It was a great show that aired for 9 years. Alexis used to watch it all
the time and I would get sucked in. Whenever I watched it, I would be struck by
the human element. I mean the house was neat but I watched to hear about the
people who were getting a new home. The family being helped undoubtedly went
through some tragedy, sickness, natural disaster, or a major loss. This same
family also tended to be doing something to give back to the community, to make
the world a better place.
One episode that I still remember to this day is a family whose house
was destroyed by a tornado or hurricane whose son was now terrified of the
wind. They built them a house that was round so that the wind would blow around
it. You know what the dad and his brother did on the side, they were volunteer
firefighters. A family who lived through a disaster and who gave back to the
community.
In the show the community would pull together to tear down the old
house and build a new one. There would be volunteers, local contractors,
furniture stores, you name it. People came to help a family in need.
They would show bits and pieces of the home, the furnishings, and let
us get to know the family. Then at the end of the show the family would show up
and between them and their new home would be the big Extreme Home Makeover bus.
The crowd and home owners would yell out ‘Move That Bus’ and they would get the
first glimpse of their new home. That is when we see the overwhelming joy of
the family as they see and enter into a new home that was tailor made just for
them.
That is exactly what happens in the Book of Revelation. When your
Heavenly Father unveils for you for the very first time, the place that He is
creating for you. The sheer joy in that moment when every hassle, headache,
heartache, you have every experienced will be gone. All that you lost for
choosing to follow Jesus, would not even compare to what you have gained.
This morning we are going to look at the three things the Book of Revelation
reveals to us.
The Apostle John’s original audience was to the churches that were
being persecuted by the Roman Empire. It seemed like Rome was winning and it
would only be a matter of time before the Christians of that day would be
hunted down and imprisoned, beheaded, or crucified. Defeat and devastation felt
imminent.
It appears that Rome rules the world with John in exile and all the
Christians being persecuted, but that is not the case. Things are not what they
seem.
The Book of Revelation presents to us the Triumphant Christ.
Revelation 1:8
“8 “I am
the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “the One who is, who was, and who
is coming, the Almighty.”
We are assured that in the end God WINS!
The Alpha and Omega, The Beginning and the End, Jesus Christ is greater
than the ‘great’ kingdom of Rome. He existed before the Roman Empire, He
existed during the Roman Empire, and He still exists today centuries after the
Roman Empire fell. The Almighty Jesus still exists today.
The triumphant Christ stays with His church.
Revelation 1:12-16
“12 I turned to see whose voice it was
that spoke to me. When I turned I saw seven gold lampstands, 13 and
among the lampstands was One like the Son of Man, dressed in a long robe and
with a gold sash wrapped around His chest. 14 His head and hair were white like wool—white as snow—and His eyes
like a fiery flame. 15 His feet were like fine bronze as it is
fired in a furnace, and His voice like the sound of cascading waters. 16 He
had seven stars in His right hand; a sharp double-edged sword came from His
mouth, and His face was shining like the sun at midday.”
The Book of Revelation is not as clear as most of us would like. I
would be willing to bet everyone here has read a portion of the Book of
Revelation and was left scratching their head trying to understand what it
meant. The struggle is the Book of Revelation is more of a symphony than a
sermon, or more like a movie than a classroom lecture. In other words it is not
always clear, it is a book of sounds, images, and numbers.
For example in the verses we just read we saw ‘seven gold lampstands’
and standing among them was ‘One like the Son of Man’. What is that trying to
tell us? That Jesus Christ is standing with His church.
I know, it would have been much simpler if John had written that Jesus
was standing with His church, but the Book of Revelation was written as a book
of pictures or images. It is not meant to be a list of what needs to be done
and it does not give us a detailed description of what everything is. Instead
it a book of metaphors that does require some level of imagination to
understand.
One commentary I read this week said ‘we spend too much time trying to
count the raindrops instead of admiring the rainbow.’ In other words we spend
too much time trying to analyze every word, picture, etc... In the Book of
Revelation instead of taking it for what it is.
The scripture we just read said that Jesus was standing with 7
lampstands or churches. The number 7 is used 54 times in Revelation, why? 7 is
the number of completion. In regards to the lampstands or churches, the Book of
Revelation is not telling us that Jesus is only standing with 7 churches or 7
groups of churches.
In chapters 2 and 3 we see letters to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum,
Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. Are they the only churches that
matter?
No, Jesus standing among His 7 churches means that He is standing with complete
Church. He is standing with ALL of His churches.
The Book of Revelation presents to us the Triumphant Christ. It may not
always be clear to our analytical minds, but it is in there.
