May I draw your attention this
morning to the first chapter of Revelation, and in particular,
we'll read from verse 10. John writes, I was in the Spirit
on the Lord's day and heard behind me a great voice as of a trumpet,
saying, I am out for an omega, the first and the last. And what
thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches
which are in Asia, unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos,
and unto Phyretyra, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia,
and unto Laodicea. And I turned to see the voice
that spake 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. Clothed with a garment down to
the foot, and girt about the pats with a golden girdle, his
head and his hairs were white like wool as white as snow, and
his eyes were as a flame of fire, and his feet like undefined brass
as if they burned in a furnace, and his voice as the sound of
many waters And he had in his right hand seven stars, and out
of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and his countenance was
as the sun shineth in his strength. Yes, John turned, and he saw
seven golden candlesticks, and in the midst of the seven candlesticks
was one, like unto the Son of Man. Now, as we've seen before,
the revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave unto him, to show
unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass, which
he sent and signified by his angel unto his servant John,
who bore record of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus
Christ and of all things that he saw, and who wrote down what
was shown unto him by the Lord and by his angels in this book. This revelation is divided into
seven parallel visions, all of which regard the span of time
between the ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ and his return
at his second coming when he comes to gather in his people
and to judge this world, to destroy this present world and to bring
in a new heavens and a new earth. So following the introduction
we see seven parallel sections all of which span the same period
of time all of which essentially conclude with the day of judgment
in one manner or another and all of which are given as messages
as visions which teach us, rebuke us, exhort us, guide us, the
church in any given age, they are recorded here for the edification,
the benefit of God's people throughout all the ages, throughout all
the church, through all the ages, these revelations, these visions
are given to point the people of God to Christ, to point them
to Him who has wrought the victory, to encourage them in their pilgrimage
in this world which hates them and opposes them. and to warn
them of those things which are to come, those things which will
come upon them, to give them some sense and understanding
of the events of history which they see working out around them,
and why things happen as they do, and to give them that hope
which they have in their Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is
their Head, who is their Shepherd, who is the One who will lead
them through this pilgrimage, who is the one who will strengthen
their hands, who is the one who has done all to save them and
deliver them from sin, from hell, from Satan, and from all who
oppose them, and who is the one who in the end will bring them
safely in into that one company who will be gathered around his
throne, gathered around the Lamb of God, gathered around in eternity
to come to worship him forever and ever. So today I want to
draw your attention to this first of these visions, this first
opening in the book of Revelation, which essentially we have read
from here, the middle of chapter one, and which opens with this
glorious picture of the Son of Man, one like unto the Son of
Man, who is stood in the midst of seven golden candlesticks,
and commences with the seven letters which John is commanded
to write unto the seven angels of the seven churches in Asia,
and which we have the benefit of being able to read, John having
written these things down. But the vision commences with
this glorious view of one like unto the Son of Man. This glorious
vision of Christ in his ascended glory, ruling over all, and standing
in the midst of his church, that church which he loved from all
eternity, that church which he gave himself for, that church
for which he died, for which he suffered, for which he shed
his own blood. Here we see a vision of the Lord
himself who came into this world for his own, who was rejected
and crucified by this world, and all those who oppose him,
and yet who rose again victorious over all, and who ascended to
this position of glory from whence he reigns over all his enemies. He came into the world to reclaim
his rights of dominion over all that is his, for all is his and
ever was his. But man, in rebelling and falling
in the garden, in being led astray by the serpent, by Satan, had
sought to lay claim upon that which was Christ's, and had sought
to rob him of his glory. And Satan himself, the serpent,
the devil, the dragon, had sought to take that which was Christ's
away from him and sought to assert his own power over them. So Christ
came. And he took back that which was
his. And he defeated his every enemy
and his every foe. And he redeemed those who were
found captive, captive by Satan and captive by sin. And as a
result, Christ delivered his people from the grip of Satan. For Satan and all mankind raged
against the Son of God when he came. and Satan and man sought
to slay him, and they crucified him, and in so doing they thought
they had put an end to him, but in so doing they only did the
Lord's bidding, in aid in the Lord's great work to save and
to separate a people unto himself. Yes, Christ died, but he rose
again, and he rose again a victorious, a triumphant Saviour. Here in
this first vision we see the consequence. We see the Lord
Jesus Christ, the Son of Man, glorified in heaven, standing
in the midst of His church, the seven golden candlesticks. That church whom He had purified
with His own blood, that church whom He purchased whom he washed
from every spot and blemish, that church for which he died.
