Hope in Suffering / Revelation 1:4-8
Amen. We are, as you can see, experiencing a bit of a seating crisis. So before we get started, I know that you’ve scooted once, but if you could maybe scoot again, that’d be awesome. We’ve got several folks in the back that are trying to find a spot. Folks in the back, if you want to make your way to the outside, the people in the pews are hopefully scooting to the center.
Before I jump into it tonight, I just want to let you know that we are anticipating that as we continue to work through this book, more and more people are going to want to come and check it out. If you’re a regular here, and if there’s any way you could think about carpooling, that would be great. We know that if it’s chaos in here, the parking lots are nuts. Out of respect for our neighbors who put up with us, please consider that. We’re in the process now of trying to come up with some solutions to accommodate more people, so if you could just be patient with us, we’ll do the best we can. I’m excited that God’s word has drawn so many folks. With that in mind, let’s dive in, shall we?
Revelation 1:4-8 (NASB)
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 the kings of the earth. 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. BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen. ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.’
A People Set Apart
Over the centuries, Christianity has been a very distinct group of people. They have been a unique population that has always been “other than” or felt separate from the communities in which they lived. In fact, a biblical phrase you see early on in the book of Acts is that these people “belonged to the Way.” People didn’t know what to call Christians yet; all they knew was there was this group of followers of the Way. Up in Antioch, Christians are called Christians for the first time because they didn’t know how else to describe us but as followers of Christ—“Christ-like ones.”
Another word used in Scripture to define us is “the holy ones of God.” The phrase “holy ones” means that we were a separate or a different people. Tertullian, an ancient church historian and great Latin scholar, said this about Christians: “We have a reputation of living aloof from the crowd.”
In the Roman culture, when this document was written, it was a very pagan culture. It was promiscuous and immoral. To even exist as a Hagios—a holy one of God—in that culture was difficult. If you went to a friend’s house for dinner, that meal might have been offered to a pagan deity before being served to you. These Christians, both men and women, had to make difficult decisions as to what they would and wouldn’t participate in.
The Cost of the Way
Needless to say, because of their separate status, they were ridiculed and scorned. History tells us stories of the Emperor Nero, who reigned around AD 64. Nero was a perverted man who lit a fire in the city of Rome that burned for six days and six nights. When the destruction he caused made the people turn against him, he came up with a master plan: he blamed the Christian community for setting those blazes.
Because of that, a great persecution arose like had never been seen. They would take you alive and sew you up in an animal skin and throw you in a pit so the dogs could eat you. They would take women and tie them by the feet to a bull, letting the bulls run rampant in the streets to drag them to death. They would take Christians after nightfall, impale them with stakes, and light them on fire to serve as torches for garden parties. This was simply for their affiliation with Christ. That was the affliction of the day.
As the Roman Empire experienced a moral decline, it led to the decline of the empire itself. The Romans were looking for a unifying factor because they were splintered and fractured. They began a practice called emperor worship, where they exalted the emperor and forced the people to worship him. Christians, being monotheistic followers of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, had a hard time bowing to the emperor. Ironically, they were charged with being “atheists” because they would not bow the knee to the emperor’s “godhead.” Because of that, widespread genocide took place. Thousands were eaten in pits, thrown into coliseums, and fed alive to dogs.
The Sound of Marching Boots
The only thing in our culture we can even wrap our arms around because of its proximity in history is the atrocity of Nazi Germany. In that time, anti-Semitism culminated in the tragedies of the Holocaust. There is a date in history, November 9, 1938, that any Jew would remember with great fear: Kristallnacht, the Night of Broken Glass. The German population raided Jewish shops, shattering glass and leaving it all over the streets. By the time the war ended, six million Jews had died from starvation, disease, firing squads, and death camps like Buchenwald and Auschwitz.
