Sunday, May 19, 2024 AM

Let's go to the Lord together in prayer. Heavenly Father, we do thank

You for the opportunity today that You have arranged, that You have provided for, for us to come together and worship

You. We are made in Your image, made for Your glory.

How right, how fitting, how fulfilling, how satisfying for us to come together and worship

You. To give You praise. That we who are made in Your image have been made to live according to Your Word.

And You have given us Your Word unfailingly, without error, with all power and authority, in the light of Your Son Jesus Christ, provided Your Word to us through Your Holy Spirit.

These holy Scriptures, we thank You, we give You praise, and ask that You would warm our hearts to the truth of this text.

That as we look at Jesus Christ in this Word, we would look more like Him in this world.

To the praise of the glory of Your grace. Amen. I invite you to open your

Bibles and turn with me to Revelation chapter 1. Revelation chapter 1, and we will read verses 9 through 20, here in a moment.

Revelation 1 verses 9 through 20.

Last Sunday was Ascension Sunday, the Sunday after Ascension Thursday.

And we were reflecting on the essential part of the story.

The good news. That Jesus Christ was born, that He lived a righteous and perfect life, that He died upon the cross in obedience to His Father.

He died there in our place, and for our sake, He was buried in the tomb and was raised the third day.

And He ascended to the right hand of the Father. What an important part of the story.

Where is Jesus today? We asked the question last week.

Some leave Christ in shadow. Some leave Christ dead in the ground. Some leave

Christ on the cross. Saints, where is Christ to be found? He is at the right hand of the

Father. He has ascended. He has been given a name which is above every name. He has been given all authority in heaven and on earth.

And this glorious ascension of Jesus Christ is put on display and brought home to the

Apostle John here in Revelation 1. This is an essential passage for us.

I think that this summer, all those who are going to be reading through the New Testament, I'm not going to add anything to it, but just in case you wanted something extra to do, read

Revelation 1 every spare chance you get. As you read about Jesus Christ in the

Gospels and Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, don't forget to go read Revelation 1. When you read through the book of Acts and see all that is going on in the early church, don't forget to go and read

Revelation 1 when you hear about how things go with the churches.

And as Paul writes to the churches and to the young men in his charge about the essential matters that must be looked to, don't forget to go read

Revelation 1 and remember who Jesus Christ is.

Vitally important for all of us. Let me invite you to stand with me if you are able. We're going to read our passage this morning.

Beginning in verse 9. I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ was on the island that is called

Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. I was in the spirit on the

Lord's day and I heard behind me a loud voice as of a trumpet saying, I am the

Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last. And what you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia, to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.

Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me and having turned, I saw seven golden lampstands.

And in the midst of the seven lampstands, one like the son of man, clothed with the garment down to the feet, girded about the chest with a golden band.

His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow. And his eyes like a flame of fire.

His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace. And his voice is the sound of many waters.

He had in his right hand seven stars. Out of his mouth went a sharp two -edged sword and his countenance was like the sun shining in its strength.

And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. But he laid his right hand on me saying to me, do not be afraid,

I am the first and the last. I am he who lives and was dead and behold, I am alive forevermore, amen.

And I have the keys of Hades and of death. Write the things which you have seen and the things which are and the things which will take place after this.

The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in my right hand and the seven golden lampstands. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches.

This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God, you may be seated. What is the difference between a tourist and a pilgrim?

What is the difference between tourist and a pilgrim? A lot to be said for their similarities, but what would be the difference?

Think about that for a little bit. Today is Pentecost Sunday. Pentecost Sunday.

This is very much related to the ascension of Jesus Christ.

As you recall, Jesus told his disciples that he would be going away from them, but he would not leave them orphans for he would send them the

Holy Spirit. And in fact, he said it was most essential and far better for them that he go away from his disciples and that he send to them the

Holy Spirit. And as we reflect on the day of Pentecost, wherein

God made it so evidently clear that the new covenant had come upon the scene and the

Holy Spirit was at work amongst the people of God, powerfully working so that the gospel of the kingdom would be proclaimed effectively.

It is good for us to think about this passage. Again, Revelation 1, 9 through 20.

Last week, we were thinking about the ascended Jesus Christ, his glory, his power, and the way that he speaks and the way that he addresses the church.

We reflected upon the need for the saints in whatever situation we're in, that the saints need to hear from the

Savior and that whatever the Spirit says to the churches, we better pay attention.

