Revelation is a book of prophecy, but it’s not about guessing. It’s about certainties: the certainty of Christ’s ultimate triumph at His Second Coming and the certainty of His presence today to bring victory to our current circumstances.
The chapters of this awe-inspiring book helped me to see how vital worship is to our realizing the present and practical victory we have through Jesus Christ.
The first five chapters of Revelation are a continuum, meant to be read as one piece. They begin with Jesus’ appearance to John in Chapter 1 and John’s worshipful response. The Savior gives John direction concerning the tough realities he faced in the realm of his responsibility to the seven congregations under his charge. The churches were steeped in problems at the same time that John’s confinement to Rome’s penal colony on the island of Patmos disabled him from ministering to their needs.
Jesus’ appearance to John in Revelation 1 brings a profound awareness of His power and His interest in the seven churches. The Lord Jesus directs John in chapters 2 and 3 to address letters to each church. Those chapters lead into Revelation 4 and 5, moving from John’s first encounter with Christ to new heights of faith and assurance of victory.
When We are Trapped
With that brief overview, please pause for a moment with me and let’s identify our own “Patmos.” John’s words in Revelation 1:9 are an invitation to see that the testimony he is giving here is not to recite history; it is to speak to people like us during times when we are trapped–disabled by situations beyond our control.
John says, in effect, “I’m your brother and companion in life’s sufferings.” Then he relates how, in his own dilemma, Jesus’ appearance overwhelmed his sense of helplessness. John describes how he was captivated by the majesty and power of Christ and was brought to the Savior’s feet in worship–an encounter that resulted in practical guidance, assurance of victory and transforming hope.
John’s stunning testimony contains a personal message to us all, one that we will miss if we only look at the Book of Revelation as a prophecy of Christ’s final triumph. It points to the present, practical power of worship as the pivot point for any believer who would seek to move from limitations to liberty, from trial to triumph. Briefly put, John gives us a testimony of:
(1) how our Savior knows exactly where each of us is (so never doubt He knows the address of your “Patmos”); and,
(2) how He seeks to awaken our hearts to His presence and power. John’s vision isn’t related solely as a report but is given as if to say to us all, “Look–what a wonderful Lord. And He’s your Lord too!”
Note that as John bowed in wonder in Christ’s presence, he heard Christ speak: “I am alive forevermore and have the keys of death and Hades” (Cf. Revelation 1:18). Let me encourage you, dear reader, to let the implications of those words breathe into your soul and circumstance as they did John’s. Jesus is saying, “I am alive and I am your Lord if you will welcome me–and I have the keys to unlock anything that shadows your days or obstructs your life!”
John got the point. His worship encounter with Christ proceeds into chapters 2 and 3, as the Lord of the church gives letters of counsel and direction to John the overseer. The letters give guidance that outlines Christ’s ways to burn back the shadows of hellish intrusion, and to bring overcoming victory into John’s troubled world.
Again, the passage speaks to our present moment with the principle that worshiping God is more than a ritual recitation of songs or words. Far more, our worship is intended to bring us into God’s presence. There we meet the all-wise and all-powerful One who calls us to worship that we might receive His wisdom and strength!
A Vision of the Throne
After Revelation’s first three chapters conclude, John relays to us in chapters 4 and 5 an experience that provides a vision of God’s throne. John says that same “trumpet-like voice” of Christ that he heard in Revelation 1:10 invited him to “Come up here.”
Christ invites him to step through an open door that transitions him beyond the visible limits of his world’s present realities to the invisible reality of God’s unlimited power–including His ongoing reign through Jesus Christ and His redeemed. The scene John witnesses exceeds the powers of any earthly description, but what is written conveys enough to reveal two grand and eternal truths:
Chapter 4:The throne of God is attended by worshipers who continuously announce a never-ending fact: God is the Creator. His holiness (complete perfection of love and grace, justice and mercy) is unchangingly present and functional. He is not only the One who brought all things into being, but He is able today to bring anything about in the interest of those who seek Him with worship and praise.
Chapter 5:At the throne stands the One who has once and for all broken the power of sin and death and has redeemed all who come to Him unto a future that the Apostle Paul described as a “reigning in life through Jesus Christ” (Cf. Romans 5:17). That is the reality that permeates the song of continual, expanding and timeless worship.
It is a song we are invited to join, with faith that the One we extol is not only coming again to rule the world but is living within us today to bring His victory into each of our battles, His comfort into each of our trials, His sufficiency into each of our needs.
This, then, is what introduces the book titled, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ.” What it reveals of Him is His unlimited grace and power. It unveils a realm of promise for those of us who will worship; exalting Him as we embrace the wisdom of God’s Word. You see, God’s Word reveals the victory pathway of a worship that wins today, as our focus moves from our weakness and limitations to the strength and sufficiency found in Jesus Christ, our living Lord!