(Revelation) the Title of the Book — Willie Mullan

Number 8. Grace is a charming sound, harmonious to the ear, heaven with the echo shall resound, and all the earth shall hear. Number 8 please. And we're at the very first chapter, Revelation chapter 1.

The Three Central Personalities in Revelation

And if God wills, we're going through all the chapters in this book, and we're touching every phrase, and stopping at every comma, and taking a special stop at every stop, and we're bypassing no phrases, and we're dealing with all the symbols, and all the problems, and I can tell you now there's a thousand of them.

Yes, I've called these studies that we're commencing just now, reading and weeping in Revelation. And in the moment or two, in one of the verses in this chapter, I will tell you why I have called it reading and weeping in Revelation.

You can see that we're dealing with the first 11 verses this evening, every phrase in these 11 verses. And I think we have got a great paragraph this evening. There are three great personalities standing on the center of the stage of this paragraph.

Jehovah, and Jesus, and John. And of course, as we get into the depths of this book, we'll find that Jehovah is revealed in this great book, as the Eternal Sovereign. We will find that Jesus is revealed as the Exalted Savior.

We will find John revealed as the Entrusted Servant. These are the great personalities. Jehovah, the Eternal Sovereign. Jesus, the Exalted Savior. John, the Entrusted Servant. And the first thing we're going to look at tonight is the title of the book.

The Inspiration and Transmission of Scripture

Now, I think you know by now that I believe that every jot and tittle and sound and sentence of the original scriptures were God breathed. I believe that all scripture was given by inspiration of God.

I'm sure that every word was produced and placed and preserved in the original by a divine person. That this book is the inspired word of the living God. When I say that I'm sure that every jot and tittle and sound and sentence of the original scriptures were God breathed, I'm not thinking about the chapters and verses, because these were great letters that were written.

Of course, somebody put them into chapters and verses, and there are times when we're most thankful that they did. For reference sake, and going back to here and there, and even directing a meeting like this, we ought to thank the folks who did it.

But then some of us believe there were times they made the chapter divisions maybe in the wrong place. I'm sure it would be difficult to always make it in the right place. And then they gave headings to some of these books that some of us are not too happy with.

You see how this one's termed? It's termed the revelation of Saint John the Divine. Now, I'm perfectly sure that that is completely wrong. First of all, I am sure that John never called himself Saint John.

That, to me, is foolish completely. And I think he never did it. In fact, I shall prove he never did it. And most certainly, he never called himself Saint John the Divine. Never. This is completely wrong.

I don't know who is responsible for this, but I know when John meets him in heaven, he has something to say to him. And I'm sure the Lord will have something to say at the judgment seat of Christ. Furthermore, you know, it is not only wrong being called the revelation of Saint John the Divine, it's wrong being called the revelation of Saint John.

It is completely wrong. Have a look at the chapter, do you see? Do you see verse one? The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass, and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John.

It is not unto Saint John the Divine. Now, when John starts writing here in verse four, here's how he begins. He begins with the word John. It's a pity that the scholars didn't read this, for surely the way a man writes his name is the way he wants you to write it.

He just calls himself John. There is no ecclesiastical nonsense about him. You know that Paul wrote 14 letters in the New Testament. You can go back to them anytime you like. Romans, first and second Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, there are 14 of them.

And 13 of them begin with the word Paul, just like that. Not Pastor Paul, not Reverend Paul, not Dr. Paul, just Paul. And you'll find that Peter had told me he was the first pope. Well, I'll tell you how he signed his name, Peter.

You look his letter, and you look the second letter, and he began Simon Peter. This old ecclesiastical nonsense annoys me, because I know it comes from popery. And there's nothing I detest more than Pastor Mullen, for that is not my name.

Pastor is a gift given to certain folks in the church, and he did give gifts unto men. But if it is the description of a gift, it is not the title for a man. Not the bit of it. Here's John writing again down the chapter.

Do you see verse 9? He says, I, John, who also am your brother and companion in tribulation. There's the man writing now. He says, they call me John. He says, I'm your brother and companion in tribulation.

