I have a few very, very simple thoughts to share with you this morning from the Book of Revelation, and the reason why I emphasize ‘simple thoughts’…..we know that the Book of Revelation is filled with complicated thoughts, and I am not going to involve any of those complications.
Revelation 7:13 (13-17) “And one of the elders answered saying unto me, ‘What are these which are arrayed in white robes and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, ‘These are they which came out of great tribulation and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple; and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters; and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.”
This book took on a much more simple meaning to me when it dawned on me one day, this is an account of a Sunday Morning Meeting….the last fellowship meeting we have recorded in the Bible.
We will note in Revelation 1:9, 10 he was a captive on the Isle of Patmos …and he was in the spirit on the Lord’s Day.
He didn’t allow the surrounding conditions to influence him…he was in the spirit…and the Lord drew near and they had a wonderful meeting.
There weren’t very many in that meeting but there was a wonderful spirit…so wonderful that it took twenty-two chapters to describe.
I couldn’t find anything He revealed to John…but he is anxious to reveal every time we come together on the Lord’s Day in the right spirit.
God intended every Sunday would be a fresh revelation of Himself, and we would think of what He has planned for His people.
John received a fresh revelation of Jesus…then he received the revelation of himself…then of what he could do to help his brethren…then a wonderful revelation of how worthwhile this thing would be sometime…a glimpse of how Rome and Babylon would fall, and the kingdom of Christ reigning over them.
He saw this thing terminating there at the city of God …we wouldn’t want to miss this for all of the world.
I don’t know anything he revealed to John, but that God would be just as anxious and for the same reasons to reveal those things to us as we come together in the spirit on the Lord’s Day.
The first thing John received was a fresh revelation of Jesus.
When you and I come together, this is the thing that concerns us most of all.
We don’t want to lose that standard or be sidestepped in our vision.
“We would see Jesus….strength, joy and willingness comes with the sight.”
Then he got a vision of himself and his desperate need and he fell at the feet of Jesus as one dead.
“I don’t have anything compared with what He had.”
This might answer a question that used to perplex me…I wondered why it was the Pharisees that have nothing, go down the street with a self-satisfied feeling.
But the Lord’s people who have everything have such a poor and needy feeling.
Why should this be?
One day I noticed……the reason the Pharisees felt so satisfied and have a glorious feeling within themselves…those they were measuring themselves by …the drunkard down the street.
Jesus told of a Pharisee who thanked God he wasn’t like other men.
He was measuring himself by the derelicts on what we would call skid row in our day.
But we don’t measure ourselves by the poor unfortunate human wrecks down the street.
But we measure by Jesus and that is why we feel poor and needy.
I would like to say in passing…anything that drives us to the feet of Jesus is a wonderful experience, no one ever perishes at the feet of Jesus.
The throne is the central theme in this.
Thirty-nine times in 31 verses it is referred to. “God on the throne…the Lamb in the midst of the throne…the river proceeding out of the throne, etc.”
The key to the understanding of the book is found in Revelation 19:6. It reads; “And I heard as it were the voice of mighty thunderings, sayings, Alleluia; for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth.”
This was in connection with the fellowship meeting.
We have all had the experience John had of coming with a consciousness of a need in our heart….the need of some kind of help…and before that meeting was over, God in one manner or another has given us help.
This is what John needed that morning more than anything else.
He was a prisoner on the Isle of Patmos …not because of wrong doing, but for the word of God and the testimony of Jesus that he had been faithful to.
I try to put myself in John’s position.
Under Domitian…that Roman Emperor…the Christians had suffered untold torture.
Many lost their lives.
They were subject to untold atrocities.
In order to show his further contempt to the poor souls that were left there….he showed further contempt by banishing John to Patmos among the worst criminals on the face of the earth.
I would imagine him saying; “Is it possible that God has planned a progress that He can’t sustain? Is it possible I have lived sixty years for something that is going to pieces right before my eyes?”
That is why God drew near and gave him a glorious picture of the throne.
He assured John this isn’t going to pieces and evil isn’t triumphing over right.
This is what He told him in that message.
These are the things that work together for good.
The ministry is going to be enriched because of this experience… you will have things to testify to nations and kings.
You will read of that in the last verse of Revelation 10: “And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many people, and nations, and tongues, and kings.”
One of the reasons we have the tendency to question the Lord’s dealings…a verse in the Old Testament I used to wonder about….Psalm 47:8. “God reigneth over the heathen.” If God is reigning, why does He let these things happen? To let these evil influences triumph like that?
The reason we have questions at all…we are looking at things from our human, limited, standpoint of view.
And God is looking from the eternal standpoint of view…and it often proves to be the best thing to happen in the long run.