And if Jesus Christ were to address one church, then all the churches had better sit up and take notice as we do in the reading of the scriptures.

It doesn't matter if it's Galatians or Thessalonica or Sardis or Laodicea, whichever church is addressed, we sit up, we pay attention, we take notice because we need to hear from our

Savior. And now our attention is drawn to verses 12 through 16 and there to behold

Christ's ascendant appearance. Isn't it good to have pictures from the past?

All throughout our phones and our emails and on our walls and bookshelves and perhaps tucked away in boxes in dusty corners, there are pictures that are completely out of date.

And when there are pictures of young children, the parents know who's who.

Sometimes the children themselves don't know which one was I. They look so different, but the parents know exactly who's who.

Oh, you looked exactly the same, much to the embarrassment of the children. This hasn't happened with just young folks.

It also happens with very old folks. As they look at their portraits from long ago and they say, yep, that's me, but others would have a hard time making the connection.

It's nice to have pictures from the past, but how vital it is to have an up -to -date picture, to have a picture that represents who we are in the moment.

And do you know that we're required by law to have some kind of up -to -date photograph?

It's important when it's time for the authorities to find you. It's important that they have an up -to -date picture of you.

It's important if they need to find you and make sure that you've paid your taxes. It's an up -to -date picture.

If they need to do a security background on you, they need a up -to -date picture. We used to have an up -to -date, need to have an up -to -date picture to vote for the president.

That's no longer required, obviously. But when it comes to payment to the state, we have to have an up -to -date picture, don't we?

I wonder if we have an up -to -date picture of Jesus Christ.

I wonder if we have an up -to -date picture of Jesus Christ when we pray, an up -to -date picture of Jesus Christ when we worship, when we sing, when we give praise and honor to our

King. I wonder if we have an up -to -date picture of Jesus Christ when we counsel one another, when we seek to encourage each other, when we try to make decisions to do the right thing.

Do we have an up -to -date picture of Jesus Christ in mind? This is where Revelation 1 9 -20 is so helpful.

We have an up -to -date picture. We get to match the voice to the face to the name. The voice of Jesus Christ is described for us that we would know what

He says and how He says it. The face, the appearance of Jesus Christ is brought up to date so we know what

He looks like in all of His glory and His name, His identification, who He is in His glory is shown to us here in this passage.

What an essential passage for us to pay attention to.

Nearly 10 years ago, almost 10 years ago, when I first stood in this pulpit,

I preached Hebrews 3 1. Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the apostle and high priest of our confession,

Christ Jesus. Consider Christ Jesus. I trust that we have not yet left the application of that passage in these 10 years.

Behold, consider, think about Christ's ascendant appearance.

Look at verses 12 through 16 again. John writes, Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me.

And having turned, I saw seven golden lampstands. And in the midst of the seven lampstands, one like the

Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet, girded about the chest with a golden band,

His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire.

His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters.

He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two -edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength.

Is this who we have in mind when we think of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ?

We should first of all wonder at the Lord's location.

We should wonder at the Lord's location. John hears the voice, and he turns to look and see.

And what he sees is a seven -fold lampstand, something straight out of the temple, the massive menorah, the lampstand that held seven lamps, seven stars.

Lights. And in the midst, right in the midst of this seven -fold lampstand, he sees one like a son of man.

Isn't this interesting? He speaks of the seven -fold lampstand, and he speaks of one like a son of man.

As John is so prone to do by the Holy Spirit in the book of Revelation, he takes from the

Old Testament palette, and he mixes the colors and paints the vision of Christ's glory.

And Revelation has 404 verses and about 600 quotes and allusions to the

Old Testament. There's more quotes and allusions to the Old Testament in Revelation than there are verses.

And so very often, studying the book of Revelation, one must go very slow and allow yourself to appreciate the ingredients that are brought together and how the taste of them is so glorious in view of who

Christ is. So two passages John references very quickly, and he does so Daniel 7 and Zechariah 4.

This phrase, one like a son of man, is clearly the glorious vision of the

Messiah from Daniel 7. And as Daniel was watching the parade of beastly nations, one after the other, just like the nations of man do, one rises up and falls, then the next one rises up and falls, and the next one, and the next one.

They're so temporary. Oh, they're frightening beasts. Yes, they seem to be strong, but none of them last.

And in view of all of this, right in the middle of a description of the fourth beast, which was the empire of Rome, we read this.

I was watching in the night visions, and behold, one like the son of man. Direct quote.

