Well, good afternoon, brothers and sisters in Christ. It is so wonderful to be able to share with you.
As we come to look at God’s Word and study God’s Word, I remind you of a principle of Bible study that is absolutely indispensable when we come to this precious Book. There are so many helpful principles, but there is only one indispensable principle: total reliance upon God’s Holy Spirit. Only God can reveal God, and He longs to reveal Himself.
Before we pray together, I want to share this verse from Song of Solomon, Song chapter 5 and verse 2. The groom is at the door in this song:
I was awake, but my heart was asleep.
A voice! Behold, my beloved was knocking.
Open to me, my sister, my darling, my dove, my perfect one.
And the poetry goes on. A voice—the Word of God. “I was asleep; my heart was awake. A voice! Behold, my beloved was knocking.” Every time God speaks, God knocks. He desires an opening. He desires a response.
And so, since the groom is at the door, and since by His voice He is knocking, let us pray together that God will work in us that attitude of childlikeness that receives from Him.
Our heavenly Father, we thank You so much that, in Your great grace, You have not left us on our own as we study this precious Book, but You have put Your life, the Holy Spirit, in our hearts—the very One who searches the depths of God and takes the things of our Lord Jesus and reveals them unto us.
We know someday, when we see Him, we will be like Him. We know this afternoon, if we should see Him, we will be like Him. And so we ask for that transforming revelation of our Lord Jesus.
Thank You for drawing us together this weekend. Now we commit this session unto You, and we just pray that these meditations might bring high honor to You, that our hearts would be turned toward our Lord Jesus. Use even this session as a preparation, we pray. In Jesus’ matchless name, amen.
Well, I am thankful to be able to share the measure of light that God has given my heart on this wonderful theme: spiritual readiness, spiritual preparation. Oh, that this weekend the Lord might make all of us spiritually ready—prepared, fit, qualified, and ripe for the return of our dear Lord Jesus.
I would like to take my meditations from the book of Revelation, the climax of the Bible. This afternoon, I would like to start with the end of the book and then end with the start of the book. That will make more sense as we go along.
I will make a suggestion to you in your study of God’s Word. Whether you are studying an entire book of the Bible, some grand section of the Bible, or a short passage—several verses—it is helpful to look for the terminal points. In other words, how does that section begin, and how does that section end?
Very often, by seeing how it begins and how it ends, you can see God’s heart in that particular section. Certainly, you can see the simplicity of the passage.
So I am going to ask you to turn to the end of Revelation. We will look at that terminal point first: Revelation 22:16-17.
I, Jesus, have sent Mine angel to testify unto you these things for the churches.
I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.
And the Spirit and the bride say, Come.
And he that heareth, let him say, Come.
And he that is athirst, let him come.
He that will, let him take the water of life freely.
You know, for years I misunderstood this passage. I thought the Bible ended with a grand invitation and a final call for the guilty sinner to come—to come to the Lord. I thought the Spirit and the bride were saying, “Come, sinner. Come, trust the Lord before it is too late. Come and welcome. Let the thirsty come.” I thought that “come” was addressed to the thirsty sinner.
But if you read it in the context, the “come” is not really addressed to the thirsty sinner.
Revelation 22:7 says:
Behold, I come quickly.
Revelation 22:12 says:
Behold, I come quickly.
And Revelation 22:20 says:
He who testifieth these things saith, Yea: I come quickly. Amen: come, Lord Jesus.
It is “Come, Lord Jesus,” not “Come, needy sinner.” That does not rule out that God invites the needy sinner, but the Bible ends with a sigh, with a longing, with a great desire for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And it is not just the spiritual bride that is longing for His return. It does not say, “the spiritual bride.” It says, “The Spirit and the bride say, Come.” In other words, the Holy Spirit is longing for the return of the Lord Jesus, and the church, the bride, is longing for the coming of the Lord Jesus.
All who are thirsty are yearning, longing for the coming of the Lord Jesus. And that is how the Bible closes. That is the end. That is the terminal point in Revelation. It closes with a promise and a sigh—a promise and a desire, a hunger, a longing, a yearning: “Come. Come, Lord Jesus.”
The Spirit says, “Come.” The church says, “Come.” The thirsty say, “Come, Lord Jesus.”
