Revelation 1

Revelation 1:1-3

Chapter 1 The Revelation Of Jesus Christ ‘The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John’ Revelation 1:1 The singular subject, theme, and message of the entire Bible, the Old Testament and the New, is the Person, work and glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. As in creation, providence and redemption, so in the Holy Scriptures, it is the purpose of God ‘that in all things he might have the preeminence’ (Colossians 1:18). The Book of God is a book all about Christ (Luke 24:27; Luke 24:44-48). The Bible is a Him Book. It is all about Him. All the promises and blessings of God given to sinful men and women are in Christ (Ephesians 1:3).

Apart from Christ, God promises nothing but wrath; and every supposed blessing will prove to be a curse. All the love, mercy and grace of God is in Christ. All the revelation and knowledge of the triune God is in Christ. Christ is not only the central message of Holy Scripture, he is the message of Holy Scripture. To understand that is to have the key that opens the Word of God and reveals its treasures. That which is true of the whole Volume of Inspiration is especially and gloriously true of the last, closing chapters of the Volume, the Book of Revelation. This last book of the Bible is Christ’s revelation of himself to his servants. This Book is ‘The Revelation of Jesus Christ’ (Revelation 1:1). It is not the revelation of St. John, but ‘the Revelation of Jesus Christ’ given to and recorded by John. It is not the book of revelations (plural). It does not contain many revelations. It contains one revelation seen in many things. It is ‘the Revelation of Jesus Christ.’ In his book, ‘More Than Conquerors,’ William Hendriksen made two points that are crucial to a proper understanding of the Book of Revelation. First, ‘the theme of this book is: the Victory of Christ and of his Church over the Dragon (Satan) and his helpers. The Apocalypse intends to show you, dear believer, that things are not what they seem!’ God’s purpose is not in jeopardy. Christ, his church, and his truth will be triumphant at last. The second point Hendriksen made is about the visions John describes. Each vision, or section of this book, must be interpreted as a vision covering the entire gospel age. ‘Each section,’ Hendriksen wrote, ‘gives us a description of the entire Gospel Age, from the first to the second coming of Christ, and is rooted in Israel’s history under the old dispensation to which there are frequent references.’ Confusion comes when men try to mix the visions together and make them form a prophetic history of world events. Each vision is a picture of the Person and work of Christ in redemption, grace and judgment throughout the gospel age. Follow that basic, simple guide and you will not greatly err in interpreting the Book of Revelation, and your heart will be comforted and thrilled in reading what God has determined to do for you and with you in Christ. A general survey of these twenty-two chapters of Inspiration will give the reader a clear understanding of the fact that the revelation given to John and recorded in this Book is ‘The Revelation of Jesus Christ.’ Christ is ‘the faithful witness’ (Revelation 1:5) This title refers to our Savior’s prophetic office. He is that Prophet of whom Moses spoke (Deuteronomy 18:15; John 6:14), both faithful and true. He is the faithful witness of God to his people (John 1:14; John 1:18), and our faithful witness before the holy Lord God, as our Advocate with the Father (1 John 2:12). Our Savior is ‘the first begotten of the dead’ (Revelation 1:5) This refers to our Redeemer’s priestly office. If he is ‘the first begotten of the dead,’ then he must have once died. He died for the sins of his people and rose again for their justification. When he arose as our Head and Representative, ‘he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us’ (Hebrews 9:12). With his own precious blood, our great High Priest has opened for us a way of free access to God (Hebrews 10:19-22). Our Redeemer is ‘the prince of the kings of the earth’ (Revelation 1:5) By virtue of his finished work of redemption, the God-man, our Mediator, has been made the sovereign Monarch of the universe (John 17:2; Romans 14:9; Philippians 2:9-11). He is Lord and King even over his enemies. The kings of the earth have their crowns and kingdoms from him; they rule by his decree, doing his will (Proverbs 21:1); and one day soon they will all bow before his throne and glorify him as King. Christ is ‘him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and made us kings and priests unto god’ (Revelation 1:5-6) He ‘loved us’ particularly and distinctively, with an everlasting, immutable love. Because he loved us, he chose us in eternal election, became our Surety in the covenant of grace, and with his Father, predestinated us unto heavenly glory. Therefore, he ‘washed us from our sins in his own blood.’ By the shedding of his blood, the Lord Jesus Christ effectually washed away the sins of God’s elect. He washed our sins from the record of heaven, from the memory of God, and washed us from our sins, making us holy and righteous in the sight of God! That is the work of Christ in redemption. All whom he loved, he washed, and in the fulness of time, he makes them ‘kings and priests unto God.’ That speaks of regeneration and conversion.

Christ, sending his Spirit to redeem sinners, gives us a new, holy nature by which we are made to reign over the lusts of our flesh, so that we are no longer under the dominion of sin. And as priests, consecrated to God, we have direct access to God through his blood. The Son of God says, ‘I am he that liveth’ (Revelation 1:18) He lives forever because he is Life! Apart from him there is no life. He lives forever because he is the living God. But here he is talking about himself as the God-man, our Mediator, who once was dead, having died as our Substitute for the satisfaction of divine justice. He died! We thank God for that; but he is now alive for evermore. Christ Jesus lives forever on behalf of his elect, those for whom he died. He lives to make intercession for us (Hebrews 7:25). He lives to give eternal life to all his redeemed ones (John 17:2). Because He lives we live also. We live in him, by the virtue of his death and by the power of his life. Jesus Christ holds ‘the keys of hell and of death’ (Revelation 1:18) Hell, in this place, simply refers to the grave. The Lord Jesus Christ, by the virtue of his resurrection, has power, authority and dominion over death and the grave (Psalms 68:18-20; 1 Corinthians 15:51-58). He conquered death, hell, and the grave when he died for us and rose again. Therefore, these great terrors have no power over us to do us harm, and should cause us no fear (Hebrews 2:14-15). Christ has delivered us from spiritual death in regeneration, the first resurrection (John 5:25), and shall deliver us from death and the grave in the resurrection of our bodies at the last day. It is written, ‘Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power’ (Revelation 20:6). Christ Jesus is ‘he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks’ (Revelation 2:1) The seven golden candlesticks are the churches of Christ in this world. How blessed are those people who are privileged to gather with God’s saints in public worship (Matthew 18:20). The Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, walks in the midst of his churches! The seven stars are gospel preachers, God’s appointed pastors, who are the angels, messengers of God, to his churches. The Lord Jesus Christ holds them in his right hand, puts them where he wants them, gives them the messages they are responsible to deliver, uses them as he sees fit, and protects them as they go about his business. Let every true gospel preacher be esteemed by God’s saints as an angel of God sent with a message from God for their souls (1 Thessalonians 5:12-13). Christ is ‘the Lion of the tribe of Judah’ (Revelation 5:5) Our Savior sprang from the tribe of Judah and is comparable to a lion. Like a lion, he is strong and courageous. Like a lion, he devours his enemies. Like a lion, he always prevails. He prevailed over our enemies. He prevailed with God as our Surety and Substitute. And he prevails over the hearts of chosen sinners in saving grace. Our Savior is called ‘the Root of David’ (Revelation 5:5) Later, he is called ‘the Root and offspring of David’ (Revelation 22:16). He is both the God from whom David obtained his life and the Man who came from the root of David’s house. As a Man, our Savior arose ‘as a root out of a dry ground’ (Isaiah 53:2). Yet, he is the Root from which all his people draw their life. The Root of our family tree is Jesus Christ himself! ‘In the midst of the throne stood a Lamb’ (Revelation 5:6) That Lamb standing in the midst of the throne of God is Christ our Savior, who was slain for us. He is seen standing in the midst of the throne because he is the center of God’s decrees and works and the One who executes all God’s purposes. He alone is worthy and able to open the book of divine predestination and fulfil it. Christ stands in the midst of the throne and of the twenty-four elders (the church of God) and the four beasts (the preachers of the gospel) as the Savior of all his people and the One of whom all his servants speak. The throne John saw represents the glory of God as well as the dominion of God; and Christ, as the Lamb of God, is the revelation and accomplishment of God’s glory. This Lamb is ‘the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world’ (Revelation 13:8) In the purpose and decree of God, in anticipation of the fall, for the fulfilling of God’s covenant, Christ was looked upon by God the Father as our all-sufficient, sin-atoning sacrifice before ever the world was made. God’s elect were looked upon in him as being saved from eternity (Romans 8:28-31; Ephesians 1:3-6; 2 Timothy 1:9). All that we experience in time of God’s redeeming grace was done for us in eternity in God’s decrees. Before the world was made, in the mind and purpose of almighty God, Christ was the Lamb slain. That means that in the mind of God, from all eternity, the covenant of grace was fulfilled, the ransom price was paid, the Surety was exalted, and God’s elect were saved. The Lord Jesus Christ is called ‘Faithful And True’ (Revelation 19:11) What a name for the Son of God! He well deserves it for he is faithful and true in all things. He is Faithful to his people, to his covenant, to his promises, and to himself. He is True. He is both the Truth and the True One. Jesus Christ is a true Friend and Brother (Proverbs 17:17), a true Savior (1 John 1:9; 1 John 2:1-2), and a true Husband (Son 5:1-9). So true is this Husband to his bride that he will never leave her and will never let her leave him. He is ‘The Word Of God’ (Revelation 19:13) ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God’ (John 1:1). Christ is the Word by which God reveals himself and through which the triune God performs all his works. He is the eternal, creating Word, by whom all things were made (John 1:3; Hebrews 11:2). He is the incarnate, revealing Word, by whom God is revealed to man (John 1:14; John 1:18). And he is the almighty, saving Word (Hebrews 4:12-13), by whom God calls out and saves his people in regenerating grace. Our Savior is the ‘King Of Kings and Lord Of Lords’ (Revelation 19:16) As we saw in chapter 1, Revelation 1:5, the Lord Jesus Christ is the absolute, singular, rightful, sovereign Monarch of heaven and earth (Acts 2:32-36). The Lord Jesus Christ is that one who declares, ‘behold, I make all things new’ (Revelation 21:5-6) In grace, he makes all things new. ‘Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new’ (2 Corinthians 5:17). In heavenly glory, he makes all things new, granting to his people a new name and a new life, without the possibility of sin, sorrow, or death. And in the last days, he will create ‘a new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness’ (2 Peter 3:13). Christ is the ‘Alpha and Omega’ (Revelation 22:13) He is the ‘a’ and the ‘z’, the first and the last, the beginning and the end of all things. The covenant of grace begins and ends with Christ. The whole of creation has its origin in Christ and shall find its consummation in Christ. Every event of providence comes from Christ and shall glorify Christ. The entire Volume of Holy Scripture, from beginning to end, speaks of Christ. And in the salvation of God’s elect Jesus Christ is the beginning, the end, and everything between (1 Corinthians 1:30-31). Our Redeemer is ‘The Bright and Morning Star’ (Revelation 22:16) He is the Light that shines in darkness, that shines in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God. He is the Day Star of grace, the Sun of Righteousness, risen over this sin-cursed earth, with healing in his wings. And he is the Star of that great eternal day yet to come. Our dear Savior, the lord Jesus Christ, declares, ‘Surely, I come quickly’ (Revelation 22:20) Soon he shall appear! Suddenly, without warning, the King of glory shall come again to destroy his enemies, save his people, restore his creation, and glorify his Father. ‘Then cometh the end,’ when the God-man Mediator will perform his last mediatoral work. He shall deliver up the kingdom, all the hosts of his elect unto God the Father, saying, ‘Behold I and the children which God hath given me!’ And God shall be ‘all in all’ (Hebrews 2:13; 1 Corinthians 15:24-28).

