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Podcast Host
Before we begin today's episode of Renewing youg Mind, we invite you to stay with us through the end of the program to hear how you can request today's featured resource from Ligonier Ministries.
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W. Robert Godfrey
What John is saying to us here implicitly is the fact that I'm suffering doesn't mean that I'm not beloved. And the real message of that to all the readers of this book is, and so whatever you're suffering doesn't mean you're not beloved.
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Podcast Host
We live in a fallen world. Suffering, sin, disease. We're surrounded by them all. And sometimes it can feel like God has forgotten us. And there are many places in the Bible we can turn to for encouragement and hope during these times. The Psalms, Job, Romans, Chapter eight, for example. But today, here on Renewing youg Mind, W. Robert Godfrey will show us why the book of Revelation is another source of comfort.
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W. Robert Godfrey
Well, we're just beginning to get into the book itself and to look at what it teaches us. And we're looking a little bit at that introduction, the first three verses that orient us to the whole book. And you notice there in verse three that John tells us that this is a prophecy, a prophecy that Jesus has given to John to share with the churches. And it's important to pause and remember that prophecy throughout the Scriptures, whether in the Old Testament or the New Testament, doesn't mean simply words about the future. It very much means God's word to us to help us now in. In light of the future. And that's what it means here, too. This doesn't mean future information or future shock, but it means this is a pastoral word for us and that's what we hope to be seeing as we go along. So as we continue to look at what vital information is given to us about reading this book in these opening verses, we see two time markers here. First of all, we're told that this must take place soon, and then that the time is near. Unless we think that this applies just to the letters to the churches. This point is made again at the end of the book in the conclusion. So the whole book is bookended by this declaration that what is being said here must take place soon. How are we to interpret that? How are we to understand that because we do live 2000 years after this event. How does soon work? Well, part of what soon does for us, I think, is to remind us that it applies to us now. It's not just in a far distant future. You know, when Daniel got his prophecy, the fulfillment was about 400 years off. So it wasn't an immediate reality for him. I think John wants us to say these things are an immediate reality for us. And in that sense, it's soon and the time is drawing near. But beyond that, the whole New Testament approach to time is an approach that says since Jesus finished his work, there's nothing really that needs to be done until the second coming except the gathering of the elect. And in that sense, everything is fulfilled, everything is done, everything is accomplished. And in that sense, the end is soon. John, in his first letter, puts it even more pointedly where he writes in 1 John 2:18 Children, it is the last hour. And as you heard that the Antichrist is coming, so now many Antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. Now, when John wrote that he lived many more hours, he didn't mean hour in the most literal sense there. He meant the time is short. There's nothing yet that has to be fulfilled in prophecy for Christ to come again. We are in the very last era, the last hour, the last age, the last time of this passing away world. And I think John is highlighting that again here. But the importance for us is to realize everything in this book is not to just be dismissed as something that's going to happen sometime to someone probably a long time from now. Rather, it's our world in which we live, and it's the present reality that should inform our living and our particularly being faithful. Now, because the blessing pronounced here is blessed are those who hear and who keep what is written. This is a major theme of the book, that we are to respond with faith and faithfulness to what we hear in this book. And it shows us that what this book is all about is an encouragement to faith, an encouragement to faithfulness. Because John knows that the times are hard and that we need encouragement, and that's what this book is going to give us. And in light of that, then John makes the promise. