Let us turn to God's Word in
the chapter that we read. The opening chapter in the book
of the Revelation. And directing your attention
to words that we find here in verse 10. Revelation chapter
1 and verse 10. John declares, I was in the Spirit
on the Lord's day and heard behind me a great voice as of a trumpet. Revelation chapter 1 and verse
10. I was in the Spirit on the Lord's
day and heard behind me a great voice as of a trumpet. Observe the various parts of
the verse and the connection that we have between these separate
parts. and tells us it was the Lord's
Day, or the Lordly Day, more literally. That day upon which
Christ is clearly seen to be sovereign. He's not the Son of
Man, Lord of the Sabbath, and He is that One, of course, who
has changed the day, the Sabbath, in the Old Testament was to be
observed on the seventh day, that day that God himself had
sanctified, having completed his work of creation in six days. He rested, we're told, on the
seventh day and he set that day apart, a creation ordinance,
but now Under the Gospel in the New Testament we do not observe
the seventh day, we observe this day, the Lord's Day, the first
day of the week, that very day upon which Christ rose again
from the dead. He had finished all that great
work of redemption, a far greater work than that of creation. He had made an end of sin. He had made reconciliation for
iniquity. The work was done. And so he rises again on that
first day of the week. It was the Christian Sabbath.
It was the Lord's Day. And John says he was in the Spirit,
or to be in the Spirit on the Lord's Day. And except we are
in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, we can never expect to find any
blessing in the day. The mere observance of the day
in and of itself is of no use to us. External things of themselves
will not minister to the needs of our souls. We need to know
the Holy Spirit. We just sang of that, of course,
in that lovely hymn of Isaac Watts. We need that ministry,
that gracious working, those sovereign operations of the Spirit
of God upon our own spirits. What are we without the Spirit?
All our worship is but an outward show. except the Spirit Himself
is pleased to come and take those various means of grace that God
in His goodness has ordained and the Spirit is pleased to
apply the truth to us. John was in the Spirit, it says.
I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day. And then here is the blessed
consequence. He hears the voice He hears a
great voice, he says, as of a trumpet. And what is it that he is hearing?
It is the voice of the Lord Jesus Christ himself that he is favoured
with. Christ comes and Christ speaks
with him there in exile, cut off from all fellowship with
his fellow believers, persecuted, on that isle of Padmas and yet
men could not keep Christ from him. Christ came and Christ spoke
to him and that voice of Christ of course is really the revelation
of the Lord Jesus Christ as we see in the opening words the
revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave unto him to show unto
his servants things which must shortly come to pass and he sent
and signified it by his angel unto his servant John. Now the
voice comes to the aged apostle John there in the Isle of Patmos
and so Tonight I want us simply to consider this voice, the voice
of Christ, the voice of Christ. I was in the Spirit on the Lord's
Day and heard behind me a great voice as of a trumpet. And to consider some three aspects
with regards to this voice that is so much associated with the
revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ. First of all, we see
that the revelation is one that comes by science. It comes by science. And that
is indicated quite clearly there in the opening verse of the book. He sent, it says, and signified
it. he sent and signified it by his
angel unto his servant John." And the word that we have signified
is clearly one that comes from the word for a sign. In fact, it's the word that we
have used repeatedly in the Gospel according to John in reference
to the miracles. As we said before, There in John
the particular word that's translated miracle is literally the Greek
word for a sign, this beginning of miracles, this beginning of
signs. Did Jesus in Cana of Galilee
and manifested forth his glory and his disciples believed on
him. We read in John chapter 2. The miracles were a sign. pointing
to Him as that One who has authority, that One who has been sent by
God. Miracles are a sign pointing
to Him as that One who has all divine authority. He is the promised
Messiah. He is the true Prophet. He is
speaking the words of God. Miracles are not an end in themselves. They are a sign that should direct
us continually to consider the person and the ministry of the
one who is performing those miracles. And here, as I said, it's the
same word that we have in John's Gospel. John comes to write these
things that he had received in this, the book of the Revelation. He tells us He sent and signified