Revelation 1:4-6

Chapter 2 Who is Jesus Christ ‘John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne; (5) And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, (6) And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.’Revelation 1:4-6 Salvation is to be had only by trusting the Christ of Holy Scripture. Any other Christ is a false Christ. ‘The one who is to be enshrined in our minds and hearts must be the true Christ of the Bible. Otherwise we have an idol at the center of our faith’ (John Legg). We must know who Jesus Christ is and what he has done if we are to trust him and be saved by him. Faith in a false Christ is false faith. Knowing that many false prophets had gone out into the world in the spirit of antichrist (1 John 4:1-3), John identifies the Lord Jesus Christ in his salutation (Revelation 1:4-6). He shows us that all grace and peace come to fallen, sinners from the eternal, triune God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit). These two things fulfil every need we have before God and satisfy the desires of every renewed heart - Grace and Peace! Grace is God’s free, loving favor bestowed upon those who deserve his wrath. It includes all the bounty of heaven: the pardon of sin, justification, eternal life, preservation, sanctification and glorification. ‘Peace,’ William Hendriksen wrote, is ‘the reflection of the smile of God in the heart of the believer who has been reconciled to God through Jesus Christ.’ Peace is always the result of revealed grace. Those who know the grace of God enjoy the peace of God. Who is Jesus Christ That question may seem trite to some who read these pages; but no question is more important. Jesus is the name given to him by the angel. It means ‘Deliverer,’ or ‘Savior’ (Matthew 1:21). This Jesus is the Christ, God’s promised Anointed One, the Messiah, the One set forth in the types and prophecies of the Old Testament Scriptures, the long awaited Redeemer King of his people. He is the Son of God and the Son of Man, Immanuel, the God-man, God and man in one glorious Person. He is as much God as though he were not man and as much man as though he were not God. This God-man is ‘the Savior of the world’ (1 John 4:14). Jesus Christ is ‘the faithful witness’ (John 1:1-5; John 1:14; John 1:18; Hebrews 1:1-3; Colossians 2:9). In his prophetic office he is the revelation of God’s Being and attributes (John 14:9). He is the One in and by whom the love, mercy, grace and goodness of God to his people is revealed (John 17:2; John 17:6; John 17:22-26). The truth and justice of God are revealed in his sin-atoning death (Romans 3:24-26), which is our only way of access to God (John 3:14-16; John 14:6). It is Christ who has revealed the sure and certain hope of eternal glory and opened the way for sinners to inherit it (John 11:25; John 14:1-3). Though the revelation of God is complete in Christ, (No other word from God is needed or expected!), it is continually made known to chosen sinners by his Spirit through the ministry of the Word (1 John 1:1). Christ is also ‘the first begotten of the dead.’ This speaks of his priestly office. He who died for our sins rose again as our great High Priest and opened for us the way of life, giving us acceptance with and access to the holy God (Hebrews 10:19-22). This title, ‘the first begotten of the dead,’ implies three things: 1. Christ was the first to be raised from death to immortality. 2. Christ was the first and only to be raised from the dead by his own power (John 10:18). 3. Christ was raised from the dead as the firstfruits of the resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:23). He was raised as the Representative of God’s elect; and his resurrection is the pledge of theirs. Our Savior is ‘the prince of the kings of the earth.’ As the result of his death and resurrection as our Substitute, the Lord Jesus Christ has been exalted and given dominion over all flesh (Philippians 2:9-11). He is King of kings and Lord of lords. All men, both small and great, are under the sovereign dominion of the Lord Jesus Christ. His mediatoral rule over all flesh is the reward of his redemptive work (John 17:2; Romans 14:9; Isaiah 53:10-12). Christ, who died to redeem his elect, now rules the universe to save them. All people are ruled by him, absolutely. All are accountable to him. And, sooner or later, all shall acknowledge his rightful claims as Lord over them. What has the Lord Jesus Christ done ‘Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father’ - It was not John’s purpose to tell us all that Christ has done for us; but to excite our hearts with gratitude and praise to our Savior. He mentions just three things that our great God and Savior has done for his own elect, but they include all other things.

1. The Lord Jesus Christ loved us Let men talk all they will about God’s ‘universal love.’ ‘Universal love’ is no love at all! It offers no hope, inspires no gratitude and brings no praise to God. Christ loved us. He loved us particularly (Isaiah 43:4; Malachi 1:2; Revelation 3:9). He loved us eternally (Jeremiah 31:3). He loved us freely (Hosea 14:4). He loved us effectually (Deuteronomy 7:8). He loved us and loves us perseveringly (John 13:1). Because he loved us, our Savior would not allow us to perish under the wrath of God!
2. Therefore, he ‘washed us from our sins in his own blood’ All who are loved by Christ with an everlasting love have been washed from all sin in the fountain of ‘his own blood.’ The word ‘washed’ has a double meaning, ‘washed’ and ‘loosed.’ Christ washed away our sins when he poured out his life’s blood unto death upon the cross. By his precious blood, the Son of God made an atonement for our sins, justified us from all sin, and removed all sin from us, past, present and future! So thorough, complete, and effectual is his atoning sacrifice that all for whom he bled and died are fair, pure, without spot, and perfectly holy in the sight of God. Christ has also loosed us from the guilt and dominion of sin by the Spirit’s application of his blood to our hearts (Hebrews 9:14). This is redemption both accomplished and applied. It was accomplished at Calvary and is applied in effectual calling.

Christ’s blood atonement was both particular and effectual. It is as broad as the love of God and as narrow as the number of those who are actually loosed from their sins by it. 3. The Lord Jesus Christ has ‘made us kings and priests unto God and his Father’ All who believe on Christ are kings and priests unto God in him. Every child of God in this world is a king. We have received a kingdom of grace which cannot be taken away. We reign as kings over our enemies: sin, Satan and the world. We live and fare as kings, robed in the royal apparel of Christ’s righteousness, fed and provided for from the treasury of heaven, and attended to by the angels of God. When this life is ended, we will sit as kings with Christ upon his throne. Every believer is also a priest. The priesthood of the believer has been twisted by many to mean that everyone has the right to believe and do whatever he sees fit. Ask the sons of Aaron about that (See Leviticus 10:1-3). The priesthood of the believer means that God’s people neither need nor desire any earthly ‘priest.’ Christ is our Priest; and we are priests unto God in him. In him, we have constant access to God. We personally confess our sins to God and obtain forgiveness at the mercy-seat, Christ Jesus. And we offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by him (1 Peter 2:5). What is the result of our Savior’s work ‘To him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.’ As God the Father has given Christ all preeminence, glory, and dominion as the reward of his work, so sinners saved by his grace gladly ascribe to him all preeminence, glory and dominion. Throughout the Book of Revelation, as throughout the entire Bible, all glory is ascribed to God in Christ. None is ascribed or given to any creature (Revelation 4:8; Revelation 4:11; Revelation 5:9; Revelation 5:13; Revelation 19:10-12; 1 Corinthians 1:26-31). Christ has all glory and dominion. His glory and dominion must and shall endure forever. ‘He must reign!’ And every believer bows to, trusts, and delights in Christ’s glory and dominion.

We say with John, ‘Amen!’ So let it be! So it shall be! Do you see who Christ is? Do you realize what he has done? Have you experienced his saving work? Then give all glory to him.

As God the Father has put all things into the hands of his Son, so you must trust all things into his hands. You may safely trust him in all things and for all things. He is Jesus the Christ!

