Will you please turn to the book of Revelation?
The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show unto His bondservants the things which must shortly come to pass; and He sent and signified it by His angel unto His servant John,
who bare witness of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, even of all things that he saw.
Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of the prophecy, and keep the things that are written therein: for the time is at hand.
Shall we pray?
Dear Lord, we do praise and thank Thee because Thou art faithful. Thou canst not deny Thyself.
We thank Thee according to Thy promise: Thou art here with us. Lord, we want to have our eyes opened. We acknowledge before Thee that we are all like the blind leading the blind. Have mercy on us.
Open Thy word to us. Open our hearts to Thy word, that we may receive revelation, that we may not be disobedient to the heavenly vision.
Lord, do not pass us by. Come to us and touch us. In the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.
This morning, we would like to consider together before the Lord the revelation given to John the apostle.
We know that John was one of the first who followed our Lord Jesus. One day, John the Baptist and two of his disciples were standing there, and Jesus passed by.
When John the Baptist saw Jesus passing by, he said, “Behold, the Lamb of God.” Immediately, these two disciples left John and followed Jesus.
Jesus turned around and asked them, “What do you want?” And they said, “Where do You dwell?” The Lord said, “Come and see.” So these two disciples spent the day with the Lord Jesus.
The next day, we remember, Andrew went to find his brother, Simon Peter. Nothing was mentioned about what John did, but I think most likely he must have gone to find his brother James and led him to Jesus.
So John was one of the first who followed, who came to the Lord Jesus. We also know that he was the last of the twelve disciples to pass from this earth. He had a very long history of being with the Lord.
Because of his intimate relationship with the Lord, he received much revelation. As a matter of fact, we can say that in John there is the consummation, the summing up, of all the revelations that God gives to men concerning His Son. So there in John we have the fullest revelation.
Now why was it that he received the full revelation of Jesus Christ? I think the secret is here.
You know, when the Lord turned back and said, “What do you want?”—what do you want?—they said, “Where do You dwell?”
Now, it seems that this was a very strange answer to the question, “What do you want?” “I want this. I want that.” But no, they said, “Where do You dwell?” In other words, “We want to be with You. We want You.”
And they stayed; they abode with the Lord that day. So, brothers and sisters, from the very beginning, John abode with Christ, and this abiding was the secret of all the life of John.
From the very first day, he made his home in Jesus. He stayed there. He continued in it. And because he abode in Christ, therefore you find that he received much revelation.
Brothers and sisters, we said it is the pleasure of God to reveal His Son. And no doubt the same is true with the Son. It is His delight, His longing, His desire, to reveal Himself to us. He wants to give Himself to us.
But why is it that we do not receive revelation? Why is it that we do not see, we do not hear? Why? It is because we are far away from Him.
If we are near to Him, if we continue with Him, if we abide in Him, if we make a home in Him, if we are close to Him, no doubt we will receive much revelation.
Our Lord is not partial. He treats all of us justly. He loves us just the same. His heart is so broad; He is able to love every one of us just as though we were the only one. And His desire toward us is the same: He wants to reveal Himself to us as fully as possible.
But, brothers and sisters, the difference is here: those who abide in Him, those who are close and near to Him, receive much. And those who are like the prodigal son, wandering away from Him, do not see Him; they do not hear Him. There is no revelation.
You remember John. His relationship with the Lord was so intimate, so close to the Lord, that the Bible says he was the one whom Jesus loved.
We know that the Gospel of John was written by John, not because he tells us that he wrote this Gospel, but because he mentions a number of times “the one whom Jesus loved.” He was the one whom Jesus loved.
Jesus loved everyone. Why was it so special that he was called the one whom Jesus loved? It seems as if Jesus loved him more than the other disciples.
The reason is that he was the closest to the Lord’s heart. He leaned upon the bosom of the Lord. He was so near to the heart of the Lord Jesus, and that is the reason why it seems as if he was loved more than anybody else and was given more revelation than all.
Love is the shortest, direct way to revelation.
If we love Him, if we are close, near to Him, if we make a home with Him, brothers and sisters, revelation will be given. That is the secret.
The book of Revelation is the last book of the Bible. It is the consummation of all the revelations given before it.