The theme of this conference, as you know, is spiritual readiness—being prepared. Matthew 24:44 says:
For this reason ye also must be ready; for the Son of man is coming at an hour when ye think not.
The coming of the Lord—that is how it ends. All right, hold that a moment and turn to Revelation chapter 1.
How does the same book begin? This is a little lengthy reading, but I think it is important to get the whole text before us. I will be reading from Revelation 1:7.
Behold, He cometh with the clouds;
and every eye shall see Him,
and they that pierced Him;
and all the tribes of the earth shall mourn over Him.
Even so, Amen.I am the Alpha and the Omega, saith the Lord God,
Who is and Who was and Who is to come, the Almighty.I John, your brother and partaker with you in the tribulation and kingdom and patience which are in Jesus, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus.
I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, saying, What thou seest, write in a book and send it to the seven churches: unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamum, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.
And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And having turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; and in the midst of the candlesticks one like unto a son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about at the breasts with a golden girdle.
And His head and His hair were white as white wool, white as snow; and His eyes were as a flame of fire; and His feet like unto burnished brass, as if it had been refined in a furnace; and His voice as the voice of many waters.
And He had in His right hand seven stars: and out of His mouth proceeded a sharp two-edged sword: and His countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.
And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as one dead. And He laid His right hand upon me, saying, Fear not; I am the first and the last, and the Living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive for evermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.
Write therefore the things which thou sawest, and the things which are, and the things which shall come to pass hereafter; the mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in My right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks are seven churches.
Now, if you go back, please, to Revelation 1:12-13:
I turned to see the voice that spake with me.
And having turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;
and in the midst of the candlesticks one like unto a son of man,
clothed with a garment down to the foot,
and girt about at the breasts with a golden girdle.
That is how it begins. The apostle John sees seven golden lampstands and Someone very glorious in the midst of those lampstands.
Look at the last phrase in Revelation 1:20:
The seven lampstands are seven churches.
This glorious One is in the midst of the churches. Not only in the midst—look at Revelation 2:1:
These things saith He that holdeth the seven stars in His right hand, He that walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks.
You see, the glorious One is not only in the midst of the lampstands; He is walking among the lampstands.
Now, before we look at this in more detail, what do we see by looking at these terminal points? How does the book end? You see, the book ends with a sigh and a longing for a return—for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.
How does the book begin? The book begins by telling us that the One who is coming is already here. Do you see that? He is already here, walking in the midst of the churches.
What that means practically is this: the coming Lord is not an absent Lord. Absent, of course, in one way, as our brother Stephen shared—not in the body—but He is here in the Spirit, the same Person.
The very One who is coming again is already here. Do not read that la-la-la. May God help us get that: the One who is coming in the future is here right now.
He is coming in His glorified body; there is no question about that. But right now, He is here by the indwelling of His life in the Person of the dear Holy Spirit. And the One who is coming someday comes every day.
The One who is going to come is constantly appearing. You say, “Someday He is coming in glory.” Amen. And He is already coming in grace.
You know, the theme of this conference is spiritual readiness. I will never be ready to welcome Him in glory if I am not welcoming Him constantly in grace.
You say, “He is coming, to be sure.” He is already here, to be sure. Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, there is a vital connection between His presence in our midst now and His revelation someday when He comes in glory.
The very One who will finally be fully manifest is constantly disclosing Himself, manifesting Himself, and showing Himself.
You see, the apostle John was in the Spirit. He heard a voice. He responded to the voice. And he had a revelation of the Lord Jesus. That revelation of the Lord Jesus changed him. He saw the truth as it was in Christ.
You are in the Spirit—that is our prayer. You hear a voice, and paying attention to that voice, you have a revelation of the Son of God. You see, that experience is not only for the apostle John. It is for every Christian: to be in the Spirit, to hear the voice, to respond to the voice, and to see a revelation of the glory of Christ.
Now, there is no question: this weekend we are focusing on His final coming, on His physical appearance. But I promise you this: if you are not seeing Him in this Book now, you will not be ready.
If I am not seeing Him in this Book when He makes Himself known now, I will not be ready to welcome Him when He comes back. The only thing that can prepare me rightly for His coming is His coming. That is what gets me ready for His coming—His coming does.
If you are not experiencing His present coming by a present unveiling of the Lord Jesus in this Book, how can you ever be ready when He finally reveals Himself?