And it was true on this Isle of Patmos.
It turned out to be the best thing that could happen in the long run.
We had a visiting brother with us at a convention….he talked along this line….that was his text.
The things that seem like a tragedy today turn out to be the best thing that happens in the long run.
One thing he cited was Paul’s imprisonment in Rome.
Why let that happen?
…..A useful man like Paul?
Keeping the hearts of God’s people encouraged….a useful man.
He called our attention to what Paul mentioned in Philippians 1. Paul knew these would be the questions in their minds….”I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel; so that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the place, and in all other places, etc.”
This is going to work out fine, don’t worry about the outcome.
The bonds….not the Roman chains…but the bond that bound him to Christ and helped him to continue so faithfully, nearly everyone in the place has heard about this, even those in the courtyard and in the praetorian.
“All the saints salute you, chiefly they that are Caesar’s household.”(Philippians 4:22)
How would the Gospel have got to the household of Caesar if God hadn’t used that reason to send it?
Some of the most helpful letters Paul wrote were written in prison. He wouldn’t have had time to have written in so much detail in many of his busy days….but he had time in prison.
Some of the most valuable letters we have access to today.
That event that seemed like a tragedy at the moment – was a blessing that reaches down to your and my day.
If we find ourselves sometimes in a situation where we begin to wonder and worry, let us remind ourselves of the fact that what seems like a tragedy today will turn out to be the best thing that ever happened.
Just before Jesus left….He gathered all His disciples together….told them about distress in the religious world, etc: And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. Matthew 24:6.
Mark that verse, it might come in handy to you if your faith is tried in future days.
He left the thought…..nothing is going to happen unless the Lord allows it.
“The Lord omnipotent reigns.”
It is going to be for the good of His people and the welfare of His Kingdom.
That His own plan and purpose might go forward.
As long as the Lord reigns all is well.
That is the message.
He left because He knew they were facing what they thought would be the tragedy of all tragedies.
Just a few hours after this Jesus found Himself before Pilate, and Pilate looking down from his throne and gloating in His face; “Know you not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee?”
And Jesus looked up into the face of that poor fellow, and He said to him; “You could have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above.”
And He surely wouldn’t give power to people like that.
I Timothy 6:14-15. He said; “That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ; which in His times He shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.”
The Lord would come back again….this is the way God would terminate those things….He will send His Son back and He will prove that this is that “Blessed and only Potentate, the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords; who only hath immortality, etc.”
It is easy for these little puppets to lift their heads and get the world alarmed about what they are going to do.
But the time is coming God is going to rise to the occasion, and He is going to send His Son back again…and He is going to prove to the whole world who is this blessed and only Potentate, the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.”
You can understand why God gave this vision to John when there was so much to try his faith.
Is this going to pass away and wrong triumph over right?
And He gave him some wonderful pictures of the throne.
This is among the ‘all things that work together for good.’
And the means He uses to bring about the fulfillment of His plan.
The throne is the central theme of Revelation; but the Lamb is the central figure.
Twenty-seven times you read of Jesus the Lamb of God, and the full provision God is making for us through Him.
The Lord is taking care of the opposition….over ruling the powers of men in the world as the Lord God omnipotent.
Through the Lamb of God, at the same time, He is meeting the needs of His people.
They will have no distress but there will be everything to keep them going until the day the Lord comes back to take them out of this world.
It’s a wonderful thing….about this provision.
Revelation 14.
The Lamb as our example…you read of those who followed Him whither so ever He went.
You read of them ending up at the right hand of God….rejoicing with the song that will never cease.
This takes us back to the time when Jesus first made His appearance among God’s people ….. “Behold, the Lamb of God, that takes away the sin of the world.”
Comfort that God has actually sent a fulfillment….the real Lamb has now come to take away the sins of the world.
But the next day when John looked upon Jesus as He walked, he said: “Behold the Lamb of God!”
He didn’t finish…but we know what was in his mind….he was saying, “Behold the Lamb of God, which takes away the confusion of the world.”
It is a wonderful thing to think He took away sin…but by His walk and the pathway He marked before them…He was taking away the confusion of the world.
The world was in an awful confused state at that time…the Pharisees and Sadducees and Alexandrines, etc., etc. all reading the same word of God….but all pulling in different directions.
What a wonderful comfort when he introduced Jesus that day as He walked.
We can be thankful today…we would be left among the confusion of the world … among those that do not believe in Jesus.
Revelation 14:4, we read of those rejoicing around the throne.
How did they get there?
By following the Lamb whithersoever He goes.
The One that was sent into the world…that takes away the confusion of the world.
