Not Just a Hunch

The Apostle John, by the way, was passionate about revealing the authentic testimony of Christ. In his gospel, he described Christ as the one who came into the world to explain the person and plan of the Father, John 1.18. He recorded how Christ stood before a pilot, and Jesus said, I came into the world to testify to the truth, John 18.37. When Jesus Christ speaks, he, the logos of God, tells the truth. When God speaks, what he says is true. As the Apostle John opens the book of Revelation, he reminds us that this is the revelation of God.

What John is trying to communicate to you is that God himself is responsible for the content of the book. Therefore, you can trust and believe everything it says. That's why today's lesson is called Not Just a Hunch. We have more than just a hunch about our future. We have the truth from God. Welcome to Wisdom for the Heart with Stephen Davey.

Stephen continues his series through the opening chapters of Revelation right now. Any of you remember Y2K? Remember that panic? I know of churches that began to store grain in their basements. I remember people selling their homes and moving out into the country, which was probably closer, I guess, being prepared because it strikes me. You know, the only people that were really prepared for Y2K were the Amish.

They were ready, and they could smile at the rest of the world. The truth is we know he's coming. We know he's going to rapture the church, and he will eventually come to set up his kingdom. We're not given the date, and God is choosing not to tell us that, which is intended to keep us alert and trusting and ready and longing.

So let's avoid the extremes as we study together. There are millions of connections every week into horoscope, phone lines, and magazines. As people try to find some purpose and plan for their lives in the stars, about a million a week in New York alone watch the movement of the stars I have read as indicators of their future. So I want you to be wise. I want you to stay in the Scriptures and avoid those things outside of the Scriptures that may seem to tell you what the future is. One of the authors I was reading, it was interesting, he told of an event where a believer was pressed by a fortune teller to give him some money, and she would tell him his immediate future.

Not his long-term future, but his immediate future. And he said, you mean to tell me that you can tell me what I'm going to be doing this time tomorrow? And she said, absolutely. And he said, listen, I will pay you double what you are asking if you can tell me what I was doing this time yesterday.

She of course smiled and said, well, never mind. It's interesting that until the development of modern medicine, it was generally believed in the Middle Ages that a person with curvature of the spine had some kind of special link to the spirit world. In fact, malformation of the spine that resulted in a hump, as in a hunched back was considered to be a mark of great psychic powers. These people were often pursued for some kind of truth about the future. They were believed to be capable of seeing into the future.

Of course, we don't believe that anymore because we understand now that curvature of the spine has nothing to do with psychic powers or spirit beings or even demons that revealed the future as they did believe in the darker side of this. But that word, that phrase has sort of hung around and lingered even to this day for we to this day call a sense of future events or some premonition to be a hunch, which is where this came from. I've just got a hunch that something's going to happen.

Well, I've got good news for you. We don't have to rely on false prophets with new revelation. We don't operate on just a hunch. We do have the revealed Word of God and we have enough to so move us and change us and ready us that if he should come today for the church, we will say, even so, come Lord Jesus. In fact, that truth was intended by the Apostle Paul not to produce panic, but to provide comfort, comfort one another with these words. So we are uncovering more than a hunch this is the Word of God.

How can we trust John the Apostle? Well, the first eight verses and we'll get through verse eight today basically lay out the signature and authority and truth of this book as it is authored by none other than God. One phrase after another authenticating the revelation as coming from the triune God. You remember the very beginning it started the revelation of Jesus Christ. This is about him and by him and through him, which the Father, God, gave those of us who've come to faith in Christ to become enslaved, no longer to sin, but enslaved to the Savior.

Think about the authentication this way. I have people every once in a while come up to me after a service or out by the bookstore with a book and they'll ask me if I'll sign one of my books and sometimes I'll kid around and I'll say, do you want me to sign it Chuck Swindoll, John MacArthur, somebody really famous? And they'll laugh, no, you sign it. So I'll open to the flyleaf and as neatly as I can, which is pretty horrible, I will sign my name. Think of it this way, what you have in the first eight verses here in the flyleaf of this book of prophecy is the signature of God. The signature of God. This is the publication of the triune God. Now let's go to verse four where we pick up our study.