Revelation 1:7

Chapter 3 Christ the coming King ‘Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.’ Revelation 1:7 Here is an announcement worthy of attention, admiration, and investigation. ‘Behold, he cometh with the clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so. Amen.’ John is not describing the pompous parade of some earthly despot. He is talking about the glorious appearance of the great God who is our Savior. He is proclaiming the second advent of the King of kings in his glory. That same Jesus whom the disciples saw ascending into heaven shall come again. The God-man who now rules all things from his lofty throne in heaven is coming to this world again. ‘Behold,’ pause, look, consider this great fact. The finger of inspiration points to this momentous event, and says, ‘Behold, he cometh!’ These words should sound like a terrifying alarm in the heart of every unbeliever; but they are words of joy, comfort, hope and peace to every child of God. Your trials may be heavy. Your temptations may be many. Though your heart now aches, both with affliction and with sin, you have reason to be of good cheer. All your troubles are temporary. Do not look upon them as though they will last forever. ‘Behold, he cometh!’ And ‘I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us’ (Romans 8:18). Having shown us what Christ has done for us in Revelation 1:5-6, John here encourages us to live in expectation of the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ is coming again in power and great glory. Though Christ’s second coming is not the central theme of the Book of Revelation, ‘Yet it constitutes a real source of comfort for afflicted believers. It is the hope of believers and the consternation of the enemies of the church’ (William Hendriksen). Therefore, John gives us this picture of Christ the coming King. Who is coming The One who is coming is the One John has just described, ‘Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten from the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth…him that loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father.’ He is the One who came in humiliation as the Son of Man. Two thousand years ago the Son of God came into this world as a man. In order to redeem his people, he took manhood into union with himself and dwelt in human flesh. Everything associated with the earthly life and ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ was humiliation (Philippians 2:5-8; 2 Corinthians 8:9). He was born in Bethlehem in a cow stable! He lived in poverty and sorrow.

He was tempted in all points like as we are. His disciples, his followers, were the despised riff-raff of society: publicans, fishermen, harlots, and beggars. This One who is coming is the One who suffered and died as the sinner’s Substitute at Calvary. In dark Gethsemane, our Savior’s agony was so great that he sweat blood. His heart broke within him as he anticipated the shame he must suffer to redeem us. There he was arrested like a common thief in the dark of night. The Lord of glory was beaten, mocked, and led through the streets of Jerusalem in a procession of humiliation and sorrow. Then he was stripped naked, nailed to a wooden cross, and hung up to die by the hands of wicked men. All of this he voluntarily endured because he had come into this world to die in the place of chosen sinners (Romans 5:6-8; Galatians 4:4-5). As he hung upon the cursed tree, the Lord Jesus Christ was made to be sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 2:24). He suffered all the vengeance and wrath of almighty God in our place (Galatians 3:13). He died under the curse of God’s holy law, satisfying all the claims of the law’s justice against us, so that God might be just and yet justify the ungodly (Romans 3:24-26). Then he was buried in a borrowed tomb. This One of whom John says, ‘Behold, he cometh,’ is the Christ of God who now reigns as King of kings and Lord of lords. Though he lived as the man of sorrows and died as the sinner’s Substitute under the wrath of God, he is yet alive! On the third day after his death he arose triumphant over death, hell and the grave. Forty days later the crucified Christ was exalted. He ascended back into heaven, took his seat upon the throne of universal monarchy and was crowned with glory and honor. There he reigns as King supreme for evermore (Acts 2:36).

This One who is coming is Christ the King. He is not coming to be king. He is coming as King! Christ the King is coming to put an end to all rebellion in his empire. ‘And all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed’ (Isaiah 45:24). The Lord Jesus Christ who ‘loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God,’ is coming again. ‘Behold, he cometh!’ What should our attitude be with regard to Christ’s coming We should look upon the second coming of Christ as a matter of fact. John does not say, ‘He will come some day,’ or ‘He will come soon,’ or even, ‘He may come at anytime.’ He says, ‘Behold, he cometh!’ His language is in the present tense. He seems to have caught a glimpse of Christ coming even as he was writing. He speaks of it as a matter of fact, a present reality, not as a distant hope. He who came in humiliation to suffer is coming in power to conquer. He who came to redeem is coming to gather his redeemed ones. This is not something to be embraced as a prophetic theory in the development of a sound eschatological creed. It is a fact to be seen with the eye of faith and anticipated in the believing heart. The Word of God speaks plainly and constantly about Christ’s glorious second advent (Jude 1:14; Job 19:25; Daniel 7:13-14; Acts 1:11; 1 Thessalonians 4:16; 1 Peter 5:4; 2 Peter 3:10; John 14:3). Our Savior gave us perpetual reminders of his second coming in the ordinances of the gospel. Every time a believer confesses faith in Christ by believer’s baptism, we are taught to look for Christ’s second coming. The new convert goes down into the watery grave as one crucified with Christ and rises up out of the water as one risen with Christ in the new birth, living in hope of the resurrection at the Lord’s coming (Romans 6:4-6). As often as we sit around the Lord’s Table with God’s saints and take the bread and wine, we are vividly reminded that Christ is coming (1 Corinthians 11:24-26). Though that is a blessed ordinance, it is only a temporary thing. We will cease to celebrate the Lord’s Supper when our Lord who has gone away returns. We should always look upon Christ’s second coming with immediate interest and anxious expectation. I fear that our thoughts about Christ’s second coming are too much like the scoffer’s words. Though we might never say the words, ‘Where is the promise of his coming,’ I am afraid we live too much as those who do not expect it to happen. That should not be! John says, ‘Behold, he cometh!’ He will be here so soon that John puts it in the present tense - ‘He cometh!’ He means for us to understand that Christ is already on his way back to this world. Do not imagine that our Lord delays his coming, or that he is simply waiting in heaven to return at the appointed hour. Everything he is doing in providence and grace he is doing in preparation for his glorious advent. We get uneasy because he has been gone for two thousand years; but he does not calculate time as we do. To him one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day (2 Peter 3:8). By that measurement he has only been away for two days! He went away on business for his beloved bride (John 14:1-3; John 16:7).

As soon as his business is done, as soon as everything that has to be done is done, he will return. His bride may fret and worry, but he knows what he is doing. He will not be moved with passion. He is faithful. He dwells in the leisure of eternity and in the serenity of sovereignty. He is not limited by time and space.

He will accomplish his work. Then he will return. From the very moment that he went away, the Lord Jesus has been coming back again. Everything is moving toward that end. ‘Behold, he cometh!’ He is on his way! Every hour brings him nearer. Soon he shall appear the second time, without sin, unto salvation. ‘Now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.’ At the time appointed, Christ will appearA We should await our Savior’s coming with patience and anticipation. The grace of God teaches us to be always ‘looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ’ (Titus 2:13). Looking for the glorious appearing of Christ, be patient in trial (1 Peter 1:7), diligent in service (Acts 1:10-11), and always watchful. Live upon the tiptoe of faith, looking for Christ to appear. How will the Lord Jesus Christ appear John says, ‘Behold, he cometh with the clouds.’ John Gill tells us that this ‘denotes the grand and magnificent manner in which he will come, making the clouds his chariots…and the visibility of his coming.’ When our Savior comes, he will make a glorious, climatic appearance. ‘He comes with the clouds,’ that is with glory (Daniel 7:13; Mark 14:62; Revelation 14:14; Ezekiel 1:4-28) and with anger, wrath, judgment (Zephaniah 1:15; Psalms 97:2). The Bible knows nothing about the invisible or secret second coming. Nowhere is this taught. On the contrary, ’every eye shall see him’ (William Hendriksen). When Christ comes, everyone will know it! In the wilderness, the presence of the Lord was known by the visible pillar of a cloud by day and of fire by night. The cloud was the sure token of God’s presence. Even so, every eye shall see ‘the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory’ (Matthew 24:30). Christ will come with great majesty. The King of Glory shall descend from heaven with clouds of angels and of saints at his side. All the forces of nature will announce his arrival. The archangel will shout, the trump of God will sound, the thunder shall announce him, the lightening shall dance before him, and the clouds will be his chariot. As God came down upon Sinai in clouds and thick darkness to give the law, so shall the God-man descend in final judgment. His coming with clouds also implies the power with which he shall appear. ‘His strength is in the clouds.’ He once came as a tender plant, a root out of dry ground, robed in swaddling clothes, and laid in a manger; but now he comes with clouds, robed with the tapestry of heaven’s throne, in power and great glory. Certainly, the clouds represent the terror of his judgment. All believers shall be caught up together with him in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:17). But, to those unbelieving rebels who remain upon the earth, those clouds shall be signs of horrifying wrath and judgment (Psalms 97:1-6), as clouds filled with justice, vengeance, and anger. The Lord Jesus Christ is coming with clouds of unparalleled splendor. To his saints, this is glorious. To his enemies, this will be terrifying (1 Thessalonians 5:2-10; 2 Thessalonians 1:6-10). What will happen when Christ comes again It is evident that Christ’s coming will be a literal appearance. It is true, Christ comes to his people spiritually in grace, in providence, and at death. But John is talking about the literal, bodily, visible coming of the Son of God to this earth the second time. Child of God, you will see your Savior with the very same eyes with which you read these words, for at his glorious appearance there will be a general resurrection (John 5:28-29; 1 Corinthians 15:51-58; Job 19:25-26). At his coming, the Lord Jesus Christ will be seen of all men. ‘Every eye shall see him.’ Every child of Adam, both the living and the dead, shall see the God-man face to face. Your eyes and mine shall look upon him. In that day, we will look on him, nothing and no one else but him. Nothing else will be of any significance. Every believer shall look upon him with satisfaction and delight (1 John 3:2). ‘They also which pierced him’ shall see him. Pilate and Judas, Herod and Caiaphas, the Jews and the soldiers, all shall see him. Indeed, all who have pierced him by enmity, rebellion and unbelief shall see him. When our Lord appears the second time, an overwhelming horror shall engulf the world. ‘All kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him.’ In the last day, as in this present day, God’s elect in the world will be few. However, in that great day, Christ will conquer his enemies. Every knee shall bow before him and every tongue shall confess that he is Lord (Isaiah 45:23-24; Philippians 2:9-11).