John uses the exact phrase in Revelation 1. One like the son of man.

And behold, right? So we're to pay attention. We're to look at this individual coming with the clouds of heaven, an expression very often used to describe the judgment of God, that He comes in the clouds of heaven, and He comes with judgment and authority over all the earth.

But notice the direction of the son of man. He came to the ancient of days. So yes,

He's coming with the clouds of heaven. He has all authority to judge. He is the judge of all mankind,

King of kings and Lord of lords. But notice the direction He goes in these clouds of heaven.

He comes to the ancient of days. So this is His ascension. And they brought

Him near before Him, then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve

Him. These folks we hear about in Revelation 5. He redeemed by His blood people from every tribe, tongue, and nation.

Notice that His kingdom is not like the kingdoms of men. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away, and His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed.

Jesus is not like the other kings. He is not one who can be deposed.

He cannot be dethroned. He cannot lose His kingdom. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom.

His dominion will never be destroyed. And so, we are to see the ascended, glorified, royal

Christ. That's who we're seeing here in Revelation 1. He is one like a son of man.

He is ascended to the right hand of the Father. He has all authority. Look at Him in His glory.

And also, we do not see here in chapter 1, Jesus Christ seated at the right hand of God.

We are surprised perhaps. Isn't this what Colossians said? Isn't this what

Ephesians said? Isn't this what we heard from Stephen when he was dying in Acts 7?

Where is He to be found? O saints, where is Christ to be found? We know He's at the right hand, but also, let us lay on top of that another glorious truth.

He is in the midst of seven golden lampstands.

The seven -fold golden lampstand in the midst of that is one like a son of man.

So where is He located? Smack dab in the middle of a giant menorah that is gold, that's on fire, that's blazing.

That's what John sees. And in this, he's quoting from Zechariah 4. Zechariah 4.

So John, the apocalyptic artist, takes a little dab from Daniel 7, and then he mixes it with a dab of Zechariah 4, and then he paints

Christ as all the apostles do. Zechariah 4, and in verse 2, in a vision that Zechariah has, both

Daniel and Zechariah living after the destruction of Jerusalem in 586

B .C., thinking about what's next. There's no Ark of the Covenant, what happened to the priesthood, there's no king on the throne of Jerusalem.

What in the world is going to happen next? And so Daniel and Zechariah are filled with those types of questions, and in the answers, they are given visions.

And Zechariah is asked in verse 2, what do you see? So I said, I am looking, and there is a lampstand of solid gold with a bowl on top of it.

And on the stand, seven lamps with seven pipes to the seven lamps. And so he sees the sevenfold golden lampstand,

Zechariah does. It's the same one that John is referencing here in his vision. And there's a bowl that's above this sevenfold lampstand.

And there are pipes, little golden pipes coming out of the bowl. Each one comes to one of the lamps upon the sevenfold lampstand.

The bowl is up high, so whatever's in the bowl is gravity -fed down to the lamps. And what's in the bowl?

Verse 3, two olive trees are by it, one at the right hand of the bowl and the other at its left.

Olive trees, well of course. So we have two living olive trees that are continually fueling and funneling their fuel, their olive oil into the bowl.

And the bowl is constantly nourishing and giving fuel to these seven lampstands.

What an interesting vision. So I answered and spoke to the angel who talked with me saying, what are these, my

Lord? And the angel who talked with me answered and said to me, do you not know what these are?

I said, no, my Lord. So he answered and said to me, this is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel, who was the governor, the leader, who was overseeing the temple rebuilding project.

Not by might nor by power, but by my spirit, says the

Lord of hosts. Not by power, not by might, but by my spirit, says the

Lord of hosts. So on the occasion that there was trouble in the post -exile

Jerusalem as they were trying to rebuild things and rebuild the temple and so on, God says to Zerubbabel, not by power, not by might, but by my spirit, says the

Lord of hosts. That's how the temple gets rebuilt. And this word resonates all the way to the

New Testament, where the temple is not built by power or by might, not by brick and not by mortar, but by the spirit, says the

Lord of hosts. And what are we told time and time and time again throughout the New Testament? That the temple that is being built is of living stones.

And that the people of Christ are called the temple. And that we're filled with the

Holy Spirit. And the new covenant temple is not built by might and not by power, but by the

Holy Spirit. And the vision that Zechariah had gets translated to chapter one of Revelation, and John says,

Jesus Christ is in the midst of the lampstands. We learn in verse 20, he means the churches.