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. This is the signature of God the Father and all three persons will sign this book of the prophecy. This is the signature of God the Father. In fact, in the Hebrew language, this counterpart, this verb expressing who was and is and is to come is Yahweh. That verb simply means I, I am.

Now I am sounds like you're referring just to the present tense but within that verb is the implication of all the tenses. This is the book of the revelation from I am who was and is and is to come. This is the signature of the Father. You and I are immortal. We will never have an ending but we did have a beginning but he always was and at the same time he is and he always will be. He is all of it.

The sum and substance and culmination at any given time of time. This is why, of course, Jesus Christ created such a stir when he chose that signature and said, I sign that too. He said to the Jewish people and the leaders, he said, before Abraham was born, I am.

This was stunning. He wasn't telling them that he was a prophet as Islam believes. He wasn't telling them that he was a child created by the sexual liaison of the Father and Mary which Mormonism believes. He was saying, I am God.

I had no beginning. I am God in the flesh. And did his audience pick up on it? Did they think, well, maybe he wasn't really meaning that. The very next verse says they picked up stones to throw at him.

Why? Because they knew he was declaring himself to be equal with God, the Father, the one who was and is and is to come. If you look at verse 8, you read the signature, I am the Alpha and the Omega. Now, most believe this is Christ speaking here. There is a little bit of a debate, but in my Bible, it's in red letters, so that settles it. I am the Alpha and Omega, and I do believe it is the Lord Jesus speaking.

In fact, he will use this clearly later on in the book of Revelation. I am A to Z, Alpha and Omega. What's really amazing then is to recognize that Christ is speaking in verse 8 and titles for Jesus Christ, the Alpha and Omega, are also referring to the same one who is God or signs his name God, the Lord God. And look at the end of the verse, the Almighty. The Alpha and Omega is equal with, in fact, you're not even sure who's talking.

They are seen as one. The Almighty, that's the Greek counterpart to the Hebrew name Shaddai, the Almighty One. Jesus Christ can legitimately lay claim to the divine title of omnipotence as Shaddai. This is the title of divine power and omnipotence. By the way, throughout the Old Testament, Shaddai was often the name linked with God's ability to fulfill any promise he made to his people. So it is no surprising as he ends sort of the signature point of introducing himself as the author of this revelation, he ends by saying, by the way, I can keep these promises to my people for I am omnipotent God.

And he uses that term and title to sign it. This is not just a hunch from John. This is from God the Father. The next person of the Godhead to sign the flyleaf of this book is the Holy Spirit. Notice in verse four, but from the seven spirits who are before the throne, for the first time we read a significant number in the book of Revelation. Some of the numbers that appear in the book of Revelation are going to be easy to figure out and some of them we will not know and we'll just say we don't know.

But this one is clear. In fact, it really comes from Isaiah's own pen as he describes the Spirit of God with this number, this signifies completion and perfection and fullness. And so Isaiah uniquely in chapter 11 describes the Spirit with a seven-fold descriptive statement. He is the Spirit of the Lord. He is the Spirit of wisdom. He is the Spirit of understanding. He is the Spirit of counsel, the Spirit of strength, the Spirit of knowledge, and the Spirit of the fear of the Lord.

The seven spirits is an expression to symbolize the Holy Spirit's perfection and completion and fullness. So the third person then within the Godhead to officially sign his name to the flyleaf of this book is Jesus Christ. See this book is the publication of God the Father and God the Spirit and now here God the Son. And if you notice in your text he is referred to three very precious ways. He is called the faithful, verse 5, from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness.

This has to do with his responsibility. The apostle John, by the way, was uniquely passionate about revealing the authentic testimony of Christ. In his gospel he described Christ as the one who came into the world to explain.

You could render that verb. The person and plan of the Father, John 1.18. He recorded how Christ stood before a pilot and Jesus said, I came into the world to testify to the truth, John 18.37. When Jesus Christ speaks he, the logos of God, the Word of God, always speaks the truth. He is a faithful witness.

He tells the truth. He testifies as a faithful witness. Christ is also called here in this text the firstborn of the dead.

This isn't a reference to Christ being God's first little baby boy and many more baby boys and girls will be born and they'll also be raised from the dead. No, this Greek word refers to priority, supremacy. He is supreme. He conquered death. He is the firstborn of the dead. He is the one who conquered.

