Revelation and Personal Holiness #1

Welcome to the Truth Pulpit with Don Green, Founding Pastor of Truth Community Church in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Hello, I'm Bill Wright. Thanks for joining us as we continue teaching God's people God's Word. Don begins a new message today, so without further delay, let's join him right now in the Truth Pulpit. Sunday we devoted our entire service to simply reading the book of Revelation. God, in the beginning of the book, promises a blessing upon those that read and upon those that hear Revelation.

I don't assume anything these days in ministry. I don't assume that everyone has read Revelation cover to cover in a single sitting or even consecutively, and that's a little bit of a challenge in terms of the way that we approach Scripture. And so I believe that what is ahead of us in the months ahead in Revelation will prove to be a crucial study for our times and for our church. I've been preparing this for a very long time.

I'm looking forward to letting some of it out after taking so many things in. And there are some preliminary comments that I want to make as we get into it. This great book, the 66th book of the 66 books of the Bible, is about Jesus Christ and the eternal purpose of God. And it excites curiosity very broadly with its symbolism and its seeming mysteries that are woven throughout the text.

But there's something preliminary that is so greatly overlooked that we're going to start with this here tonight. The title of tonight's message is Revelation and Personal Holiness. Revelation and Personal Holiness. There are answers, satisfying answers to the seeming mysteries in the book of Revelation, but the answers are withheld from hard and sinful hearts. Stated differently, the riches of Revelation are only for those who love the glory of God, who have been born again and who are walking in the Spirit. And whether someone is a Christian or not, I want to say up front that Revelation is not for those who are looking for and eager for red meat on eschatology. That's an entirely wrong view, an entirely wrong way to approach the book of Revelation. And unless we start there, we're going to go astray from the very beginning. I've been approached by many interested in the study, knowing that this was coming. And while I'm glad for the interest, even the questions that have been asked and the statements that have been made have emphasized to me the importance of where we are starting here this evening. And let me just start it this way with looking at a couple of other scriptures to prepare our way for it. The Bible, when it speaks about end times, repeatedly calls us to wholly living in light of coming future events. And it is only the deliberately obstinate and misguided that could miss that theme. Long ago, decades ago, 20, 30 years ago, you might say, I received a promotional flyer for a prophecy conference. And I'm sure it had the leading dispensational figures teaching at the conference. And there were 12, 14, 15, 16 different sessions all about all kinds of different aspects of eschatology. And eschatology is a word that means the study of last things, if that's a new word to you. And I wish somewhere along the line, I lost track of that.

I wish that I still had it. But I remember very clearly going through the themes and the topics and the text and not a single one of them addressed the ethical consequences of studying in times. And so I knew from the beginning that that conference was off track and was going to mislead people badly. Scripture repeatedly calls us to wholly living. It speaks of end times, then it draws out implications for the pursuit of your sanctification. And so I want you to turn to 2 Peter chapter 3. And then we'll be looking at a brief passage in 1 John 3.

This is just illustrative. And those are books right at the end of the Bible just before Revelation. And you'll see what I mean by what I have just said. And in saying these things and in pointing to these texts here this evening, I am laying down a marker for what will mark the spirit of the way that we study the book of Revelation. And as I said in my Building a Christian Mind series, so I'll say again here laying down this marker may mean that people aren't that interested in it. That's okay. We have to let the Bible speak for itself and not pander to interests that are not thoroughly biblical in their approach.

We just can't. So 2 Peter chapter 3 verse 10 opens a discussion about eschatology, about end times. It's looking to the future prophetically. In 2 Peter chapter 3 verse 10 we read this, But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar.

Notice the future tense. And the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed. That is a statement of eschatology about how God will bring the present heaven and earth to a conclusion.

Okay, so it's looking forward and saying this is how things will come to an end. Now look what the inspired writer of Scripture says in response to that. Look at what he draws out for the church of Jesus Christ to pay heed to as a result of a clear statement of eschatology. In verse 11 he says, Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn. But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. Verse 14, Therefore, as a consequence of what I've just been saying, as the logical implication of a clear statement of eschatology, he says, Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish and at peace.

Holiness, godliness, being found in peace without spot or blemish, those are the present implications, the present consequences of studying eschatology. And you cannot divorce the two. You cannot separate them from each other.

They are joined together like the head and tails of a coin. And I am quite confident coming from dispensational circles that this emphasis is often neglected. I'd say that not to be combative or controversial.

I'm simply stating facts and uttering sober words of truth. This aspect of this biblical implication of the study of last things is greatly neglected when these matters come into consideration. And even more if you go and you see discussions about it on social media and people, you know, if somebody wants to roast the amil position or roast the pre-mil position or roast the post-mil position, you know, all of these things get lost in the love for controversy and the love for combativeness, which is completely, completely contrary to the spirit in which Scripture says we are to contemplate these things.