Then every unbeliever, every rebel will wring his hands in fear, scream in terror, and their hearts will convulse with horror before the wrath of the Lamb (Revelation 6:14-17). What do God’s people say to these things? ‘Even so. Amen!’ ‘Zion heard, and was glad; and the daughters of Judah rejoiced because of thy judgments, O Lord’ (Psalms 97:8). Our hearts rejoice at the prospect of Christ’s coming, his triumph over all his enemies, our complete salvation, and the ultimate , universal revelation of our Savior’s glory.

Revelation 1:8

Chapter 4 Christ the Alpha and the Omega‘I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.’ Revelation 1:8 Four times in the book of Revelation our Lord Jesus Christ appeared to John and identified himself with these words: ‘I am Alpha and Omega’ (Revelation 1:8; Revelation 1:11; Revelation 21:6; Revelation 22:13). The words contain no deep, hidden mystery. They are simply the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. In our language the words would be, ‘I am A and Z’. That is, ‘I am the beginning and the ending.’ As John Gill points out, ‘These letters, “Alpha and Omega”, being the first and the last of the alphabet, may stand for the whole.’ The meaning of the text is this: ‘I am the beginning of all things and the end of all things, and everything between the beginning and the end.’ With these words, ‘I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending…the first and the last,’ our Savior identifies himself as Jehovah (Isaiah 41:4; Isaiah 44:6; Isaiah 48:10-12). Indeed, this is what he says by way of explanation, I am ‘the Lord, which is, which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.’ The Lord Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, is God over all, was God from eternity, and is to come as God to judge the world. He is now the Savior of all who come to God by him, was the Savior of all his saints in the Old Testament, being the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, and is to come as the Savior of God’s elect, without sin unto salvation. This text describes the eternality of Christ, who is, was, and ever shall be. It also speaks of our Savior’s immutability. He is always the same, unchanging and unchangeable. What he is, he always was, and shall forever be. He is the same, yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). His Person, his love, his virtue, and his purpose are all immutable.

The text also sets forth the glorious preeminence of Christ (Colossians 1:18). As it has pleased the Father to give his Son preeminence in all things, it is so. Christ is the beginning of all things, the substance of all things, and the end of all things. Our Savior is himself God, ‘the Almighty’! He is the Creator, Sustainer, and Ruler of all things. The One whose blood and righteousness we trust, to whose dominion we gladly submit, and into whose hands we have committed our souls, is himself God, the Almighty.

We have nothing to fear. Our Savior is God. And we are safe in his hands (John 10:27-30). When our Savior says, ‘I am Alpha and Omega,’ he is describing both his glory and his humiliation Without question, these words have reference to the glorious dignity of our Savior’s Person and to the depths of his willing humiliation to save us. Christ Jesus is Alpha, the firstborn, the chief, the preeminent One of every creature. As a man, his body was created in time in the womb of the virgin by the Holy Spirit (Matthew 1:20; Hebrews 10:5). Yet, he is the One who created all things. Therefore, he is above all things (Hebrews 1:1-14). The word ‘Alpha’ suggests that Christ is the best. He is better than all who came before him. If you put all others together, he stands head and shoulders above them all as the best. We use the same kind of language today. We say of a car, ‘It is A-1’. That means it is the best of its kind. We say of a craftsman, ‘He is A-1.’ That means he is the best in his trade. Our Lord Jesus Christ says of himself, ‘I am Alpha, I am A-1, I am the best there is.’ And all his people gladly acknowledge that it is so. Is he a Son? He is the firstborn Son, the only begotten Son, the eternal Son, and the only perfectly obedient Son. All other sons are made to be sons by faith in him who is the Son (Ephesians 1:5). Is he a Prophet? All other prophets stand behind him by an infinite distance and point to him, bearing witness to him (Acts 10:43). Is he a Priest?

All other priests of the Aaronic and Levitical orders were only types of him. Their only purpose was to represent Christ until he came. He is the fulfillment of them. He is the great high Priest of our profession (Hebrews 9:11-12). Is he a King? Indeed, Christ is a King like no other.

He is King of kings and Lord of lords! (Daniel 4:34-35; Daniel 4:37). Is he the Builder of his church? Then he is the wise Master-Builder. Is he a Shepherd? Then he is the Good Shepherd, the Chief Shepherd, and the Great Shepherd. Is Christ a Foundation?

Then he is the tried and proven Foundation, the only Sure Foundation. Those who build upon this Foundation shall never fall. Is he a Corner-Stone? Then he is the chief Corner-Stone. Is he a Rock? Then he is the only Rock of safety and refuge, the Rock of our Salvation.

Is he Water? Then he is the Water of Life. Is Christ Bread? Then he is the Bread of Heaven. Is he Light? Then he is the Light of the world.

Is he a Refuge? Then he is the sure, eternal, saving Refuge for our souls. It matters not what title our Lord takes to himself, or what character he assumes, he is in all respects Alpha, A-1. He infinitely surpasses all that may be compared to him, as the sun excels the stars. When the sun arises, the stars fade in its light. And when Christ appears, all others pale into insignificance. He who is best is preeminent, and well deserves the praise and glory of all. Christ is Alpha. Let no flesh glory in his presence! All who know him glory only in him and give glory to him alone (Jeremiah 9:23-24; 1 Corinthians 1:30-31). Christ, we know, is also Omega, the lowest and the last, in his voluntary condescension and humiliation. In order to save us, Christ Jesus became the very least among men! This, I believe, is the meaning of our Lord’s words in Matthew 11:11. ‘He that is least in the kingdom of heaven is the greatest of all.’ How can a man describe the depths of our Lord’s voluntary humiliation? He who is God stooped to become a man! (Philippians 2:7-8). In order to save us, the Son of God became one of us! He became what we are, so that we might be what he is. He stooped to become a man, stooped again to become the lowest of men, stooped again to become the servant of men, and stooped again to be made sin and die in the place of sinful men! Behold the depths of his humiliation!

When Christ was made to be sin for us, he who is God was forsaken by God as the object of God’s horrible wrath! He cried, ‘My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?’ Then he answered his own agonizing cry, ‘Thou art holy.’ A holy God cannot look upon sin. ‘But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people. All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, He trusted on the Lord, that he would deliver him: let him deliver him (if) he delighted in him’ (Psalms 22:1-8). At last, the Son of God stooped to death, death under the infinite, inflexible justice of God for us! In the book of holy scripture, Christ is the Alpha and the Omega Read Luke 24:27; Luke 24:44-47, and John 5:39, and learn the meaning and message of God’s holy Word. Christ is Alpha, the Beginning, for the first line of Genesis speaks of him: ‘In the beginning God’ (Genesis 1:1; cf. John 1:1-3). And he is the Omega, the Ending, for the last line of Revelation speaks of him: ‘The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all’ (Revelation 22:21). And he is everything between the beginning and the ending. Every book of the Bible, every chapter, every verse, every sentence, every word speaks of Christ.