He has priority over. He has supremacy over the dead and death. Firstborn does not refer to time sequence but preeminence as the one who conquered death forever.

So Christ is the faithful witness. This refers to his responsibility. He is the firstborn of the dead or from the dead. This is a reference to his resurrection. And thirdly, you note here it says that he is the ruler of the kings of the earth.

This has to do with his reign over all. He will reign on David's throne over all the kings of the earth. In Psalm 24 verse 7 he is called the king of glory. In Daniel chapter 4 verse 37 he is called the king of heaven. In Matthew chapter 2 verse 2 he is called the king of the Jews. In John 1 49 he is called the king of Israel. In 1 Timothy 1 17 he is called the king of the ages. In Revelation 15 3 he is called the king of the saints. And further in Revelation 19 16 he is called the king of kings. What more can you say than that about his reign over everything? This is not a hunch from John. This is the publication of the triune God and all three members of the Godhead have signed on.

Father, Spirit, and Son. John breaks out in this little hallelujah. He just starts to sing this doxology.

That comes next. It is the publication of the sovereign leading to the praise of the saint. In fact you can write little quote marks around the words to him. Start there and then go down to the end of verse 6 with the word amen.

There is his doxology. It is the first of many that are going to come in Revelation as John just breaks out in praise. To him who loves us and released us from our sins by his blood. And he has made us to be a kingdom priests to his God and father to him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever amen. He speaks of his love and his joy. Notice the three stanzas in this doxology.

You ought to circle them. First he says Jesus Christ loves us. This supreme omnipotent king loves us. It isn't loved us by the way.

It's present tense. He did love us before the foundation of the world. But you know we tend as Christians to think in terms well he loved me. He did love me.

He says he loves me and he loves you right now. I'm enjoying reading one of my commentary friends. Ray Stedman who's been with the Lord. I never met him. Heard a lot about him. He pastored a church in California for over 40 years a graduate of the same seminary I attended.

He talks in his commentary about a time when he was traveling through Virginia. And he was traveling with another very well-known but older pastor and mentor guy by the name of H.A. Ironside who pastored a moody church. I just man I got Ironside books and I think wow traveling through Virginia with both these guys would be wonderful.

One of them would be great. Well as they're traveling they met another pastor. And this pastor shared with them his testimony of how he came to faith in Jesus Christ. He was an older man nearing the end of his ministry and he talks about how he was a student. He told Ray Stedman in Ironside how he was a student at Cambridge in England and unbeliever.

And D.L. Moody was invited to come and speak to the student body. And the students at Cambridge were infuriated. They were so upset those who disbelieved in particular that they would invite an unschooled American preacher to give a lecture. And Moody was unschooled.

In fact the mystery of God's wonderful use of him is bound up with the fact that they say he murdered the king's English every time he spoke. They said of Moody that he could say Jerusalem in one syllable. So he was coming to speak. And so this man and his friends decided to sit on the front row and wait for just the right time to humiliate and mock D.L.

Moody. Just before Moody stood to preach Iris Sankey sang and the crowd grew quiet and respectful. Immediately after the song without allowing any introduction Moody walked to the lectern and he pointed his finger at the young men sitting on the front row. And he said and I quote him young gentleman don't ever think God don't love you. He do. This pastor said perhaps this was the most ungrammatical sentence ever uttered at Cambridge University in public. But there was such power in Moody's face and passion in his voice that these young men in the front row never interrupted him as he declared the gospel. And throughout the course of his message he would repeat at different times that phrase don't ever think God don't love you.

He do. And after it was over this man accepted Jesus Christ as his savior. Terrible grammar. Terrific theology.

This is the gospel. His love is present tense. Not just he did. Not just he will.

Not just he might. He does. Not only does he love us.

Notice further in the text. He released us. Verse 5 the middle part. He released us from our sins by his blood. John's just singing about the love of Christ and the freedom he has from his sins by coming to Christ. And those who believed have been singing about these themes haven't we for now the church some 2000 years. This is the doxology of the saint.

This is the singing of the redeemed. He loves us. He released us.

And third he assigned us. Verse 6 and he has made us to be a kingdom that is we're now assigned as royalty members in his kingdom. And priests to his God and father to him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever.