You see, just by looking at the terminal points, you can see how basically simple the book is. The One we are longing for is already here, and the One who is coming is coming all the time. There will be a final coming, but there are intermediate comings, and we had better be alive to those if we are going to be prepared for His final coming.
Now, let me make one other observation about the book of Revelation as a whole before we get a little more in detail into this marvelous chapter. May God give us light.
Now, as you know, there are many approaches to the book of Revelation, some of them very controversial. I will certainly avoid those. But here is what all of them have in common: all the different approaches have this one thing in common.
They all believe—at least in different proportions—that some of the book of Revelation has to do with the future. Some think it was written early and concerned only a few years in the future, but there is some future. Some think it was a greater future and that it covered ages.
But all, when they come to the end, have to say it is about the future, because it steps into eternity. You know that is future. And so all believe at least some of the book is about the future.
Well then, how does the book about the future begin? The answer is: it begins with a full revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And what did the apostle do when, in the Spirit, through the Word, he saw a full revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ? Revelation 1:17:
When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as one dead.
He fell down on his face before a full revelation of a risen and exalted Savior. You see, that is how the book about the future begins.
This weekend, we are asking some very weighty questions. How can I be ready? How can I be prepared for the coming of the Lord—for the near or the distant future?
May I suggest there is some wisdom in Revelation chapter 1? The book on the future begins with the servant of God on his face before a full revelation of the Lord Jesus. I think that is a good way to prepare for the future.
If the servant of the Lord would fall on his face before a full revelation of the Lord Jesus, would he be prepared for the immediate future? Would he be prepared for the distant future? Would he be prepared when one day the groom found His bride ready and decided to return? Oh, indeed he would.
May God give us light on this. Now, I am sure this weekend, by God’s goodness, you will be able to glean many helpful suggestions on how to be His prepared people—how to be ready for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ.
But I would suggest that nothing is more fundamental, nothing is more foundational, than this: I am made ready for His future coming by being open and responsive to the Holy Spirit when He reveals Him now—when He comes now through the revelation of this Book.
When I see Him, I will be like Him. God desires us to be on our faces before a full revelation of our risen and exalted Lord.
If He is not revealing Himself to me day by day, I will not be changed. Do you realize this? Any change that comes in your life that comes in any other way than by a revelation of the Lord Jesus—that change is not real. You are faking it. It is mechanical. It is plastic. It is not real.
You are only changed by seeing Jesus. I am only changed by seeing Jesus. And as I see the Lord now, I am being prepared, changed, ready for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ.
There are thousands of Christians, brothers and sisters in Christ, who can carry on a conversation and know more about His coming someday in the clouds, yet know nothing of His coming now by revelation as they study this Book under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
We cannot miss that. You have got to be seeing the Lord now if you are going to be prepared for His coming.
Now, having said that by way of introduction, let us see if we can see God’s heart in this grand chapter before us.
You know, you might think, “If I am going to be one like John, who falls before a full revelation of the Lord Jesus, then I must understand all the details of that revelation.” You know, we can get so sidetracked.
I do not know if you caught, when we were reading that great passage, that it is full. There is so much in there. We can get so sidetracked by some of those descriptions and think, “Oh, I have got to understand all of the details in that chapter and understand everything.”
I will tell you, there are really only two things that you need to understand in order to understand Revelation chapter 1. First, you have got to know who that Person is. That is for sure. Then there are a couple of mysteries that are mentioned.
Do not get distracted by all these wonderful titles: “I am the first. I am the last. I am the Alpha and the Omega. I am the beginning. I am the One who was dead and is now alive.” Those are wonderful things. When you have time, meditate on them. I am not saying neglect them. But do not miss the big point.
Let me put it in my own words. This is not in your Bible; it is only in mine. But here is what Jesus was saying: “John, John, John, John, John—it is Me.”
Get the impact of that. “It is Me. Remember, you leaned toward My bosom? Your friend—it is Me. Do not be afraid. You see all these eyes of fire, and you see these feet of brass, and do not get afraid. It is Me. I am the One who loves you. I am your friend. It is Jesus. I am the One who died for you. I am alive.”
That is the point of it. That is what He is saying. “John, do not get sidetracked with all this glory, all this pomp, all this display, all this symbolism, all this splendor, and all this majesty. It is Me, John. I am the One who died for you.”