If you could squeeze the whole Volume of Inspiration down to its very essence and substance, you would find Christ, only Christ, and nothing but Christ. Christ is the living Word of whom the written Word speaks. The purpose of the Holy Spirit in moving men to write the Scriptures was to reveal Christ. That is the only purpose of the Inspired Volume (John 16:14). Our Lord said concerning the whole Volume of the Scriptures, ‘They testify of me!’ The whole message of the Bible is Jesus Christ, and him crucified. The Word of God is like an alabaster box full of spikenard very precious. Break it open, and you smell nothing but the sweet aroma of Jesus Christ, our dear Redeemer. The Old Testament, from Genesis to Malachi, proclaims one message: The Redeemer is coming! The prophets and the kings, the priests and the judges, the preachers and the singers, the laws and the sacrifices all look one way. They all stand like cherubim over the ark, desiring to see God’s Salvation. The four Gospels and the Book of Acts all declare one thing: The Redeemer has come! Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John record in meticulous detail the incarnation, earthly life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Christ as the sinner’s Substitute. They speak of nothing else. In the Book of Acts, Luke records the works of Christ, the ascended King. As the Book of Revelation is called ‘The revelation of Jesus Christ,’ the Book of Acts might well be called ‘The Acts of Jesus Christ our King.’ The apostolic Epistles and the Book of Revelation all say one thing: The Redeemer is coming again! From Romans through Revelation, the apostles expound to us the meaning of our Lord’s doctrine and call for us to watch for his coming with expectant hearts. Soon, Christ shall appear to gather his redeemed ones unto himself! Ransomed sinners rejoice to know that with regard to the holy law of God, Christ is Alpha and Omega Christ is the lawgiver; and so he is Alpha, the Beginning of the law. And Christ is the fulfillment of the law. So he is Omega, ‘the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth’ (Romans 10:4). You and I are neither Alpha nor Omega to the law. We have not met, nor can we ever meet its demands. Who among the fallen sons of Adam would dare assert that he has met the first letter of the law? ‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart.’ And none of us measure up to the second letter of the law. - ‘Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.’ If you would see the law fulfilled, look not to man, but to Christ alone. He alone honored, kept, and fulfilled the law. Christ fulfilled the law’s requirements perfectly as a man. He loved God with all his heart, and loved his neighbor as himself. And in death, Christ savisfied the law’s justice, removed the law’s curse and penalty from us, and put an end to the law’s covenant. Our dear Savior obeyed the law as the Representative of God’s elect, and died under the penalty of the law as our Substitute. His obedience has been imputed to all who believe, for righteousness. Because we are in Christ, we are not under the law, in any sense whatsoever, but under grace! The plain statements of Holy Scripture unquestionably assert the believer’s entire freedom from the law (Romans 6:14; Romans 7:4; Romans 8:1; Romans 10:4; Galatians 3:13; Galatians 3:24-25; Colossians 2:10-23; 1 Timothy 1:8-10). Believers look to Christ alone for all holiness and righteousness before God. We have no righteousness of our own, with which to commend ourselves to God (Isaiah 64:6). We trust Christ, ‘the Lord our Righteousness’ (Jeremiah 23:6), who is made of God unto us ‘righteousness and sanctification and redemption’ (1 Corinthians 1:30). We seek holiness; but we never trust our holiness. We seek to live in righteousness; but we never imagine that we have attained righteousness. We seek virtue; but we never look to our virtue for merit with God. Our only saving, sanctifying righteousness is the righteousness of Christ. As we were made sinners, not by what we have done, but by what our father Adam did, even so we are made righteous, not by what we do, but by what our Representative and Federal Head, the Lord Jesus Christ has done for us (Romans 5:18-19). We trust Christ alone for acceptance with God. With his imputed righteousness, we are complete, perfect, holy, and forever accepted in the Beloved (Colossians 2:10). The law demands perfection; but it cannot demand, nor can it have, greater perfection than we have by the imputation of Christ’s righteousness. The law demands satisfaction; but it cannot require, nor can it find, greater satisfaction than we offer in the blood of our dear Substitute. Christ is the Alpha and the Omega of the law. In the whole of God’s creation, Christ is Alpha and Omega He is the beginning of all things, and the Ruler and Sustainer of all things from the beginning to the ending (Romans 11:36). Christ is the Alpha of creation, for all things were created by him (John 1:1-3). He brought this world into being by his Divine power. No, this world did not evolve into being from some mystical ‘cosmic boom’ billions of years ago. It would require incredible ignorance, or willful rebellion to God, to imagine such a thing. Jesus Christ our Savior created this universe. Christ is the Omega of creation, for all things were created by him (Revelation 4:11). In the end, when our Lord’s purpose has been accomplished, it shall be plainly revealed that every creature in God’s universe, animate and inanimate, and every event of providence, both good and bad, has served him and has been used by him for the glory of his own great name (Revelation 5:11-14). Yes, all men and angels, either willingly or unwillingly, serve the cause of the Creator’s glory. He sees to it (Proverbs 16:4). From the beginning to the ending of creation, Christ rules and sustains all things for the glory of his own great name (Colossians 1:15-20). In all the purposes and covenant transaction of the triune God, Christ is the Alpha and the Omega I realize that the thoughts of God, his eternal purposes, his sovereign decrees, and his everlasting covenant are things about which we know only a little. But this much is revealed; Christ is the Beginning of all and the Ending of all, the Alpha and the Omega. In Isaiah 45, we read of God’s purposes and decrees, and his sovereign rule of all things. The chapter ends with Christ our God calling upon men to bow to him in faith and obtain eternal life (Isaiah 45:22), and declaring that in the end all men shall bow to him (Isaiah 45:23). God’s purpose shall be accomplished; and his purpose always has to do with his Son. Election is God’s choice of some from Adam’s fallen race to eternal life in Christ, and his determination to save them by Christ (Ephesians 1:4). Predestination is God’s eternal decree to make all of his elect like his dear Son, the Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 8:29-30). Providence is his wise, sovereign, orderly arrangement, rule and disposition of all things to accomplish that end (Ephesians 1:11). The covenant of grace is God’s eternal purpose to save certain people by the merits of his Son and for the glory of his Son (Hebrews 10:5-7; Hebrews 10:10-17). If you and I could be permitted to read the book of God’s eternal decrees, we would see that it is a book written from eternity, sealed with immutability, dyed crimson in the blood of the sin-atoning Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, written from beginning to end with one object in mind; and that one object is the eternal glory of Christ, the Son of God. In the whole affair of salvation, Christ is Alpha and Omega John certainly has reference to this fact. In the preceding verses, he described the work of salvation, and he ascribed the whole of it to the Lord Jesus (Revelation 1:5-8). Christ loved us in the beginning. Christ redeemed us in time. And Christ is coming for us in the end. In the work of salvation, Jesus Christ is Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the Ending, the First and the Last, and everything between. Christ is the Alpha of salvation because he called us from death to life by the power of his Spirit (John 5:25). He shall at the last day present all his elect holy, blameless, and unreprovable to his Father by the merits of his own blood and righteousness; so he is the Omega of salvation too (Colossians 1:22). And Christ is everything between because from beginning to end, he holds us in life by the power of his grace. Christ held us in physical life until he saved us by his grace; and he will hold us in grace until he brings us to glory. We are in his hands. He cannot be induced by any means, or for any reason, to let us go (John 10:27-30).

This is our security! Child of God, lean upon Christ with all the weight of your soul. Cast yourself entirely upon him. He will not fail. He who began his work in you will finish his work in you (Philippians 1:6). He who called you will keep you.

Christ was never Alpha, yet without being Omega too. In Heaven’s eternal glory, Christ will be both Alpha and Omega In Revelation 22:13, our Lord announces his glorious appearance with these words, ‘I am Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.’ When all the promises and prophecies of Holy Scripture are fulfilled, when the mystery of God’s eternal purpose has been accomplished, when the judgment is over, when the damned are forever cast into hell and the righteous are forever with the Lord, when the new heavens and the new earth have been created, when time shall be no more, when the eternal glory is begun, Christ shall be Alpha and Omega still! He is the Door of entrance, by whose merit we shall enter heaven. He shall be the first and foremost object of our vision in heaven. So Christ is the Alpha, the Beginning of heaven’s glory. He is also the fulness, the consummation, and the cause of heaven’s eternal, unending joy and reward. So he is the Omega too. From eternity to eternity, for ever and ever, Christ is the Alpha and the Omega, our unchanging and unchangeable God and Savior!

Revelation 1:9-20

Chapter 5 THE CHRIST OF PATMOS ‘And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength’ Revelation 1:9-20 The apostle John had seen the Lord Jesus prior to this, not only with his natural eyes, but also with the eyes of his soul. He had beheld his Savior with the spiritual, discerning eye of faith. John saw the Lord Jesus in his life of obedience, in his agony in Gethsemane, and in his ignominious death. He had been privileged to behold the miraculous power, glorious transfiguration, and heavenly ascension of the God-man.

Being taught by the Spirit of God, he knew what these things meant (1 John 1:1-3). Now, as he sat before his Savior in worshipful meditation in the Spirit, he was given this blessed vision of that One whom he loved above all others. Why should this vision of Christ which John had so many years ago be of any importance to us today? It is important and meaningful to us because this vision of Christ is a symbolical representation of the One who suffered and died for our sins. John immediately recognized the One who spoke to him as the Son of Man, his Lord and Savior. He was different, because he was now glorified. Still, he was the same, identical Person, essentially unchanged (Hebrews 13:8). There were no thorns on his brow, but John knew the brow. There were no nails in his hands, but John knew those hands.

There was no agony in his voice, but John knew his Master’s voice. This vision represents what Christ is now. What Christ was when he was upon the earth is of vital importance to us; but what he is now is equally vital. Too often men and women get so wrapped up in thinking about how Christ will appear in the future that they fail to recognize and adore him as he now is. As we struggle with the pains, sorrows, and trials of life in this world, we need to know what Christ is now, where he is now, and what he is doing now. The future will be glorious, both for Christ and his people, but we need help now!

John’s vision of Christ is of immediate interest to God’s saints because it declares what Christ is to his churches in this world. John saw the Lord Jesus Christ in the midst of his churches. The vision should therefore be of special interest to all who are members of the churches of Christ. Every pastor, elder, deacon, or teacher in every Christian church, every member of a local church, should be greatly interested in the vision John describes here. It has to do with us! We are personally involved in it! What does this vision tell us about our Lord Jesus Christ This is not a vision given for curious, speculative eyes to dissect and investigate. It is a vision for reverent, believing hearts to adore. The words of Rev 1:12-16 are symbolic. They are not to be taken literally. They do not represent the physical appearance of Christ in heaven. They represent his spiritual dignity, majesty, and glory. The candlesticks are not literal candlesticks. The two-edged sword going out of our Lord’s mouth is not a literal sword! The only way to interpret John’s vision, indeed the only way to interpret any part of God’s holy Word is with a God-given eye of spiritual discernment (1 Corinthians 2:14-16). ‘I saw seven golden candlesticks’ (Revelation 1:12)These candlesticks represent the seven churches of Asia Minor, which represented all the churches of God in this world throughout the ages of time (Revelation 1:20). There is, no doubt, a reference here to the candlesticks in the sanctuary of the Old Testament tabernacle and temple (Exodus 25:37; Zechariah 4:2). The church of Christ may be compared to a candlestick because it holds forth the light of the gospel in a dark world. It does not produce light. It simply holds forth the light put into it by the Holy Spirit. This is the privilege and responsibility of the local church. She must hold forth the light of the glorious gospel of Christ. ‘And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man’ (Revelation 1:13) John saw the Lord Jesus Christ standing in the midst of his churches. What a delightful picture! Christ our risen Lord is ever present with his church in this world. He graciously visits the assemblies of his saints and holds sweet communion with his blood bought people (Matthew 18:20). He walks in the midst of his churches. He perpetually abides with his own. Christ rules as King in the midst of Zion. He is the Head of the church universal and the Head of every local church (Ephesians 1:22; Ephesians 4:15; Ephesians 5:23). He provides for and protects his churches. Our King is also our Priest. Like the sons of Aaron in the tabernacle, Christ trims the candles in the candlesticks, causing the light of the gospel to burn bright and clear in his church. ‘Clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle’ (Revelation 1:13)This robe is like the robe of Aaron, a holy garment. It is the righteousness of Christ. Do you get the picture? Christ is ever in the midst of his people as a sin-atoning High Priest. His royal robe of righteousness is a robe of his own making. It covers his whole body.