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words blessed. That's a recurring theme. There are seven times in this book that John pauses to say, blessed are another seven. It's not a seven that he numbers, but it's another seven. And he wants to pause from time to time. We'll see that as we go along to make clear the blessings that we are to derive from this book. So that's what we ought to be listening for. That's what we ought to be looking for. How is this a blessing to me? How is this a blessing to my church? That's a big part of what we're after in this book. And we're going to see as we go along that there's a lot of reiteration. Sounds nicer than repetition, doesn't it? There's a lot of coming at the truth for the same basic point, even though from different angles. And so we're not to take every part of this book as something brand new. We're going to see as we go along that there are various ways from various angles that John will tell the same truth to bless us and to encourage us, and to encourage us especially to overcome. John records for us in his Gospel that Jesus said, I have overcome the world. And he says that as he's facing the cross. John 16. I have overcome the world. You know, just as good a translation is, I have conquered the world. I have conquered the world. And maybe that's actually a more helpful translation because John lived in a world of conquest. The Romans had conquered the world. And Jesus comes along and says, I want you to know that it's not the Romans who have conquered the world. I've conquered the world. And we're called to be conquerors. That's why Hendrickson named his book More than Conquerors. It's all the same word. We are called to be overcomers. We're called to be conquerors. And what do we have to conquer? Well, really, our own doubts and fears, our own tendency to lose faith and not be faithful. We're not called to be conquerors in the terms of finding swords and guns and going out and brutalizing anybody. But we're called to be conquerors as those who live by faith and don't allow the appearances of this world to overwhelm us. That's a lot of what the Book of the Revelation is really all about. And that's why these cycles, as I've called them, are important, because each cycle has a slightly different message for us relative to these great themes that are introduced already in the very introduction of the book. And the first three cycles, we could say, are cycles to encourage the church in the face of suffering. So the first three cycles in the book are very much about how do we relate to suffering. And then the central cycle in the book is a cycle about the church persevering. So first of all, we're faithful in suffering, then we're persevering in suffering. And then the last three cycles are about being delivered from suffering. So these cycles are all coming at the reality of suffering for Christians and how we cope with suffering in various ways as Christians. And then the great hope that yet awaits us, that is integral to. To our enduring suffering. Because what the Bible says to us, we suffer now, but it won't go on forever. First the suffering, then the glory. That's the path that Jesus walked. That's the path he says over and over again all through the New Testament. That's the path Christians must walk. First the suffering, then the glory. And this is very much the message of the book of the Revelation. So as we look at the early part of it, we'll see John talking to the churches, Jesus talking to the churches to be faithful in suffering. These are churches that are all experiencing struggles, and the call is to faithfulness in suffering. And then cycle two is going to directly address the question of Christian suffering. What are we to think about the suffering of the faithful in this world? And then cycle three will address the suffering of the wicked in this world. And that's rather intriguing because it's more often that we think about our own suffering than the suffering of the wicked. And I think John wants to say we have to think about our suffering, but we also have to think that we're not the only ones suffering. So there's a lot going on in this book, and we'll return to what the other cycles on about as we go along. So let's turn now to that first cycle and to its introduction. You remember I said not only does the book as a whole have an introduction, but the first cycle has an introduction. And that first cycle's introduction is really from Revelation 1, verse 4, down through Revelation 1:20. What we'll see as we go along is some cycles have no introduction. Several have rather long introductions. And this is a somewhat long introduction here, but you can see it's an introduction from the very first words there, verse four, John, to the seven churches that are in Asia. So there's going to be a letter to each of seven churches. But this introduction applies to all the seven churches. John to the seven churches that are in Asia. Now he's writing to churches he knew. He's writing to churches in a relatively small geographical area of what is now modern Turkey. He writes as apostles in the New Testament always write with an opening word of benediction or a blessing. 