We see him stood in the midst of that church, which in the
vision is seen as seven golden candlesticks. This church, that
sinful, rebellious people, that people fallen in Adam, corrupt,
lepers from head to toe, black, filled with iniquity, who from
the womb went about speaking evil things, doing evil things,
thinking evil things. That church, that people, are
here seen as gold, pure and perfect gold, not a blemish. Why? Because His blood washed them
from every sin. what a price he paid to bring
him his church, pure as gold. But it's pure here, gold, not
a blemish, perfect. Nevertheless, with Christ having
left this world, the world and he who influences this world
for evil, Satan, the serpent, The world and Satan, now today,
rage at those of Christ who remain in this world. Though they are
a blood-bought people, though in the vision they are seen as
a church which is pure gold, nevertheless Satan and the world
rage against this people. They're furious, they hate them,
they despise them, they reject them. Their rage is turned against
the Lord's people, turned against his church, turned against every
gathering of his church, every assembly, turned against Christ's
witnesses in that church, turned against all Christ's people in
this world, turned against every preacher whom he sends with his
gospel. Yes, the world hates the church.
and persecutes the church and the world and satan seek to corrupt
and to defile and to destroy the church. Indeed when John
wrote this book, when he had this revelation, he was in exile
on the isle of Patmos. John at this time knew what it
was to see the persecution which had arisen. John a very old man
when others of the apostles had died, when Christ had long since
ascended and the early church had been in existence for a number
of years. He looked upon the church and
he saw a multitude of errors come in. He saw the persecution
come in. He saw the scattering of the
people of God. He saw the love of many grow
cold. He saw compromise come in. He
saw false teachers come in. He saw persecution. And he knew
that personally. And whilst on Patmos, he had
this revelation, as one who was in exile, cut off from the churches,
cut off from his brethren. Yes, the world persecutes the
church and seeks to defile it. Nevertheless, in the vision here,
the church is still seen as perfect, as pure. as seven golden candlesticks. Outwardly, however, the church
in this world is assaulted from all sides, every side, outside
and within, from those without, from false teachers, from the
own hearts of the children of God, whose flesh wars against
the spirit within them and causes them to fall and to stumble,
causes them to grow weary, causes their love to grow cold. Yes,
it's assaulted from all sides. And we see the effects of this
in the seven letters which John is told to write to the angels
of the seven churches. We see those points which Christ
commends in these churches. But we also see those areas in
which the churches have fallen, in which the love has grown cold,
in which error is tolerated, in which false teachers and false
gospels are tolerated, in which they have grown lukewarm, in
which Jezebel is tolerated, the Nicolaitans, the teaching of
Balaam. There is indeed one of these
churches is described as one which has a name to live, and
yet is dead. Yes, apostasy has come in. It's
begun. Here we read, though we read
of seven golden candlesticks, in these letters we read of all
that dross, all that wood, hay, and stubble, which comes in amongst
the churches to obscure the pure gold from view. As it says in
Lamentations, behold how the gold has become dim. Yes, it's
gold. It ever will be gold. All for
whom Christ died are gold. They're perfect in Christ. Nothing can take away from what
he has done in his people and for his people. And yet much
can obscure it from view. And much can make it appear very
greatly different from what it truly is in Christ's eyes. Nevertheless,
what is gold remains gold. And in the end, in the fires
of the judgment to come, all this dross, all this wood hay
and stubble will be burned away. And all that will remain is the
gold. Perfect and pure gold. Here in this vision and in these
seven letters to the churches, we both see the glory of Christ
in his accomplished work. and in his rule amongst his people. And we also see the many dangers
and temptations which come upon that church, that people, from
the world in which they pass through. From this revelation
of truth given so long ago, we have today a message sent to
us, relevant to us today, which cries out aloud. It cries out
down through all the ages to all who would hear. It cries
out, and it cries out with this word. He that hath an ear, let
him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. What does
the Spirit say unto the churches? Before we consider the churches,
let us begin with the beginning of this vision which John had.
