Revelation 1:1-4a, 3:14-22

“Making Sense of Revelation”

When I was a teenager, I can remember my church youth group going to see a movie together. I don’t remember the movie’s name, but to this day I remember many of the images in that movie. It was a movie about the Last Days and the Second Coming of Christ. And according to this movie, Jesus would come back secretly for the true believers and take them up to heaven and everyone else would be left behind here on earth for the Great Tribulation … a period of terrible suffering, in which the Anti-Christ would arise. And all these people left on earth would be forced to take upon themselves “the Mark of the Beast”, “666”, which in this movie was a bar code. And if you refused to take on the Mark of the Beast, then you would be put to death.

The plot of the movie was built around a woman who had become a Christian during this period of Tribulation and she was having to make the decision between taking on the Mark of the Beast or not. She finally chooses to remain faithful to her faith and in the final scene of the movie, she is put to death. She kneels before the guillotine and they chop off her head.

And then the pastor got up and gave an invitation for people to receive Jesus Christ, so that we could avoid this scenario. I had already given my life to Christ, but I did it all over again that night, because I wanted to make doubly sure that that was not going to happen to me. And of course, this was the whole purpose of the movie. It was designed to scare the hell out of you, so that you would give your life to Jesus.

Well, this was my first picture of the Book of Revelation. This occurred about the same time that Hal Lindsey wrote a book called, The Late Great Planet Earth. Many of you have probably read it. And it too, gave its version of how the Book of Revelation is played out. That was sort of reconstructed later in a series of books, that I know many of you have probably read … the Left Behind series. These kind of books and movies try to put into modern times, what they believe is going to happen according to the Book of Revelation.

But the question is, “Is that what is really going to happen, as told by the Book of Revelation?” Today, we are beginning a new series of sermon on the Book of Revelation, and what we want to try to understand in this 3 part series of sermons is, “How do different Christians understand the Book of Revelation? And what is its powerful and often misunderstood message for our lives today?”

And so, today I want to try to teach you some things about the Book of Revelation. Part of my role as your pastor is to equip you with an understanding of God’s Word that enables you to grow in your faith as disciples of Jesus Christ. So, I am going to be teaching you some things that you would find offered in most mainline seminaries about the Book of Revelation, and then, we are going to be asking the question: “What is its message for our lives today?” We have an ambitious journey to make over the next three weeks.

So, let’s begin by looking at some background information that will help us to understand the Book of Revelation. First, “When was the Book of Revelation written?” Most scholars believe that it was written around 95 A.D. during the reign of Emperor Domitian.

As you heard in the scripture reading for today, it was “a letter” that was written to seven different churches in Asia. Let’s take a look at a map of these seven churches. (Map on Screen) Across the Aegean Sea to your left would be Greece and to your right is modern day Turkey, but back then, it was the Roman Province of Asia. And there you can see where the Seven Churches were located. The Letter of Revelation was written by John on the Island of Patmos. Patmos was a penal colony, where people were sent to for exile. John had been sent to the Island of Patmos for his faith and it is here that he has his “vision” or “revelation”.

While touring the Journeys of the Apostle Paul, I had the opportunity to visit the Island of Patmos. (Picture of Patmos) This is what it looks like today. It is a very small island, yet beautiful. While there, we got to visit the actual cave where John is said to have had his vision of Revelation. (Picture of Cave) And I have to tell you, being in that cave was a holy experience for me that I will never forget.

Going back to the map, you can see the Seven Churches to whom this letter was addressed. In the order that they are listed in Revelation, you have: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. And if you were to draw a line connecting the seven churches, you would see that it forms an oval shape … like a circle. And it is believed that these Seven Churches actually represented all the churches in Asia. There were more churches, but seven were chosen, because in the Book of Revelation, the number 7 represents “wholeness”, “completeness” or “perfection”.