In verse four, we're told of the sevenfold spirit of God, the plentitude of the Holy Spirit for the seven churches to whom

Paul is writing there in Asia Minor on that postal route from Ephesus to Laodicea. A plentitude of the

Holy Spirit for the plenary church. Enough Holy Spirit for every church.

The whole Holy Spirit for every local church. And so, not by power, not by might, but by the

Holy Spirit, says the Lord. That's how the new covenant temple is built.

And where might you expect to find your great high priest? How about in the temple?

Surprised to find the high priest in the temple? We shouldn't be. There he is in the new covenant temple, in the midst of the churches.

Where else would he be? Where else would we expect to find him? Well, I thought he was at the right hand of the Father. I thought he'd take a leave of absence.

I thought Jesus Christ was on sabbatical. No! He's building the church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.

So he's at work. That's what we've been looking at in the book of Acts. The act of the risen Lord Jesus Christ.

That's what we've been looking at. He's at work. He is active. And so we find in wonderment,

Jesus Christ. Yes, he's at the right hand of the Father, and also he's in the midst of the churches.

What a comfort. What a comfort that we know that Jesus Christ, by his

Spirit, is with us. He is with us even to the end of the age.

Also, we should wonder at the Lord's clothing. We've already been told that he is one like a son of man, which is

Daniel chapter seven, but also note a description that leads us to Daniel chapter 10.

So in Revelation chapter one, and I'd have you look at verse 13 again.

In the midst of the seven lampstands, one like the son of man, notice, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band.

So we see the clothing of the Lord. Now, why is that important?

Well, in Daniel chapter 10, verses four through six, as Daniel has been given vision after vision, prophecy after promise about how

God is going to be orchestrating and shepherding all of history into the

Christ -shaped fold of his glory. Here in Daniel 10, verses four through six.

Now, on the 24th day of the first month, as I was by the side of the great river that is the Tigris, I lifted my eyes and behold, and looked, and behold, a certain man clothed in linen, whose waist was girded with the gold of Uphaz.

Ah, this is a similar description here in Revelation one. White linen with a golden band.

Verse six, his body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like torches of fire, his arms and feet like burnished bronze in color, and the sound of his words like the voice of a multitude.

So when we read Revelation chapter one, so what a similar description that John has to that of Daniel.

And yes, indeed, this is the glorious risen, ascended Lord Jesus Christ and all of his glory that John is witnessing.

And he is the same God, the same Lord, the same master over all of history that Daniel encountered.

This is very encouraging, especially since John has already told them, I am your brother and I am your companion in this tribulation, in this kingdom, in this patience of the

Lord Jesus Christ. I'm in it with you. As a matter of fact, I'm on the island of Patmos for the sake of the gospel.

That's why I'm here and not with you. But where are they to look?

Are they to be captivated, obsessed, focusing on the boogeyman?

The boogeyman in every generation, is there not? There's always a boogeyman. Oh, it was

Hitler. Oh, it was Stalin. Oh, it was Mao. Oh, it's

George Soros, the boogeyman. Just fixated, focused upon, enthralled with, so vitally impressed with the power and the wealth and the ability of the boogeyman who's always doing the wrong thing and getting all of these awful people to do awful things and how much we look at the boogeyman and are enraptured with him.

But that is not to be our focus, is it? How glorious is our Lord, the

Lord of history, the one who is in control of it all.

Jesus Christ is wearing the robes of glory, which say that He is worthy to take the scroll and to break the seven seals.

Let us be impressed with Him. And then we receive seven features of the

Lord in verses 14 through 16. Seven features. The first three, pay attention to His power,

His authority, His ability. The next three, look at how

He exercises that authority in the world, how He brings about His will and accomplishes it.

And the last feature unites them both together. So first of all, in verse 14, we read, that His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow.

Those with white hair are old. But He's a lot older than most white haired folks we know today.

In fact, He shares in all eternity past the glory of the

Father and the glory of the Spirit. And His face and His head and His hair are white like wool, like wool, like a pure lamb without spot and without blemish.

We are reminded who He is. He is the lamb slain from the foundation of the world.

And His eyes, notice His eyes. His eyes like a flame of fire.

Our God is a consuming fire. What darkness can survive that stare?

Who will be able to hide? What will remain that is unrevealed when

Jesus Christ takes a look, puts His attention upon this person and that person?

This realm of darkness and that realm of darkness. Do you think that there are places in the world today that are just too dark for Jesus to see?