I preached at a funeral yesterday, and determined that I would preach the gospel. And felt that the Lord came upon this meeting at the grave, and men stood still, and not an eye blinked, and God spoke to the crowd.

And a complete stranger whom I've never seen before, an old man, came over to me after that. He said, you must be my brother. How do you make that out of that? Well, he said, you love the same gospel as I do.

He's an old Brethren fellow from a Brethren meeting, and it warmed the cockles of his heart to hear the gospel being preached. Oh, you're brothers. I, John, who also am your brother and companion in tribulation.

And don't let any one of us get this spiritual pride until we think we are something. Because the moment you think you are something, the Lord will come round and say, thou knowest not that thou art poor and blind and miserable and wretched and naked.

So I think this is an injustice to John. I don't know who is guilty of it, but I'm pointing it out. I'm defending John just now. And, of course, this title, The Revelation of Saint John, this is completely at sea.

I don't know why this ever happened. See, the first phrase of the first verse, have a look at it now. First phrase, what does it say? It says, The Revelation of Jesus Christ. That's not The Revelation of Saint John.

It's a pity they couldn't read, isn't it? This book is not The Revelation of Saint John. This book is The Revelation of Jesus Christ. And here's how the original Greek reads there, The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave of him to show unto his servants.

It's God's Revelation of Christ. And if I were putting the title on the book, I should say, God's Revelation of Christ. And I think that's the key to the whole book, of course. Because once you get this, and you know this, you realize that this book is God's great revelation of Christ.

Christ Revealed in the Churches, Throne, Nations, and New Jerusalem

And you can outline the whole book now. Because I can tell you this, that the first three chapters, you see Christ in the midst of the churches. God is revealing his Son of Lord in the midst of the churches.

And we shall be looking at the glory of the Lord in these first three chapters, in the midst of the churches. Then when you come to chapters four and five, you will find that the scene is in heaven, and the Lamb is upon the throne.

You see, God is revealing his Son of Lord in the midst of the churches. Then God reveals his Son of Lamb in the midst of the throne. It's the Lamb glorified now. Or we looked at the Lamb identified by John the Baptist, behold the Lamb.

And then we looked at the Lamb crucified, John Calvary. But this is the Lamb glorified. Yes, in the midst of the throne. And then when we start chapter six, and we go right through to the end of it, there we see the Lamb, the Lord, revealed again.

God is revealing him, not so much as Lord in the midst of the churches, or as Lamb in the midst of the throne, but as Lion. He's the Lion of the tribe of Judah. He's taking a dealing with the nations, in the midst of the nations.

And that's the wonderful part of this book, because we're going to learn what lies ahead just from here, for all the revelations, and the details are in this book. When you come to chapter 19, you know, you can see another revelation given.

It's the revelation of the lover. He's in the midst of the marriage feast, and the bride is there. Can't you see what God is doing? It's a wonderful book. It's a picture book. It's God's picture book of Christ.

And God reveals him as the Lord in the midst of the churches, and as the Lamb in the midst of the throne, and as the Lion in the midst of the nations, and as the lover in the midst of the marriage feast.

And then when you come to the chapters, and we're into the eternal day, and the new Jerusalem is there, there would be no need of the sun, neither of the moon. The Lamb shall be the light. Capital L, yes.

For God is light, and he'll be the light in the midst of eternal glory. What a picture book of Christ. I don't know why they missed this, but I think it's wrong. And so that's just a word about the title of the book.

But let's read the first two verses carefully now. The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave of him, to show unto his servants, just like us, things which must surely come to pass. And he sent and signified it.

And the word signified just means that he used signs. He sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John, who bear record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.

The Blessing and Purpose of Revelation

And now we come to what I have called the trait of the book. The word trait in your dictionary just means the noticeable feature. And the noticeable feature of this book is this, that it makes a promise to every one of us here, blessed is he that readeth.

You know, there's a blessing for you if you even read the book of the revelation. Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy. While there are many evangelical things in the book, and many fundamental things in the book, and many practical things, it is really a prophetical book.