Here were these people who had followed the Lamb…they had accepted this as God’s answer to their confused prayers…they hadn’t defiled themselves with the false church that professed to be the bride of Christ but followed the teachings of men.
Why follow the movements that only added to the confusion of the world?
They followed Him.
And it had led them safely through every experience of life…through the valley of shadow of death and the darkness of the tomb…and they rejoicing in the fulfillment of the words of Jesus: “I am the way, the truth and the life…no one comes to the Father but by me.”
They had followed and it led them to the Father.
There are a lot of religious leaders today that draw a following after them….all they find at the end of their journey is a silent tomb…to the disappointment of a silent tomb.
We were in Pakistan at a convention, five years ago.
We saw a plane load of people coming in who had been making a pilgrimage to Mohammed’s tomb.
They had a belief that if they could go there, there would be a special blessing and they would come back a different people.
Many of those poor souls saved what little pittance they had, to go.
If you ever saw a dejected people in your life…the people coming off that plane that day….but all they saw was a silent tomb.
Can we not be thankful to our Father for this Lamb of God, the one who walked to show us how to walk?
“Behold the Lamb of God, that takes away the confusion of the world.”
We are thankful that in following Him, it not only leads us safely through every experience of life…not only through the silent tomb, but triumphantly out the other side.
These were the first ones….and they proved it worked.
Any one of you here can safely reach that….if we just follow the Lamb whithersoever He goes.
Revelation 17
This is just referring to the Lamb as our Defender….the world powers were united at this time against the Lamb….it looked like the hope of God’s people was entirely shattered…but He overcame because He was Lord of Lords and King of Kings.
This is left on record to remind us, if we are willing to follow the Lamb where He goes….in hearty fellowship with the Lamb, the Lamb will defend us…because He is Lord of Lords and King of Kings.
And He has never lost a man and He won’t lose you either if you fall down at His feet.
I haven’t the least idea what the opposition will be in the future.
We have this assurance throughout the scripture….that nothing is going to arise in the future that will hinder or interfere with God’s promises to His people.
We heard from the 40th of Isaiah.
I don’t know of any portion that helps me understand the greatness of God more…..
verse15….it speaks of the opposition…..”All the nations are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of the balance: behold, he taketh up the isles as a very little thing.”
“With my power at your disposal, with MY hand to lead you, it doesn’t make any difference what opposition you have….let all the nations form together….with an amalgamated front…this isn’t but a drop of a bucket.”
You take a drop of water out of the bucket and it doesn’t faze the picture at all.
That wouldn’t make a bit of difference.
“My promises to you would be just as real and wonderful as they ever could be.”
Revelation 17
These people were proving that in their experiences that day….even what all these powers represented…they represented the united powers of the forces against them…they came expecting to overwhelm the Lamb.
They didn’t realize the meek Lamb was in reality the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
The Lamb overcame them….and those in close fellowship shared in victory.
It was a wonderful victory that was gained that day.
The secret of this whole picture….God was revealing this to John in that meeting that day…the reason we want to learn….may it be the outstanding lesson we carry from this convention….not because of what I am saying…but what we have heard from the different ones…keep close to the Lamb and close to His footsteps…in the center of His will, and the Lamb will keep you.
We had a servant with us from Norway …he brought out a thought concerning prayer that was a good help.
When we go to pray….a lot of things are accomplished…but remember what we are really doing is just submitting ourselves to the Lord….making a fresh surrender…
he called our attention in to Matthew 6.When you pray go into the closet and pray to the Father in secret and…..Your Father which sees in secret will reward thee openly.
When we go to pray we are conscious of our Father hearing us…we know His eye is on the righteous and His ear is open to their cry.
The thing that reaches the heart of God most is what He sees….He sees that person….maybe it is in the morning, and they are on their knees before Him….and that is a wonderful assurance to Him that they have turned their life over to me another day and I can do anything necessary to meet their needs. And at the end of the day…He looks down and sees that person on their knees again….it is a wonderful thing, He can take care of them during the night.
This associates itself with the morning and evening sacrifice in the Old Testament.
When we kneel before the bed in the morning….that is the morning sacrifice…so that He can take us and bless us and control the situation.
In the evening when we get down…we are making the evening sacrifice….giving Him control of the situation.
When God looks down from Heaven….’He sees in secret.’
That brings a comfort to His heart…that is worth more to Him than many words we could utter….though we desire to take advantage of the privilege of uttering words at a time like that….the Father that sees in secret will reward that openly.
This should be the burning purpose of our heart….to keep our hearts in that secret place close to the heart of God….keeping ourselves in that little sanctuary…walking closely in His footprints…close to the Lamb.