it. And so when we come to examine
the content of the book, what do we discover? Why Revelation
is a book that is full of signs. It's a book that is full of symbols
right at the outset. As John sends the greetings to
those seven churches of Asia Minor, as is the wont with the
apostles. He sends greetings, of course,
in the names of all the persons of the Godhead. It's a Trinitarian
greeting that we have here in verses 4 and 5. John to the seven
churches which are in Asia, grace be unto you and peace from him
which is and which was and which is to come that is God the Father,
and from the seven spirits which are before his throne, that is
God the Holy Spirit, and from Jesus Christ who is the faithful
witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of
the kings of the earth, that is God the Son. But see how immediately,
in sending the familiar greeting, the triune greeting, Speaking
of the persons of the Godhead, Father, Son and Holy Spirit,
he uses symbolic language. He doesn't speak of the Holy
Spirit at the end of verse 4, he speaks of the seven spirits,
which are before his throne. Not that there are seven Holy
Spirits. There is but one Holy Spirit,
God the Holy Spirit. But the language is symbolic,
and the number is symbolic, seven. the number of perfection reminded
of that perfect work of the Spirit when he goes on subsequently
to give a description of what he sees, he hears the voice the
great voice as of the sound of a trumpet and then he turns to
see the voice that's made, he says in verse 12 and being turned
he sees the seven golden candlesticks and then in the midst of the
candlesticks there is one like unto the son of man and he describes
the vision that he beholds clothed with a garment down to the foot,
girt about the paps with a golden girdle. His head and his hairs
were white like wall as white as snow, his eyes were as a flame
of fire, his feet were like undefined brass as if they burned in a
furnace, his voice as the sound of many waters. The language
is so rich, such a rich figure that he is using. The language
is highly symbolic, it speaks to us of the glories that belong
to the risen and ascended and exalted Saviour. And when subsequently
he goes on to speak more concerning the Lord Jesus, he speaks of
Him as a Lamb, remember. In chapter 5, and there in verse 6, I beheld
and lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in
the midst of the elders stood a lamb as it had been slain,
having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits
of God sent forth into all the earth." Here is a lamb and it
bears the mark of slaughter and it has seven eyes and seven horns. The language is so symbolic. The horn of course speaks of
his great power. And that is perfect power, seven
horns. And that eye, why it's an all-seeing
and an all-searching eye. Here in the vision, in the opening
chapter, he speaks of his eyes as a flame of fire. When he speaks
of seven eyes, it shows, does it not, how that eye is all-seeing
and all-searching. Here is a revelation then, in
this particular book. It's highly symbolic. And of course, if we're going
to rightly interpret what is written in the revelation, we
have to bear that constantly in mind. We're not literalists in a non-biblical
sense. We are literalists when we come
to read that which is written as history, as we find it in
the opening chapters of the book of Genesis. That's a historic
account of God's work of creation. But the book of Revelation is
a book that is full of symbol and sign. And God uses this as
a means whereby he gives this particular revelation to John. He sent and signified it. But then we have to observe in
the second place that the book of the Revelation is part and
parcel of the canon of Scripture. What we have here is the Word
of God, and there is revelation, of course. God reveals himself
principally through his Word. He reveals himself through his
Word. And as it continues here in verse
2, "...who bear record of the Word of God." John is bearing
record of the Word of God. That is the written Word. And he is speaking here of the
Lord Jesus, it's the revelation of Jesus Christ. And this is
the amazing thing that the Lord Jesus Christ, of course, is the
incarnate Word. In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. That is the
opening verse of the Gospel, according to the same apostle,
John. and then he goes on to tell us in that opening chapter
of his gospel, the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us and
we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the
Father full of grace and truth. We are familiar with these various
verses of Scripture. Christ is the Word of God and
the Word has been manifest in the flesh. Well that's the great
mystery of Godliness, is it not? God, the Eternal Son, became
a man in the fullness of the time. He is the Word. And Joseph
Hart reminds us how the Scriptures and the Lord bear one tremendous
name, the written and incarnate Word in all things are the same. What do we have here in Scripture?