It's the prophecies of this book. So that this is the trait of the book, it will bring blessing to the reader, it will bring blessing to the hearer. And it goes that little bit further, blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein.

The Seven Churches and John’s Prophetic Task

For the time is at hand. And the trait of the book ensures us that there are many blessings in store for us as we read, and hear, and keep. And then we come to the task of the book. Once we get this task set out properly, John to the seven churches which are in Asia.

And let's be quite clear about this, that these were literal, actual, local churches. Make no mistake about that, he was writing to churches. See down at verse 11, the Lord is speaking to him and saying, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia.

And he names them, unto Ephesus, unto Smyrna, unto Pergamos, unto Thyatira, and unto Thardis, unto Philadelphia, unto Laodicea. And John was to write to these seven literal, actual, local churches. They were local churches in Asia Minor.

And we'll notice this just in a moment. We're back in verse 4. John to the seven churches which are in Asia. Grace be unto you, and peace from. Now this letter is not just to go. He's writing to these churches.

He's writing from, from him which is, and which was, which is to come, and from the seven spirits, and from Jesus Christ. But we'll get back to that in a moment. We're just trying to get the task of the book.

The task is to write to the churches, to write from the Trinity. Now, what is to write about is a part of next week, but we look at it now just for a moment, down at verse 19. The Lord Jesus is speaking to John, and he's saying, write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter.

That's what is to do. You see, he's getting special revelations. It's God's revelation, and it's God's revelation of Christ. And you'll find that when we start next week at verse 12, that John turns to see the voice that speak with him, and being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks, and in the midst of the seven candlesticks, one like unto the Son of Man.

And then we get a description of the Son of Man, like we've never had before, at any time in the whole Bible. It's one of the great revelations. And you see, that's why John is being instructed to write the things which thou hast seen.

Because he has just seen the glory of the Lord. And here and there throughout the book he writes a revelation of the glory of the Lord. So many departments of the glory of the Lord. But he's not only to write the things which he has seen, he's to write the things which are.

And you see, when we start at chapter 2 and go on through chapter 3, we're looking how things are in the treacherous. And I can tell you, God speaks out loudly, you know. Because when God comes into an assembly, a local assembly like this, God looks at everything.

All the sermons are sent, and all the motives are measured, and all the saints are scrutinized. And then God says what he sees. And sometimes, maybe you'll not like what he says. But then he doesn't just talk to you about the things you want him to talk to you about.

He talks to you about your need. It's not what you want you get, it's what you need you get. And so John's to write about the things which he has seen, and the things which are. But the big bit of the book is, and the things which shall be hereafter.

That makes it prophecy. That's outlining things to come. Happenings ahead, we called it once upon a time. Well, there's a lot of them in this wonderful book. So this is the task. You can see the task.

I think you can see the title, and I think you can see the truth of the book. And I think you can see the task that John had before him, is to write to the seven churches. And he's to write about the things which he has seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter.

The Trinity in Revelation

And now we come to the Trinity in the book, and we're going back to verse four. John to the seven churches which are in Asia. Now, grace be unto you, he says, and peace from him, and it's a personality we're thinking about when we say from him.

From him which is, and which was, and which is to come. Want you to get that. Because we're looking at God when we're looking at that. And we're looking at the God of the present, him which is. And we're looking at the God of the past, him which was.

And you can't take me to a place where he was not. The beginning, when anything that ever had a beginning began, the word was, and the word was God. He was always there, which was. It's the God of the present, and it's the God of the past, and it's the God of the future, which is to come.

He'll always be there. In fact, you know, the best name for God is I Am. He's the Great I Am. When you go back as far as you can go away before the foundation of the world, the I Am is there. And when you go away in the other direction till time shall be no more, and you seal out into eternity, he is still the I Am, which is, which was, which is to come.

And John is writing to these seven churches from God the Father. And he has a great statement here at the end of verse four, and from these seven spirits which are before his throne. There's another translation by that great translator, Williams.

You know, I think that I should say this. I would like to say this. Old Dr. Williams was a Quaker, and I think that he has made one of the greatest translations of the New Testament that was ever made.