And how his heart sighed with relief. He turned around, and he saw that great vision.
A vision like that is not designed to teach you to look to Jesus Christ in the flesh. You can only look to Christ in the Spirit with a vision like that.
Jesus did not say, “John, I want you to notice My white hair. Now let Me tell you what that means. My white hair means this. And do you notice the fiery eyes? You see, that is talking about omniscience.” He did not say that.
He did not say, “Look at My golden girdle, John. That means such and such. My feet are brass, and brass is judgment. That means this, and that means the other thing.” John just needed to know that this glorious One was the same Jesus that he had known, that walked with him, that died for him, and is now alive again.
In its simplest form, this is a vision of the risen Savior.
But you not only have to know who He is. Notice the last verse, please, of chapter 1:
As for the mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in My right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks are seven churches.
He said there are two mysteries here. If you know those two mysteries, you have got the chapter: the mystery of the seven lampstands and the mystery of the seven stars. That is it.
Now, you know what a Bible mystery is. Trace that word through. There are many times that you read of the mystery of the kingdom, the mystery of the rapture—“I show you a mystery; we shall not all sleep”—the mystery of marriage, “I speak concerning Christ and the church,” the mystery of Christ, the mystery of the gospel, the mystery of iniquity, the mystery of faith, the mystery of godliness, the mystery of union with Christ, the mystery hidden from the ages: Christ in you.
A mystery is not something mysterious. A mystery is not something profound, hidden, deep, or confusing. I used to read in the past, and I would say, “Bible mystery? Oh no, I will never get that. That is for the spiritual hotshots. That is for those who know Greek and Hebrew. I will never figure out a mystery.”
A Bible mystery is something that cannot be known until God reveals it. That is a Bible mystery. And once God reveals it, it is plain. There is no reason not to know the mystery.
When God speaks about mysteries, it is as He reveals them. And so He said, in this vision, “There is a lot in the vision, but there are only two mysteries.” And so He tells you what they are. He discloses those two mysteries.
You know, when I looked at this vision, I thought, “Two mysteries? You have got to be kidding me.” It seemed to me like there were so many. What does His white hair mean? What is symbolized by His flaming eyes, His glowing feet, His voice like the sound of many waters, the sword coming out of His mouth, and His face like the noonday sun? That must mean something. Those are all mysteries, I thought.
And look at His robe in Revelation 1:13: a robe reaching to His feet, girded across His chest with a golden sash. So you read the commentaries, and they say, “That is His priestly robe. It is Christ the High Priest. That is Who is pictured here.”
And then I said, “Well then, where is His mitre? Where is the ephod? Where is the breastplate? Where is the censer? Where are the bells? Where is the sacrifice?”
And someone will say, “Well, it is not His priestly robe. It is His royal robe. He is a King.” And so I asked, “Where is the crown? Where is the scepter? Where is the throne? Where is the royal color?”
They say, “Well, it is both. He is King and Priest. He is a royal Priest.” It seems so mysterious. But God says, all of that aside, there are two mysteries: the lampstands and the stars in His right hand. If you get that, you have got the vision.
May God help us as we look at those mysteries. We do not need to bother our heads too much about what they are. He spells it out. Revelation 1:20:
The seven lampstands are the seven churches.
Ah, that is clear. At least that means the seven churches in Asia Minor: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. At least it means that.
Maybe the seven churches are representative. Some would say that they picture the whole church in every age, the whole body of Christ. Yes, there are seven literal churches, but maybe seven is the number of completeness and fullness, and those seven churches picture the church of every age.
I incline to that myself: that the spiritual condition of those churches and the external circumstances they were going through represented what was coming down the road.
Anyway, the point is not so much the churches as the living Christ in the midst of the churches and walking in the churches.
When Revelation 1:13 says, “in the midst of the lampstands,” I used to think that was like the center of a circle or the hub of a wheel: He is standing in the middle. But that is not what is happening here. It is not “in the middle” in one spot. It is “in the midst.” It is everywhere.
If I broke an expensive perfume bottle, like Mary did to worship the Lord Jesus—and it was an expensive perfume—the fragrance would be in the midst of the room. It would pervade the room.
Listen to John 12:3:
Mary therefore took a pound of ointment of pure nard, very precious, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment.