You cannot divorce the spirit with which you approach them from a right understanding of them. Now, with that in mind, turn to the next book in the Bible, 1 John 3. We read in verse 2 the following, which again looks forward to matters of eschatology, to the end times, what happens after this age comes to a conclusion. Verse 2, Beloved, we are God's children now and what we will be has not yet appeared. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him.

Again, notice the future tense. It's looking ahead prophetically, looking to what is to come. When he appears, we shall be like him because we shall see him as he is. What we will be, we shall be, we shall see him as he is. These are things yet to come that are not part of present Christian experience, but are embedded in the outcome of our salvation.

OK, so eschatology. What's the next verse say? Everyone who has who thus hopes in him, purifies himself as he is pure.

And so there is this. There is this longing. There is this looking ahead to seeing Christ face to face our blessed hope. There is this looking forward to being transformed and glorified in his presence, which is going to be wonderful. It's what we've been saved for to be delivered finally and completely from every aspect of sin.

And you flash forward and then you come back to present reality and informed by what's going to happen in the future. You say, ah, this means that I must pursue my sanctification. I must grow in personal holiness when we do membership classes. Those of you that have been in membership classes with us, you've heard us use the term informed consent. We try to be as forthcoming as possible about the nature of our church, the doctrine of our church, the practice of our church, so that when somebody pursues membership, they know what we stand for and there aren't any surprises.

At least there shouldn't be on the other side. We seek to avoid that. We want everybody to know up front where we're coming from. And we do that diligently.

At least we try to. Well, here with our study of Revelation, I'm giving you what is necessary for informed consent. If you want to pursue the study with us.

Those that would come to a study like this. And say, let's, you know, hurry up and get to the prophecy, get to the eschatology, get to get to these other these controversial issues. Beloved, I say it to help you and to encourage you and to help you grow in grace. That spirit is wrong from the beginning. That spirit cannot possibly lead to a right understanding of the book of Revelation.

It can't possibly be because it bypasses, it bypasses the very emphasis, the very outworking of eschatology, and contradicts the very outworking of eschatology that the Bible calls us to. And, you know, my recent book stands for that very point. And I encourage you to to read it. And so with that said, beloved, I'm kind of clearing the decks here, kind of rinsing off the deck before we set up the chairs and watch the scenery as it as it goes by.

I just and I say this to help and to encourage you. Those whose pressing questions are like this. Is the beast Jewish or Gentile? Can you be saved if you take the mark of the beast? What is the meaning of 666? How can I dispute a different view of the millennium on social media? If that's the pressing questions, then I don't know how else to say this. I don't want this result, but people that have that motivation for a study in Revelation, they won't stay with us long term.

They won't. Because there's not at the heart a desire for what Scripture says should be the product of a study of eschatology. And so I am not catering this upcoming study of Revelation to those kinds of tertiary, not even secondary, those kinds of tertiary questions and catering to the Spirit that asks those kinds of questions at the start.

Just looking for ways to fuel the controversies that surround the study of eschatology. That's not what we're after here. We're after a consecutive study through the book of Revelation that takes it on its terms and gleans the spiritual rebukes and encouragements that are woven throughout the study of Revelation. And so I trust that many of you, if not most of you, like the sound of that and that you'll be with us long term. I'm glad for that, but I just want to lay out the groundwork and kind of clarify and blow away some of the fog before we even get started. So that, you know, there's no objection later that, well, you didn't tell me it was going to be like this. And so, beloved, we are not embarking on this study in order to pursue carnal debate on peripheral issues.

We're not. That's not what this is about. We seek the glory of God and our sanctification through a proper understanding and application of the word as we teach through this book in the weeks and months to come. Now, having said that, having said that, I want you to see this plainly from the text of the book of Revelation itself. And you can see this from different themes that come up repeatedly as you read through the book. And tonight, I just want to lay out four of those themes before you. Central themes to the impact that it should have on our hearts. And as we study these central themes, we're going to come back to them repeatedly throughout the time. And so I don't want you to miss the point.

Well, I'm telling you what the point is up front so that you can get the point as we go along. And so four points, four themes for tonight that all relate to our personal holiness. Four themes that expose the affections and the aspirations of our heart and lay them out before us and cause us to examine ourselves and say, is that where I stand today spiritually in my walk with God? Are these the things that are important and uppermost in my mind? Because they have to be, as you see these four themes.

They have to be. And if you find yourself lacking in these areas, these themes, these heart affections, then these are the affections to be pursuing before you ever begin to concern yourself with the kinds of questions that I was asking earlier. What are these themes? First of all, the glory of Christ. The glory of Christ.

If you're taking notes, this is the first theme that we want to see. And you see it right from the beginning. The glory of Christ is the entrance way into the Book of Revelation.