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, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness the firstborn of the dead and the ruler of the kings on earth. It's a wonderful opening benediction. Many churches historically have begun services with a blessing pronounced on the people. Following this apostolic practice. Sometimes we think of a benediction as just coming at the end. But benediction doesn't mean goodbye, y'. All. A benediction means a word of blessing, a good word. And the apostles, rather regularly in their epistles, begin with a good word and end with a good word of blessing upon the people. And that's what John is saying here. What do we need? We need grace and peace. And that's the promise of God that the apostle pronounces on his people. And from whom does grace and peace come? And here in verses 4 and 5, we have a wonderful trinitarian blessing from him who is and was and is to come. That's the Father. And what a glorious description of the Father. The Father is the Eternal One. He is now, but he always was and he always will be. But this description, at least one of my colleagues at the seminary, Steve Baugh insists, is more dynamic than that. It probably should be translated, Steve says, as from him who is and who was and who is coming. It's not just that he's going to come sometime in the future. He's on his way. He's in control of history. History is unfolding as he intends it. He's on his way. So there's nothing really delaying him. He's accomplishing his will. Him who is and who was and who is coming. And from the seven spirits that are before his throne. Well, we almost instinctively know, don't we, that this is the Holy Spirit. This is a trinitarian blessing. The. The spirits are the Holy Spirit. But right here we're alerted that we have to read this book. Recognizing symbolism in this book. If you're insistent on reading this book literally, are you going to argue there are seven spirits to the Holy Spirit? I don't think anybody seriously argues that. This is obviously a symbol, a symbolic way of. Of speaking about the work, the character of the Holy Spirit. We know that seven is a number of perfection and completion, right? So one way of reading this is, and from the Holy Spirit, who is complete, the Holy Spirit who is perfect. But I think also we could read it as saying, and from the Spirit who has every one of the churches in mind, as there are seven churches, so there are seven spirits. It's not that the Spirit will be in one church and not in another. But this alerts us to an important reality as we read the book of the Revelation, that they're going to be symbols and we're going to have to pause again and again and again to say, is this symbol. And to realize symbol is not against a literal reading. A literal reading means we read the letters to see what the author intended. If the author intended a symbol, then you've read it literally. If you find a symbol and you've really failed to read it literally, if you miss the symbol, even in John's Gospel, when John says Jesus is the good shepherd, well, there's a little bit that's symbolic about that, right? I don't know that we have a record that Jesus actually in his life ever spent time as a shepherd. But we know just instinctively what John is meaning there. He's the one who cares for his sheep. So are you literally a sheep? Couldn't we carve you up for a mutton dinner? No, of course not. Again, we see the way language operates with metaphor, with symbol, and that's true here, too. So there's this picture, wonderful picture, the Holy Spirit, complete in his power and present in everyone of his churches. And then this wonderful declaration of Jesus from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead and the ruler of the kings on earth. And I don't think it's too much to see here what we have always called the threefold office of Jesus as prophet, priest and king. As prophet, he's the faithful witness as priest who offered himself from sacrifice. He's born again from the dead, the first fruit of them who sleep. And as king, he's the ruler of the kings of the earth. And you see how encouraging this is when you pause to think about it. Who's running the world today? Donald Trump? Nancy Pelosi, who would you like to run the world today? No, that's a rhetorical question. No actual answers. But how encouraging to know right now, today, Jesus is the ruler of the kings of the earth. He's not going to be one day. He is now, is what the scripture teaches and what the book of the Revelation teaches. So here we have this wonderful promise of trinitarian blessing heaped upon us, and then John moves into praise. This really sounds like a worship service in some ways. Does it? You begin with a blessing. You move on to praise John's praise there in the middle of verse 5. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom. Priest to his God and Father to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him. And all tribes of the earth will wail on account of Him. Even so. Amen. I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is coming, the Almighty. So here's this praise to this glorious God, to this glorious God whose act to redeem us, to save us from our sins, who now is in charge of the world, but will one day come to make all things new. And John is lifting his voice in praise about this in his joy in knowing this Savior. And then verse nine, John moves on to what we might call a sermon. You go to a church, what do you have? You have an opening blessing and then praise and then a sermon. And John has his sermon here. I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation. This again really stakes out what the book of the Revelation is all about. John is a partner in tribulation, but at the same time he's a partner in the kingdom. These things are not set apart or set at odds with each other. This is the way sometimes Christians think. First will be the tribulation, then