Please open your Bibles to the
19th chapter of the book of Revelation. As we're opening our Bibles,
let me just say that it's a joy to be with you and the congregation
to which I belong, they would want me to send their greetings
to you. We thank the Lord for the precious
gospel entrusted to us and for the Christ who alone is our salvation,
parted by great distance, but not in Him, not in Him. I have to say that I love and
value your pastor very much and though it's necessarily been
at some distance, he has been a true friend to me and loves
at all times and an encourager in the thing that is most needful
and that is the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. So I'm thankful
for your pastor. Let's turn to this book of Revelation
here in the 19th chapter and we see a man who is the last
of the apostles, last of the apostles. He's a man in great
age. and he's a man in great isolation.
Now, in the religious world today, such a man would consider to
have been somehow unsuccessful, somehow not blessed, somehow
to have displeased his Lord, somehow to have not proven that
his ministry is worthy of the attention of the world. But this
is a man who is greatly loved of God. A man who is on the island
of Patmos alone because of the testimony of Jesus Christ. He describes himself simply as
your companion and your brother. He doesn't use any grandiose
titles and he is not a companion and brother in prosperity. He
is not a companion and brother in anything other than the tribulation
and the kingdom and the patience. of Jesus Christ, and that is
the patience of Jesus Christ, His long suffering, which is
salvation. John is sent to preach a message
that is not welcome. He is sent to preach a message
to, from what I can understand, the only seven remaining churches
in Asia. There was a great work of gospel
preaching in Asia. Not just John, but Paul the Apostle
preached there. But even by the time that the
second generation of ministry had risen up and Timothy was
called, that church in Asia, in Ephesus, Paul could write
to Timothy and say, all those who are in Asia have turned away
from me. And many years later, decades
later, after Paul has sealed his testimony with his life,
John is the last one who speaks to those churches and he's told
to write to seven of them. And they are in great danger.
The first church that he writes to is that Ephesian church, the
subject of so much blessing, so many privileges in the scripture. They are in danger of leaving
their first love. And John has a message for them
because Christ has given him a message to preach to preach
whether he is isolated and alone, to preach whether he is in the
midst of many brethren or few, to preach faithfully and to look
not at how it is received, but to the one whom he has received
it from, the one who he describes and is called upon to describe
as an inspired writer as the faithful and true Word of God,
Jesus Christ the righteous. John is a preacher of Christ
and he brings the good news, the gospel which alone is salvation,
the news over which heaven rejoices and we find that in verse 1.
After these things I heard a loud voice of a great multitude in
heaven saying, Alleluia, praise the Lord. Why? Salvation and
glory and honour and power unto the Lord our God. These things
belong to the Lord our God. Salvation, deliverance from sin,
deliverance from wrath, deliverance from judgement, doesn't belong
to any of us, doesn't belong to any man upon the earth. It belongs to our God. He has
the power. He alone is given the honour.
He alone has the glory that brings salvation. Wonderful, full, final,
endless deliverance from sin and acceptance in the sight of
God, the righteous Judge and the only Saviour. And that is
the good news. That salvation doesn't belong
to us, it's not something. that's entrusted to us, but to
God. The power that brings salvation
is not something that's present in us, but present with God. The glory of salvation is not
what we have done, but what He has done. This is the Gospel. This is what honours the Lord.
And this, as in those days in Asia, is what is so little known
in the world. So little known in the world. In John's day there was much
religion. In John's day there were many
who claimed to be preachers of the Lord Jesus Christ. And Paul,
with that typical pathos, the compassion, for once he had thought
himself a servant of the Most High God and very zealous for
the Lord of hosts and found himself to be nothing other than a self-righteous
beggar. Paul said, I tell you, even weeping,
they are the enemies of Christ. They are the enemies of Christ.