Many of you are familiar with the Diary of Anne Frank, or you’ve seen Schindler’s List or The Pianist. Those films capture snapshots of what that time must have been like—hearing the troops marching through the streets. As a parent, you would hold your child, knowing these people had the authority to break into your home, take your child from your arms, and walk them to a death camp. They could line your grandparents up and kill them while you watched, and there was nothing you could do. You heard them coming. The question wasn’t if they would come, but when.
That is what life was like under the Roman persecution of Nero and those who followed. John wrote the book of Revelation in that type of culture. Both Peter and Paul were murdered by Nero, and he was followed by a man who wasn’t much better: Domitian.
Domitian was a wicked, immoral, and suspicious monarch. To secure loyalty, he insisted that people refer to him as “the Lord their God.” Now, if there’s anybody around you who forces you to refer to them as the Lord your God, they’ve probably got one oar in the water, rowing in circles, okay? They’ve got some issues. But Domitian insisted on it.
Because the Christians wouldn’t do it, John was exiled to the island of Patmos, southwest of Ephesus. It was there, in a time of intense persecution where men and women were being killed for their faith, that John penned these words.
Grace from the Eternal God
John writes to the seven churches in Asia. In verses four and five, he gives them a very interesting apostolic greeting.
Revelation 1:4-5 (NASB)
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 the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood–
Seventeen out of twenty epistles in your Bible carry this greeting: “Grace to you and peace.” It was common, but it was packed with theological significance.
Romans 5:1-2 (NASB)
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God.
Grace gives you the idea of your standing before God; peace is what you experience because of it. To these believers suffering persecution, John says, “Grace and peace to you.” And notice, this greeting comes from a Trinitarian source: “from him who is, and who was, and who is to come.”
This tells them that the source of this greeting is eternal. He was—He is the eternal past. He is—He is present with you right now, aware of your suffering. And He is to come—He is sovereign over the future. As these people asked hard questions, they got a letter from a God who was in the past, is in the present, and is sovereign over the future.
Then he mentions “the seven spirits who are before his throne.” The number seven is fascinating; it’s mentioned 31 times in Revelation alone. We see seven churches, seven lampstands, seven seals, seven trumpets, and seven bowls. While some think these are seven individual angels, I believe the number seven represents completeness and fullness.
Isaiah 11:1-2 (NASB)
Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, And a branch from his roots will bear fruit. The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him, The spirit of wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.
This is a picture of the full and complete Spirit of God. So, this is a greeting from God the Father—eternal and sovereign—and from the Holy Spirit in His completeness.
The Faithful Witness
Then the greeting includes Jesus Christ. John calls Him “the faithful witness.” The word “witness” comes from the Greek word martus, which is where we get our word “martyr.”
In the book of Acts, the disciples asked Jesus if He was about to set up the kingdom. Jesus told them it wasn’t for them to know the times, but He gave them a promise.
Acts 1:8 (NASB)
but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.’
He told them they would be His martyrs. Jesus Himself is the “faithful witness.” When He stood before the high priest and was asked if He was the Christ, He didn’t blink. He said, “I am.” He was faithful even unto death.
He is also called the “firstborn of the dead.” This doesn’t just mean chronology, because others were raised before Him. It refers to His preeminence. Of all who have been or ever will be raised, He is the focal point. He is the ruler of the kings of the earth.
Why would it be so timely for someone in Ephesus or Smyrna to hear this? Because their neighbor just got dragged away and killed. Because their grandmother was just fed to the lions. They knew it was only a matter of time before the knock came for them. And what do they get? They get a message of grace and peace from a Father who is sovereign, a Spirit who is complete, and a Savior who has been where they are and promises hope in the midst of suffering. He says, “Hang in there.”
The Mark of a Believer
I often share Psalm 23 at funerals because people ask “why” when tragedy happens.
Psalms 23:4 (NASB)
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
There are times when you, as a believer, will walk through the valley of the shadow of death. You might think the circumstances are so heavy you can’t handle them. Yet the Psalmist says, “You are with me.”