This book is called the Revelation of Jesus Christ. It is a revelation that God gives to His Son, and He signifies it by sending His angel to His bondservant John. God wants to reveal His Son.
“Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him.” God gave this revelation to His own Son. It is the revelation of Jesus Christ, to reveal the Son, to show unto His bondservants.
He wants His bondservants to receive this revelation—the revelation of Jesus Christ. This is the desire of God. And among all the Lord’s bondservants, He gave it first to John, the bondservant of Jesus Christ, and through John to the other bondservants.
Again, revelation is given for a purpose. God does not simply give revelation to anybody. Revelation is so sacred. It is not something that you just throw around.
God gives revelation only to His bondslaves. If you are His bondslave, revelation is for you. Now, who is a bondslave? A bondslave is a slave of love.
In Old Testament times, you find that even a Hebrew might sell himself to another Hebrew as a slave. By law, he was bound to serve for six years, and in the seventh year he must be free.
But if this bondslave, who had sold himself to his master, loved his master and loved his master’s family, then when the sixth year was over, he did not want to go out free. He was willing to serve his master for life.
It is not obligation. It is not a matter of legal requirement. It is voluntary. It is spontaneous. It is an expression of love. Because he loved his master, that was the only reason he wanted to serve his master for life.
Then he would be taken to the doorpost, and his ear would be pierced. With that sign, he was a bondslave for life. He belonged to the master forever.
Brothers and sisters, are we bondslaves of Jesus Christ? He has bought us with His own blood. He paid a price for you and for me that nobody else could pay. He bought us unto Himself.
But He never forces us to serve Him. According to law, we belong to Him. We have no right of our own, no life of our own to live, no work of our own to do. We are to be in His house, live for Him, work for Him, serve Him. That is law.
But our Lord never treats us according to law. He will say to us, “Do you want to go out? If you want to go out, you may.”
It is only when we are constrained by the love of Christ, only when we are persuaded by the mercies of God, that we voluntarily say, “We love You. We do not want to go out free. We are Your slaves for life.”
Brothers and sisters, it is to the bondslaves that the revelation of Jesus Christ is given. John was a bondslave of Jesus Christ. Love bound him to Jesus, and because of this, this revelation was given to him—not only to him, but for all the bondservants of Jesus Christ.
Dear brothers and sisters, why is it that you do not see? Why is it that the revelation of Jesus Christ does not consume you?
Is it because your relationship with the Lord is a legal relationship? Yes, you are saved; therefore, you have to do this, you have to do that. You go through the motions. It is not out of the heart. It is not out of love. It is out of duty.
And if that is the case, no wonder there is no revelation, no seeing who the Lord is and what He is.
But if you really are constrained by love—“I’ll follow, Lord”—and you really surrender your life, have your ear pierced, revelation is your portion. It is yours.
Before we go into the book of Revelation, I feel we should say something about the Gospel of John.
The Gospel of John, as our brother already mentioned, is different from the other three Gospels. The other three Synoptic Gospels give us the story of the Lord Jesus. John explains that story.
The three Gospels tell us about the history of our Lord Jesus, but John gives us the spiritual interpretation of that history.
In the Gospel of John, he tells us who Jesus really is.
In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God,
and the Word was God.
How did John know this? Moses wrote Genesis. He said, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth,” and in six days, how He restored it for man. How did Moses know? Evidently, this was revealed to Moses.
God revealed to Moses how the heavens and the earth began, how the earth was created and made fit for man to live—by revelation.
And here you find that a greater revelation was given to John the apostle. God revealed to John, “In the beginning”—not the beginning of creation, but the very beginning, God the beginning—“In the beginning was the Word.”
The speech of God, the expression of God, the utterance of God, the revealing of God: in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
Now that is Jesus.
We have already said many times that this is not something revealed to you by flesh and blood. This is revealed by the Father Who is in heaven.
John received such tremendous revelation, going back to the very beginning—God the beginning. And in that beginning was the Word. That is the revelation.
No man hath seen God at any time;
the only begotten Son, Who is in the bosom of the Father,
He hath declared Him.
If you try to keep your mouth shut, no one knows what you are. But once you open your mouth, everybody knows what you want.
If there is not a word, no one will know what God is like. No one knows. But here you find that the Lord Jesus is the Word, the eternal Word, and this Word became flesh.