will be the kingdom. No tribulation and kingdom now until Jesus returns in glory, come together. The fact that we have tribulation doesn't mean that we're not in the kingdom. And the fact that we're in the kingdom doesn't mean there won't be tribulation. And it's particularly striking to think about that in relation to John, isn't it? John was the beloved disciple. Now Jesus loved all his disciples, but apparently there was a special care for John, there was a special relationship with John. So surely the beloved disciple will live in a palace, right, will be specially protected. You know, it's all right for Peter to get crucified, but John will be protected. And what John is saying to us here implicitly is the fact that I'm suffering, the fact that I'm imprisoned on a nasty little dried out island called Patmos doesn't mean that I'm not beloved. And the real message of that to all the readers of this book is. And so whatever you're suffering doesn't mean you're not beloved, doesn't mean you're forgotten any more, that I'm forgotten on the island of Patmos. And so I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance, in a lot of ways that should be one of the great Christian virtues. Patient endurance was on the island of Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. I received the word of God and what did it do for me? It landed me in prison. And that's okay. And that's okay. I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day. So we see this whole thing is very much worship. This is Sunday worship. This is the great text that shows us we should be worshiping on Sunday. Because what's the Lord's Day? Well, it's the day of his resurrection. It's the celebration of his resurrection. It's Sunday. And all those people who are forever quoting Paul that says all days are alike have to figure out what this verse means. Because clearly John doesn't think all days are alike. So the New Testament contradicts itself. No, you're too smart for that. When Paul says all days are alike, he's putting an end to the whole Jewish calendar of holidays. But he's not saying all days are absolutely alike. There is still a Lord's Day in the New Covenant. There is still a Sunday. There are other indications of that in the New Testament, and we see that here. And it's very important, because one of the ways we testify to the world about our faith is that we worship on the Lord's Day. And John is testifying to that here. He knows about the Lord's Day. And while he's worshiping, he records that he heard behind him a loud voice with a trumpet saying, write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and Laodicea. So in the midst of his worship, in the midst of his earthly ministry, in the midst of his suffering, the Spirit of God comes in power and revelation to John and says, right. So this introduction that we're looking at to cycle one begins with John's earthly ministry, which is a ministry of struggle and patient endurance. And in the midst of that, in the power of the Spirit, the Word of God comes to him. And really Delightfully, in verse 12, he says, and I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning, I saw seven golden lampstands. Here he is in the midst of his earthly ministry and earthly suffering, and he hears the Spirit in power, and he looks around and he sees the heavenly temple. That's what's being described here. For he turns around and he hears and sees the heavenly temple and a figure in heavenly temple. And I think what's so beautiful about this is that it's a reminder that heaven is not out there, that heaven is not yet to come, that all the time heaven is just over our shoulder. If we could just turn around fast enough, we could see it. And this is a big point of John's ministry here. It's right there. It's right with you. And if you have eyes to fade, you don't even need to turn around. You'll see it.
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Podcast Host
What a comfort it is to know that heaven isn't just a future hope. The blessing belongs to each and every believer now, even in the midst of suffering. Thank you for joining us for renewing your mind today. You just heard a message from W. Robert Godfrey series on the Book of Revelation. It's called Blessed Hope. You can request all 24 messages when you give a donation at renewingyourmind.org or when you call us at 800-435-4343. Dr. Godfrey clears away the confusion so that we can understand this book is really a book of blessing. To thank you for your donation, you'll receive the DVD set along with digital access to all of the messages and the study guide in the free Ligonier app. Simply donate now at renewingyourmind.org or by using the link in the podcast Show Notes. And let me thank you for serving so many Christians around the world as your support makes this daily podcast possible. Well, if Jesus wrote a letter to your church, I'm sure the members would rush to read it, to study it and to apply it to their lives. In the Book of Revelation, there are letters to save seven churches, and tomorrow Dr. Godfrey will explain why they are of profound importance to the church today. So join us Thursday here on Renewing youg Mind.
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W. Robert Godfrey
Sam.