We have Christ and here we have the very voice of the Lord Jesus
Christ. The words of the text. John says
he heard behind him a great voice as of a trumpet. Going verse 15, his voice, he
says, was as the sound of many waters. as the sound of a roaring
waterfall. It was a voice. And that voice
of course associated with works and a revelation. We see imagery time and time
again here. Look at how we read of a the
sword that comes out of his mouth. In chapter 19 and verse 15, out
of his mouth goeth the sharp sword, it says. That's associated again with
his voice, the words. we think of the language of Paul
in Hebrews chapter 4 how the Word of God is quick and powerful
and sharper than any two-edged sword piercing to the dividing
asunder of soul and spirit and of the joints and marrow and
is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart that
sharp two-edged sword we can understand it in terms of the
Word of God, God's Word, how it penetrates, how it cuts When
God deals with us as sinners and brings us under his Holy
Lord and makes us to see what sin is, and not only to see but
to feel it, he cuffs, he convinces. But there in Hebrews chapter
4 it can be argued that exegetically, really, the word that is being
spoken of by the apostle is not so much the word of Scripture
but more particularly there he is speaking of the Word incarnate,
he is speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ, and we see that from
the way in which the chapter continues. Verse 12, we have
the Word of God, which is quick and powerful, and sharper than
any two-edged sword, and so forth. And then verse 13, neither is
there any creature that is not manifest in his sight. personal pronoun, his side, the
reference is to a person, which person? Verse 14, seeing then
that we have a great high priest that is passed into the heavens,
Jesus, the Son of God. It is Christ who is spoken of
there as that that sword that pierces to the
dividing asunder of soul and of spirit or the Lord Jesus. He's that one then through whom
God has spoken, God has revealed himself. The revelation really
comes through words. Now this is the revelation that
is, we're told, committed unto Christ. Those are significant
words, are they not, at the beginning. The revelation of Jesus Christ
which God gave unto Him. It was given by God, this revelation,
unto the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. And that shows us here His subjection
to the Father in terms of the revelation. Now as the Eternal
Son of God, We must never lose sight of the fact that He is
equal to the Father. He is always equal to the Father. See how the Father is spoken
of in verse 4 in that Trinitarian greeting. Grace be unto you and
peace from Him which is and which was and which is to come. As we said, that's a reference
to the Father. But how is the Son spoken of?
Verse 8, I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending,
saith the Lord which is and which was and which is to come, the
Almighty. Again, verse 11, we read of Him
saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last. The same
language is used to describe the Son as defined being employed
as descriptive of the Father. They are equal. I and my Father
are one, says the Lord Jesus Christ. How does he answer Philip? When Philip asks, show us the
Father and it suffices us. He that hath seen me hath seen
the Father. That's what the Lord says to
Philip. He that hath seen me hath seen
the Father. or there is a blessed unity,
is there not? Though there be three persons,
Father, Son and Holy Spirit, God is one. And the people, the persons rather,
in the Godhead are all co-eternal and they are all co-equal. But then when we think as we
Habitia, in the opening words of this book, when we think in
terms of the covenant, and think in terms of the Son as the promised
Messiah and the mediator, we see how the Christ comes as that
One who is the Lord God's servant. Behold My servant, says God,
My servant whom I uphold, Mine elect. in whom my soul delighteth,
they have put my spirit upon him." He's the anointed one,
he's the Messiah. Here is the revelation of Jesus
Christ, which God gave unto him. And so, when we see the Lord
Jesus exercising his earthly ministry, he says, my Father
is greater than I. He is in this world as one who
is clearly subject unto the Father and as such he comes as that
one who is going to give the full and final revelation of
God. He is that great prophet. That
great prophet. That one who is the fulfilment
of the prophetic office. We have the ministry of the prophets
there in the Old Testament. The law given by Moses, what
is the ministry of the prophets, why they are those men who expound
that law of God, who apply that law of God to the nation of Israel,
to the law and to the testimony. Says Isaiah, if they speak not
according to this word, it is because there is no light in
them. Here is the prophetic office, and Moses is the great promulgator
of the Lord is the true prophet of God. But what does God say? In Deuteronomy 18 and verse 18,
I will raise them up a prophet from among their brethren like
unto thee. This is God speaking to Moses.