It covers every member of his spiritual body, the church. The golden girdle that he wears is not around his waist, but around his paps, his chest. Christ wears the golden girdle of a King. It is a girdle of righteousness, faithfulness, and power. He wears the golden girdle of a Prophet. It is a girdle of truth.

And he wears the golden girdle of a Priest. It is a girdle of love, with the names of his people inscribed upon it. How worthy Christ is of all our faith, worship, and love! He who redeemed us is ever with us. He is a King to rule over us and protect us, a Prophet to teach us and guide us, and a Priest to intercede for us. And all that he does, he does in love for his own! ‘His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow’ (Revelation 1:14)In the Song of Solomon, we are told that ‘his locks are bushy, and black as a raven’ (Revelation 5:11). Is there a discrepancy? Certainly not! In the Song of Solomon, the church, his bride, is describing the perpetual youth and strength of her Beloved. Here John is viewing his eternality, purity, and wisdom. He who ever has the dew of his youth is the Ancient of Days (Daniel 7:9). In both passages, the picture of Christ is symbolical, not literal! ‘And his eyes were as a flame of fire’ (Revelation 1:14)This speaks of our Savior’s omniscience. He sees all and knows all. And the all-knowing Savior has flaming eyes of love for his people. His love never dims or grows cold, and being shed abroad in our hearts by his Spirit, it warms, revives, and refreshes us. His love, like a flame of fire, melts the hearts of his people. Child of God, these eyes are ever upon you. He who sees all and knows all can and will provide well for his own. Yet, these very eyes burn with wrath and vengeance against his enemies and ours. ‘And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace’ (Revelation 1:15)These feet of brass refer to the power of Christ to support and defend his people. His feet being burned in a furnace indicates that in all our afflictions, he is afflicted. When we pass through the refining furnace of trials, afflictions, and chastisements, as all who follow Christ by faith must, our dear Lord is ever present with us (Isaiah 43:2; Daniel 3:25). And these feet of brass will tread down all our enemies before us (Isaiah 41:10-11). ‘And his voice as the sound of many waters’ (Revelation 1:15)His voice is the gospel of free grace preached by his servants in this world. It is sounded across the waters, proclaimed throughout all the world. When sounded out, when preached in the power of the Holy Spirit, it is the effectual, irresistible power of God unto salvation (Isaiah 55:11; 1 Thessalonians 1:5). ‘And he had in his right hand seven stars’ (Revelation 1:16). These ‘stars are the angels’ of the churches (Revelation 1:20), God’s appointed pastors, God’s messengers and ambassadors to his people, those men who faithfully preach the gospel of his free and sovereign grace in Christ Jesus. Gospel preachers are compared to stars, because God has placed them where he wants them as guiding lights to point sinners to Christ, the Way, the Truth, and the Life, directing their steps in the way of salvation, and to give direction to his people in this world (Hebrews 13:7; Hebrews 13:17). These stars, faithful gospel preachers, are the angels of God to his churches, and Christ holds them in his right hand. In the right hand of the Son of God, the pastor of the local church, God’s messenger, is in the place of authority, power, approval, and security. Those men who come to the churches with God’s message come with God’s authority, do their work by God’s power, have God’s approval, and are kept and protected by God’s mighty arm. They are ‘in his right hand!’ Behold God’s messenger in Christ’s right hand of sovereign power, and hear him say, ‘Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm’ (1 Chronicles 16:22). ‘And out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword’ (Revelation 1:16)This sword is the Word of God (Hebrews 4:12). It is a weapon of offense and of defense. With it, Christ conquers his enemies and defends his church. It is a sword with two edges. It cuts both ways. With one side it slays our sin, with the other side, our self-righteousness. It is the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God, that pricks the heart and brings sinners down in repentance before the sovereign Christ. ‘And his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength’ (Revelation 1:16)John had seen this before (Matthew 17:2). It speaks of the purity, dignity, majesty, and glory of Christ who is the Sun of Righteousness (Malachi 4:2). In the spiritual realm, Christ is the Sun, the Source, Sustainer, and Strength of all spiritual life. If you look directly at the brilliant, noonday sun, it will burn your eyes, so that when you look away, no matter where you look, you will still see the sun. Even so, those who look upon Christ by faith and see the glory of God in him, have Sonburnt eyes. No matter where they look, they see Christ! What was the result of this vision No one has ever had Christ revealed to him and walked away the same as he was before. When Christ reveals himself to a person, something happens. The results of such revelations are always pretty much the same. The flesh always withers before Christ, when he is pleased to reveal himself. John writes, ‘And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as one dead’ (Revelation 1:17). The same thing happened to Manoah (Judges 13:25), Ezekiel (Ezekiel 1:28), Isaiah (Isaiah 6:1-5), and Daniel (Daniel 10:8-9).

How blessed it is to fall at his feet as one who has been slain in his glorious presence! We are never so much alive as when we are dead at his feet. We are never so truly living as when our flesh withers in death before our great and glorious Savior. Every believer wants, more than anything else, the death of all that is sinful and rebellious in him. Christ, who slays the flesh, will always raise and revive those he slays by the hand of his almighty grace. ‘And he laid his right hand upon me’ (Revelation 1:17). Life comes out of death. Revival comes out of withering. If you fall at his feet in the humiliation of broken hearted repentance, he will raise you up by his grace. Christ revealed in the heart always brings a word of comfort and assurance to the one to whom he reveals himself. ‘Fear not, I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth and was dead; and behold, I am alive evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death’ (Revelation 1:17-18). There is no reason for any believer to fear anything. Christ Jesus lived as our Surety from eternity, died as our Surety in time, and lives for evermore as our Surety in heaven; and he who is our Surety has sovereign power over death and the grave (Psalms 68:18-20). He will protect us in all our appointed ways and keep us by his grace. Cast all your care upon him. ‘He careth for you’ (1 Peter 5:7). And he will take care of you! Once Christ reveals himself to a man, he gives that man a message to declare. He said to John, ‘Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be here after’ (Revelation 1:19). Then he explained the meaning of the vision John had. ‘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 which thou sawest are the seven churches’ (Revelation 1:20). Everyone who has Christ revealed to him receives a message to declare to his fellow men. The message is always from Christ and about Christ; and the one who receives it understands it. We who have seen the Lord are his witnesses (Isaiah 6:8; Acts 1:8). Let all who know him, young and old, men and women, go tell the world what a great and glorious Savior our Lord Jesus Christ is!

Revelation 1:18

Chapter 7 Christ the ruler of death and hell ‘I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.’ Revelation 1:18 Death is the king of terrors. All men by nature are prisoners in bondage under the fear of death. How men strive against this enemy! People are willing to endure any misery if they might escape death. In our generation, we have seen human beings subjected to inhuman agonies as doctors practice their skills on them, trying to find a way to overcome, or at least postpone death. Men seem ready enough to submit to most any torture if they might only live a little longer.

All men by nature fear death above all things. And this fear of death among men is a most reasonable thing. After death men must face the terror of hell! What can be more horrifying than hell? Endless torment! Unceasing agony!

Eternal torture! In hell, the worm of the awakened conscience, eating away at a man’s soul, never dies. In hell, the fire of God’s wrath, burning in a man’s being, shall not be quenched. Who can describe the torments of the damned? Who would dare try? In hell, body and soul shall forever suffer the unmitigated wrath of almighty God!

This is the second death. It is an eternal awareness of, but an eternal separation from all bliss, all comfort, and all grace. Hell is to be forever banished from heaven, with heaven in plain view! Hell is to be forever banished from Christ, with Christ and his redeemed ones ever before your eyes! From that place of torment, none shall ever escape. Death and hell are the just rewards of sin.

But sinners do not have to go to hell! There is One who is sovereign over death and hell. There is One who has the power to deliver us from the fear of death and the torments of hell. He is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the sinner’s Substitute. He says, ‘I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore. Amen.’ Then, as the result of his life, death, and resurrection as the God-man Mediator, our Savior declares, I ‘have the keys of hell and of death.’ Death for us is an unsurveyed land of darkness before which we tremble; but Christ has explored and conquered that land. Now, as a sovereign King, he holds the key to the iron gates of death.

Hell is a horrible region of terror, a kingdom of darkness, and an habitation of evil; but the Lord Jesus Christ sits as King over hell just as fully as he sits King in Zion; and he will deliver all who trust him both from the fear of death and the power of hell. Nothing in heaven above, in the earth below, or in hell beneath the earth is out of his control (Psalms 115:3; Psalms 135:6). The sovereign dominion of the Lord Jesus Christ extends to the whole of his creation. No province is beyond his rule. No man is free of his dominion. No power threatens him.

Let every believer rejoice in the fact that Christ sits King upon the throne of universal dominion and sovereignly rules everything everywhere. Nothing happens by chance. Nothing is free of Christ’s dominion. The Lord our God has prepared his throne in the heavens and his kingdom rules over all. Our Savior’s sovereignty over all things should encourage us to trust him in all things and not be afraid. The Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior, says, ‘I have the keys of hell and of death.’ Who has these keys As you read Revelation 1, you cannot help noticing that it lays particular stress upon the Man, Christ Jesus. He who holds the keys of hell and of death is one of us. John describes him as ‘one like unto the Son of man’ (Revelation 1:13). He is not quite the same, because he is now glorified; but Christ in heaven is essentially the same as he was when John laid his head upon his holy chest. We must never try to separate our Savior’s manhood from his divinity, nor his Godhood from his humanity. Christ in heaven is still a Man. This fact is full of hope and comfort to the fallen sons of Adam. He who rules the universe is a Man.