Are there places in the world today that are just too dark that His holy gaze cannot penetrate?

That His holy power cannot rule and reign? We have brothers and sisters in Christ, not just on the front lines, but behind enemy lines today, because you cannot contain the power and the authority of Jesus Christ.

Notice His feet. Verse 15 says, His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace.

Oh, these feet that are glowing like bronze straight out of the refiner's fire, swift they are to traverse the earth, tireless to stride the sentries, strong to trample all enemies.

Now, how does He bring forth His power in ruling authority? How does

He make His authority known? Notice the next three descriptions. His voice as the sound of many waters.

His voice as the sound of many waters. Someone once said this is like standing at the bottom of a waterfall and the sound overwhelms you.

But the waters are also varied. This is the roaring falls and you can still hear the singing brook.

This is the pounding surf and you can still hear a bright trickle for this is the voice of the lion and the lamb.

He rules and showcases His authority by His voice and notice what is in His right hand.

Seven stars. Seven stars, we're told in verse 20 that these stars are the angels or the messengers, translated, of the seven churches.

Are these heavenly messengers or earthly messengers? Is there an angel assigned to each local church?

What a wonderful thought. We do know that there are those preaching at those local churches the

Word of God. Either way you take it, the Word of Jesus Christ, sovereign over the churches,

He is speaking to the messengers of the churches in His right hand.

He is the one who delivers to us what we need to hear. He is feeding us with His own right hand, the nourishment of His Word.

And notice also His mouth. Notice His mouth. Out of His mouth went a sharp two -edged sword.

A sharp two -edged sword. John quoting Isaiah 49 verse 2 of the true servant of the

Lord. The sharp two -edged sword coming out of His mouth. There's a typo in your handout, but it's not

Revelation 19 .15. It's Hebrews 4 verse 12 that says, For the Word of God is living and powerful and sharper than any two -edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

So He comes advancing, and He has His voice like many waters, and He has the churches and the messengers in His right hand, and He advances by the power, the strength of His Scripture.

The Holy Word of God. Jesus Christ is the author and fulfiller, the interpreter and the enforcer of the

Scriptures. And notice His face. Notice His face.

His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength.

An overwhelming light and an essential light.

An inescapable light. And a glorious light.

This is what all the churches of all the generations, this is what each saint in every situation needs to behold.

When we think of Jesus Christ, whom do we see?

Whom do we behold? When we think of His garments, when we think of His head, when we think of His hands, when we think of His feet, when we think of His face, what comes to mind?

It is true that He was born of the Virgin Mary and laid as a helpless infant in a feeding trough in Bethlehem.

It is true that as a toddler, He was whisked away to safety down to Egypt and later brought up to Nazareth to grow up and learn

His Father's carpentry trade. It is true that they went on a pilgrimage down to Jerusalem so that He would learn the ways of worship at the temple.

And that He questioned the teachers of the law and stumped them one by one. And it is true that He came forth ministering, was baptized by John the

Baptist, and that He sat with sinners, and He taught disciples, and He was hungry, and He thirsted, and He needed to sleep, and He was truly, genuinely, fully human.

In fact, He did die on the cross. His hands were pierced. His head was beaten and pierced by thorns.

His body ravaged by the torture of the Roman soldiers. And He was killed there and laid in a tomb.

And He really was raised from the dead three days later. All of this is true. And every single one of those truths contributes to the glorified state of the present picture we have of Jesus Christ.

None of it takes away from it. It only adds to it that this is our glorified Lord Jesus Christ.

Let us have an up -to -date picture of Jesus Christ when we pray, when we praise, when we plan.

Let us make sure we have the right picture of Jesus Christ in mind. We are all so compelled to believe

Christ's ascended authority as John is. Verse 17, When I saw

Him, I fell at His feet as dead. Who wouldn't? But He laid

His right hand on me, saying to me, Do not be afraid. I am the first and the last.

I am He who lives and was dead. And behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of death.

Jesus is talking to John as if John had not met Him before.

But John, of course, had met Jesus before. He had met

Him before. And in fact, He had been in this situation before. In Matthew 17,

Jesus took Peter, James, and John, led them up a high mountain, and He was transfigured before them.

His face shone like the sun, like here in this passage. His clothes became as white as light.

And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. And then Peter answered and said to Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here.

If You wish, let us make here three tabernacles. One for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. Let's have a summit of great

Bible authorities as if Moses and Elijah were on par with Jesus.