What we have before us in this chapter is two suppers, two suppers. We have the one to which there
are those who are called who are the Lamb's wife, the bride
of Christ. They're blessed, they're happy,
they're provided for, they're approved of God. That's what
that word means. Blessed are those who are called
to the marriage supper of the Lamb. And then there are those
who are called to the supper of the great God, in verse 17. And they are called to a supper
which is not blessedness, but cursedness. They are cast alive, end of verse
20. They are cast alive into the
lake of fire burning with brimstone. They are cast in with the beast
and the false prophet, these wonder workers who deceive with
great signs. And the Lord, as it were in this
pictorial language, He calls those ravenous birds of the air
to come and gather together and to feed upon their flesh. This
is a picture of absolute judgement, horrific condemnation. Who brings about these two suppers?
The one who is in the middle of this chapter, the one for
whom this whole chapter is written, that we might know him, whom
to know is life eternal. It is none other than the Word
of God. It is none other than the one upon the white horse.
It is none other than the King of all kings and the Lord of
all lords. It is Jesus Christ, the Lamb
of God. He is both Lord and Christ. He is both Judge and Saviour. He convenes two great occasions
and tonight we are called to either the one by His grace and
power and goodness and mercy or we will be inexorably drawn
to the other in His judgement and in His power and in His utter
righteousness. As I said, this Gospel is little
known in the world and we are very grateful that if any of
us have ever had the blessedness of sitting under its preaching.
Millions have not heard this message and millions will not
hear this message and they will be justly condemned for their
sin. But where this message is brought
with that power, where this message is brought with that glory, where
this message brings that salvation and all honour is ascribed to
the Lord, there is a calling to the marriage supper of the
Lamb. No matter how few in the world,
no matter how despised by the world, No matter how exiled in
the world, even John, that, you know, by today's measurements
of the success of his ministry, he wasn't doing very well, Rupert,
was he? He was on an island, alone, for the testimony of Jesus
Christ. I was walking through the airport
and I know I shouldn't do it, but I go into the bookshops and
there it was, The bestseller on the bestselling book list,
I don't even know the guy's name, and he's boasted in the 45,000
people that were in his church. On the back of the book he says,
the message that he wants to give everybody, and it all consists
in them realising what they have within themselves, and coming
to peace and fruitfulness within themselves, and revolutionising
their life by themselves. And that sort of merchandising
is the very thing that Christ has come to destroy and to judge.
We know that because the previous chapter judges the great whore,
the false religion of the world, the great system which is known
by its merchandise. It's interesting, isn't it? And the merchants of the earth
will weep and mourn over her for no one buys their merchandise
anymore. If you've got a merchandising
department in the church with which you're associated, if the
preachers that you believe are bringing you the true Word of
God have a merchandising department, there's something wrong. There's
something wrong. And the Lord sweeps that away
in the Great Judgment and Heaven rejoices over Babylon's fall
because, you see, the success of the Gospel ministry is not
measured by merchandising. And it's not measured by how
many thousands come to our church. It is measured by the success,
the victory of the warrior king, Jesus Christ. That is John's
only message, that is John's only comfort, that is John's
only mission and that is John's only salvation. When we find
him in chapter 1, the Lord comes to him and describes to him what
he has done and who he is. And John falls before his feet
as one who is dead. He tells him that in verse 8,
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, says
the Lord, who is and was and who is to come, the Almighty. John testifies of Him that He
is Jesus Christ, verse 5, the faithful witness, the firstborn
from the dead, the ruler over the kings of the earth. There
is His sovereignty and here is His sufficiency. To Him who loved
us and washed us from our sins in His own blood and has made
us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and
dominion forever and ever. Amen. And so, it is against that
backdrop that we have this scene before us in heaven. And we need,
as John needed, a work of revelation. We need something that we cannot
do to be done, just as John could not do it. We need to see heaven
opened. Because to see heaven opened
is to see things as they really are. to see things as they really
are. You see, we look upon the outward
appearance. Why do we do that? It's all we
can see. It's all we can see. We look upon the outward appearance
but God discerns the heart. He discerns the hidden things.