Every room—the house was filled with it. And in that sense, He is everywhere. He is in the churches. His presence is diffused. It is a pervasive presence.
Do you get mystery number one? Hold it. The churches are the seven churches, and pervading the churches, in the midst of the churches, filling the churches, walking in the churches, is this risen One. The One who is coming is here now. He is in the churches.
Mystery number two—hold that for a moment. Revelation 1:16 says:
In His right hand He had seven stars.
Revelation 1:20 explains the mystery:
The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches.
And so the commentators say, “All right, what is an angel?” They get into all of that. Some think, because of Daniel chapter 10, that there was a literal angel presiding over the kingdom of Persia, and so they think maybe there are literal angels presiding over local assemblies.
I do not know about all of that. I have trouble thinking it was a literal angel, a sinless being, because they are called to repent. And so you would wonder why that angel was called to repent if it was a sinless being.
They say the word just means messenger, and some say human messenger: leadership, elders, overseers, pastors, teachers—those who were presiding in authority over the local body.
Whether they are angels in heaven that never sinned, or messengers on the earth who have responsibility in the body, the same thing is clear, and that is the point: He is holding them in His right hand.
Do not get all mixed up with who they are. He is holding them in His right hand. That is the mystery.
Now, the word used to describe that is not this. There is a Greek word for this—I am holding my Bible. That is not how He held the stars in His right hand.
The word that was used is this: gripping the stars in His right hand. Gripping the stars.
How tight is your grip? I will tell you how tight your grip is. I know how tight your grip is. Your grip is tight in proportion to the strength of your arm. Right? You have a strong right arm, you have a strong grip. If I have a strong right arm, I have a strong grip.
How tight is God’s grip? You see, it is also tight in proportion to the strength of His right arm. How strong is His right arm? How big is His hand that metes out the heavens with a span, that cups the waters of the earth, that has your name engraven on it? How tight is His grip?
You see, when we see the seven messengers in the right hand of this exalted One, being tightly gripped so no one can pluck them out of His hand, do not just think, “Oh, they must be sinless angels,” or, “They are elders. They are some responsible person.”
The leadership represents every believer. God does not have a double standard. Here are His qualifications for elders, and here are His qualifications for the average Christian—He does not have a double standard.
He is saying, “My qualifications for elders are My qualifications for every Christian, but you had better have come that far before you take on responsibility among the people of God.” But He does not have a double standard.
You see, in this great mystery, John heard the voice, turned around, saw a full revelation of Christ, and God began to unfold the mystery. And the mystery is this: the One who is coming is here, and He is in the body.
Not only that, but He holds in His right hand every believer, illustrated by the seven stars. He is in you, and you are in Him.
That is the mystery of chapter 1: the great revelation of the risen, exalted Christ. And before that truth John fell as a dead man. A full Christ: He is in me, and I am in Him. He is in us, and we are in Him.
He is moving and pervading His church, and He is holding every member in His tight grip so no one can pluck them out of His hand.
You want to be ready for His return? May I suggest that God open your eyes to that revelation, that you also fall before that revelation? He is in me. He is in us. We are in Him.
You want to get ready for the future? Let God dawn that on your soul. Let God dawn that on your heart.
Well, that vision became a personal blessing for the apostle. When he heard the Word of God, and the Word of God revealed the Christ of God, and he saw Christ, and God unfolded the mysteries—Christ is in us, and we are in Christ—then the Lord Jesus touched him personally, raised him up, revealed Himself, and prepared him for the near and distant future, for the second coming of the Lord Jesus.
He also gave him a ministry. He gave him a ministry to the body. After God had shown him all of that, Revelation 1:19 says, “Now write.” Revelation 1:11 says:
Write in a book what thou seest, and send it to the seven churches.
Who was now on his face before a full revelation of the Lord Jesus? To whom had God disclosed the great mystery that Christ is in us and we are in Him? What was his ministry now to the church?
Once again, this is not your Bible. Let me say it in my own words, just to help get it before your heart. Basically, John was saying this to the seven churches: “I have fallen on my face before a full revelation of the Lord Jesus. God has disclosed to me what could only be revealed by Him. He is in us, and we are in Him.”
“Now, brothers and sisters in these seven churches, return to chapter 1. Come where I am. You have departed from chapter 1. He is glorified now, and you have departed from this chapter. There is only one place of blessing, and that is in chapter 1: on your face before a full revelation of Christ, embracing the truth that He is in us and we are in Him.”