Amen. We are now a holy priesthood. Peter will write in 1 Peter 2 9. Well what did a priest in the Old Testament do?

What was his primary passion and thought? It was to bring the people near to God. So also we believers bring people the gospel and the power of the gospel brings them near to God. We are the ambassadors of God and we beg the world to be reconciled with him.

And priests do what else? Well they sacrifice. Well what are we to sacrifice? We are to offer to him our bodies living sacrifices.

Holy and acceptable to God. Now it was messy but it was easier for the Old Testament priest to offer an animal that had been killed. Offering a dead sacrifice is easier than offering a live sacrifice. Dead sacrifices don't have the ability to crawl down off the altar.

We do. And so we must offer ourselves daily to the one who loves us and has released us and has assigned us. And furthermore Hebrews 13 5 says we offer to God continually the sacrifice of praise.

Well this is the publication of the sovereign. This is the praise of the saint. What happens next is the prediction of the savior. Look at verse 7 behold he is coming with the clouds and every eye will see him even those who pierced him.

Reference obviously to the Jewish people and all the tribes of the earth are reference to everybody else. Everybody will literally see this one coming back to earth. This is not the rapture. This is the second coming. And basically what Revelation will do is simply unpack this one verse. This is what this one verse means. Here's how it's going to happen and what it's going to look like and to whom he will come and when in the scheme of things within his own knowledge and omniscience.

John says this is not a hunch here. This is the promise of Revelation. This is Revelation signed by God the father God the son and God the spirit. And then he says look he is coming. And if John can say at the end of verse 3 all the time is very near. We can say and by the way you don't have to have a date but if you say his coming is nearer than ever.

You'll always be correct. When Christ comes and they see him coming and we the bride with him coming in his glory and victory. All the earth will look upon him and will know.

They will know. It isn't welcome. It's welcome back. You came the first time and you were rejected. You were crucified.

You were despised. You are coming now back in splendor and glory to set up the kingdom of Christ on earth. And we will reign with him.

And those who've believed in the tribulation will certainly be among those who say welcome back. John Phillips the British Bible teacher and author wrote in his commentary called Exploring Revelation. One of the most stirring pages in English history. He tells of the conquests of Richard the first the lion hearted he was called. While Richard was away in battle his kingdom fell on bad times primarily because his brother John was sly and shrewd and corrupt. And came and stole away the rights of the king and misruled the realm. People of England suffered. Many legends came out of that period of time. The one we all know is the legend of Robin Hood.

In reality however Richard did come back. He landed in England and marched directly to his throne. And John put up one barrier after another and John Phillips wrote that he knocked them all over like pins.

Bowling pins. Until he reached the throne and the people shouted with relief and delight and joy and they rang the bells one peal after another. The lion hearted was back. Long live the king.

Phillips went on to write this wonderful summary in application. One day a king greater than Richard will lay claim to a realm greater than England. Those who have abused the earth and his absence seized his domains and mismanaged his world will be swept aside.

What a day that will be. Long live the king. This is not some wild fantasy. This is not just a hunch.

This is the truth. And God the Father has signed it, the one who was and is and ever and will be. And the Son has signed it. This one who is the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

The one who loves us and released us and assigned us. And it's signed by the complete perfection of the Spirit. This is his doing.

This is his book. So what do we do? I'll tell you what we do. We offer to him our bodies, our lives, our loyalty, our love, our devotion, our time, our treasure. And we offer him the continual sacrifice of praise and we live in such a way that we with our lives say to everyone, long live the King of Kings.

I'm glad you joined us today here on Wisdom for the Heart. Stephen Davey is in a series from the book of Revelation called Special Delivery. We'll have more lessons from this series in the days ahead and I hope you'll be with us for all of it. There's a resource that comes out of this series. It's a book called Understanding Revelation.

This short, easy to read booklet will help you read and study this book. You can better understand what God is communicating to you. And we're making this resource available during this series at a discounted rate. You can learn more by calling 866-48-BIBLE. That's 866-482-4253. There's also information on our website, wisdomonline.org. If you have a question or comment for us, you can email us at info at wisdomonline.org. Thanks again for joining us and please tune in next time for more Wisdom for the Heart. Thank you for watching!