He was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind him a great
voice as of a trumpet, saying, I am out for an omega, the first
and the last, and what thou seest, write in a book and send it unto
the seven churches which are in Asia. He was in the Spirit
on the Lord's day, and he heard behind him a great voice as of
a trumpet. behind him. Yes he heard a voice,
yes he was in the spirit to hear the voice, but it was behind
him. He had to turn to see the voice
that spoke with him. You see it isn't simply enough
to have our eyes open to the truth or to have been given ears
to hear Christ's speech in the gospel We don't just need to
be in the Spirit, with our eyes opened and our ears opened, but
we need to be turned to see. John was in the Spirit. The Apostle
himself was in the Spirit. He had faith. He could hear,
he could see with God-given faith, and yet even he was pointing
the wrong way. Yes, we don't just need to have
God, come unto us in the gospel and quicken us unto life by his
mighty power in the gospel. We don't just need to be given
faith, we don't just need to have our ears opened and our
eyes opened, but we need to be turned to see, we need to be
looking the right way. As with Paul as he records in
Acts 26, When Paul was sent forth to preach the gospel he was sent
to the Gentiles to open their eyes and to turn them from darkness
to light and from the power of Satan unto God that they may
receive forgiveness of sins and inheritance among them which
are sanctified by faith which is in Christ. Yes he was sent
to open their eyes firstly but having their eyes opened They
also needed to be turned from darkness onto light. You see, you can have your eyes
open but still look backwards. Like Lot's wife, you can be brought
out of the city which is being destroyed and still look back.
The flesh wars against the spirit in the believer. The believer
may have been given eyes to see, but how easily he looks back
at the world. How slowly he looks up to the
things of Christ in eternity, how rarely he looks up into heaven's
glory, how easily the gaze drops. Yes, we need the gospel. We need
our eyes open, but we need to be turned from the darkness unto
the light. Man is blind by nature, blind. He cannot see. His need is sight,
and only the preaching of the gospel will give him sight. If you're blind this day, you
need to hear of Christ. You need to hear of the one who
died for sinners, sinners like you, blind sinners. You need your eyes opened. You
need your ears opened to hear of the one who died in the place
of sinners. who took their sins away. You
need to hear of the Saviour. But should your eyes be opened,
should your eyes be opened, should the Spirit of God give you sight? Believer, should the Spirit of
God have given you sight, you then need Him to turn you to
behold. We must be turned. Have you been
turned? Can you see? Can you see in heaven's
glory? Have you heard a voice speaking
with you? Have you turned to see that voice? And have you seen in the midst
of seven golden candlesticks, one like unto the Son of Man?
Can you see? Have you been turned? Can you
even hear? Yes, we must be turned from darkness
and to light before we'll ever behold the Lord in the light
of his glory. Our natural tendency is always
to look down. John was looking the wrong way. Are you today looking the wrong
way? I speak not just to the unbeliever
but to the believer. Where are you looking? You won't
behold the Lord if you look to man. You won't behold the Lord
in the false teaching of men. You won't behold the Lord in
a false gospel. Where are you looking? You won't
behold the Lord in the congregations of the dead. But if the Spirit
come unto you and you hear a voice behind you as of a trumpet, and
he turns you to see in the gospel, in the glory, one life unto the
Son of Man, then, then and then only will you behold. Where are
you looking? Yes, we need to hear and we need
to see and we need to be turned. But when we see what then? When
John saw what was his response? He saw this vision. He heard
the voice behind him and he turned and he saw this astounding picture,
this astounding vision of Christ in his ascending glory. And what
was his response to such a sight? He says, verse 17, and when I
saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And when I saw him, I fell
at his feet as dead. If you ever have a sight of Christ
in his glory, in his almighty power, in his fearsome, awesome
glory as the judge of all the earth, as one who shines, one
whose head and hairs are white like wool, as white as snow,
one whose eyes are as a flame of fire, one whose feet are like
undefined brass as if they burned in a furnace, one whose voice
is as the sound of many waters, one who has in his right hand
seven stars, and out of his mouth a sharp two-edged sword, one
whose countenance is as the sun shining in his strength. If you
ever see Christ like that, if ever the Gospel makes him known,
if ever the Spirit opens your eye to see Christ as he truly
is, the Judge of all the earth, the ascended, glorious, almighty
Lord of Lords and King of Kings, the Saviour of sinners, The one
who shines as the sun shineth in his strength. If you ever
see a sight like that, the effect on you will be the effect as
it was on John. You will fall at his feet in
awe and wonder. You will fall at his feet as
dead. Oh, the fear of the Lord will
come upon you. There's no lightness and jollity
here. There's no easy breezing in to
the meeting here. There's no running in with the
thousands to worship as we like. There's no, oh Jesus, Jesus,
my friend Jesus. There's no first name terms here.