Numbers are very important in the Book of Revelation and they all have symbolic meaning. “Seven” represents “completeness”. For instance, how many days in a week are there? How many orifices are there in your head? (2 nostrils, 2 ears, 2 eyes, 1 mouth) Seven represented “completeness” or “perfection” in ancient times. So, these Seven Churches probably represented all of the churches in Asia.

Now, if you noticed the opening words of the Book of Revelation, it begins by saying: “The revelation of Jesus Christ.” And this is where the name for the book comes from, “The revelation.” Not “revelations” as multiple revelations, but “the revelation of Jesus Christ.” The Greek word for revelation is “apocalypse” and so, sometimes you will hear this book referred to as “the apocalypse of John”. The words actually mean the same thing.

And when you read the Book of Revelation, you discover that it is written in an interesting literary style. The only other book in the Bible written like this is the Book of Daniel and the Book of Revelation draws many of its images from the Book of Daniel. However, this form of literature, which is filled with analogies, metaphors, and symbolism, is found in several books outside of our New Testament and they all have the same basic message.

This style of writing was typically used when people were experiencing tough times. When people were under the domination of an evil power and they couldn’t see how that power was ever going to be defeated, someone would write one of these kinds of books. And it was written to give encouragement and hope. And the message was that in the heavenly realm God is in control, even though you cannot see that now on earth. And the day will come when God will defeat the evil forces. And there will be a time of bliss following that. And so, remain steadfast and firm, even in the face of oppression, because in the end, God is going overcome. That was the message of most of these apocalyptic types of writings.

The language in these apocalyptic writings was meant to be taken “figuratively”, not “literally”, and it was meant to be “heard”, not “read”. So, you notice at the beginning of this book you hear the words: “Blessed are those who hear these words…” So, this letter was meant to be read aloud to the Seven Churches, as people would close their eyes and listen to the images. Because, if you take this book too literally, you find yourself in trouble.

For instance, we have the image of Jesus as “a lion” in one place … and then, he is “a lamb” in another place … and then, twice we are told that he has “a sword coming out of his mouth”. If you try to draw that image, it is difficult to do and you miss the point. We’re supposed to listen to those images and ask, “What does that mean?” It means that with a single word Jesus can destroy his enemies. How much more powerful is that, than to try to picture Jesus with a sword coming out of his mouth? And so, this is how we are to read the book. We get into trouble when we try to read it too literally.

Another thing that is important for us to notice in the opening passage of the book, is that it says: “These things will happen soon.” Twice in the opening verses we are told that what is being described in this book is “about to happen”. We’ll come back to that idea in just a moment.

But with this background, I want to turn to how one reads the Book of Revelation. Many of us have been told that the Book of Revelation is describing what is going to happen at the End of Time, just before the final Return of Christ. And part of the reason that we are familiar with this view, is that most of the people who write about the Book of Revelation hold that particular view point. Most mainline Christians simply haven’t talked about it or studied it enough to know any different. So, our views of Revelation often come from the more conservative, Pentecostal views and we think that this is the only way that we can read this book.

But I want you to be aware that there are at least 4 major schools of thought about how you read the Book of Revelation. And these go back a very long time. In fact, the scenario that you find laid out in books like the Left Behind series is only about 170 years old. So, that understanding is not found in the Early Church. It is a more recent invention. But let me try to help you see the different ways that you might read the Book of Revelation. You have some time lines on your Sermon Notes and I want to try to walk you through that for just a moment.

The first school of thought on Revelation is that the Book of Revelation is entirely about what is going to happen at the very end of time, just before the final return of Christ. This would be the “Futurist” view. People who hold this view see the Second Coming of Christ in everything around us. When they read the newspaper, or hear about an earthquake, or a war, they try to point out how these events are signs pointing to the End of Time and Christ’s Second Coming. And every generation who reads the book in this way, thinks that they are living in the last days. You can go back to the plagues in medieval times, the conquests from the Muslims, to the reign of Hitler. Every generation who read the Book of Revelation in a “Futuristic” way believed that those events were signs of the End of Time and that they were living in the End of Days.

