Revelation: Part 5

When anyone anywhere responds to this knowledge by having a desire to know this God, God will move heaven and earth to get the message to him.

Please turn to Revelation 1:20. Remember the outline of the book is given in verse 19 where it says write therefore the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after these things. The outline. He has commanded for the third time in the first chapter, to write the things he’s seen.

And that tell us that God in his omnipotence, time traveled John up to the future of us and actually showed him exactly what was gonna happen to this world. Because the words that are used, being an eyewitness, someone who actually saw what he wrote. And he was commanded to write it. And he says write about the things which you have seen, and the things which are.

He’s talking here in God’s outline of history. When he says write about the things which are, he’s talking about the Church age, which is the age in God’s plan we live in. And then he says write about the things, which are after these things, which means after the Church age. And when does the Church age end?

The Rapture. Right. Now, look at verse 20. As for the mystery, musterion.

This is a Greek word that came from the old Greek fraternities. It means something that was not known until now and which can only be understood by the initiated. Now it’s fitted into the christian. So he says here I’m gonna show you something that has not been known, but I’m gonna show it to those who are initiated by being born again, by accepting the gift of forgiveness.

So here is one of those mysteries. And there are several in the book of Revelation. He says as for 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 are the seven churches. All right, angelos, translated angel in Greek, can either mean an angel, which is the higher creation, that the Bible talks a great deal about.

There are a lot of them in here right now. You can’t see them, but they’re here. But the basic meaning of this word means a messenger. And I believe it’s used in that sense here.

They are the seven messengers to the seven churches. And remember, I asked you this last week. With there being hundreds of churches at this time, why did he pick these seven? Why did Jesus Christ pick these seven churches?

Well, we’re gonna talk about that. And the number seven is always used of the idea of completeness and the perfecting of. But basically it’s a number of completion or completeness. So these seven churches really are symbolic of all the Church.

And he says he’s speaking, he’s holding in his right hand, the messengers to his Church. Now when the Bible uses the word Church, it has, depending on the context, it has three different meanings. It’s the word ecclesia, which means the called out ones. Now when we use the word Church, what’s the first thing that comes to your mind?

A building with a steeple on it.

I will never forget the most shocking, but it really taught me a message about the Church. I remember I was a new believer. I was excited. I was going to a Church in houston, berachah Church.

Bob thieme was the pastor and that man probably taught me more than any human being alive. And I was in a Bible class and it was filled with young, young guys and gals. And there was an elderly woman there with a bun and all of that. I knew, immediately, she must be a missionary.

I kept glancing over him because she had this sour look on her face. And not that missionaries are all like that. I’m not implying. But, finally, you know, everybody was excited and he was teaching some great things.

And all of a sudden, she shoots her hands up. And she says, pastor thieme, these young people are desecrating this sanctuary chewing gum in it.

And he says, madam, the churches are chewing the gum.

You get the point?

Because the Church is not a building. The second meaning of that word is it is composed, regardless of what your denomination is or whatever, the true Church is made up of every believer in Jesus Christ. Because the most basic meaning of the word Church is it is made up of every one who is in the body of Christ. And Ephesians 5 says that everyone who believes that Christ died in their place and they accept the gift of pardon that he gave them, that, at that instant, when you believe, you didn’t know this happened.

You didn’t feel it, but the Bible says it happened. At that instant, the Holy Spirit baptized you into a living organic union with Christ. That’s the true baptism of the Holy Spirit, by the way. It has nothing to do with braying like a jackass and some supposed foreign language.

Now don’t get me wrong. I believe that there –

I believe there is a spiritual gift of speaking in a language you’ve never learned. And I have heard people do that. I’ve also heard all kinds of counterfeits. It has nothing to do with whether you’re filled with the spirit or not.

Because what is the chief sign that you’re filled with the spirit? Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, so forth. Love is the number one sign. And I see these people bragging about how they spoke in tongues and been baptized in the spirit by that and therefore they’re spiritual.

And they gossip about everybody they see. And they make remarks about everybody. And they don’t show a lot of love. Well, they didn’t get what they think they got.