Lightness and ease. But there's an incredible awe
and reverence between him who has the power to save and him
who has the power to destroy forever and ever. Him who liveth
and was dead and behold is alive forevermore. Him who has the
keys of hell and of death. Him who holds your destiny in
his hands. Oh have you seen such a vision?
What was your reaction? Like Isaiah, when Isaiah in chapter
6 of Isaiah saw the Lord His reaction was the same, Isaiah
6, 5, Woe is me, for I am undone, because I am a man of unclean
lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips.
For mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. When men of
unclean lips, which is what we are, we dwell in the midst of
a people of unclean lips, which is what we do, see the Lord. The true reaction is that we
are undone. We fall on our faces dead, for
we have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. Consider what John saw. Consider
the awesomeness, the glory of this vision. What did he see? He turned to see the voice that
spoke with him. He'd heard the voice. He'd heard
the voice. Have you heard the voice of Christ? Have you heard the voice of the
Son of God, the Son of Man? Have you heard his voice in the
gospel? Have you turned to see the voice? When John turned and saw, he
saw seven golden candlesticks, and in the midst of the seven
candlesticks, one like unto the Son of Man. John is one who had
seen Christ, the Son of Man, when he was upon this earth.
He knew what it was to walk and to talk and to commune with this
man, this man like none other. this perfect, this holy, this
righteous man. He knew who that man was. He'd been given an insight, a
revelation when Christ walked with him, of who he was, that
he was the Christ, the Son of God. Like Peter, he had that
revelation from the Father. Who do men say that I, the Son
of Man, am? Christ asked Peter. And Peter,
having that revelation, said, Thou art the Christ, the Son
of the living God. John knew. John knew who he was. He had laid upon his breast.
John is described as that disciple whom Christ loved. He'd seen
him. He knew him. He'd seen him in
his rejection. He'd seen him in his suffering.
He'd seen the people persecute him and despise him. He'd heard
the glorious words, the glorious words of his lips. He'd heard
the grace of God flow forth from the lips of this one. He'd heard
the gospel from the very lips of the Saviour. He touched, handled
and felt the word of life. He knew what he was, he knew
who he was. He'd seen him hung up to be crucified. He'd heard the cries from the
cross, he'd seen him taken down dead, he'd seen him rise again. Oh he knew the Son of Man, but
here he sees him with a sight like none other, he sees him
in a manner in which he had never seen him before. This is not
one who was unfamiliar with Christ, This is not one who would never
seen Him. This is not one who would never
had Him revealed, not just in the flesh, but by the Spirit,
by the Fathers, He who is the Saviour, He who would die for
John, He who would shed His own blood to wash John from his sins. Oh, He knew Him. But here He
sees Him in a way you've never seen Him before. Here He sees
Him ascended, victorious, glorious. Here he sees him as the king
of all the earth, all the universe, the king of kings, the lord of
lords, the alpha and omega, the first and the last, the beginning
and the end. Oh, what a sight, what a sight. He sees him clothed with a garment
down to the foot, a perfect garment, a garment speaking of righteousness,
a garment speaking of his glorious garments of all his offices,
the garments of a priest, the garments of a king, the garments
of a prophet, the garments of the Son of Man, the Son of God. He's girt about the paps, the
chest with a golden girdle, the golden girdle of a priest. Here
he stands as that priest who has shed the sacrifice, shed
the blood of the sacrifice, who has taken that sacrifice into
the Holy of Holies, and who has sprinkled that sacrifice upon
the mercy seat, and who has come out to the people, and who can
pronounce peace towards his people. Peace be with thee, for atonement
has been made, not just once as to priests of old, not just
for a year as with Aaron, but for all eternity, for all his
people. Here this priest stands, a victorious
priest. He's made one offering, once
and for all. His blood has washed every sin
