Revelation 1:17-20
Jesus has the
keys
Would you open your Bibles to…
Pro 1:7 The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge, But fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Intro
√ The fear of the Lord
Last week we studied how John presented Jesus to us as He is in heaven today…
…in all His glory and power!
This morning we continue as John records his response to the revelation of Jesus!
Every knee will bow (vs. 17)
Rev 1:17 And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead.
√ John’s response
Check out John's response as he beholds Jesus in all His glory…
…falls at His feet as if he were dead!
John - who used to lay his head on Jesus’ chest at supper.
John, one of Jesus’ closest friends.
Now when he sees Jesus in all of His glory he can do but one thing - hit the deck!
Really this is the same response of all the saints who have ever had a revelation of God’s glory.
Abraham (Gen. 17:3)
Manoah (Judges 13:20)
Ezekiel (Ex. 3:23)
Daniel (Dan. 8:17)
Peter, James & John at the Trans. (Matt. 17:6)
They all find themselves in the same place - on their face before God!
Why? Because as Paul so plainly put it..
1Co 1:29 that no flesh should glory in His presence.
Why? Because the awesome glory and power of God is so overwhelming, and the revelation of our own sinfulness so awful…
…that all strength of life is drained away!
Ap. A choice to make regarding Jesus
That reminds me that in this life we all have the freedom of choice.
We have the choice to come to Jesus, or not.
We have the choice to humble ourselves before Him, or not.
We have the choice to come and bend our pride, to place ourselves on our face before Him and worship Him, or not, and acknowledge Him as King!
But there is a day coming when the ability to chose to worship Jesus of our own accord will be gone.
Instead...
Phi 2:10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth,
Phi 2:11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
That is, when Jesus returns to this earth in His glory everyone will bow before Him.
His servants out of loving adoration.
His enemies out of fear.
It is our privilege and to our benefit to chose to acknowledge Jesus as King on this side of eternity!
As John is laying on his face look at how Jesus responds.
The strength to stand (vs. 17 - 18)
Rev 1:17b ...But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, "Do not be afraid; I am the: First and the Last.
Rev 1:18 "I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.
In compassion and love Jesus reaches out His hand and touches John with these reassuring words...
“Do not be afraid”.
It’s one thing to say, “do not be afraid”; quite another to have the power and authority to say it!
Ex. Trapped in an elevator
Along the same line of logic, notice that Jesus doesn’t just say...
“Do not be afraid”.
...but He also gives John, and us, strong reasons not to be afraid.
1) “I am the First and the Last” - vs. 17
What is significance of that title? Where is the comfort and freedom from fear?
We must look to the Old Testament for interpretation.
Isa 44:6 "Thus
says the LORD, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: 'I am the First and I am the Last; besides
Me there is no God.
The same title used by God the Father in Isaiah 44:6
So the comfort and freedom from fear is that Jesus is telling John that He is God.
The title, “the First and the Last” is a title only God can claim. It is a reference to His eternal existence.
Jesus is saving I AM Jehovah! And as such, He has both the power and authority to remove John's fear.
Ex. People will say, “in the Bible Jesus never actually said He was God.” Walter Martin at the Watch Tower
So the comfort to John and us this morning is that since God says...
“Do not be afraid”
…then you have nothing to fear.
2) "I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen.” - vs. 18
The last and greatest enemy of Man is Death. Everyone is subject to death - the great and the small - the rich and the poor; everyone loses their battle with Death.
Everyone except Jesus.
Here Jesus reminds John of what he already knew - that He had conquered Death and would never die again.
The comfort then is that John’s God, and your God, is stronger than Man’s greatest enemy.
If your god can’t
handle Death - better get a new God!
3) “And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.” - vs. 18
Hades - If you’re reading out of the KJV it may say “hell” instead of Hades. That’s a mistranslation. The Greek word is actually “hades” and is speaking of the intermediate state after physical death - not the Lake of Fire the eternal state after the Judgement.
Ex. Rich man and Lazarus in Luke 16:23
Death - physical death which terminates life in this world and ushers each person into eternity.
The comfort to John and us this morning is that…
Jesus has the keys!
He who holds the keys
has the power!
That is, Jesus has sovereign authority over both death and the life after death.
Ex. My own fear of death - fear to freedom.
Ap. Those who have trusted in Jesus have nothing to fear from Death.
Death has become a butler in the service of Jesus to usher us into heaven!
The Key to Revelation (vs. 19)
Rev 1:19 "Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this.
√ John is now restored to the activity to which he was called - to record the Revelation that Jesus was showing him.
In verse 19 we have the
key verse to the Book.
Many have called Revelation a sealed book, or a mystery that can not be understood.
However, as we saw in our first study Jesus clearly meant for His servants to read and understand the Book.
Here in verse 19 Jesus gives us the outline of the Book - the key to understanding and interpreting the Revelation.
Note, He says...
1) “Write the things which you have seen” - chapter 1, the introduction and revealing of the main subject of the book - Jesus Christ.
2) “the things which are” - the conditions of the seven churches in chapters 2 and 3 and Jesus’ message to them.
3) “the things which will take place after this” that is, the prophetic portion of the book in chapters 4 to 22.
"after this" = “Meta Tauta”
Note the words of Rev. 4:1
Rev. 4:1 After these things…
…what "things"? The Revelation of Jesus in chapter 1, and His messages to the 7 churches in chapters 2 &3.
There are of course others who have put forth different ideas about how to interpret the Revelation.
But what you find is that there is very little consistency in their interpretation and conclusions.
The advantage of this 3-part outline, however, is that it flows naturally with the reading of the Book and lets the Revelation speak for itself rather than forcing a method of interpretation on it.
So, highlight vs. 19 because that is the outline we’ll follow as we study the Book.
Understand the vision (vs. 20)
Rev 1:20 "The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches.
√ The seven Lampstands = the churches.
A perfect picture of the church - the church is the light of the World, requires oil to produce the light (the Holy Spirit) and in the midst of the church is Jesus Christ overseeing, directing and protecting His Church.
√ The seven stars = the angels (messengers)
As the church is to be a beacon of light to the World, the leaders of the churches were to project light as stars.
Leading people to Truth
Lighting the path of Life
Shining hope into a darkened world
Note their position - in His Hand, speaking of Jesus' relationship to the Church…
Protection (He’s Omnipotent)
Possession (it’s His church!)
Control (He’s the Head)
…the church that acknowledges Jesus' rightful claim upon it, will be a healthy and productive church!
Ap. A word about symbols
The great value and significance of this last verse of chapter 1 is that in it Jesus gives the interpretation of two of the symbols He uses in the Revelation.
Reminder to us as we study this Book, that though the Revelation is filled with symbols, they are designed to reveal truth, not to hide it!
What you’ll find is that the truths of this last book of the Bible will yield themselves to the student who is patient and willing to give themselves to the study of His Word.
Close
√ Everyone will bow to Jesus
Your choice is whether to do so from a motivation of love, or of fear.
Which will you chose?
√ Jesus' message to the Christian
"Do not be afraid"
Jesus has conquered every enemy of Man…
Satan
Sin
Death
…therefore, we can live the abundant life without fear of the past or of the future.
√ Understand the Book
Jesus has given us the keys to understand the Revelation - use them!