But the baptism of the Holy Spirit is that wonderful ministry of the Holy Spirit that began on the day of Pentecost, and it spread from first the Israelites, to the part Israelites, the samaritans, and then to the non-Israelites, the Gentiles. There was transition that took place in Acts 2, Acts 8, and Acts 10. And in that wonderful transition, God initiated this ministry whereby the Holy Spirit has never before, in the history of mankind, took up permanent residence in every person who believed in Christ, number one. Number two, he took us and joined us into such a living organic union with Christ, that it says in Ephesians 5:30, for we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bone.

That’s so wonderful. You realize that? And because of that, there are incredible statements made in the Scripture. Like Ephesians 2, it says, he has raised us up in Christ and seated us at the right hand of the father.

That’s why we have authority to bind things here on earth. Because we have throne rights that come with being seated at the right hand of God in Christ. Right now if you’re a believer in Jesus Christ, you’re in two locations. You’re here in palm desert.

And at the same time, you’re at the right hand of the father. So you hear people keep saying, keep looking up. I say keep looking down.

Because look at it from where are in Christ. You got me? Okay, well, that’s another part of the Church. Don’t let me chase too many rabbits on that.

Then there is the local Church, which is composed of believers who have assembled together as an assembly, a Church. Now, when it talks about Jesus holding the seven messengers to the seven churches here. It’s really referring more to the local churches and the messenger, which are the pastors that minister to them. And isn’t it wonderful to know, and sometimes I think some pastors will be scared to death if they really got a hold of this, that Christ directly is in touch and holds these persons in his right hand.

And it shows him and this walking about the Church and in direct contact with him. And each local Church is not responsible to an overseeing hierarchy. They’re supposed to be responsible directly to the Jesus Christ. And that’s where sometimes denominations can become a curse because it becomes a thing of competition of, you know, comparing themselves with each other and getting, trying to climb the ladder to some high office in it or something.

We need to get away from that. The Church is directly, each local Church, is directly responsible to Jesus Christ and to be spoken to by the Holy Spirit through this book. That’s a little radical, isn’t it?

All right, now, look. I realize I’m in his right hand, and therefore not only do I have his blessing, but I have great responsibility. And I’m aware of that. Now he says the first thing then is the seven stars of the seven messengers of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

Which is talking about the fact that churches are to be a light to the world and we’re called lampstands. Now before I go any further, I want to show you a neat little thing here. I want you to hold your place here and turn to Revelation 4. Remember, revelation chapters 2 and 3 are the things that are.

Chapters 2 and 3 actually are, among other things as I’ll show in a moment, a summary of the whole Church age, the stages of history that we go through. And we’ll see why I say that in a minute. But it’s also part of what Jesus said the things that are. Now look at chapter 4 verse 1.

Some of you heard me teach on this. But let’s just read it again. What did he say? You’re to write about what you’ve seen and the things which are, and the things which will happen after these things, meta tauta in the Greek.

And he says in verse 1, after these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven, and the first voice which I had heard like the sound of a trumpet speaking with me said, come up here! And I will show you what must take place after these things. And this means after the Church age. Now, look at verse 5.

This is what John saw. And from the throne proceeded flashes of lightning, and sounds and peals of thunder. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven spirits of God. Okay, now the Church is distinguished from all other of God’s enterprises here on earth, primarily because of what?

The work of the Holy Spirit. This is the only time in the history of God dealing with man, when every believer received the permanent indwelling of the Holy Spirit. So that’s why it says they are the seven spirits of God also. But what did Jesus say the lampstands were?

The churches. Where are the lampstands here? They’re in heaven, aren’t they? That’s another proof the Rapture happens before the Tribulation.

And they are now lamps of fire. Why? They have been changed from lampstands of witness to lampstands of judgment. The world is about to be judged for what it did to the Church.

Interesting, isn’t it? Why did Jesus choose these seven churches that are in chapters 2 and 3? As I said, there were hundreds of churches. Why these seven?

The Holy Spirit never does anything without purpose. So we know that they represent the whole Church. But they also, obviously, were picked because they would have certain characteristics that would be helpful through this whole Church age. There were seven literal churches and I find four applications to what God is seeking to teach us through these seven churches.