And here He opens to us what is hidden in heaven. And this
is not just a scene that is granted to a favoured few to lead us
down the prophetic path. This is not some secret that
belongs to just a few favoured prophets who have big merchandising
stalls and a record of success. This is a vision that is given
to every true child of God. Heaven is open for us tonight
if we know the One who is salvation, who is power, who has dominion,
to whom all honour belongs. We need heaven open so that we
don't look at things according to the outward appearance, so
that we don't look upon the things that are seen that are temporary,
but upon the unseen things that are eternal, for we cannot have
any true encouragement. We cannot have any true solace.
We cannot have any true consolation if we only see the things that
our eyes can see and hear the things that our ears can hear.
If heaven doesn't open for us, then we have never ever seen
the true Christ. Because He, rather than being
someone who is constantly defeated, wringing His hands, wishing His
people did more for Him, needing to get the world on His side,
He, rather than being a weak, pathetic figure, is the Lord
of glory and he reigns now. This is not something that is
merely going to happen at the end of time. This man saw heaven
opened and he beheld a white horse, a tremendous charger. It's picture language. This means
that the one who is seen here is the commander of all the Lord's
hosts. He's seated upon a powerful steed. He's the leader of a glorious
army. He has many crowns. His eyes
are like a flame of fire. And in righteousness, he judges
and makes war, makes war. The kings of the earth today,
the governments, our western world, the eastern world, whatever,
there is war being made and we are constantly taken up with
what our eyes can see, what our ears hear. But there is a war
that is being made that is not known to the kings of this earth.
that is not known to any of us if we are merely sinners rather
than sinners saved by grace. And that war has been going on
from the beginning of mankind's creation and it will be consummated
and a final peace declared at the end of that old creation
and the beginning of a new creation. The victory has already been
won. the great battle that shattered the enemy and established the
Lord of Glory as Lord over all, that battle has already been
won. But now this glorious General, this King of Kings, this Lord
of Lords, He's going forth and He's making war in righteousness
and He's judging. It says in Revelation 6, He's
going forth conquering and to conquer, conquering and to conquer. Surely John didn't need to know
this. Oh yes, he did. Yes, he did. But surely John
understood the sovereignty of God. Oh yes, he did. Surely he
understood the truth of this glorious gospel of which we've
been speaking. Oh yes, he did. But John, like
you and like I, was a sinner and that did not change. when
he came to the knowledge of those things. And we see it didn't
change two things. First of all, John, who's given
this great privilege of seeing these things, is tempted to worship
the servant rather than the master. He's tempted to worship the messenger
rather than the Messiah. Even the revelation of these
things shows that John in himself is undone for hearing these glorious
statements, seeing that the Lord God omnipotent reigns and the
blessedness of those who are called to the marriage supper,
called out of the world, called out of sin, called out of darkness,
called into light and life and liberty in Jesus Christ. Hearing that these are the true
sayings of God. How much we need that. So many
people tell us, this is what God said to me. God said this
to me. God said that to me. We need
to know what the true sayings of God are. The true sayings
of God are in this book. This book is the sufficient message
and the only message that God has ever given mankind. And it's
the only message that he will ever give mankind. It is the
word of truth and the word of life. Hearing that these are
the true sayings of God, John is overcome and he says, I fell. What a confession. You see, this
is the word of God. This is a servant whose frailties,
whose follies are not hidden. He doesn't gloss over them. He's
subject to the same temptation as is common to man. He says,
I fell at his feet to worship him. to reverence Him, to be
in awe of Him, the Servant, in awe of another Servant. I find
that so often is the greatest potential. Whenever I find that
the true Word of God has been brought to me, the true sayings
of God, the Gospel of His grace and His sovereignty, the temptation
is to reverence the Servant and thank God for the blessedness
of that servant, to see that you do not do that. I am your fellow servant. Isn't
that a wonderful thing? Not a preacher from England,
not a preacher from Australia, a fellow servant. The true gospel
ministry is undertaken by those who know themselves to be vessels
of clay, sinners, sinners still, saved by grace, our companions
in the tribulation and the patience and the kingdom of Jesus Christ.