away forevermore. His head and his hair is well
white like wool, as white as snow. glorious perfect shining
without a blemish and his eyes were as a flame of fire a flame
of fire what do you know of the eyes of this son of man this
son of god these eyes that burn as a flame of fire these eyes
which see these eyes which see through all the worlds These
eyes which see everything that is done and said. These eyes
which look into the heart and discern the thoughts and intentions
of the hearts of men. Oh, what eyes. Nothing is hid
from these eyes. His feet are like undefined brass,
as if they burned in a furnace. Oh, the feet of the Son of Man,
the Son of God. the feet which were nailed to
a tree, the feet which were burned in the furnace on the altar of
God's wrath, the feet which were burned as he took away every
sin, as the sacrifice was consumed under the unrelenting wrath of
God against the iniquity of his people, and yet those feet which
stand here now strong feet, victorious feet, those feet which stand
over every enemy and every foe, those feet which will crush every
enemy underfoot, those feet which crush the serpent's head underfoot
and destroyed him and took his power away forevermore. His voice is as the sound of
many waters, many waters, Oh what a voice, what a voice, a
voice which goes out into all the earth. Have you heard his
voice? Have you heard his gospel? A
gospel which goes forth in power, which sounds not by the voice
of mere men, but the voice of Christ by his Spirit, reaching
even to the furthest corners of the earth, even to the furthest
hidden corner where the worst, the blackest sheep has fled to
run from his presence. He will bring his voice into
the ears of every sheep for whom he died. And every sheep, whether
they be in exile on the Isle of Patmos, whether they be in
Japan, in America, in Alaska, in Canada, in Africa, wherever
they may be, if he chooses to save a people his voice will
come as the voice of the sound of many waters and it will come
in his gospel and it will come declaring glad tidings of one
who has done everything to save his people. He has in his right
hand seven stars, seven stars, those stars are seven angels
of his churches, judgment is committed to Christ and judgment
is committed to the angels who rule over all. The book of Revelation
is a book of judgment, judgment committed unto angels. Repeatedly
we read of seven angels, seven angels of judgment, seven angels
with seven vials, seven angels which will go forth to bring
judgment upon the earth. And here there are seven angels
to whom the judgment of the churches is committed. and yet those angels
and that judgment are in the hand of Christ for they have
no power beyond that which is committed unto them by him which
rules over all and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged
sword that sword that word of God that sharp two-edged sword
of the word of God the scriptures the gospel a sharp two-edged
sword, a sword which divides, a sword which cuts asunder, a
sword which divides in two, a discriminating sword. You see, the Gospel, the
Word of God divides. It divides the sheep from the
goats, the elect from the reprobate, the saved from the lost, the
precious from the vile, heaven from hell, It divides, it divides,
it divides soul and spirit, bone and marrow. It will find you
out. It will cut you up. It will separate
you. Where art thou? Where art thou? Art thou precious? Or art thou
vile? Are you a sheep? Or are you a
goat? Are you one for whom his blood
was shed? Or are you one who wars against
all those for whom his blood was shed, who ultimately he will
trample underfoot? Yes, out of his mouth is a sharp,
two-edged sword. You don't play about with this
sword. You don't play about with the
Scriptures. You don't play about with the
Gospel. you be attentive to the gospel and to the word of God
which divides the precious from the vile finally his countenance
is as the sun shineth in his strength the sun shining in its
strength oh what a sight what glory what light when you look
at the sun it blinds you Should you go out on a summer's day,
on a bright summer's day at midday and look at the sun, you won't
be able to look at it, it's blinding, you have to turn away. It's so
glorious, so glorious. And when John saw this, he fell
at his feet as dead because he could hardly behold the sight.