Now you’ll find this in each one of the letters to each one of these churches. First, you’ll find that there is a personal message from the Lord himself to each Church. Now, do you notice if you’ve got one of these bibles, and I never believed in this, but it will be useful right now. Do you notice that all of the words are in red in chapters 2 and 3?

Why is that? Because it recognizes that these are the words spoken directly by Jesus Christ. Well, I believe the whole Bible is spoken by him, but we’ll play along with it. You know, it -now, where else do you find a place where Jesus speaks directly to the Church?

You don’t find anything more emphatic and more direct than Jesus himself was walking among these churches and showing during the whole Church age, he’s gonna be doing this. Walking among these churches with the true messengers of these churches in his right hand. Now, I believe the first application is this. There’s a personal message from the Lord Jesus to each Church and it has an application that covers the needs of the churches throughout the entire Church age.

So these churches, first of all, were chosen because they had problems and strengths, which would be characteristic and useful to learn to understand things that would happen to the Church all the way through. So as a minister, I can study this and I can find certain tendencies that lead to certain dangers just by looking at these letters to these seven churches ’cause they’re applicable. They’re literally written to them, but they’re applicable to churches all the way through. So if I see certain things developing in a Church, I can look in here and I can find in what Jesus said to these churches, certain things that will help me understand it and will help me know what to do about it.

So that’s number one. All right, the second application, you’ll find this all the way through here. The second application is that there are things that he sees that apply to the Church local, that also apply to individuals. For instance, in the beginning of the letter to the ephesians, he says, he commends them for having a knowledge of the Word of God.

He commends them that they have fought heresy and so forth. But then he comes to the part where he analyzes their problem and rebukes them. He says but I have this against you in that you have left your first love. I’ve had the Lord convict me on this in the past.

Because, you see, you can get so wrapped up in knowledge of the word, and, by the way, you must have knowledge. People, as a believer, you must study. You must be taught. There’s a great pastor in this Church, mark ceder.

He’s a great teacher. But christians need to be taught. And they need to be taught the deeper things of the word. Not just a couple of jokes, three points and a poem and a close.

The average sermon. That’s what people are taught in seminary that that’s what you’re supposed to do, you know. Don’t give them too much, they won’t be able to digest it. You’ll give them spiritual indigestion.

Well, I don’t see that as the major problem. But these people are well taught, but Satan is gonna get you one way or another. You can get to where you’re well taught and you know the word and so forth. And, yet, you lose the heart of everything, when your devotion to Jesus Christ personally begins to dwell back.

Now I’ve been rebuked by that. See, it has a personal application. And there’s another application the Church at Laodicea, that’s where in Revelation 3 says, behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hear my voice and open the door, I will come into him and will fellowship with him and he with me.

I use that as a way of explaining people how to receive Christ. He stands at the door of your heart. He’s knocking. And if you just say, Lord, I want you to come into my life.

I want you to forgive me, then he’ll do it. He will come in and he’ll stay and there will be fellowship. So each one of these has things that can really hit you personally. So that’s the second application.

All right, then there is the third application, and this is an application particularly important to those who are pastors. Pastors can study these various things that Jesus analyzed with these seven churches and they can analyze the problems in their own Church and apply the solutions that Christ gives to correct them. So they’re very powerful. The fourth application is something that frankly was not really known until maybe a couple of hundred years ago when we could look back over Church history.

But that’s part and parcel of what the Bible teaches about prophecy. It says that prophecy would be sealed until the time of the end. And that people would gain knowledge, he told Daniel and so forth, and many will go to and fro. But he says that the time of the end, the book will be opened and the wise shall understand.

Well, a couple of hundred years ago when, for the first time, the Church really began to study prophecy. It’s only been a couple hundred years. And for the first time, since the first century, the Church leaders began to take prophecy literally and not just as some allegory. And that’s when they began to notice that there is a prophetic application of these seven churches.

In other words, the Holy Spirit chose these churches to put in a book of prophecy, and he even shows the order to put them in, because they show seven stages of Church history. And you can look back in Church history and you can see how each one of these churches chronologically shows the chief characteristics of a certain era of Church history.