These people thought that Stalin and Hitler were the Anti-Christ. They see the United Nations or the European Union as the setting where the Anti-Christ will rise out of. And when you read their interpretations and you listen to the news, you say, “Wow! Maybe they are right.”

Well, that’s one way to read it … here is a second way. “The Historical view” sees the Book of Revelation as a foretelling of everything that would happen from John’s day in 90 A.D. to the Second Coming of Christ. And this was the dominate view of all the Protestant Reformers. So for 500 years, this was the dominate view that Protestants had of the Book of Revelation. They believed that in the Book of Revelation, God was giving a foretelling of everything that would happen from the time of John to the Second Coming of Christ.

So, they believed that Revelation 9 tells the story of the spread of Islam throughout the world. When it comes to the Anti-Christ, they believe that was the Papacy and the Church in Rome. They see the Book of Revelation as foretelling the future of the Church from the time of John to the present.

A third way to read the Book of Revelation is the “Preterist” school of thought. The Preterist school of thought says that most of what we read in the Book of Revelation was about what was happening during the time of John. So, when you read about the Beast and the Mark of the Beast, those were all things that were related to the time in which John lived.

And in this case, the Book of Revelation is not unlike any other book of the New Testament. Every letter in our New Testament was written to a specific group of people, about the issues they were wrestling with. And as Christians today, we read those letters and ask, “What are the timeless principles and Word of God in this letter that applies to our lives today?” We interpret what was said to those Churches and we try to hear the meaning for us. The Preterists would say that the Book of Revelation is meant to be read this way.

One last perspective that you will often see is the “Idealist” perspective. The Idealist perspective says that the Book of Revelation is not describing actual events at all. Rather, it is describing the kind of conflict that occurs in every generation between the forces of good and the forces of evil. And so, in every generation there is “a beast”. In every generation there is the temptation to take upon ourselves “the mark of the beast.” In every generation there is a conflict between God and Satan … between the forces of good and the forces of evil. And ultimately, God always wins.

So, these are the four most commonly held views of the Book of Revelation. Which of these views do you currently hold? For me, I am a mixture of three of these. I am a “Preterist, Idealist, slightly Futurist” I think that the scenes we see described in the Book of Revelation are primarily about what was happening in John’s day. And next week, I think you will see this and go, “Oh, I never knew that before.” As John says in the beginning of his letter, I think this is primarily about things that were about to happen in John’s day.

At the same time, I think this letter describes a cosmic struggle between God and the forces of evil that happen in every generation. This is why every generation can see itself in the Book of Revelation. And finally, the last 3 chapters regarding the Second Coming of Christ, I believe are talking about a future reality. I think they are describing, in symbolic ways, an event that is going to happen somewhere in the future.

Now, I don’t know how you see the Book of Revelation, but what I want you to learn from this, is that just because you have learned one thing from a pastor or a book that you read, doesn’t mean that it is the only way to read this letter. In fact, at different points in Christian history people have held completely different views from what you are likely to have heard in more recent times.

So, with that in mind, one of the things that is important for us to know in order to better understand this letter is “the context” of the letter and “what precipitated” it’s writing. If we have a sense of what was happening when John was writing this book, that will give us a key to understand what he is trying to say. So, let’s talk about that for a moment.

When I was in seminary, I was taught that the Book of Revelation was written at a time when Christians were experiencing intense persecution. In 95 A.D. the Emperor Domitian was persecuting the Christians in Asia. Many were put to death. Many lost their jobs and property. They were being forced to pay homage to the Emperor or else. This is what I was taught and it has been the mainstream of thought for many years. But in the last 15 or 20 years, scholars have begun to rethink this historical context. And in light of their study of more accurate archeological and historical data, scholars today don’t think that this was actually the case. There was some persecution going on in the Early Church at the time that the Book of Revelation was written, but Scholars claim now that it was not as widespread as we once thought.