Matthew 5:10 (NASB)
’Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
In the Old Testament, the mark of a believer was often prosperity. You see Abraham, who left with nothing and died with abundance. You see Jacob, whose herds were multiplied. You see Solomon, who established a kingdom of peace and wealth.
But what is the New Testament mark of a believer? If you turn on the TV today, you’ll find all kinds of people suggesting it’s still prosperity. I disagree completely. The mark of a believer in the New Testament is suffering.
Philippians 1:29 (NASB)
For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake,
Paul told Timothy that all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.
Romans 8:17 (NASB)
and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with [Him] so that we may also be glorified with [Him].
In the book of Acts, when Peter and John were beaten for speaking the name of Jesus, they didn’t complain. They rejoiced because they had been counted worthy to suffer for His name.
Can I ask you a convicting question? Are you suffering for Christ? If not, why not? Is your life so distinct that you stand out as a light in the darkness? Or have we flirted so much with culture that we’ve lost our distinction?
I’m not talking about moving to the hills and wearing robes. I’m talking about being the Hagios—the holy ones—who penetrate culture as distinct followers of Christ. Timothy was a young man who watched Paul get stoned and left for dead, and he said, “I’m in. If Jesus Christ can move a man with that much passion, I’ve got to know this man’s God.” Do you have that kind of distinction?
A Kingdom of Priests
Look at the end of verse five and verse six. It says He “loves us and released us from our sins by his blood.”
Revelation 1:5-6 (NASB)
and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. 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 loves us (present tense) and He released us (past tense). It’s done. But what has His death freed us to do? He made us to be a kingdom of priests.
In the Old Testament, the priest’s job was simple: they connected people to God. They mediated. God loves you so that you can connect people to Him. Our work isn’t about learning Greek or memorizing every big theological word; it’s about proclaiming His excellencies and saying, “Mom, Dad, friend—can I tell you about my Lord?”
There is a purpose for our suffering and a divine intent for our distinction. The problem today isn’t our biblical education; it’s our biblical application. We take notes and then leave and live like the world. John is saying to these persecuted people, “The marching boots are heading for your house. Hang in there.”
The Alpha and the Omega
How do we hang in there? Because we know the end is coming.
Revelation 1:7 (NASB)
BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen.
Every eye will see Him—believer and unbeliever, Jew and Gentile.
Zechariah 12:10 (NASB)
’I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.
Matthew 24:30 (NASB)
’And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the SON OF MAN COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF THE SKY with power and great glory.
Why will the tribes of the earth mourn? Because if you don’t know Jesus when that day comes, it will be a very sad day. But for the believer, verse eight provides the final assurance.
Revelation 1:8 (NASB)
‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.’
Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet; Omega is the last. He’s saying, “I started this thing, and I will finish it. I set it in motion, and I’ll bring it to completion.”
You may not understand why you are suffering. In the days of Habakkuk, the people asked God why the evil were prospering and the godly were suffering. God essentially told them, “Even if I explained it, you wouldn’t get it. It would blow your mind. So just let me be God and hang on.”
He is the Alpha and the Omega. He knows where you are. If you aren’t living distinctly for Him, what are you waiting for? Many of you have one hand in the cookie jar and one hand in your Bible, and you can’t figure out which way to go. I promise you, if you pursue God with your whole life, you will never regret it.
I’ll leave you with a translation of 1 Corinthians 15:58 from The Message. It captures the heart of what John is saying to these churches.
“With all this going for us, my dear, dear friends, stand your ground. Don’t hold back. Throw yourselves into the work of the Master, confident that nothing you do for him is a waste of time or effort.”
1 Corinthians 15:58 (NASB)
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not [in] vain in the Lord.
Stand firm. Leverage your life for eternity. You may not win a medal, and people may not call you a spiritual giant, but you can carry your load. There is only one man in history who can say, “I am the Almighty; I will bring it to fulfillment.” Until He comes, may we be found faithful.
Hang in there. Let’s pray.