See that you do not do that. I am your fellow servant and
of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus, who have
the testimony of Jesus. I'm going to have to be careful
here because I could get crash-tackled from either side when I say these
words. What are we seeking to do here tonight? Well, I want
to share with you a testimony. You hear that a lot, don't you,
in religious circles? I want to share with you a testimony,
my testimony. No, no. Anybody wants to share
their testimony, they're in danger of not proving themselves your
fellow servant. Because he doesn't say, I have
my testimony. He says, I have his testimony. His testimony. Don't reverence
me, he says. Don't reverence the clay. Reverence
the creator. Don't reverence the messenger.
Reverence the master. He said, I have the testimony
of Jesus. The testimony of Jesus. Worship God. Worship God. Why does he have to say that
to John? Surely John's got himself to the point where he's an apostle,
he's spirit anointed. He's not like the rest of us.
No, no, John hasn't got himself anywhere but in trouble. And
that's where we always bring ourselves if we look to ourselves,
if we trust in ourselves, if we want to share of ourselves
what God has shown ourselves. He says, worship God. Here's
the testimony. The testimony of Jesus is the
spirit of prophecy. I don't know if it's the same
over here, I guess it is. Everybody's got the spirit of prophecy. Everybody's
got it. And it seems to me that very
few have the testimony of Jesus, the Christ of the Bible, the
Christ who can save. See, these things are important
for two reasons. The first is, this Gospel is to the glory of
God. It's to the glory, that's its
first purpose. Its purpose isn't to try and fix something that
went tragically wrong. And you've got that same God
again who's not conquering and conquer but wringing his hands
and trying to make up somehow for what went wrong. It's not,
first of all, a gospel for man to, as it were, receive something
he should have had if it hadn't all gone wrong. It's a gospel
for God to receive something that he's always had and that
is glory, glory. And it's a gospel to bring grace.
grace, favour, mercy, undeserved kindness, endless benevolence,
unconditional love and to confer it upon those who deserve nothing
because of that sovereign love by which he loved us and washed
us from sin, because of that sovereign love by which he could
say even to that first little band, you have not chosen me. But I have chosen you and ordained
you, that you should bring forth fruit and that your fruit should
remain." And we see the fruit, do we not? What is this fruit
that is brought forth? And to her it was granted to
be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white, which is the righteousnesses
of the saints. Everything, you see. comes from
Christ. How do we know what this righteousness
is, what these righteousnesses are? Where did these white garments
come from? Did they come from the diligent
work of scrubbing and cleaning what we already have by nature?
Did they come from the work of the saints? Is that their righteousnesses? Well, it can't be, can it? Because
the scripture testifies that all our righteousnesses are as
filthy rags. And I don't mean to be indelicate,
but that is a literal translation for a menstruous cloth. Still,
just about the most unsightly and odious thing that you wouldn't
talk about in polite society. All our righteousnesses are as
filthy rags. No, this is the righteousness
of Christ. In Revelation chapter 7, we see
a great multitude around the throne and they are crying, Amen,
blessing and glory and wisdom, thanksgiving and honour and power
and might be to our God forever and ever. And again, one of these
servants, fellow servants, brethren, one of these elders says to John,
who are these arrayed in white robes and where did they come
from? How you answer that, how you
answer that will determine whether or not you've received that robe.