Tremendous love is behind it. He emptied Himself of all the glory and honor and power and majesty associated with His deity. He emptied Himself of all these things, and He became a man.
The Word became flesh, and in that flesh He declared to us His Father. That is the Lord Jesus. If you see Him, you see the Father. If you hear Him, you hear the Father. He and the Father are one.
The Son, the only God—He became the Lamb of God.
Throughout the Gospel, I believe everyone who has ever read the Gospel according to John cannot help but see that many times the Lord said, “I am.” He is telling us Who He is.
I am the light of the world.
I am the bread of life.
I am the door.
I am the good shepherd.
I am the resurrection and the life.
I am the way, the truth, and the life.
He tells us Who He is—the great I AM. As our brother already mentioned, “I am everything that you need.” That is our Lord Jesus.
He is the Christ, the Son of the living God, and by believing in Him, we have eternal life. So this is the Gospel according to John. John, in his Gospel, reveals to us the person of our Lord Jesus.
Now, when you come to the last book, the book of Revelation, we find that this book especially reveals the work of our Lord Jesus. Of course, you cannot separate His person from His work, or His work from His person.
Now, we cannot cover the whole book of Revelation. The book of Revelation is a prophetic book.
Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of the prophecy, and keep the things that are written therein: for the time is at hand.
It is prophetic. It tells us things that must shortly come to pass. And that “shortly” has already been nineteen centuries from the end of the first century.
What is going to happen in this world up to the end of this age, and then from this age to the age to come, and across the age to come to eternity to come—that is prophecy.
The scope of this prophecy is so tremendous. It covers everybody. It prophesies about the church; that covers all Christians. It speaks about the Jews. It covers the world, the nations. It covers everything. Tremendous words of prophecy.
Oh, brothers and sisters, how fascinating, how attractive. We can spend our whole life digging into it, trying to put all these prophecies into order and trying to fit every historical event into this particular prophecy.
My, it almost makes us prophets—but false prophets.
But, brothers and sisters, that is not the book of Revelation. The book of Revelation is not the revelation of what happens to you, to me, to the world, to the Jews, to the Gentiles—what is going to happen in the third century, in the seventh century, in the sixteenth century, or in the twentieth century.
No. The book of Revelation is the revelation of Jesus Christ.
So if you spend your time and energy trying to figure out from this prophetic book all these events and all these things, you touch only the letter of the word, and the letter kills.
For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
—Revelation 19:10
That is the spirit. The letter of prophecy touches many, many future events, but the spirit of prophecy is one: it testifies to the Lord Jesus.
Brothers and sisters, unless you see the Lord Jesus in prophecy, you miss the whole point.
With this in mind, then we can go into this book of Revelation.
John, for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus, was exiled to the island of Patmos.
Before he was exiled, he was laboring in the area of Asia Minor, or the Roman province of Asia. That is the place where Paul labored much. And after Paul was martyred, John was sent by the Lord, and he labored in Asia.
He was taken away and exiled to the island of Patmos, to a labor camp.
On the Lord’s Day, probably he was sitting on a rock facing Asia Minor across the sea. We are told that on a clear day you can see the outline of the coastline of Asia Minor.
Evidently, John was sitting there, looking at Asia Minor, the place where he had labored much. But now he could not be there. His heart must have been longing for the churches in Asia. He wondered what had happened to them. Would they be like sheep without a shepherd?
But while he was thinking about that, he heard a voice like a trumpet. He turned around, and he saw seven golden lampstands. In the midst of the seven lampstands was One like unto a son of man.
We are told that these seven lampstands represent the seven churches in Asia—those churches where John had labored before he was exiled.
Brothers and sisters, the reality of what is on earth is in heaven. The reality of the seven churches in Asia is represented before God by the seven golden lampstands.
Every church is a lampstand. It is there for a reason—not for itself, but as a lampstand to lift up the light, which is Christ, the testimony of Jesus.
The church is a vessel of the testimony of Jesus: to testify to the world, to the city, to the people around, Who Jesus is and what Jesus is. It is a golden lampstand, all of gold, all of God, not of man. This is the suitable vessel for the light.