You say, “How do you know that was his message?” Listen to how he wrote to the churches. He keeps borrowing descriptions from what he had just seen.
To Ephesus, in Revelation 2:1, the message comes from the One who holds the seven stars in His right hand and who walks among the seven golden lampstands. Where did you get that idea, John? Chapter 1. “I just saw that. That is where I got it.”
Then to Smyrna, he writes in Revelation 2:8 and presents the author of that letter as the First and the Last, the One who was dead and has come to life. Where did you get that idea, John? From the first chapter. “That is what I just saw.”
Then, in Revelation 2:12, he writes to the church of Pergamum, and to that church Jesus is the One who has the sharp two-edged sword. Where did you get that idea, John? Chapter 1. “I just saw that in chapter 1.”
In Revelation 2:18, to Thyatira: the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire and feet like burnished brass. Where did you get that idea, John? Chapter 1.
You see, the seven churches of Asia were especially selected by the Holy Spirit out of hundreds. There were many assemblies. He did not need these seven. There were other assemblies.
These churches were selected because they departed from the full revelation in chapter 1.
Do you realize this, brothers and sisters in Christ? As individuals, as families, as corporate members of the body of our Lord Jesus, there is only one problem that you will ever have in your life. Not two, not three, not five, not even seven.
The only problem you will ever have in your life is the problem of taking your eyes off the Lord Jesus Christ. That is it.
You say, “Then why seven churches? Did they not each have a problem of their own?” No, they all had the same problem. They all departed from the full revelation of Christ in chapter 1.
But there are seven ways to do that.
You say, “Did they not each fall in their own hole?” No, there is only one hole, but there are seven ways to fall into the same hole.
May God help you understand what I am trying to say. You are prepared if you are in chapter 1. You are not prepared if you are in chapters 2 and 3.
In the letters to the seven churches, the Holy Spirit spells out all of the possibilities. There are only seven ways that you can take your eyes off Christ. There are not eight ways. There are only seven ways.
God has given us in these churches every possible way that you can be unprepared, and He invites you back to chapter 1, where you can be prepared.
The only way that you can ever take your eyes off Christ is as Ephesus did, or as Smyrna did, or as Pergamum did, or as Thyatira did, or as Sardis did, or as Philadelphia did, or as Laodicea did.
Chapter 1: how to be ready. Chapters 2 and 3 describe those that were not ready.
And they were invited back to chapter 1 so that they too might fall on their faces before a full revelation of Christ and embrace the wonder of the mystery: He is in us, and we are in Him.
I know we come to Revelation 1 through 3 and say, “Now, that is the section on the seven churches.” I like to think of it as the section on the eight churches. There are eight churches.
You say, “There are seven churches in chapters 2 and 3.” Yes, but they were not ready.
There is a picture of another church in chapter 1, and I am suggesting that John himself pictures that remnant of believers that are ready. He is the remnant church. He pictures the church victorious. He is the overcoming church.
He describes for us where we ought to be: on our faces before a full revelation. He was in the Spirit. He heard the voice. He saw the revelation of Christ. He embraced the mystery. And he was given a ministry to invite back those who were not ready.
In my privilege, my opportunity this weekend, I want to present for you the remnant church, illustrated by the apostle John.
And if there is perhaps a brother or a sister—or more—I am not talking now about apostasy. I am not talking about willful rebellion against the Lord. Of course, you cannot be ready if you are going to run out in sin. I am not talking about that.
These churches had a desire to know the Lord, but they tripped up. They fell into these holes, and there are only seven ways you can do that if you have a heart to know the Lord.
What I want to do, God helping us tomorrow afternoon—there is so much in there; we cannot touch it all, but we have got to touch something—is show you every possibility of not being ready.
And he that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches.
May we be a people like the apostle John, who prepares for the Coming One by receiving His coming now and falling before a full revelation of our Lord Jesus.
May God help us. Let us pray.
Father, thank You so much for Your Word—not what we think it might mean, but everything You have inspired it to mean. In spite of everything I have said, work in our hearts all You know that it means.
Give us that present revelation of Christ that we might be ready. Lord, we know there is a wedding coming. Court us now, we ask, in Jesus’ name.