While He was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, This is

My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him! Not Moses. Not Elijah.

Hear Him! Because it's Him that they testified of. When the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid.

Now this is familiar from Revelation 1. Jesus came and touched them and said, Arise, do not be afraid.

When they lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only. Oh, that that would be! Oh, that that would be the way that we move from our prayers to our

Bible reading. That we would be on our knees and that we would be praying and worshipping the

Lord and giving Him glory and praise for who He is. And that when we get up off our knees and we open up the

Scriptures, we see no one but Jesus only. What does

Jesus say to John in Revelation 1? He says,

I am He who lives and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. He says,

I am the first and the last. He says, I have the keys of Hades and of death.

What an introduction. Jesus is, in a sense, reintroducing Himself to John.

Do you know that we regularly need that kind of reintroduction? How easy it is for us to forget who it is who has saved us, who it is who reigns over us, who it is who's going to return.

How easy it is for us to forget we need to be reintroduced like this time and again to the rule of our sovereign

King. This Savior who has been resurrected for us. The One who holds the very keys of death and of grave.

What a massive comfort this is to the saints facing tribulation. John is speaking to those who are soon to be imprisoned, soon to be killed.

What a manner of comfort to saints facing a world upheaval.

We don't face a world upheaval alone. It is far better to be overwhelmed by the glory of Christ than the tumult of men.

And these instructions that he gives, verse 19, he says, Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this.

And so, Jesus says to John, you've got to write this stuff down. You've got to write down what you have just seen. Whatever is taking place in the time that John is writing to the seven churches, the things that are, and whatever is going to happen after that, the things which will be,

Jesus is saying to John, you need to write down what you've already seen, because that is what has to be applied to what is now and what is yet to come.

And the only thing that John has seen so far is Christ glorified. That's all he's seen.

Christ ascended. Christ with all authority. Christ as the fulfillment of these visions from the

Old Testament. As the builder of the new covenant temple. That's all that John has seen so far. And Jesus says, write that down.

And then write the things which are and which will be, because the ascended, glorious Christ, who

He is, is what needs to be applied to the things that are and the things that will be. His glory is the light by which we read the

Scriptures. It is the anchor which grounds our interpretation, and it is the direction that our obedience takes.

Notice verse 20. The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in my right hand and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches.

Jesus says to John, I'm not being confusing. Just pay attention. God wasn't going for obscurity.

He wasn't going for confusion. He was going for rich pictures that stick with us because we're going to face a lot of things and need to worship

Christ the whole way through. And so Jesus gives the right interpretation to John. How convenient.

We don't have to guess. Jesus says. This is what it means. He just gets to say. In His glorious, exalted position,

He simply gets to say. Was He not always just telling the people what the Scriptures meant?

No, O scribes. No, Nicodemus, teacher of Israel. No, Pharisees.

You're getting it wrong. You're getting it wrong. How are we getting it wrong? He says, because I said so.

So, He is the light by which we interpret the Scriptures and read the Scriptures and understand the

Scriptures. We do not want to exalt anyone or anything else up to the right hand of God.

He's the only light that we need to know what the Scriptures mean. Now, what was the difference, do you think, between a tourist and a pilgrim?

Did you come up with anything yet? They have to plan. They have to make some arrangements.

They've got to go from point A to point B. They're going to go see some things.

Their whole intention is to go see some things and take some things in. Both the tourist and the pilgrim.

But here's the difference. The tourist is being led by mere facts and hoping to be wowed.

Here's the facts about the Sistine Chapel and I'm going to go be wowed. Here's the facts about this historic battlefield and I'm going to go be wowed.

That's not bad. But a pilgrim goes by faith to worship.

Goes by faith to worship. And the journey that Jesus Christ sets

His servant John on there in Revelation, you could just move forward in Revelation from that point holding on to some facts and going wow, wow, wow.

But actually, the journeys that John takes in the Spirit on the Lord's day, in the

Spirit in the throne room, in the Spirit in the wilderness, in the Spirit on the high mountain, the journey that he takes was one by faith and he didn't go to be wowed, but he went to worship.

He went to worship. Let this be the way we approach our worship.

Not just facts and hoping to be wowed, but let us be led by faith that we would worship.

Be like John, truly humbling ourselves before the Lord and taking in the comfort and encouragement that we need as saints from our

Savior. Let's close with a word of prayer. Father, I thank You for the time that You've given us.