In his own quaint style, he got things right, you know. Remember we were looking at a phrase the other night, the Lord is at hand. And you could think it up wrong, you see. You could think it had a reference to the Lord's coming, and it has nothing of the kind.

And Old Williams translated it like this, the Lord is at thine elbow. The Lord is at hand. Dr. Ironside translated it, the Lord is beside thee. And all the different places through the scriptures, I find that Old Williams, in his quaint way, comes out on top, as far as I'm concerned.

So I would like to pay honour to him where it is due. And he translates this phrase here that has puzzled so many. John is writing from him which is, which was, which is to come, and from the seven spirits which are before his throne.

And here's what Williams says, and from the seven-fold Holy Spirit. Ah, that's really charming. Because it is the Holy Spirit that's in view here. Well, you can see that God is first, you can see that Jesus Christ is coming in a moment or two, and the Spirit is in between.

And it's the seven-fold Holy Spirit that he's to write from. Now, this is most interesting, because we believers are exhorted all the time to be filled with the Spirit. And that means that we're to be continually being filled with the seven-fold Holy Spirit.

And you know this puzzled quite a lot of scholars, and I don't know why. Our Lord Jesus Christ, when he began his ministry, you remember he took up the book and he said, the Spirit of the Lord is upon me.

And you remember a way back in Isaiah, I wonder do you remember this? Let's go back there. It's Isaiah chapter 11. Let's go back there for a moment now, because this is most interesting. Speaking of the Lord Jesus in verse 2, just to make you sure, we'll read verse 1.

The prophecy of Isaiah chapter 11, and there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse. Now, that's a rod coming out of the stem of Jesse. And you know that David came from Jesse. And you know that our Lord came from David as far as his flesh was concerned.

He was of the house and lineage of David. And a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch, capital B, you'll notice that, called this branch is Christ. And verse 2 says, and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him.

And let's get that phrase proper, because it's the Spirit of Jehovah. The word Lord is the old Hebrew word Jehovah. It's the Spirit of Jehovah. And this is the first thing we must always remember about the Holy Spirit, that He is, because He's a person, He is the Spirit of Jehovah, the Spirit of God He's sometimes called.

That's the first thing. He is also the Spirit of wisdom, understanding. The Spirit of God, the Spirit of wisdom, the Spirit of understanding, the Spirit of counsel, the Spirit of might, the Spirit of knowledge, and the Spirit of the fear of the Lord.

And there is the sevenfold explained for you. Count them now. The Spirit of God, Spirit of wisdom is two, Spirit of understanding is three, Spirit of counsel is four, the Spirit of might is five, Spirit of knowledge is six, the Spirit of the fear of the Lord is seven.

This is the sevenfold Holy Spirit. And you know this is something that I want to say quickly, and you preachers can take it up sometime. When a man is constantly being filled with the Spirit, he's conscious that all the thoughts and all the things that's happening and all the doings and deeds that's going on is being wrought by the Spirit of Jehovah.

Never takes any glory to himself. He sort of knows he's no use, but he knows the Spirit's at work. And you know this man has great wisdom. You'll always find the man that's filled with the Holy Ghost.

He has wisdom. He is no fool. He's a man that has understanding of many things, because the Holy Ghost makes him understand things. He's a man who can give counsel because the Spirit of counsel dwells in him.

He's a man who has might against the enemy. He'll not run. He's a man who has knowledge because the Spirit of knowledge dwells in him. He's a man who is always reverent before the Lord. The fear of the Lord is there.

And that's the sevenfold Holy Spirit. And it was good that old Williams got that, because that just helps us back here. Let's get back to this. You see, John is writing, this is his task, he's to write to the seven churches, and he's writing from him which is, which was, which has become.

And from the sevenfold Holy Spirit. And the Spirit is the person. Because, you know, I know that that's questioned. Sometimes people come to our door selling certain kinds of books, and they don't believe that the Holy Spirit is a person.

Two of them told me, at least tried to tell me some time ago, the Holy Spirit is not a person. The Spirit is just an influence. Just an influence. I said, now define that a wee bit for me. And they have bothered defining it, you know.

