is the coming of God the Father. That will be the greatest event in history. Therefore, He says with a promise that “Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it.” Have you ever visited any seniors and asked for some advice when you reached a deadlock in your life? Why did you go to them and ask for the help? The answer is simple. It is because you thought that they had a lot of experience from where they gained a lot of wisdom. But the Lord of our Creator has much more life experience than these seniors. He knows everything. He knows the past, the present and the future. And this same omniscient God wrote the book of Revelation. He Himself predicts His own coming in there. Let’s consider whether our present life is good in the sight of God. There was a son of the aristocratic (or upper-class) family in the small country of Europe. He fought against his friend, injured him and ran away from his place. The friend sued his parents, and the parents lost most of his wealth. The father lost his fame and his status, and decided to renounce (or reject) the son. On the other hand, the mother waited for the son to come back for years, but, he did not come. Then she became sick because of this. A few days before her death she called her husband to the bed and said to him, “Please listen to my request.” Then she said the following; “If our son Michael comes back, please say from your mouth, ‘I will forgive you.’ If he did not come back, please go and find him and tell him from your mouth, ‘I will forgive you.’” Then she passed away. The father was left alone. But, using his money he began to look for their son. His search started from his country, and then moved to its neighbouring countries then continued to different countries in Europe. Then he went to Asia, Britain, America and Canada. He spent 15 years to get to a gold mine in Canada. He was already very old and lost most of his money. But, as he heard that the son might be somewhere in the mine, he made the last effort. He sold his ancestral watch, bought paint and wrote on numerous light poles, the words: “Michael, your father loves you.” One day when Michael was on his way to a bar, he saw the writing on a light pole. He couldn’t believe it. As he saw the writing carefully, he recognised it and it really looked like father’s handwriting. So, he started to look for his father. Then the two of them met each other after 15 long years. The father was so weak that he could not move anymore. But, he was so happy that he said the following; “Michael, I love you. Your mother asked me, before dying, to tell you that I have forgiven you. So I kept my word and came here. I’ve forgiven you, Michael.” Then the father passed away. Parents cannot forget their children. They love the children so much that they will go anywhere to find them even if they are very far away. I think that at some point, you have thought about how far paradise is from earth. It is very far in distance. And it is also far away from us in our relationship because of sin. But, God will come to earth from Heaven, to fulfill His promise. He had pledged the promise in the book of Revelation. He will surely come to Earth, accompanied by Jesus. Let us make our heart prepared for the great coming of that day. Revelation1:7 Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen. 1:8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End," says the Lord, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."
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