He who has the keys of hell and of death is a Man. Yes, he is the God-man. We rejoice in that fact. But still he is a Man, a Man like us, bone of our bone, and flesh of our flesh. God has entrusted the dominion of the universe to the glorified Man, Christ Jesus (Hebrews 2:6-9; Philippians 2:9-11). This Man established righteousness in the earth as the federal Head and Representative of God’s elect by his holy obedience to the will of God (Isaiah 42:1-4; Isaiah 42:21; Romans 5:19). This Man died under the penalty of God’s law as the sinner’s Substitute, fully satisfying divine justice for all his people (1 Peter 2:24; 1 Peter 3:18). He made atonement for us.

He is the propitiation for our sins. He obtained eternal redemption for us. By his blood, God is both just and the Justifier of all who believe. This Man arose in triumph over the grave and reigns in glory as the Mediator-King of his redeemed (Zechariah 6:12-13). This Man is the Hope of men (Isaiah 32:1-2). Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came into this world as a Man to save men. He lived for men. He died for men.

He arose for men. He received gifts for men. He intercedes for men. And he rules in heaven for men. Immanuel, God with us, is his name; and ‘Immanuel’ means God for us, too! God became a man, that men might live by him (John 3:17); and now the Man-God holds the keys of hell and of death so that he might surely accomplish his purpose (John 17:2). Not one of those shall perish whom he has undertaken to save! What do these keys imply Keys represent ownership, dominion, authority, and control. The man who carries the keys is in charge. The picture of Christ with the keys of death and hell is intended to show us that the Lord Jesus Christ has the rightful and actual dominion over death and hell. He actually rules the domain of death and hell. Unto him belong the issues of death (Psalms 68:20). And he rules even the dark chambers of hell.

The rule of Christ is so thorough and absolute that even the devices of Satan are subject to him. They are either restrained by him, or they are overruled by him to serve his own glorious purpose. The keys of hell and of death in the hands of our Savior say, ‘Christ is Supreme, Lord, King, and Sovereign Ruler of all things.’ His dominion extends to all the universe, even death and hell. Either willingly or unwillingly, all things serve him. NOTE: The word translated ‘hell’ is ‘hades.’ It includes all the region of the lost and the damned. But it is not limited to that alone.

It includes both heaven and hell. It refers to the abode of departed spirits, either in bliss or in torment. Our Lord Jesus Christ is King in heaven, King over hell, and King over death. Christ our Lord holds the keys of death (Psalms 68:18-20). As our Savior is sovereign over the lives of men, he is also sovereign over the deaths of men. All men live and all men die by the will of Christ and by the hand of Christ (1 Samuel 2:6). Christ takes men and women out of this world when he pleases, as he demonstrated with Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11). And he has already appointed the hour of every man’s departure from this world. None live beyond their time, and none die before their time. This fact is comforting to all who believe. Our hearts rejoice to sing: ‘For now the future holds no fear, God guards the work begun: And mortals are immortal here, Until their work is done.’ Yet, let every rebel be warned. His day is marked. God has set a day and prepared the instrument by which he shall be slain! If our Lord is pleased to do so, he has the power to deliver his own elect from death’s grip, even when it appears that death will surely take them. The illustrations of Christ’s power over physical death are numerous: (Matthew 8:5-15; Luke 8:49-56; John 4:46-50; John 11:43-44). What he did while he was upon the earth, our Lord can do today. Christ Jesus still has power to deliver his own from the jaws of death (James 5:14-15). I do not believe the charismatic’s claim to gifts of healing. Those gifts ceased with the apostles.

The faith healers of today are mere pretenders! However, I do believe in the sovereign power of Christ. When it is according to his will, for the glory of his name, and for the good of his people, he still delivers his own from the very jaws of death. The fact that I am writing these lines almost 20 years after my doctors thought I would be dead is proof of my Savior’s power over death! The Lord Jesus Christ will raise the dead to life again at the last day. He raises those who are dead spiritually to life in the new birth; and he shall raise the dead literally when he comes the second time (John 5:25-28). He said, ‘I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live’ (John 11:25). As he holds the keys of death, our Lord Jesus Christ also holds the keys of heaven (John 14:1-6). Jesus is the Lord of heaven! Child of God, Christ has gone to prepare a place for you. When your place is ready, he will come for you, and call you home. Christ will open those gates of pearl, and lead you into the heavenly city. His key opens the gate. Once he has led you into the blessed city, he will shut you in, just as he shut Noah in the ark. His key bolts the gate. ‘Far from the world of grief and sin Christ will securely shut us in!’ When Christ shuts us in, he will shut all our sorrows, trials, and troubles out, forever (Revelation 21:4-6). There, in heaven’s vast domain, Christ our Lord sovereignly rules as Lord and King. He rules among his redeemed ones. Those glorified spirits around the throne serve King Jesus perfectly. He rules among the angelic hosts. He rules all things from heaven, because he is determined to bring his ransomed ones to heaven. Our Lord Jesus Christ also holds the keys of hell (Revelation 20:1). It is Christ himself who shall cast the wicked and unbelieving into hell (Matthew 25:31-34; Matthew 25:41). Christ will shut every rebel up in the pit of the damned, from which there is no escape (Luke 16:26). Even now, our Lord Jesus Christ sovereignly rules over Satan and the demons of hell. The prince of darkness is under the dominion of King Jesus! (See Luke 8:28; John 12;31; Job 1:8; Job 2:6). Satan is a bound slave of King Jesus, an oarsman in the ship of providence, a beast which Christ has harnessed to accomplish his own purpose.

Do you see how these keys represent the sovereignty and dominion of our Lord Jesus Christ? He is King over death, King over heaven, and King over hell! There is no province over which Christ does not totally rule. But how did our Savior get this universal power? How did Christ get the keys of death and hell It is certainly true that Christ holds these keys by divine right, because he is God over all. There can be no dispute about that fact. Since Christ is God, Creator and Sustainer of all things, he is Owner of all things in heaven, earth, and hell. God has the right to do with his own whatever he will, and he always does (Matthew 20:15; Psalms 135:6). But this Man, Christ Jesus, holds the keys of death and of hell by right of his mighty conquests as our Mediator and Representative (John 17:1-5; Isaiah 53:10-12; Psalms 89:19-27). In order for Christ, the Man, to ascend the throne of universal dominion, in order for him to be seated upon the throne of God, he had to make certain conquests as a Man.

At every point where the first Adam was defeated, Christ, the last Adam, must be triumphant. This Man, the Lord from heaven, had to endure and prevail over the temptations of the devil (Hebrews 2:10; Hebrews 2:17-18; Matthew 4:1).

He had to establish righteousness in the earth by obeying both the letter and the spirit of the law as our Representative (Romans 5:18-19). He had to overcome the weakness and frailty of the body of flesh, learning obedience by the things he suffered (Luke 22:42-44; Hebrews 5:8). He had to be made sin for us and satisfy the demands of the law and justice of God against us, so that he might save us from our sins (Romans 3:24-26; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 3:13). And he had to rise from the dead in triumph as our victorious Savior (Psalms 16:9-11). Thanks be unto God, all that was required of our Substitute, he has accomplished! He said to the Father, ‘I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do’ (John 17:4).

It is this Man, Christ Jesus, who now reigns as King over death and hell to save his people (John 17:2). The Man shall reign sovereignly forever until he has saved all his elect and put all things beneath his feet, even until all his enemies are completely vanquished (Isaiah 45:20-25).

He will save all his covenant people. He will subdue all his enemies. At last, he will make all things new! This Man, Christ Jesus, holds the keys of hell and of death as the reward of all that he has done as the Mediator and Surety of the everlasting covenant. What does our Lord’s dominion say to us Our Lord says, ‘I have the keys of hell and of death.’ John Gill wrote, ‘This is an expression of the sovereignty, power, and authority of Christ; and is designed to encourage and support the believer in his present concern and anxiety of mind.’ Our Savior had laid his hands upon John, and said, ‘Fear not.’ This is what he said to calm John’s fears: ‘I have the keys of hell and of death.’ Behold the sovereign Christ with the keys of death and hell in his hands, and be not afraid. Fear not the troubles and the trials which you must face in this world. Christ is on his throne. All is well! Fear not the powers of hell itself. Jesus Christ rules all things.

Satan cannot harm you! Fear not the valley of the shadow of death. For the believer, death is only a shadow. You shall not die, but live, and declare the wondrous works of the Lord. You must pass through the valley; but you will pass through it. Christ will see you through!

Fear not the unseen world of eternity. You are only going home! If you trust Christ, your sins are gone. You have all the righteousness God requires. You shall live forever. You have nothing to fear!

Revelation 1:19-20

Chapter 8 Christ the faithful pastor warning his churches ‘Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be 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 which thou sawest are the seven churches.’ Revelation 1:19-20 Revelation 2:1 to Revelation 3:22 The Lord Jesus Christ himself is the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls (1 Peter 2:25). All earthly pastors are his under-shepherds. In Revelation chapters two and three, we have seven letters which the Lord Jesus dictated to the apostle John, which were sent to the pastors of the seven churches in Asia. Each letter was sent to a specific local church in the cities named: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. These were literal local churches in the apostolic era.