The emerging thought now is that the big issue going on at the time when the Book of Revelation was written was, “How do Christians live in the midst of the Roman Empire? How do they live out their daily lives as Christians in a pagan society?” Scholars today believe that the real issue being addressed here, is that Christians have become too accommodating … too compromising and too caught up in their society. They’ve become too involved in honoring the Emperor and pursuing their own happiness. And the purpose of the Book is to call Christians back to a greater faithfulness and to distance themselves from compromising and conforming to their culture.

This is very important. In the time that Revelation was written, there had clearly been some persecution. Some of the Apostles had been put to death around 64 & 65 A.D. … thirty30 years before. In the Book of Revelation, we hear of one martyr by name, “Antipas”, who was put to death. And we know that John was exiled to a penal colony for his faith.

We also know that during this time, people had to regularly offer a sacrifice to the Emperor in order to prove their loyalty. But Jews were excluded from having to do this. Because of their faith, there was a law that allowed Jews not to have to do what everyone else had to do.

We also know that towards the end of the 1^st century, Jews were deciding that Christians were not really Jews and they were pushing them out of the synagogues. And so now, if Christians were no longer counted among the Jews, they were no longer exempt from offering sacrifices to the Emperor. And so, the Christians were being faced with the decision of whether to offer the sacrifice to the Emperor or not, and fear of what would happen to them if they didn’t.

So clearly, this was not an easy time to be a Christian. But, “Is there evidence that there was widespread persecution?” I have to tell you, that when I first heard this view, I questioned it. I mean, that’s not what I learned in seminary. But as I read the Book of Revelation, I began to think that they are right.

If you have your Bible’s, turn with me to chapter 2. Here, John addresses each of the Seven Churches and he describes the problems facing them. Listen for yourselves and see if you hear of any persecution going on, because this is the foundation for the rest of the Book.

In chapter 2:4, John addresses the Church in Ephesus saying, “I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first.” Nothing here about persecution, rather it is about how they have lost their first love and compromised.

In the 9^th verse we see how John addresses the Church in Smyrna. Here we see evidence of some persecution, but it was the Jews who are doing the persecution by forcing them out of the synagogues. John writes: “I know the slander on the part of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Beware, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison so that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have affliction. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.”

Then we go to the Church of Pergamum and we read these words in the 14^th

verse: “I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the people of Israel, so that they would eat food sacrificed to idols and practice fornication.”

Here, he’s referring to what happened in the Old Testament days, when people would sacrifice to the pagan gods and practice sexual fornication. The issue here is not persecution, but rather how the Christians were compromising their faith and witness.

The next letter is to Thyatira, found in verse 20: “I have this against you: you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet and is teaching and beguiling my servants to practice fornication and to eat food sacrificed to idols.” You remember that Jezebel was an evil queen in the Old Testament and John is using her to describe a prophet who was at the Church in Thyatira and is teaching them to compromise their faith with the culture.

Chapter 3 begins with the letter to the Church of Sardis. Here John says, “I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.” Again, no persecution here. The issue is that they are acting as though they are alive and doing a lot of things, but they are really spiritually dead.

To the Church of Philadelphia, we find only words of encouragement. In 3:8 John says, “I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.”

And finally, to the Church at Laodicea, in verse 15 we read these words:

“I know your works; you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spit you out of my mouth. For you say, ‘I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing.’ You do not realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.” Again, no mention of persecution here.

Now when we read the Book of Revelation with this new understanding, suddenly, it begins to make a lot more sense and it becomes even more powerful for us. Because, if this letter was written primarily to people who were being intensely persecuted, then it really doesn’t have much relevance for us today, because we Christians in America are not being persecuted. And if this all about how the End of Times is going to take place, then all we are really left with are charts, and time-lines, and speculation.