Here is the promise of a greater prophet. I will raise them up
a prophet from among their brethren like unto thee and will put my
words in his mouth and he shall speak unto them all that I shall
command him." The Lord Jesus is our prophet. God's words are
put in his mouth. And what does he speak? He speaks
all those words that God had commanded him. And so there in
John chapter 3 and verse 34, "...he whom God hath sent speaketh
the words of God." You see what the Lord Jesus does this revelation. It is my word. He speaks the
words of God. My doctrine or my teaching, he
says, is not mine, but he is that sent me. Why he is himself, of course,
the very testimony of prophecy. The testimony of prophecy is
that that we see in the Lord Jesus Christ himself again later
in this book, in chapter 19, and there at verse 10. The testimony of Jesus is the
spirit of prophecy. All prophecy centers in Christ,
in His person, and in His work. Yes, God spoke by prophets in
the Old Testament, but all leading up to this great culmination
that arrives with the appearance of Christ. When Paul writes to
the Hebrews in the opening verses of that epistle, he reminds us,
does he not, of that blessed the truth God who at sundry times
and in diverse manner spake in time passed unto the fathers
by the prophets as in these last days spoken unto us by His Son. Oh, it is the revelation which
God gave unto Him, which God gave unto the Lord Jesus Christ
Himself. He speaks the words of God. And as he speaks the words of
God, so here we see that he is also that one who is unfolding
all the works of God. He unfolds all the works of God.
He is the one who opens up the providences of God. It's not just that he has authority
to speak God's words, He is that one who is reigning as the mediator
and executing all the works of God. We see reference to the
sovereignty of God back in Acts chapter 1 and verse 6 where the disciples ask the Lord
saying Lord, without this time restore again the kingdom to
Israel. And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the
times or the seasons which the Father hath put in his own power. It is not for you to know the
times and the seasons they belong unto God. It's the sovereignty
of God. The Lord says, furthermore, in the Gospel, concerning that
day of that day and that hour, knoweth no man, no, not the angels
which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Father. But you see how in the outworking
of that covenant in which the Son so willingly becomes the
servant of the Father, in the outworking of these things, we
see that Christ is that one who actually now has authority to
unfold the providences of God. And this is the significance
of what we're told later in Revelation chapter 5, where we have that
book, that scroll, that is sealed with seven seals. Again, we have
the reference of this perfect number of seven. John says, I
saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book,
written within and on the backside, it's a scroll, sealed with seven
seals. And I saw a strong angel proclaiming
with a loud voice, who is worthy to open the book and to loose
the seals thereof. And no man in heaven nor in earth,
neither under the earth, was able to open the book, neither
to look thereon. And I wept much. because no man
was found worthy to open and to read the book, neither to
look thereon. But one of the elders said unto
me, Weep not, behold the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root
of David hath prevailed to open the book and to loose the seven
seals thereof. And subsequently we see it is
Christ who opens the book, who unfolds all the providence of
God. You see, it is, as we have it
here in the opening verse, the revelation of Jesus Christ which
God gave unto him to show unto his servant things which must
shortly come to pass. He has authority to show to John
the things that are to come to pass. Verse 19, writes, the things
which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things
which shall be hereafter. Oh, he doesn't simply speak God's
words, this one. He is able also to unfold all
God's providences. He has authority. All power,
he says, is given unto me. in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore and teach all
nations. You know the language of the
Great Commission, the end of Matthew's Gospel. All power,
all authority is given to the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul says
God has put all things, all things under his feet. And is that one who is therefore
the head over all things to the church? which is His body, the
fullness of Him that filleth all in all. He is head over all
things to the Church. All this revelation that God
has committed into the hands of His Son, the glorified Saviour
Jesus Christ. He speaks the words of God. He
unfolds the works of God. What of us? Why? We should be
those who are diligent in comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
We should compare God's word with God's way, should we not?
In the 107th Psalm we're told how the wise man behaves, he
observes these things. Whoso is wise and will observe
these things shall understand the loving kindness of the Lord.
But how foolish we are, we do not bring God's Word to bear
upon every matter as we ought. We would understand the ways
of God, we must be familiar with the words of God. And of course
we must be those who are intimate with the Lord Jesus Christ Himself,
that One to whom all this authority has been committed. Oh, this
is what John beholds, he sees something of the glories of the
exalted Savior. I was in the Spirit on the Lord's
Day. For to be in the Spirit and to
know Him who is the Spirit of Christ, who comes to reveal to
us something of the glories of the Savior, I was in the Spirit
and I heard behind me the great voice as of a trumpet. But this is not just a revelation
that has been committed to the Lord Jesus Christ. It's more
than that. This revelation actually concerns
the Lord Jesus Christ himself. This revelation centers in the
Lord Jesus Christ. The revelation of Jesus Christ,
which God gave unto him. It doesn't simply indicate here
that it is It's Christ's possession, not just the genitive of possession
here, the revelation of Jesus Christ. Like I might say of my
glasses, the glasses of every saint, they belong to me. This revelation is given to Christ
by God, it belongs to him. But then we can also understand
the words in this sense, it concerns the Lord Jesus Christ, it's the
revealing. It's the revealing of the Lord
Jesus Christ. It's the unfolding of Christ.