However, these seven churches represent all the churches of Christ in this world throughout the gospel age. These are letters from Christ to us. They are just as pertinent to the life and ministry of the local church to which you belong as they were to the seven churches to which they were originally sent. ‘He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.’ This admonition is given seven times in these two chapters because our Lord Jesus means for every believer to pay particular attention to the warnings contained in these seven letters. In these letters, the Son of God himself warns us plainly of the most prominent dangers we must face in this world. Here is a fact we must never forget The Lord Jesus Christ says, ‘I know thy works’ (Revelation 2:2; Revelation 2:9; Revelation 2:13; Revelation 2:19; Revelation 3:1; Revelation 3:8; Revelation 3:15). God has ordained that all who are saved by his grace walk in good works for the honor of his name (Ephesians 2:8-10). And that which God has ordained, God will bring to pass. He will see that his people walk in good works. The indwelling presence of God the Holy Spirit makes all believers new creatures in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). That new nature created in the heaven born soul is bent toward Christ and holiness (2 Peter 1:4; Galatians 5:22-23). Those who profess faith in Christ but by their works deny him are reprobate (Titus 1:16). This is not a debatable issue. True believers glorify God before men by their good works. For the religious hypocrite, these words are terrifying - ‘I know thy works.’ ‘The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good’ (Proverbs 15:3). His eyes are a flaming fire and darkness is light before him. A man may deceive his pastor, his family, and even himself; but the Son of God is not deceived. All things are naked and open before him (Hebrews 4:13). That makes hypocrisy a losing game. ‘The hypocrite’s hope shall perish’ (Job 8:13). For the believer, these words are full of comfort and cheer - ‘I know thy works.’ What a delight! Our dear Savior looks not at our works themselves, but at the motive behind them. He looks into the heart and sees why we do the things we do. And he is well-pleased with the most feeble efforts of sincere, believing hearts. By the merits of his blood and righteousness, he makes our works a sweet smelling sacrifice to God, acceptable and well-pleasing in his sight (1 Peter 2:5). Imagine that, God is well-pleased with the faltering steps of believing sinners for Christ’s sake, because they are steps toward him!

God will not forget your works of faith and labors of love (Hebrews 6:10). The works of those who die in the Lord ‘shall follow them’ (Revelation 14:3). And they shall be named by Christ himself in the day of judgment (Matthew 25:37-39). The Son of God, our Savior says, ‘I know thy works.’ What could be more comforting? Then, the Lord Jesus warns his churches of certain dangers that must be overcome In these two chapters, he identifies six conditions which, if they are not resisted and overcome, will result in apostasy and eternal ruin. If these conditions are allowed to go unchecked in any local church, it will soon wither and die. It may continue to exist in name, but that is all. Christ will withdraw the light of the gospel from it. Instead of being a house of light, it will be a den of darkness. Here are six dangerous conditions into which we are constantly tempted to fall. The world, the flesh, and the devil all strive to pull us down into these pits. If you find yourself described in these letters, the Lord Jesus warns you to repent and turn to him.

1. The first danger described is apostasy from our first love. The Lord Jesus Christ says, ‘I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love’ (Revelation 2:4). These Ephesians were zealous in good works, patient in trials and afflictions of life, and thoroughly orthodox in doctrine. But there was a dreadful decay in the matter of love to Christ! ‘A wife may be very faithful to her husband and may give evidence of bustling assiduity in all matters pertaining to him - and yet, there may be a decay in love. Her sense of duty may cause her to remain faithful in all the details of attention she bestows upon him’ (William Hendriksen). Even so, you and I may be very faithful in all the outward forms of godliness and remain perfectly orthodox in doctrine, while our hearts’ love and devotion to Christ declines and decays. Are you like the Ephesians?

Does your love for Christ decline? Do you find yourself more and more concerned about the cares of this world and less and less concerned about Christ? Repent! Turn anew to Christ! Renounce all but him and set your affection on him alone (Colossians 3:1-3). NOTE: The correction for dead doctrine is not the absence of doctrine, emotionalism, or Pentecostalism, but steadfast commitment to Christ.

Like Mary, let us take our place at his feet and have our hearts ravished with his love (Luke 10:39-42). 2. Next we are warned not to embrace the doctrine of Balaam (Revelation 2:14) When Balak called for Balaam to curse Israel, God restrained him. Much to Balak’s disgust, God forced Balaam to bless his people (Numbers 22-24). Yet, Israel became involved in the worship of Baal (Numbers 25:1-3). Their sin, we are told, was the result of Balaam’s counsel (Numbers 31:16). The doctrine of Balaam is the doctrine of compromise with the religion of the world. Balaam did not advise Israel to give up the worship of Jehovah.

He simply told them it would be wise to accept the worship of Baal and go along with the religious customs, traditions, and practices of their pagan neighbors. Be warned! Compromise with false religion is damning to the souls of men. Compromise is the way of least resistance, the way approved of by the world, the way that is easiest on the flesh. But any compromise of God’s truth is an outright denial of Christ (2 Corinthians 6:14-18). The only way to remove the offense of the gospel is to deny the gospel.

We must never give any credibility to the religion of this world. Those who preach freewill deny the sovereignty of God. Those who preach the freedom of man deny the sovereignty of God. Those who preach salvation by the will, works, or worth of the sinner deny salvation by grace. Those who preach universal atonement deny the efficacy of Christ’s blood. Those who preach universal grace deny the efficacy of God’s saving grace.

God’s people must never seek agreement with such men, even in the name of peace, unity, and brotherly love. The only way those who believe the gospel can get along with those who do not is for us to deny the gospel. That we must not do! 3. We are all, by nature, tempted to embrace the doctrine of the Nicolaitans (Revelation 2:15) The Nicolaitans were a group of heretics in John’s day who taught that it was alright for believers to engage in the sexual immoralities of pagan religions. They ‘committed fornication, adultery, and all uncleanness, and had their wives in common, and also ate things offered to idols’ (John Gill). They were antinomians. They were opposed to the law of God. Their doctrine was, ‘Let us sin that grace may abound. Since we are saved by grace, it does not matter how we live.’ Without question, any man who preaches salvation by grace alone will be accused of antinomianism (Romans 3:8).

It is not possible to preach redemption, justification, and sanctification by grace alone, through the merits of Christ alone, without some legalist crying, ‘That is antinomianism! That will lead to licentiousness!’ Having said that, this must also be declared - Any man who is an antinomian is a lost man. God’s elect seek holiness and righteousness. They are not self-willed, licentious rebels. Their hearts and lives are ruled by the love of Christ. And the love of Christ prevents lawlessness. 4. The churches of Christ and individual believers are constantly pressured by the world to be tolerant of false prophets (Revelation 2:20) The church at Thyatira was charitable, diligent in service, patient in trial, and well established in the faith of the gospel. But it was tolerant of ‘that woman Jezebel.’ There was a women in the church who claimed to be called of God and gifted as a preacher, a prophetess. Our Lord calls her ‘Jezebel’ after Ahab’s wife, because she was a deceiver. Though the Word of God clearly forbids the ordination of women and the tolerance of women as preachers and teachers in the house of God (1 Timothy 2:11-12), this church allowed this woman to teach and to seduce the people with her doctrine. The flesh says, ‘Do not make a fuss about false prophets. It will only cause trouble.’ The world says, ‘Judge not!

To condemn the actions of another is bigotry.’ Satan tempts us to be silent, lest we create strife and division. Yet, the Bible warns us constantly to ‘beware of false prophets’ (Matthew 7:15). If they are not identified, exposed, and denounced, they will soon devour a congregation (Galatians 1:6-9; 2 Timothy 2:16-18). 5. We must guard against the tendency of our flesh toward hypocrisy, ritualism, and lifeless orthodoxy (Revelation 3:1) We are all prone to hypocrisy. We are all great pretenders by nature. Being natural born hypocrites, there is an innate tendency in man to substitute ritualism for worship, a creed for Christ, and orthodoxy for life. ‘Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees’ (Luke 12:1). We must take care that we live in the pursuit of true godliness, not a mere form of godliness. We must carefully observe the ordinances of Christ (baptism and the Lord’s supper), but resist the mere outward practice of religious ceremonies. We must tenaciously adhere to the doctrine of Christ, but fear that form of doctrinal purity that has no heart. All who have, practice, and hold to a form of religion without Christ are like the church at Sardis - ‘Thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead!’ 6. Our Lord warns his churches of the most dangerous of all fleshly tendencies: lukewarmness, apathy, and indifference (Revelation 3:15-16) The Laodiceans were lukewarm. Nothing is more disgusting to the palate than lukewarm coffee, lukewarm stew, lukewarm gravy, or lukewarm milk. And nothing is more disgusting to Christ than lukewarm, half-hearted, apathetic, indifferent men and women. Yet, we are ever prone to become lukewarm about the things of Christ. Every faithful pastor has seen many gradually sink into disgusting apathy. Once the gospel of the grace of God made the faces of men and women light up with joy, who now are unmoved by it. Once the story of redeeming love filled them with rapturous gratitude and melted their hearts to tears, but now nothing moves them. They are lukewarm. If we would overcome these evil tendencies of the flesh, we must obey the counsel of our compassionate Savior There is no guesswork involved. The Lord Jesus tells us exactly what must be done. ‘Remember from whence thou art fallen’ (Revelation 2:5). ‘Repent and do the first works’ (Revelation 2:5). ‘That which ye already have hold fast’ (Revelation 2:25). Tenaciously adhere to the truth of God, the gospel of his free and sovereign grace in Christ. ‘Be watchful and strengthen those things which remain’ (Revelation 3:2). ‘Buy of me!’ (Revelation 3:18). Without money and without price, by faith alone, we must buy from Christ the gold of his grace and the white raiment of his righteousness, as we did in the beginning, and anoint our eyes anew with the eye salve of the gospel. Here are the promises the Son Of God gives to those who heed his word, overcome these dangers, and persevere unto the end Let the wise make personal application to himself. Return to your first love, and Christ promises you the blessedness of eternal glory (Revelation 2:7). Hold fast the doctrine of Christ and confess him in the midst of his enemies, and he promises to own you as his (Revelation 2:17). Continue in the way of faith, and the Son of God will give you power over the world (Revelation 2:26). Awake, arise from the dead, and he will give you light of life (Revelation 3:5; Ephesians 5:14). Return to Christ with a true and fervent heart of faith, and he will cause you to reign with him forever (Revelation 3:21). The Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, leans hard against the door of his church, knocking to his beloved (Revelation 3:20). If anyone in his house will open to him, he will come in and sup with him!