“And they sung a new song, saying’Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by Thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation.” Revelation 5:9
When John the Apostle received the revelation of Jesus Christ on the isle of Patmos, the great, overwhelming shock that he received was the magnitude of the One who was being revealed to Him. This glorified Christ, though certainly having been revealed to John in small, acceptable increments during his life, was now revealed to Him in the greatness of His glory as the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the Ending. Here John, on this small island, “in the Spirit on the Lord’s day,” is confronted with the Creator of the universe, the One by whom everything exists. This One comes to John to give him a glimpse of this glory, power, majesty, and sovereignty, but also, His love, holiness, and goodness. We must ask ourselves: “Why did the Lord Jesus come and reveal Himself to John in this way, and at this time.?” First of all, it could only be in aloneness with God in a very special way that God could give to John such a detailed, and powerful revelation of Himself. This was true of Moses also, when God called him to come alone to the top of Mt. Sinai, there to behold his glory and goodness, as He passed by. Only in the dephs of silence, quietness, and undistracted focus, could either of these men of God receive the revelation of God that would not only change their lives, but millions of others throughout history to our present day. Secondly, as God’s timining is always perfect and perfectly applicable to His people, the Lord comes with not only a clear and powerful revelation of His glory, power, and sovereignty, but with a message specific to the church. This message was written first of all in seven letters, one to each church in Asia Minor. However, that was just the prelude and the preparation for what was to follow. The third reason for which the revelation came was the consistent “way” of God in revealing himself to unbelieving men. Throughout Scripture the Lord, primarily through His prophets, would declare what He would do in the future. Historically speaking, only God could accomplish such a declared event. The greatest, and most detailed event that He spoke of from the book of Genesis, and through the entirety of the Old Testament, was the coming of the Lord Jesus as God’s sole solution for the salvation of men. With amazing, Divine detail, the Lord would through His servants speak of the birth, suffering and death, of the coming Messiah, the Savior of the world. In the book of the Revealation, God still uses this method to speak to men of His sovereignty, power, and purposes. The great difference here though is the shift from the emphasis on redemption to that of judgment. How is this so?
The whole of the Old Testament is filled with the great message of redemption, Christ’s coming to purchase men out of the slave-market to sin, self, and Satan, to truly live eternally. However, there is a principle that we see again and again that arises when men come to the point of totally rejecting all revelation of God. It is the principle of His judgment, or, the revelation and realization of His wrath. In Noah’s day, there came a moment when mankind chose to no longer accept any revelation of God. Noah was God’s preacher of righteousness, but was entirely rejected. The result was that God destroyed the then known world, in particular, every person on the face of the earth. In Abraham’s day, Sodom and Gomorrah were totally destroyed because of their total refusal to receive any more of the revelation of God. So, what is the message of God to the church, and to the world? It is simple: Be ready, Be faithful, Christ is coming.
Dear Father, Give us to heed the revelation. In Jesus’ name, Amen.