The four J's in Scripture may help you when you feel like. God is not there. That the scripture's not working, that you're suffering alone, and the four J's are Job, Joseph, Jeremiah, Jesus. You just look at their lives and you really understand God was with those men. In their suffering, before their sufferings, and after their sufferings.
And where are they now? These are lessons for Christians to scoop up and apply. Hmm. This is Cross-Reference Radio with our pastor and teacher, Rick Gaston. Rick is the pastor of Calvary Chapel, Mechanicsville.
Pastor Rick is currently teaching through the book of Revelation. Please stay with us after today's message to hear more information about cross-reference radio, specifically, how you can get a free copy of this teaching. But for now, let's join Pastor Rick in the book of Revelation chapter 1 as he begins a new message called the Faithful Witness. Revelation chapter 1. Verses 4 through 6.
John to the seven churches which are in Asia. Grace to you and peace. From him who is And who was? and who is to come. and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness The firstborn from the dead and the ruler over the kings of the earth.
to Him who loved us, And washed us from our sins. In his own blood, and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, To him be glory and dominion forever. And ever amen. The Faithful Witness is the title for this analysis of. This paragraph in the Revelation We cannot honor All that follows.
Revelation chapter 1. Without the truths of Revelation chapter 1. And I say that because maybe you're in a hurry to get to the demons and all the wild things that are awaiting, they would mean nothing without this background. We have to know the one behind all that is coming, the one who is sovereign and in control over all of it. And the first chapter hammers that.
And so it is I think necessary for us to take our time through this first chapter. Proverbs 14, verse 5: A faithful witness does not lie. A false witness will utter lies. And even in that, knowing what we know about what's coming, there you have the contrast between Jesus the Christ versus the Antichrist. who will lie.
and uh deceive Uh and of course bring destruction.
Well, we get right to verse 4, John, to the seven churches who are in Asia. Grace to you and peace. From him who is and who was. And who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne.
Now we are very confident that John is He's exiled, he's banished to the Isle of Patmos during the time of Domitian. uh one of Rome's emperors. And during this, we can date these things. We have all sorts of hints, but. It would take way too much time to get into all of the reasons why.
Suffice it to say In Asia Minor, where the seven churches are located at this time. There was persecution. And we know that historically. And we know that it was not flashing out of Rome's area at this point.
So that means. John is in his eighties or nineties giving us the revelation of Jesus Christ, because we know when Domitian ruled, and we know, of course, when John walked with the Christ. and we can guesstimate how old he was and give us the 80s or 90s. Particularly Another hint is that in Smyrna and Pergamon there was already persecution. Antipas was martyred in Pergamon, and the Lord told the church in Smyrna, you're being persecuted and there's more to come.
So with him being so old. as a believer. It this fits so nicely, Psalm 71, verse 18.
Now, also, when I am old and grey-headed, O God. Do not forsake me until I declare your strength to this generation. your power to everyone who is to come. It's like a prophecy built into just a psalm that we enjoy that fits like a glove. Unless you're OJ.
It fits just so perfectly to The life of John as an old man prophesying, where would we be without the book of Revelation? Where would we be without any of them?
So the New Testament church. at this point has been around for fifty or sixty years now. All the books of the Bible. are now in circulation. all the books that we call the rule of scripture.
The 27 New Testament and the 66 Old Testament. They're in circulation, well, except from that 27 John. He's getting it now, and it will be circulated. And in those days, it wasn't easy to get hold of these materials. You couldn't just walk down to the bookstore and say, you know what, I'd like to see, you know.
The Gospel of Mark. It was not easy. The Christians had to keep these circulating. Their head had to be in the game. Their heart had to be in it.
And it was. And that's why we have what we have.
So here, John to the seven churches. These are assemblies, and they represent what Jesus has to say to them in chapters 2 and 3. The typical types of churches that we will encounter. It is a mini book of Corinthians, those chapters two and three. One of the churches, Ephesus, Lost their first love, and yet continued to function as a church.