It's the making of Jesus Christ known. We can understand it in
that sense, can we not? He is the image of the invisible
God. He is the brightness of His glory
and He is the express image of His person. All Christ, you see,
is the very subject matter of the revelation. The revelation
of Jesus Christ. We know, we've already made mention
of the fact that the Lord is given by Moses. And as I said,
those prophets in the Old Testament, here was the test whereby you
could establish the faithfulness of the prophetic ministry to
the Law and to the Testament. If they speak not according to
this Word, it is because there is no light in them. The Law was given by Moses, but
grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. Oh, it's those glories
that excel the law. Those glories that excel the
law. Doesn't Paul speak of it there
in 2 Corinthians 3? He draws a contrast
between law and gospel, speaks of himself and those associated
with him as able ministers of the New Testament. He says, not
of the letter, but of the Spirit, for the letter killeth, but the
Spirit giveth life. But if the ministration of death,
written and engraven in stone, was glorious so that the children
of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for
the glory of his countenance, Remember how he veiled his face
because it so shone as he'd been in the mount with God. But he
says, you see, there is a glory that exalteth. And so that glory
of the Lord is done away. How shall not the ministration
of the Spirit be rather glorious, he asks. If the ministration
of condemnation be glory, much more does the ministration of
righteousness exceed in glory. Read carefully through those
verses in 2nd Corinthians chapter 3. All the glory that excels. It's the glory of the gospel.
And this is what we have in the revelation of Jesus Christ. The
law is given by Moses. Grace and truth comes by Jesus
Christ. And so John, in the Spirit on
the Lord's Day, hears behind him a great voice. He says, a
great voice as of a trumpet. Or does it not remind us of the
language of Isaiah, the great evangelical prophet there in
the Old Testament? The end of Isaiah 27, it shall
come to pass in that Oh, what day is that day? It's the Gospel
Day. As you know, this is the terminology
that is used so many times in reference to this day of grace
in which we are favoured to live our lives. It shall come to pass
in that day that the great trumpet shall be blown and they shall
come which were ready to perish in the land of Assyria and the
outcast in the land of Egypt and shall worship the Lord in
the Holy Mount at Jerusalem. Why? It's the Gospel and it's
the calling of sinners of the Gentiles. It's those from Assyria,
those from Egypt, we can understand it in terms of the call to Gentile
nations, but also we think of course in terms of Israel. and Israel there in bondage in
Egypt and Israel there in exile when they are taken from the
promised land and taken into Assyria, taken into Babylon but
God will call His people and God does call His people He hears
their sighs and He hears their groanings, does He not? How tremendous
are those words that we have at the end of Exodus chapter
2 just previous to Moses being in the backside of the desert
in the third chapter and receiving his call and his commission when
the Lord comes and speaks to him there at the mansion of God
even Horeb but just previous to Exodus chapter 3 We read this,
he came to pass in process of time that the king of Egypt died
and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage and
they cried and their cry came up unto God by reason of the
bondage and God heard their groaning and God remembered his covenant
with Abraham and with Isaac and with Jacob and God looked upon
the children of Israel and God had respect unto them and then
we come to the call that's given to Moses to be their deliverer
but how they sighed and they cried and God heard their groaning
and God remembered his covenant oh this is the grace of God is
it not and we find so often that words fail us we cannot begin
to articulate what we want to say to God we grow within ourselves
and yet God hears and God answers It's the gospel trumpet that
is being spoken of, you see. It's those ready to perish in
the lands of Assyria and of Egypt. God comes and God delivers. But here we see quite clearly
it's not enough, is it? It's certainly not enough just
to hear outwardly. There must always be that inward
work, that work of the Blessed Spirit. God who commanded the
light to shine out of darkness shines in the heart to give that
light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus
Christ. It's the Spirit. And so whilst
here in this book we have a revelation that is given by means of signs
and symbols And yet ultimately, it's part of the Scriptures,
and we see that God reveals himself by his Word, and in his Word,
but don't we need that revelation that comes by the ministry of
the Holy Spirit? I was in the Spirit, says John. Oh, how vital it is! How vital
it is to be those who know that blessed work of the Spirit. And from whence does the Spirit
come? Well, Christ tells us. Christ
tells us. In those chapters, those familiar
chapters in John, where he speaks much of his own departing, though
it is necessary that he go away, otherwise the Spirit will not
come to him. What does Christ say? He speaks of the Comforter.
which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name."
