November 02, 2023 | Be On Mission
The Revelation of Jesus Christ
Scripture: Revelation 1(NIV)
1 The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2 who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. 3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.
4 John,
To the seven churches in the province of Asia:
Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.
7 “Look, he is coming with the clouds,”
and “every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him”;
and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.”
So shall it be! Amen.
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”
9 I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10 On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, 11 which said: “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.”
12 I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. 14 The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. 15 His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.
17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18 I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.
19 “Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. 20 The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
Devotional
The book of Revelation is perhaps the most debated writing of the entire Bible. I agree with John Ortberg, who said that most Christians take one of two approaches to the book: obsession or avoidance. Some are obsessed, working tirelessly to make a meaningful picture out of the puzzling puzzle pieces which contain numbers, creatures, objects and events. Others admit they simply don’t understand the book of Revelation and therefore do not study it. Let’s set out to correct both of those extremes.
Chapter 1 opens with a declaration that this revelation was given by the ascended Jesus Christ through an angel to the apostle John. Several promises are given: the things described would take place soon, it is the word of God and testimony of Jesus, and the recipients would be blessed when it is read aloud. What a blessing to them and to us!
John wrote this document to the seven churches in the Roman province of Asia (modern day western Turkey). The number seven is prominent in this first chapter, and occurs over thirty times throughout the entire book. Revelation was written in a literary style known as “apocalyptic.” In this genre, numbers can have both a symbolic and a literal meaning.
We have this in our culture too. We say that seven is a lucky number, while thirteen is the opposite. Sometimes we say bad things happen in threes, and at other times we say the third time’s a charm.
In apocalyptic literature of that day the number seven carried the connotation of completeness, perfection, or maturity. So the seven churches, seven lampstands, seven stars and seven spirits have symbolic meaning beyond the literal number. They represent the fullness of God’s activity among all His faithful people. John even defines what he meant in verse 20.
Most powerful in this first chapter of Revelation is the authority and praise given to Jesus Christ. He alone gives grace to sinners and peace to the persecuted. He alone frees us from our sins by His death on the cross and makes us worthy of His presence on earth and in heaven. He alone will return and be ascribed glory and power by everyone on earth. Jesus alone has authority over His Church!
Pause now to offer Jesus praise and thanksgiving for all that He has done, all that He is doing, and all that He will do in time to come!
Poem
The Light Of Mine
I have a light within me
Ignited long ago
A flame upon my altar
My passion’s heart aglow
It’s fueled by God’s anointing
The Spirit’s holy oil
I’m called to tend it daily
This be my worship’s toil
Sometimes it serves as lighthouse
A beam across the waves
A-searching out those tossed about
Far crying to be saved
Sometimes it is a flashlight
God’s word my path illumine
To shed its light on stumbling blocks
Christ’s wisdom way acumen
In hard times it can flicker
A candle in the wind
It’s then I need a shelt’ring friend
To tend when faith grows thin
No matter life’s conditions
May I like Lampstand be
Illuminating full the room
Christ’s joy shining from me