We see that today. It's been that way throughout history. We've seen churches like this. Another one. suffered violent persecution.
We have seen that. There's not come a time where the church has not been persecuted. One of the churches taught lies. We see that quite a bit. One had a Jezebel-like character.
Running and ruining Everything that would make it a Christ-like assembly. One of them was a walking dead church. The church at Sardis, you have a name that you're alive, but I say you are dead. How would you like the Lord to say that to you?
Well, you wouldn't like it. We go out of our way to avoid being in any of the categories that are negative. to one of the churches Jesus said, You have held my word, you have held to my word. And I'm going to look out for you. And then, of course, the last one.
The Lord said, You're making me sick. and you are oblivious to my absence. And we have these kind of assemblies to this day. And so, yeah, we want to hear what Christ has to say to the seven churches, where we fit in, how do we line up? You know, if you were in the church at Philadelphia and you heard the rebuke to Laodicea.
Ideally, you would say to yourself, let's not be like them. Let's work hard to keep Jezebel out, to keep from being a walking dead or being loveless. Let's be careful. And if you're in the church at Laodicea, hopefully... When the characteristics of Philadelphia were red.
You would say, why can't we get that here? Why are we not adhering to the scripture? Why are we not holding to the love and the passion of Christ? Otherwise, it's just um chatter. Is not scripture to you if you can hear these things, but they bounce off of you.
Now in the Bible the number seven indicates completion. In Revelation, which is loaded with these types, seven churches, seven lamps, seven scrolls and seven seals, seven trumpets and seven bowls. There are others. It is an axiom of Bible study. Hermeneutics.
that God is his own interpreter.
So, if I come to a section of Scripture and I say, I don't know what this means, there's a very good chance if I work hard in the scripture, I'm going to find the solution from the scripture. I will get the answer. And so the number 7 has a greater significance than its numerical value. There's more to in Scripture. The number seven Then just Counting up to seven.
Now, we have to be careful, and I'll close that up with a statement before we move past this. Part. There are seven days of creation, seven days and a week. The Sabbath falls on the seventh day of the week. There are seven colors in God's created rainbow, not Satan's counterfeit, incomplete, woke, six.
Coloured Yeah. I mean, it's just obnoxious, and they get away with these things, but the church won't tell it like it is. You're paving your way to hell if you march under that banner. If you dare to be defiant Then you will be judged, and you're not going to do well in that judgment. That has to be our message.
Christ will either be your Savior or He will be your judge, but you will bow before Him. Then there are in Scripture the seven years of plenty and the seven years of famine in Joseph's Egypt. Seven words from the cross of Christ. And it goes on and on and on. Evidently, there's a pattern here.
Evidently, I can't ignore this. The number seven gets more attention than any other number in Scripture.
Now, others have value too.
Now this is important, I think. Understanding The value, the spiritual value in these numbers does not give us license to apply them as a formula. or an omen in our lives. Lord, you know, what do you want me to do? Oh, it's the seventh day of the month, in the seventh month, in the seventh year.
This must be my leading. Then, well, who needs the Holy Spirit?
Now you just run around following numbers all the time. We're not number runners.
Some of you might not know what a number runner is. It has to do with gambling. But anyway Be careful.
So then, why? Why the patterns? Because. These are biblical consistencies for biblical instruction. We learn from From God's usage of these things.
And we understand in six days God created the earth, and on the seventh day he rested.
Well, that rest has been upset by sin. but yet we have given to us a pattern. that we too have to rest. Jesus ratified this when he said to his disciples, Come apart. by ourselves.
And there's rest. And as I like to say, if you don't come apart and rest, you will just come apart. If you're just working all the time, you're not listening to the message of Christ. You are not a superman or a superwoman. And don't find that out the hard way.
I did once in life. I wasn't jumping off of something. I just worked as though I thought I was just a beast. Until my I couldn't get out of bed one day. Fix that up.
But I did get out and you can see.