I said, you mean just to sort of something on about like a virus or the flu? You think that the Holy Spirit is something like the flu? You can't see it, but you can take it. And he admitted that this is what he believed.

Well, I said, it wouldn't do for me, friend. And I took them back to here, and you young ones, Marcus, because I'm doing this for you. This is the Acts of the Apostles, and it's chapter five. Acts of the Apostles, chapter five.

Now watch it very carefully. But a certain man named Ananias with Sapphira, his wife, sold a possession and kept back part of the price. His wife also being privy to it and brought a second part, laid it at the Apostles' feet.

He was pretending he was giving his all, but he wasn't. He had kept back part of the price. But Peter said, Ananias, you see, Peter had a gift which is called in this book the Spirit of Discernment. Now, if a fellow brought in some money to this place and said, I'm giving you all the money I have, I just wouldn't know whether he was or not.

I would thank him. I could do no more, because I haven't got the Spirit of Discernment. I wouldn't know. I would just thank the man. Then Peter was just a little bit more than I am. He was an apostle with great gifts.

And Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost? Now, that's the bit I asked the two fellows to look at. That here was a man called Ananias and Sapphira, his wife, and they were lying, lying to the Holy Ghost.

Do you think you can tell lies to an influence? How could I tell lies to the flu? It all almost is ridiculous to say. Now, watch this. Satan hath filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost and to keep back part of the price of the land.

While it remained, was it not thine own? And after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? Why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? Thou hast not lied unto men, but answer quick now, God, because the Holy Ghost happens to be God.

Is that clear enough? Because the two boys were stuck. Then when they get stuck, they're always wanting to say, there's a wee thing over here, not in your life you're not going over there. You just answer this.

I'm waiting on your answer, and if you don't answer, clear off. I can't be bothered. No time to waste. You know, old Churchill was a terrible drunk man. He was lying sleeping one day, and a wee small fellow, about five year old, crept into the room.

He said, are you the greatest man in the world? He said, I am. Clear off. Wise men have no time for nonsense. Now, let's get back to Revelation 1, verse 4. And John's task is to write to the seven churches, and is writing from him which is, which was, which is, which was, which is to come, and from the seven-fold Holy Spirit, and from Jesus Christ.

You can see the whole trinity is behind the message, can't you? You can see John's task. It's to the churches. You can see he's to write about the things which he has seen, the things which are, the things which shall be hereafter.

And the whole letter is coming from the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. I like the way that the wording comes here. And from him which is, and from the seven-fold Holy Spirit, and from Jesus Christ.

Christ’s Faithfulness, Resurrection, and Kingship

And then it puts a bit to that. Who is the faithful witness? And you know the faithfulness of our Lord is on the line. And then it says, I'm the first begotten of the dead. You know, that's a very wonderful phrase.

First begotten of the dead. You know, I remember a lady challenging me about this. She said, it says in this book that Christ was the first begotten from the dead. Well, surely that Lazarus rose again from the dead before him.

Surely Jairus' daughter rose again from the dead before him. Surely the widow's son rose again from the dead before him. I said, I think you have missed the point, madam. You see, when we talk about our Lord Jesus being the first begotten from the dead, we're talking about his victoriousness.

He rose never to die again. He rose in the power of an endless life. Lazarus died again. Jairus' daughter died again. The widow's son died again. But our Lord will never die again. You see, this book underlines his faithfulness, the faithful and true witness.

Then it underlines his victoriousness. It says, I'm from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness. I'm the first begotten of the dead. I'm the prince of the kings of the earth. Isn't that a great thing?

Because that's his majesticness. You see, it's underlining his faithfulness and his victoriousness and his majesticness. Now, this book has this tendency, we'll get to it in a moment, it breaks into song at times.

You know, it seems that the spirit is so thrilled talking about Christ that song just breaks out. And this is a bit of the song, but we're not doing it just now. Unto him that loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto our God is power to him be glory forever and ever.