For he who has that white robe knows from whom it has come." And John said, well, he said,
Sir, you know, you know. So, he said to me, these are
the ones who came out of the great tribulation and washed
their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. You know the old chorus, what
can wash away my stain? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Oh, precious is the flow that makes me white as snow. No other
name I know, nothing but the blood of Jesus. And he who has
been cleansed by the blood of Christ has been cleansed indeed. These are garments that are put
on. These are garments that are put on. These are garments that
have been made white by the blood of Christ. And that righteousness
is enough. It's enough for the saints who
glorified in heaven those believers, because that's all a saint is,
a holy one, made holy by Christ, a believer who was once a sinner
and a stranger from God. cleansed by the blood of Christ
and made a son, a saint, a holy one of the Most High God, set
apart for God's holy use, declared to be righteous because He has
done the work that needed to be done. The saints, under the
altar, they're impatient. They want the Lord to finish
this campaign. They want the Lord to conquer
and to bring an end to this old creation. They're impatient for
the unfolding of time until once more it disappears into eternity
and time shall be no more. And what are they given when
they're told to be patient as they wait for this? A white robe. a white robe, they're
given that same righteousness. That's what satisfies those saints
in heaven, those ones who are impatient to see that new creation
finally consummated, to see every chosen sinner gathered in, to
see the work of Christ effectual, to save every last one for whom
He died and all whom the Father had given Him. You see, this
bride was given away by somebody. This bride was given away by
a father and was given to his son and everyone who makes up
that beautiful bride of Christ will be in heaven and no one
but they, no one but they. All the merchandising, self-righteous,
religious people of this world All the causes for which they
expended themselves, all the laundering that they tried to
do to their own filthy rags, those efforts don't bring anyone
to the marriage supper of the Lamb. They bring every one of
them to the supper of the great God, where the end is destruction. We need to understand the position
that Christ now occupies. You see, that's our confidence.
The position that Christ now occupies. Too often, I believe,
because I know I see this in myself too often, I judge things by their outward
appearance. I look to the people of God to
provide some encouragement. I look to the things that are
seen and not to the things that are unseen. And John did this.
John did this. And this window in heaven that's
opened, it's meant to show him the confidence that alone will
bring him joy and consolation. The confidence that alone is
a true confidence. It's meant to show him that rather
than being mistreated by this present world, rather than stumbling
along on foot, hoping someone has room for him in their heart,
hoping that someone will let him in, Rather than being mistreated
and mocked by the world and persecuted and banished, our God reigns. Our God reigns. An old writer said this, he said,
if we think we see Christ going on foot today, persecuted and
banished and put to the worst, then we begin to droop and to
die and to cast away our confidence. That's not the Christ who is
in heaven. That's not the Christ who now
reigns. You see, these things are not
just being saved up for some last day. These things are happening
now. He reigns now. He makes war now. He calls to the supper of the
Lamb now. He calls to it, you see. Blessed
are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb.
That supper hasn't happened yet. But the calling has. The calling
has. Blessed are they who are called. And that great and terrible day
of the supper of the great God, it hasn't happened yet. But many
have been prepared for it. Many have been set apart to it. And the beast and the kings of
the earth and their armies gathered together to make war against
him who sat on the horse and against his army. That's the
proof of it. That's the proof of it. This
is picture language. What does it mean to make war? It means to trust in anything
else but the righteousness alone that saves, the righteousness
of Christ. It means to trust in anything
else than the spirit of true prophecy, and that is the testimony
of Christ. It means to rely on anything
else other than salvation, belonging to our God. Authority, belonging
to our God. power belonging to our God and
to us, shame of face, shame of face. To us, well what did we sing? Nothing in my hand I bring, simply
to thy cross I cling, naked come to thee for dress, helpless come
to thee for grace, foul I to the fountain fly, wash me, Saviour
or I die. That hymn is in every hymn book
in America, I'm sure it is, isn't it? But what that hymn teaches isn't much known in America or
Britain or Australia. It's just like John's Day. Just
like John's Day. But the one who is in that hymn
is known and does reveal himself. And that is our rejoicing and
our confidence. And you see, it takes away a tremendous burden. It does. It takes away a tremendous
burden when it's no longer a case of looking to man whose breath
is in his nostrils, who's a failing, dying, sinful, unrighteous creature. and expecting deliverance from
Him. It takes away the great burden
of expecting deliverance from myself, by myself. What a burden that is. The Apostle
Paul carried that burden. He lived in the conscious knowledge
of the law all his life. And thank God in his goodness,
that law brought the knowledge of his sinfulness. And the harder
he kicked against the goads, the angrier he became. The more and more, that law brought
him the knowledge of his sinfulness. That's a burden. And it led him
to murder Paul the religious man. led him to murder. But then God,
who was rich in mercy, because of his great love with which
he loved him, revealed his Son, revealed the
righteousness, revealed the grace, revealed the mercy, the mercy
that wasn't dependent upon the zeal of Paul, but upon the zeal
of Christ. that wasn't dependent upon the
righteous acts of Paul, but the righteous acts of Christ. That
wasn't dependent on Paul trying to wash out his filthy, stained,
rancid garments, but depended upon Christ giving him something
he'd never possess, fine linen, clean and white, a righteousness,
not his own, covering him as a garment. The Lord saying to him, when
I see you, I see him. I see him. Look at our Lord Jesus Christ.