So anyway, the church is here, the seven churches. That again, complete God's statement to the church, universal, and the local churches. It's a complete package You're in one of these categories, boys. That's the idea behind seven in its application to the churches. In other areas, you have to find the application there.
Well here, churches is plural. What the Spirit says to the churches. And these are individual assemblies. Let's not think that, oh, well, the church is everywhere. Yeah, the church is everywhere universally, but there is no such thing as the universal church without the local assembly.
It will be destroyed without that.
So, how do you know?
Well, look at Afghanistan or other places in the world. where you don't want to go. And find that there's no assembly upholding the word. It will be that way during the Great Tribulation when the church is extracted and hell will break loose.
Well, narrow down to these seven churches, and they were all on. What we would say Interstates. They were on the main roads. And that has something to do with much because that's where the people were. When you read the Gospels, you will feel like you're always around multitudes.
One of the main duties of the apostles was crowd control for Christ. to keep them from crushing him.
Well, what does that mean? That means God is interested in people. But he's not forgotten about the ones that are isolated. That would give us the church, for example, colossi. kind of off the trail, not as big as big a city as is still a big city, but not as big as these that are n mentioned here.
Well, anyway, this Revelation is is The book of great judgment. on the planet It's not local. It's global. And it begins with a blessing. on God's friends.
It reminds us, and that blessing is how he's greeting the churches. Grace to you, verse 4, and peace. When Moses was trying to get Pharaoh To help his own people out and himself. It finally got to the point. Where God says, I'm gonna turn the screws on this tighter.
I'm gonna increase the pressure. And Moses told them this, Exodus 8, verse 23: I will make a difference between my people and your people.
Well, God still does that. All of judgment is that.
So grace to you and peace. From him who is and who was and who is to come.
Well, that is the eternal Son of God. Can you apply that to any one of the Godhead? Sure. Father, Son, Holy Spirit. These words will be applied or claimed by Jesus in verse 8.
Him who is.
Well Our suffering does not mean that God has lost control. Remember, overall, these persecution is looming, if not active, in the Areas of these churches. And there is comfort coming to them in the introduction. And this, the one who is, God is present. The four J's in Scripture may help you when you feel like.
God is not there. That the scripture's not working, that you're suffering alone, and the four J's are Job, Joseph, Jeremiah, Jesus. You just look at their lives and you really understand God was with those men. In their suffering, before their sufferings, and after their sufferings. And where are they now?
These are lessons for Christians to scoop up and apply. Well, I want to be a good Bible teacher. But more importantly, I want to be a good Christian. I want to do the things that I preach. Him who was, he says.
Well, Christ suffered on the cross. in full control. looking at the past. Him who is to come.
Well His delay is a controlled delay. There's no evil force keeping him back, slowing him down. He is in control of his return. And so, as this revelation thoroughly points out, Psalm 24, verse 1. The earth is Yahweh's.
and all its fullness. the world and those who dwell therein. These these are wonderful Versus that are in the Old Testament that can apply to the Revelation. But there's a significance here, a grand significance. The present time is listed first.
Him who is, you know. You would think it would be in order, the one who was and is and is to come. But it's not that way. It's the one who is and was and is to come.
Well, the Christians knew. God controlled the past, that's established by the Old Testament. These Christians, under pressure, They want. concerned about the past. They knew God controlled the future.
That's why they're Christians going to heaven. They look forward. To a new kingdom, the heaven that awaits them. But Were they certain about Their present time During increasing persecution?
Well, let me put it this way. You come to church, you sing songs, you want to serve the Lord, you read your Bible, you have your devotion, and then you get hit with something big in life.
Someone double-crosses you.
Something, some sickness comes. A loved one, whatever it is. Is he still every bit of who he was before that event took place, or has he somehow been demoted? This is the fight of faith. And so, yes, it is significant.
The one who is right here, right now, no matter what's happening in your life, no matter what you've lost or gained, he's here. God's ability is also for today. Not yesterday and tomorrow only. Persecutors seem in control. Tribulation that Jesus promised, by the way, in the world you will have.
Much tribulation. But be of good cheer.