Do not miss that central point. The glory of Christ is the entrance way into the Book of Revelation. And someone who bypasses the glory of Christ to get to matters in Revelation 12 or 13 or 14 is not handling the Book of Revelation properly.

We can't avoid this. The book is of and from and to the glory of Jesus Christ. Look at Revelation chapter 1 verse 1. Where it says, The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place, he made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who bore witness to the Word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. This is a book from Christ about Christ. It is the testimony of Christ. And so if you're going to read a book, you need to know who the author is, what the subject matter is, and the central focus of Revelation is Jesus Christ himself. Not the beast.

Not the mark of the beast. We start with Christ. And the opening focus as you continue reading on in Revelation is all about him.

So look at verse 4. John to the seven churches that 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 of the dead and the ruler of kings on Earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom priest to his God and father. To him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Do you see it, my friends? Right from the start, Christ is elevated, put front and center. His resurrection as the firstborn of the dead. His sovereignty over all things on Earth as the ruler of kings on Earth. His redemptive, atoning work on the cross. His love for his people. He's delivered us from our sins by his shed blood. He's made us priests. John says to him be glory and dominion forever and ever.

Amen. This is the starting point for entering into the message of the Book of Revelation as seeing the centrality of Jesus Christ and giving him glory. It's not at all too much to say that this is a book that's given to the church, to the true people of God, those who have truly been born again as it emphasizes the nature of salvation and belonging to him and deliverance from our sins. And so this is the starting point in Revelation. And this is the beginning of cultivating a heart that is prepared to learn what Revelation has to teach you. The glory of Christ.

As you go on, and I'm only going to look at chapter one, I did have at one point I had multiple paragraphs to lay this out, but I thought, well, you know, I can't start out with a six week series on this. We'll get to it as we go through verse by verse. Look at verse 17. As John describes his vision of Christ in verse 17, we see that it is Christ who searches the churches.

It's Christ who searches and judges his people, who rebukes them and encourages them. Verse 17, John says, When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead, but he laid his right hand on me, saying, Fear not, I am the first and the last and the living one. I died and behold, I am alive forevermore and I have the keys of death and Hades. Right therefore, the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this. Now, here's here is Christ.

John falls at his feet. Christ declares himself as the first and the last. He's the beginning and the end. He says, I am alive. I was dead, but I'm alive forevermore.

I have sovereign authority over death and Hades. You see, I trust why I say that the glory of Christ, the person of Christ, is the entrance way through which you must go in order to obtain any right understanding of the book of Revelation. And then immediately following this statement at the end of Chapter one, you go into Revelation two and three, where Christ is standing and judging and evaluating the seven churches of Asia, which we'll talk about at great length in the coming exposition and a little bit more here this evening. But the glory of Christ, it is the exclusive entrance way into Revelation.

If I could put it this way, I'm drawing upon Scripture from a different context that says, broad is the way that leads to destruction, narrow is the way that leads to life. Matthew Chapter 7, 13 and 14. Well, when it comes to the book of Revelation, there is a narrow entrance way. The presupposition, the beginning point, the starting point without which the journey does not even take place, is a recognition of the person and work of Christ and a love for him and a submission to him that seeks his glory and that as the uppermost aspiration of the human heart. That's the starting point is the glory of Christ.

And so, beloved, we're immediately confronted with the question whether that is the aspiration that brings us here this evening or not. And I say this, I say this sympathetically, I truly do, but immediately contrast what we've just said about the glory of Christ with what I know that you have seen if you've not promulgated yourself, that contentious attitude toward matters of eschatology that's just itching for a fight, that's just itching for controversy, that's just consumed with curiosities that aren't even explained in the book of Revelation. Compare the two and choose for yourself how you would approach the book of Revelation.

As for me and my house, we want to focus on the glory of Christ as the starting point here. Well, my friends, before we go for today, I just wanted to let you know about a companion resource to this series that we're doing on the book of Revelation. There is a perennial interest in the end times from a biblical perspective, and there's so many different opinions about things that are out there. There's amillennialism and premillennialism and postmillennialism and various views of the rapture, and it's hard to sort all of that out.

I get it. Well, I wrote a brief book that functions both as an introduction to end times and also examines an aspect of end times that you're going to want to get. The book is titled When Christ Shall Come, and it gives you an overview of biblical end times, deals with matters like Israel today and the question about dispensationalism, and also has an expanded study on the topic of preterism, if you're familiar with that term. And so you can go to our website, thetruthpulpit.com, and look for the link to my books. And when you click on that, you'll find a link that would allow you to purchase a copy of When Christ Shall Come. It is a resource that will help you. So go to our website, thetruthpulpit.com, and look for the link titled Books. We'll see you next time. That's Don Green, founding pastor of Truth Community Church in Cincinnati, Ohio. Thank you so much for listening to The Truth Pulpit. Join us next time for more as we continue teaching God's people God's Word.