It was too bright, too glorious, too awesome, too wonderful, too
majestic. brought him to his feet. Oh,
the glory of the Son of God. What a glorious Saviour we have. What a powerful, almighty, majestic
Saviour. There's nothing weak about Christ. He doesn't come as one who tries
to save his people. This is a Saviour. One who is
mighty to save. one who did all that was necessary
to save his people, one who saved everyone that the Father gave
him, one who will never lose one of his sheep, not one will
be plucked from his hand, not one will perish. He's a mighty
Saviour, a powerful Saviour and here in the vision he stands,
having finished his work, glorious, risen, ascended, stands ruling
over all, judging over all, revealing unto the apostle his servant
things which must shortly come to pass, revealing unto him all
that would happen throughout all time until his coming, when
he comes to consummate that which he brought in at the cross, when
he comes to gather in all those for whom he died, and to separate
them from all the goats who war and hate and despise his church,
which is pure gold. Oh, what a vision! Have you seen
Christ in such a way? Is he your Saviour? Is he your
God? Is he your judge? Have you seen
the church in such a way as seven golden candlesticks? Seven golden
candlesticks. Have you heard what the Spirit
has to say to the churches? Here are seven letters that John
is called to write down and to send each letter to the angel
of each church. Each letter is addressed not
to the church but the angel, for each letter is a reflection
of the judgment of Christ upon his church, and as such his judgment
is committed under his angels. Normally those judgments and
the enacting of those judgments would be hidden from us but here
we have a sight into heavenly things and here John is given
a revelation of what Christ thinks concerning his church and he's
told to write that down and to address each letter to the angels
but having written it down it is left on record for us today
and in seven letters we have here seven addresses which describe
the condition of the church in John's day. Seven churches in
Asia, these aren't all the assemblies at the time, obviously there
are other assemblies we read of in the epistles, Philippi
and Thessalonica and other assemblies, but seven are drawn out here
as representative of the perfection of the church, seven being the
number of perfection, seven churches, seven assemblies, the seven representatives
of that perfect golden church of Christ. And here we read seven
letters describing the conditions in the church even in that day. Though gold, yet full of dross. Seven churches which described
not simply the church in John's day, but the church to the end
of time. And here John is called to write
and to warn, to commend and to rebuke, to warn and to promise. And in each case, his message
ends with he to have an ear, Let him hear what the Spirit
saith unto the churches. Now we won't look at these letters
this morning but I want you to hear, I want you to consider
that vision of the one who stands in the midst of these churches.
Have you heard the voice of the one that stands in the seven
golden candlesticks? Have you seen the one that rules
over his churches even this day? Do you consider yourself in the
light of that vision? Do you consider the church in
the light of that vision? For the dross that is spoken
of here can only be answered by being turned to look unto
the vision of the Son of Man who stands in the midst of the
seven golden candlesticks. We live in days when the Church
is scattered and divided, when false teaching is everywhere,
when apostasy increases unto the last day, and when confusion
abounds. and the answers and the remedies
which men give for the troubles and the problems and the trials
which they see in the church are as many as there are churches
but john's remedy and christ's remedy is not to do this and
to do that is not to turn to this method and to that method
but it is to look unto the one who stands in the midst of the
seven golden candlesticks the one who loved us, his church,
and washed us, his people, from our sins in his own blood, the
one who made that people kings and priests unto God and his
Father, the one who is the Alpha and the Omega, the first and
the last, the one who stands pure and perfect in the midst
of that which in his eyes and which in reality is gold, is
pure and is perfect. Are you gold? Are you gold? Has he made you gold? Has he
washed you in his blood? Has he given you ears for his
gospel? Has he given you eyes to behold
the Lord? Has he turned you, turned you
to see the Lord, to see the Lord? He loves you if you are his. Have you been turned? Can you
say, can you say with John, Can you say that he loved me and
washed me from sins in his own blood, and he has made me a king
and a priest unto God and his Father. To him be glory and dominion
for ever and ever. Amen. Can you say that? Oh, have you heard that voice
of the sound of many waters? Have you heard his voice? Have
you been turned? Have you seen? Have you heard
both him and the Spirit? Oh, listen, listen. For he that hath an ear, let
him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches. Amen.