Well, Lord, that's easy for you to say. And then he says, Yes, it is. Easy for me to say, and you're going to have it anyway.
So you might as well put together a plan. Not of defense, but of attack. Faith must not be hobbled by seams. Persecutors seem to be in control. Troubles in my life seem to block out the Lord's love.
So I say it again. Faith must not be hobbled by seems, things that seem to be. Incidentally, Christ his his garment had no seams. Had no seem singular. And no seems plural.
Seems to me. That uh There's a lesson in all this. Hebrews chapter 13.
Okay, all come down to this. You're going to believe the scripture or you're not. It's always going to come down to that. And the parts that get hurt and confuse us, well, we have to. machete our way through them by faith.
These all died in faith, Hebrews 11:13, not having received the promises.
So did they say, wait a minute, God made all these bodacious promises and they're not happening in my life. He's fired. No. Continues, but having seen them are far off. We were assured of them, embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
See they're they're Their view was eternal. They knew this was messed up this cursed world. And they served as they were supposed to serve. How do we know that?
Well, it's Hebrews 11. We all know that's the hall of fame when it comes to faith, the hall of faith. And all their lives that are mentioned, they're recorded for us. We know that they went through hard times. But they Hell to the Lord.
So this is big language here for him who is and who was and who is to come. and from the seven spirits who are before his throne. Hmm, seven. What is that? You know, what are these seven spirits?
Well, first, before I get to that, the preposition and is an and of along with. Peace to you from Him who is, was, and is to come. including Which is the Holy Spirit. That's who the seven spirits represent. Remember, verse 1: he signified it by his angel.
Well, this is part of the signification. He's using symbols and signs to make points. Why? Because they work and they last. And the language is not vague.
It is veiled. And the righteous get to see what's behind that veil, Ergo? The revelation. Of Jesus Christ. John is Pointing back to to Zechariah chapter 4, especially He's doing verse 2 and verse 10, but especially verse 10, where it tells us this is the Holy Spirit.
Is presented in a different form, but comes to the same conclusion. It is also. Part of Isaiah's messianic prophecy.
Well, pause there. Maybe you're a new Christian. Or maybe you've been a Christian a long time, but you've just not been edimocated in the scripture. That was on purpose. I know.
One time I said, and it blowed up, and someone thought I was serious, and they pulled me to the side afterward, and we got in a fist fight. No, we did not. We did not. Anyway. I just thought, well, you know, I better start telling people when I purposely butcher a word.
The other ones I don't want to hear about.
So coming back to this, Isaiah's messianic prophecy.
So, if you're a new Christian or a non-believer, you're like, what is that? It doesn't mean much to you, except you might not know what that means.
Well You gotta be in it. to understand it. And if that is you, Uh The short answer is God before things happen told us what's going to happen concerning the coming of His Son, Jesus Christ. But these are all over Scripture, and you've got a lot of catch-up work to do, so you better get studying after the message.
So coming back to this, Isaiah. In his messianic prophecy, meaning he's talking about Jesus with the verse I'm going to read to you, which John is also referring to: the sevenfold. Ministry of the Holy Spirit. Why a sevenfold ministry?
Well, what is the number seven? Completion. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is not incomplete, it is complete. Why? Because He's divine.
He's part of the Godhead. Yeah. Uh This has been Cross-Reference Radio with Pastor Rick Gaston. This program is a radio outreach of Calvary Chapel, Mechanicsville, in Mechanicsville, Virginia. Pastor Rick has been teaching through the book of Revelation, but if you're interested in learning about a different book of the Bible, we have hundreds of past episodes available to listen to on demand.
Just visit us online at crossreferenceradio.com and you'll find an archive of Pastor Rick's past teachings. While you're there, you can also find links to follow our program on your favorite podcast app, as well as links to get connected with us on Facebook and YouTube. There's also an interviews tab where you can learn more about Pastor Rick's heart for ministry.
Well, we hope you'll join us next time here on Cross Reference Radio. Uh