Look, look at the person that is here. He is faithful and he
is true. Every promise of scripture depends
upon him. Every provision of God depends
upon him. Every blessing that will come
must depend upon Him and every judgment that is wrought will
depend upon Him. He is faithful and He is true. It doesn't matter what the kings
of the earth say. It doesn't matter what the merchandisers
of this world say. It seems to me that in chapter
18 they appear to be in the majority. As one old writer said, truth
is never in the majority. Truth is never in the majority.
But here is one who is faithful and true and what he does is
always righteous. Here is one who is crowned with
many crowns. Here is one who is deep, deep,
deeply unknown to native man, to fallen sinners. He has a name
that no one knows except himself. God is not who we think he is. He's who he says he is. He's the one who His eyes are
like a flame of fire. I think it's in Revelation chapter
6, when that face appears, when those eyes look unveiled upon
all of humanity in a moment on that great judgment day, men
are going to cry for the rocks to fall upon them and to hide
them from the face. of him who sits upon the throne.
It doesn't look much to me like that face is going to be that
gentle smiling bearded gentleman that hangs in so many sitting
rooms all across this world. It's going to be a face the world
had never seen until that day and from which they want to flee
away and yet those same burning eyes What for the Believer? What for the Beloved? What for
the One that is called to the marriage supper? Or the God who
created the light out of the darkness? Same power is at work
in us. It's the God who created the
light out of the darkness, who brought it out of the darkness,
who has worked in our hearts. to reveal the glory of God as
it is in the face of Jesus Christ. Those eyes that burn with fiery
indignation upon those sinners who have clothed themselves in
their filthy rags and have consorted with the kings of this world
and have merchandised their way into earthly prosperity and despised
the riches of the living God, Those same
burning eyes when they look upon the ones for whom He has died,
the ones for whom He has lived, the ones for whom He has risen
again, the ones for whom He has established a righteousness that
will never be destroyed, they burn with love. And you, my friend,
and I, knowing His righteousness, do not fear to look into the
face of Jesus Christ. Do not fear the radiancy of unapproachable
light. For what are we arrayed in? Fine
linen, clean and white? What have we been called to?
Not the supper of the great God by which the judgment of God
descends upon the world, but the marriage supper of the Lamb,
in which the love of God forever is made known to a people called
out of the world. That's what the gospel brings
about. That's what the grace of God
calls us to see. That's why John had a window
open for him in heaven. And he is the one whom we follow.
You see, there they are called to the marriage supper. But where
in this world does the true saint of God find themselves? They
find themselves seated in heavenly places with Christ Jesus. And
here it's depicted. It says that He and the armies
in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, go forth. They follow Him on white horses. They follow Him, well, That's the heavenly view. Remember,
it's not the one you see with your eyes. It's the one that God says is
the true reality. He himself will rule. He himself
treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of almighty God. He
himself has on his robe and on his thigh a name that is written,
King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is the one to whom salvation
belongs. And he is the one. to whom we
come this evening. May God grant in mercy the issue,
the merciful and fruitful issue of a door open in heaven. May
He grant a call to a marriage supper and have mercy upon us. May we rejoice in the Christ
who alone is able to save to the uttermost.