So there were seven lampstands, and he saw One like unto a son of man standing, and later walking, in the midst of the seven lampstands.
Brothers and sisters, Who is that Man? In Revelation 1, we find a full description of that Man.
He is the King-Priest Who is serving in the heavenly sanctuary. These seven lampstands are in the heavenly sanctuary, the reality of the things on earth.
There you find our Lord Jesus. He was risen and ascended. He is now in heaven, and there He is the King-Priest, ministering in the heavenly sanctuary.
It is a fulfillment of the prophecy of Zechariah in Zechariah 6:12-13.
Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold, the man whose name is the Branch: and He shall grow up out of His place; and He shall build the temple of the Lord;
even He shall build the temple of the Lord; and He shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon His throne; and He shall be a priest upon His throne: and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.
When our Lord Jesus was on earth, He was the Apostle of our confession, according to Hebrews 3. He was the Apostle sent by God with a mission: to do the work of redemption.
But today He is in heaven. He is the High Priest of our confession. On earth He was the sacrifice. He offered Himself spotless by the eternal Spirit to God for our eternal redemption. But in heaven now He is the High Priest, the King-Priest.
On earth, out of His side came blood and water: blood for the remission of sins, water as life, giving us new life. With this blood and water, He built the woman, the church. That is the material of the church.
And now in heaven He is ministering in the heavenly sanctuary to see that the church is built.
Brothers and sisters, if we do not know Jesus as Savior, we are not saved. But if we do not know Jesus as High Priest, we cannot live the Christian life as Christians.
Knowing Jesus as Savior makes us Christians, but knowing Jesus as the High Priest enables us to live as Christians.
Do you know Jesus as your High Priest? There is the whole book of Hebrews. Thank God, He is our High Priest, making intercession for us unceasingly.
He is able to save to the uttermost all who approach God through Him. We are able to endure. We are able to persevere. It is all because He intercedes for us.
Like He prayed for Peter: “I have prayed for you, that your faith fail not; and when you are restored, strengthen your brethren.” Brothers and sisters, He is doing the same for every one of us.
How can I be here? It is because He intercedes for me.
We all experience something of our Lord Jesus as our High Priest, the royal Priest, the King-Priest. He is all-righteous. He is all-compassionate, all-love. He is all-wise. He is all-discerning. He is all-judging. He is almighty, all-powerful. He is altogether beautiful. This is our High Priest.
We know Him in a little way. But, brothers and sisters, our Lord is the King-Priest, ministering in the heavenly sanctuary.
In other words, we often take the Lord as our High Priest in a personal way. Thank God, that is true. We must take Him as High Priest in a personal way; otherwise, we cannot live.
But remember, He is the High Priest serving in the heavenly sanctuary. It is a corporate matter.
There are seven churches in Asia. To us, they are the real thing, but this is only a shadow. The reality is in heaven. These seven churches are seven lampstands in the sanctuary not made with hands, and the Lord as High Priest is ministering there.
John was looking across the sea, thinking of the seven churches. Who was taking care of them? How could they go on and be completed?
In that vision on Patmos, the Lord was correcting him: “Do not think that without you they cannot go on. Do not think that you are the one, the only one who cares.”
There is One Who really cares, and there is One Who is ministering all the time. What a comfort that is.
You may fail, but this One can never fail.
Brothers and sisters, our Lord is ministering in the reality of the church.
What were the conditions of the seven churches in Asia? You read Revelation 2 and Revelation 3. Anyone who really has a heart for God, who has a love for Him and for the church, when you read the seven letters to the churches, you feel so disappointed.
Only the church in Philadelphia seems to come up to the standard.
My brothers and sisters, our High Priest never gives up. Today He is still there, ministering.
You know, in Revelation 1 there is a description of our King-Priest. He is standing before the seven golden lampstands, and He is saying, “That is what I am. That is My revelation. And that is your testimony. There is the light that you should hold up. It is Me.”
But when He looks at the seven churches in Asia, they do not look like Him. Because of this, He has to use the golden snuffers.
You know, the light is getting dim. It is smoking. It gives more darkness than light. It is dying out, so oil is depleted.
Here you find the King-Priest diligently walking among the seven lampstands and doing all the things that are needed. He will cut off the scorched wick. He will pour in more oil. He will purge and discipline out of love.