It doesn’t make any difference, any form of opposition in the future….it is just a drop in the bucket…the Lamb will come…if we are close to Him we are going to share in the victory…He has never lost a battle and He won’t lose you either if you keep close to His side.
Revelation 19:6, “And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings saying, Alleluia; for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.” He gave John that wonderful vision…the kingdom of this world had been turned over to Christ…the Lord was still reigning…”let us be glad and rejoice, and give honor to Him; for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His wife hath made herself ready.”
The example of the Lamb means so much …. protection…and defense….but beyond everything else…the love of the Lamb….the love of the Bridegroom for His bride….the greatest love the world has ever known is her portion to enjoy throughout eternity.
Questions have been asked; What makes this fellowship of yours work?
They were aware of this working.
They never saw anything working on a wholesale basis like this.
We took them to Galatians 5:6. “Faith which worketh by love.”
It works because the love of God has gripped our hearts.
There is no greater compelling force and source of joy than….that love of God.
This fellowship has been a way of love from eternity to eternity.
Jesus spoke of love that existed before the foundation of the world.
This wonderful fellowship was planned in that love.
It was introduced to the world through love….established on the earth by love…and since that time, held together by love….the culmination of the wonderful story of salvation.
Remember the story of the Titanic….that immense liner they thought was unsinkable.
It was said; Even God Himself couldn’t sink this ship.
The first trip out….before the trip was over, it struck an iceberg, and it didn’t take very long….it went down.
According to the record, there were three honeymoon couples on board that ship.
When the women and children were ordered into the lifeboats…according to the man who wrote…the bride and groom couldn’t let go…when they were in the water they were fondly clasped in each other’s arms…the love that bound them to each other was stronger than death.
That is human love.
But divine love….no wonder the Lord’s people are held together, the world over, with a love like that binding them.
This is the end toward which God is working.
Maybe circumstances along the way…will turn out to be the best thing that ever happened…preparing us for that last place…when the bride has made herself ready and enters into that eternal dominion with Him.
Revelation 7. You see that group of people with the Lamb in Glory…the angel asked John, Who are these?
He said, I don’t know.
“These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”
The word ‘tribulation’ is taken from the Latin word ‘tribulum’; it was the old flail….the old primitive meaning of separating the chaff from the wheat.
The flail to beat out the grain to separate the wheat from the chaff.
So, when you read of tribulation in the Bible…remember, tribulation and separation are synonymous terms.
Maybe He uses one form or another to accomplish His purpose.
Paul said, “We must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God.”
When we should be gathered together…and you would be doing so this morning if you were at home and like John on the Isle of Patmos that day…would be partaking of the bread and the cup.
When you partake of that bread…I don’t know what it means to you…all that I see when I look upon that bread is separation…many kernels of wheat separated.
That separated grain that made possible this bread….the emblem of the body of Jesus.
I get a fresh glimpse of all the separation in His life that He might be to you and me what He is.
When I partake of that there is a deep thankfulness in my heart for that One who was willing for the separation.
When I take a bite of that….I am testifying that I am willing for the same separation.
When we are willing for the separation, the Lord hands us the cup.
The bread then the wine, that is the order.
When we partake of that emblem and are willing for the separation pictured in that bread, then there is the cup.
Here we find these people rejoicing before the Lord…they go there….by being willing for the separation…the privilege of partaking of the cleansing.
Now they are rejoicing…and waiting for the time when the great reunion takes place.
Paul said; “To die and be with Christ is far better.”
Where are they?
They died?
I don’t know of any other verse that gives a better picture…some have already gone to be with Christ which is far better…some of us waiting to go.
Ephesians 1:9-10, “God has made known unto us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He hath purposed in Himself; that in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ which are in Heaven, and which are on Earth; even in Him.”
The end to which He is working…in the dispensation of time….both which are in Heaven and on Earth.
That is the great reunion that will take place some day.
Those that are gone on and those that follow…will all be together.
I like to think of it as a convention that will never end.
Those on earth and those in Heaven gathered together.
The only part about conventions I don’t fully enjoy is the separation.
Four days of wonderful fellowship…and so much to enjoy and rejoice in…and then you have to go out and face the world again.
That is the only part I don’t relish.
I wonder if you can visualize what Paul was speaking of in Ephesians 1: 9, 10?
Those still on the earth waiting to go…the time when we will all be gathered together as one…that great convention that will never end.
If a convention like this means so much to us, try to think of what that will be like.
The culmination of what God is working for.
We thank God He is the Almighty God Omnipotent on the throne.
But we can just rejoice as much that He has made the full provision for us through the Lamb until we are taken…
So that when the day comes, we will find ourselves rejoicing among those that are among that throng.
Truth Archive 