The Book of Revelation presents to us the center of the universe. As
much as some of the ‘famous’ people may like to think it is them. It is not
people like Lindsay Lohan.
Revelation 4:1-3
“4 After this I looked, and there in heaven was an open door. The first
voice that I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must
take place after this.” 2 Immediately
I was in the Spirit, and a throne was set there in heaven. One was seated on
the throne, 3 and the One seated looked like jasper and
carnelian stone. A rainbow that looked like an emerald surrounded the throne.”
The center of the universe is not in Hollywood, it is in heaven, and
the center of heaven is a throne, and there is someone, our triumphant God,
sitting on the throne.
Rome was not in control of the world, God was.
Washington, D.C.; does not run our world, God does.
God is up to something, and that something is the revelation of His
glory.
Revelation 4:6-11
“6 Something like a
sea of glass, similar to crystal, was also before the throne. Four living
creatures covered with eyes in front and in back were in the middle and around
the throne. 7 The first living creature was like a lion; the
second living creature was like a calf; the third living creature had a face
like a man; and the fourth living creature was like a flying eagle. 8 Each
of the four living creatures had six wings; they were covered with eyes around
and inside. Day and night they never stop, saying:
Holy, holy, holy,
Lord God, the Almighty,
who was, who is, and who is coming.
9 Whenever
the living creatures give glory, honor, and thanks to the One seated on the
throne, the One who lives forever and ever, 10 the 24 elders
fall down before the One seated on the throne, worship the One who lives
forever and ever, cast their crowns before the throne, and say:Lord God, the Almighty,
who was, who is, and who is coming.
11 Our
Lord and God,
You are worthy to receive
glory and honor and power,
because You have created all things,
and because of Your will
they exist and were created.”
Since heaven is the center of the universe
and our triumphant God is sitting on the throne at the center of heaven, the
center of the universe is full of worship. Those in the presence of God are
praising Him, always.You are worthy to receive
glory and honor and power,
because You have created all things,
and because of Your will
they exist and were created.”
God is on the Throne! But things are going
to get messy. If you keep reading in the Book of Revelation you read about
problem after problem, suffering after suffering. 7 scrolls which are sealed
that only Jesus can open. When Jesus opens the scroll all around will worship
Him, but the plagues, problems, and struggles, will hit as the battle between
God and satan plays out.
In the end we are left with the Triumphant
Christ, always victorious! Think of the Lower Story plagues, disease, and
death. But in the Upper Story we have God on His throne! Does not get sweeter
than that. No matter what is going on, God is on His throne. There are
challenges, but God always wins.
Revelation 21:1-6
“21 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and
the first earth had passed away, and the sea no longer existed. 2 I
also saw the Holy City, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,
prepared like a bride adorned for her husband.
3 Then I heard a
loud voice from the throne:
Look! God’s dwelling is
with humanity,
and He will live with them.
They will be His people,
and God Himself will be with them
and be their God.
4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
Death will no longer exist;
grief, crying, and pain will exist no longer,
because the previous things have passed away.
5 Then
the One seated on the throne said, “Look! I am making everything new.” He also
said, “Write, because these words are faithful and true.” 6 And
He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the
End. I will give water as a gift to the thirsty from the spring of life. 7 The
victor will inherit these things, and I will be his God, and he will be My
son.”and He will live with them.
They will be His people,
and God Himself will be with them
and be their God.
4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
Death will no longer exist;
grief, crying, and pain will exist no longer,
because the previous things have passed away.
No matter who you are, no matter where
you are from, no matter what you have done, as a child of God, a redeemed
member of His family, the new heaven and new earth are for you.
The Book of Revelation and the whole
Bible present the truth that God will make all things right.
In Genesis we started with creation of
the heavens and earth, Revelation presents the New heavens and earth.
Genesis tells of the creation of the sun,
moon, and stars, Revelation tells that there is no need of the sun because God
will be the light.
Genesis tells of paradise lost,
Revelation presents paradise regained.
Genesis tells us that satan was in the first
garden, Revelation tells us satan is banished forever from the new garden.
Revelation promises a new heavens and
earth and a new Jerusalem. The question that remains is: will you be there?
Imagine an angel shouting, ‘Move that bus’. Will you enter the home prepared
for you; will everything you experienced be worth it? How about your neighbor, brother,
or sister? Are you confident you will see them there?
God is on the throne, He is in control, we
need to do what He created us to do. We need to share His love and spread His
message.
Thanks for Reading and God Bless,
Robert
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