But if the message of Revelation is that there are Christians who are succumbing to their culture … accommodating and compromising their faith in order to fit in to their culture, then this book may be one of the most important books in the entire New Testament for us today and maybe we need to be studying this book a lot more.

I want to remind you that this book claims to be “prophecy”. Prophecy in the Old Testament was not about telling the future. Prophets in the Old Testament came to the people of Israel and told them, “You have sinned and if you don’t repent and change, bad things are going to happen to you. Judgment is going to come.” And almost always, they would say, “After the judgment, good things will happen.” And so, prophecy is always a warning to the people of that day.

When John identifies this as a prophecy, he is saying, “To those of you in the church today who are struggling with accommodating and compromising your faith, you need to be aware that the time is coming when judgment will be brought upon this earth by God, and you want to be among those who stand fast and remain faithful.” This was not only a powerful word for the people of John’s day … but also for us.

And as a way to wrap this up, I want to focus on the Letter to the Church at Laodicea. Laodicea was the center of banking, textiles, and also of medicines used to heal the eyes. It was one of the wealthiest communities per-capita in the Roman Empire. The people who lived there were successful middle to upper class people. If you could find any of these 7 Churches that related most closely to the United States of America, it would be Laodicea.

Listen once more to Jesus’ words to the Church of Laodicea and listen for how these words might have significance for our lives today. Jesus says to them: “I know your works; you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spit you out of my mouth. For you say, ‘I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing.’ You do not realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked.”

The people of Laodicea were feeling pretty good about themselves. Being made up primarily of professional and well educated people, they were rich and they didn’t need anything from anybody. And yet, that is not how the Lord saw them at all.

Now having wealth and influence was not a bad thing. But the question we have to ask is, “Are there any dangers to having wealth or power that could negatively impact us as Christians?” And I think that we know the answer to that. Are there any ways that we are tempted to compromise or to become “lukewarm” in our deeds, because we live in a country of relative success and affluence? This is an important question.

Are we any different than the people in our neighborhoods who are not Christian? Do we spend our money any differently? Do you entertain yourselves or your friends any differently? Do you have different thoughts about politics or vote differently because you’re a Christian? Do you ever wear clothing different than what every one else does, because you feel Jesus is calling you to do that? Do you ever refuse to go places that others are going because you are a Christian? Is there any price that you are willing to pay for your faith?

Some of us here today, when we were teenagers, had visions of how we were going to go out and turn the world upside down. We had this idealistic view of the world. How’s your idealism today? You know, the mission statement for our denomination today is that we are about “Making Disciples of Jesus Christ for the Transformation of the World.” Isn’t that cool? When we come to faith in Jesus Christ, we’re called to change the world!

But what I fear, is that while we are called to be “world changers”, what actually happens to us is that we get changed by the world. We begin to compromise. We become afraid to take risks. We’re no longer bold and courageous in our faith. We become focused on ourselves and our preference. We accommodate and compromise because we fear what others might think.

Somewhere along the way, we find ourselves compromising with the culture. How do you find yourself compromising with the culture? How do you live in this world, yet maintain a witness that is “salt … leaven …and light” for others? How do we live in this world and maintain an identity as disciples of Jesus Christ?

These are the questions being raised by the Book of Revelation. The Book of Revelation calls us to be different, not just for the sake of being different, but in order to be faithful for the sake of Jesus Christ.

We have all lived in Laodicea at times. We have all compromised our faith. Revelation is calling us to faithful living, yet when we fail, we are offered a word of grace. Listen to what Jesus says in his final word to the Seven Churches: “I reprove and discipline those whom I love. Be earnest, therefore, and repent. Listen! I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me.”

Jesus calls us to be faithful … to be courageous … to be bold … and to stand firm in our faith, in a culture that marches to beat of a different drum. And when we fail him and compromise, “he stands at the door and knocks,” promising to come to us and to be with us no matter what.