But let's go on with this. Behold, he cometh with clouds, and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierce him, and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. You see, when he begins to talk about from the God of the present and the past and the future, when he begins to talk from the Holy Spirit, when he begins to talk about Christ, he talks about his faithfulness, his victoriousness, his majesticness, and then his fearfulness.

When he comes with clouds, that's the day that he's coming to this earth again. And in that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives. What a wonderful day that will be. The whole world will be afraid of him, quick.

And the Jewish nation that pierced him will be terrified. What a beautiful picture it is. God is giving pictures, and we've got to gather them up here. His faithfulness, his victoriousness, his majesticness, his fearfulness.

Now, that's the Trinity, isn't it? You can see God the Father, you can see God the Spirit, you can see God the Son. And we'll find the Trinity again and again and again in this book, you know. Now, you've seen the title of the book, and the treat of the book, and the task of the book, and the Trinity of the book.

Songs of Redemption and the Believer’s Dignity

I want you to look at the tendency, because there are more songs in this book than any other book. The tendency is to break out into song. You see, I think that the Spirit was so thrilled writing about Christ that in the middle of verse five, there's a song.

It's unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father. You can see that it's a song, because it ends, to him, the glory and dominion forever and ever.

Amen. Now, as you look at the song, it's all about this great person. Unto him, it's always about him. Our song shall be of him. Sometimes the philoists sing here, my theme shall be of Jesus. Now, notice this.

It's not only his personality that's taken up in the song, but his passion. Him that loved us. Well, let's get that bit quite clear. You know, it's wonderful that God's Son loved me. I was born in the back streets, you know, and my mother wore a shawl.

Still my mother. And she loved the Lord Jesus, shawl and all. And she got down on her knees and prayed for us every night. And she had them 2D sometimes, but she still loved them. And, oh, I was born in a back street, in a tumble-down shack, and I went to school on my bare feet all my days.

Jesus loved me. Why he loved me, I shall never know. The answer is, he loved me because he loved me. The Son of God loved me and gave himself for me. Hallelujah! What a thing! Who will sing in heaven?

When you think of it, you almost break out into song yourself. Yes, you see, this song talks about his passion, and then it talks about his passion unto him that loved us. And then it talks about his performance washed from our sins in his own blood.

Any boy here that doesn't like the word washed, get out! And don't come back. They don't want your cane around here. About being washed in the blood of the Lamb. Some of the modernists. An old modernistic minister said to me, once, I detest the blood of Jesus.

I felt like swallowing him. Grace saves them sometimes. I said, do you have a communion table where you are? Yes. Do you have bread on it? Yes. What does it symbolize? The body of Jesus. He knew the answers.

Do you ever got a cup on it? Yes. What's the wine symbolize? He wouldn't answer that question. Doesn't grace really save them? I said, if you had, if you had, you were as big a man in your physical being as you are with your mouth.

You go down and pitch the cup out. A man that says, I detest the blood of Jesus, shouldn't have a cup on the table. He hasn't got the guts to throw it out. He's only a rebel. And some of you people support these sort of rebels.

Men that would deny them. How do you get stuck in there? You need to put your shoulders back and take a stand for the Lord. And get out! It's what this book says. There are rebels running around now saying you should stick in these places.

I'll tell you what the Lord says. Have no fellowship with them, but rather reprove them. That's what I'm doing just now. And not particularly whether you like it or not. I'm just quoting God's word. Get out!

Touch not the unclean things. That's God's word. That's not soft soap, you know. That's teaching. Yes, watch this song again. Because it talks about the person and his passion and his performance washed us from our sins in his own blood.

And then it talks about the production and have made us kings and priests unto God. Boy, I can tell you that's something. Yes. Made us kings and priests. I used to preach with an old preacher, you know.

And he was about 50 years older than I was. An old man with a beard. And taught me a lot of things. And he had no mercy on me. He taught you what you should know in the roughest possible way. And I was big enough to take it.

And I'm so glad. And you know you should see the cutthroats. They always wore a claw hammer coat. You know what a claw hammer coat is. Well, if you never know, it doesn't make any difference. And it was green with age.