Oh, there we have it, it's Trinitarian again. The Father will send the
Spirit, says Christ, in my name. He will come from the Father
and from the Son, but He will come principally in the name
of the Son. He has His blessed work to do,
does He not? all that sealing of the Spirit,
He seals the whole work of redemption that work that was purposed by
God the Father and that work that was accomplished by God
the Son, that salvation that the Son procured by His obedience
why that work of Father and Son must all be sealed as we have
it in Ephesians chapter 1 and verse 13 in whom ye also trusted
after ye heard the word of truth the gospel of your salvation
in whom also after the jubilee ye were sealed with that Holy
Spirit of promise which is the earnest of our inheritance until
the redemption of the purchased possession unto the praise of
His glory and doesn't Paul go on later in Ephesians to say
grieve not the Holy Spirit of God whereby ye are sealed unto
the day of redemption. Oh God forbid that we should
grieve the Spirit of God and we need the Spirit. We need that
revelation that comes by the Spirit. As I say, He applies
the salvation. He makes the salvation real in
the soul's experience. Yes, salvation is the great purpose
of God or that great eternal predestination wherein God made
choice of the people. Sovereign, passing over a multitude,
setting His love upon one and yet passing over another, the
mystery of it all. The eternal predestination of
God, the Father. That's in eternity. And then
in the fullness of the time, God sends forth His Son, made
of a woman, made under the law to redeem them that were under
the law. the great redemption and salvation accomplished historically. It has its place in history.
It's the outworking of what God had purposed in eternity. But
what was eternal and what is historical must also become experimental,
must be brought home and it is the work of the Spirit, is it
not? I was in the Spirit, says John. And what does the Spirit do when
He has come? When He has come, He will reprove
the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment. Of sin, because
you believe not on me. Of righteousness, because I go
to my Father and you see me no more. Of judgment, because the
Prince of this world is judged. always the convincing Spirit,
but not only the convincing Spirit. Is He not also the Comforter?
Is He not the Spirit of Christ? He will guide you, says Christ,
into all truth. He shall not speak of Himself,
He shall take of mine, and shall show it unto you. He is God,
He's equal with the Son, He's equal with the Father, and yet
all His ministry is so self-effacing. He comes to exalt Christ. How
we need that gracious ministry of the Holy Spirit. Look at Paul
again when he writes there in the second chapter of 1 Corinthians.
Verse 10 he says, God hath revealed Him unto us by His Spirit. God
hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit. For the Spirit searcheth
all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth
the things of a man, sayeth the Spirit of man which is in him?
Even so the things of God knoweth no man but by the Spirit of God. We can know nothing of the things
of God. We can know nothing of God. and
God's Word and God's ways, we can know nothing but by the Spirit. He must come, He must reveal
these things. And it's experimental, it's inward, it's in the soul.
And how Paul knew it, he pleads God, he says, to reveal His Son
in me. And as I've said, there's so
much doctrine there in those little prepositions. He doesn't
just reveal His Son to me, Paul says. He revealed His Son in
me. It's an inward revelation. And
this is what John experienced there. I know there's much so
mysterious in the book. Calvin thought so. Calvin never
even attempted a commentary on the book of the Revelation. It
is full of mysterious things, but all this blessed simplicity. It was all made real in John's
soul, was it not? How was it so? It was the Spirit.
I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day. God grant that we might
be those who know what it is, Lord's Day by Lord's Day, and
not just Lord's Day by Lord's Day, but all that it might be
a constant experience to be in the Spirit and to be those who
are hearing that great voice as of a trumpet, that gospel
trumpet the voice of the Lord Jesus Christ and hearing that
voice to know what it is to receive that glorious revelation to see
Christ I turned to see the voice that spoke with me and being
turned I saw seven golden candlesticks and in the midst of the seven
candlesticks one like unto the Son of Man. O God, grant that
we might see Christ by that eye of faith. The Lord to that end
bless his word to us. Amen.