He is calling His churches to repent, to return to the revelation that He has given to them.
He calls us back to first love. He is not satisfied with an outward form of godliness. He wants our love.
He calls us to be faithful to the very end—not just to have a good beginning and then drop out. It is the end that counts.
He calls us to be separated from the world, because He has taken us out of the world. We are not of the world.
He calls us to return to the simplicity that is in Christ. We become too complicated. He calls us to life. He calls us to keep the word of His patience.
He calls us to accept His discipline. Do not faint, because whom He loves, He chastens.
Oh, brothers and sisters, our High Priest is still ministering in the heavenly sanctuary. He will minister and minister and minister until the church becomes a glorious church, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. He will have it.
May we have ears to hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
You know, as our Lord, the High Priest, is ministering in the heavenly sanctuary, this is what we really should be. The Holy Spirit is working on earth in our midst.
Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.
We believe that as our High Priest is ministering in the heavenly sanctuary, the Holy Spirit is speaking on earth today. We believe that He is speaking. He is working.
Let us hear Him. Do not harden your hearts. And if you hear Him, you become an overcomer. You become a normal Christian.
We need to see the Lord Jesus as the King-Priest. He is ministering to the church until the church is fully built. It is such a comfort, brothers and sisters.
Therefore, do not give up. Do not give in. Trust Him. Depend on Him. Look up to Him, and let Him work out His glorious work.
He reminds me of what He said in Matthew 16:18:
I will build My church;
and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
Well, I have just begun.
Will you turn to Revelation 5? Another tremendous revelation has just been mentioned.
There you find John was taken in the Spirit to heaven. In a vision, he saw One sitting on the throne, surrounded with glory. There was a book in His hand.
An angel with a tremendous voice, which could be heard all over the universe by everybody, said, “Who is worthy to take this book and to open it?”
There was no response, because no one was worthy. And John wept.
Why? Because this was a terrible thing. This little book is the title deed of the universe. God is the owner of the universe. He has never given up His ownership. It is being usurped by the enemy.
As man was deceived, the enemy became a squatter. He is not an owner. God never gave up His ownership; it is still in God’s hand.
But now the time has come to claim His possession, to restore the universe to God, to bring all things to the feet of God. But who is worthy? Who is worthy to execute God’s purpose? No one—no angel, no man, nothing.
And John wept because he understood. He thought, “That is the end of it. Then this world will continue on in corruption. The whole universe will be in corruption, and there is no hope.”
It will be under the domination of darkness, of the evil one. Where is the hope for this world? There is none.
Then he was comforted: “There is One Who is worthy. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah. He has overcome. He is worthy to take the book and to open its seals.”
And John saw a little Lamb, newly slain, standing in resurrection. He took the book from the hand of the One Who sits upon the throne.
Then worship and praise filled the whole universe. It is done.
Now, brothers and sisters, what a revelation that is. The Lord Jesus is the worthy One, the Executor of the plan of God. He is the One Who defeated the enemy on the cross and made a public show of him. He has overcome.
Therefore, He is able to recover and restore all things to the fullness of God. He is able to bring the whole earth, the whole universe, back to God, that the glory of God may fill this earth as the waters cover the sea.
That is the redemption of the universe. This is the revelation of our Lord.
Finally, in Revelation 21 and Revelation 22, you find the holy city, the New Jerusalem, the bride, the wife of the Lamb.
In Revelation 1, you have a description of the One Who is like the Son of Man, but no description of the golden lampstand. But here you find the description of the holy city, but no description of the bridegroom. Why?
Because now the bride is one with the Bridegroom, and all the beauty, the glory, the character of the Bridegroom are fully reflected in that whole city.
You see the bride; you see the Bridegroom. They are now eternally one in glory.
The ministry of our Lord Jesus is completed. It is done.
Shall we pray?
Dear heavenly Father, open our eyes to see Thy Son; to see that He is not only our Savior, He is our High Priest.
To see that He not only gave Himself for His church, but He ministers to it until it becomes a glorious church, fit to be His bride.
Oh, thank You for His mercy, His grace. And we know now that Thou wilt go ahead in spite of us.
Lord, how we want to give ourselves over to You and let You work it out. In the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.