Series: Apocalypse Now… And Again – City Church of Chattanooga, Chattanooga, TN
And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone “like a son of man,” dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades. Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
As we saw in the last message, Revelation is an “unveiling of Jesus Christ,” and those who read it and take heed to its message are blessed—that is, “that find the right pathway and discover meaning in times of chaos.” Verses 9 and 10 of chapter one present us with an important understanding that helps us understand life as well as the book of Revelation:
U Spirit Dimension
O
Earthly Dimension
There are four key assurances that come from this passage.
1. JESUS’ LOVE CAN FIND YOU ANYWHERE
John was in a nowhere place called Patmos.
A small penal colony
40 miles from the nearest land
An isolated speck on the planet
If God knew where John was, he knows where you are. You can never be in a place so forsaken that God’s love can’t find you.
2. YOU CAN TRANSCEND ANY CIRCUMSTANCE
John was at the end of his world.
No way out
Nothing he could do.
But on the Lord’s Day, he was in the Spirit.
Worship allows you to enter the realm of the Spirit.
Worship is moving past the status quo.
The Lord’s Day is to be for us “The Day of the Lord.”
3. JESUS IS THE REDEEMER OF CIRCUMSTANCES
He is the “Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End.” Your history cannot be written until he has the last word. He is going to write the end of your story. There is nothing I face this is unanticipated by God’s plan or unsurpassed by his power. We must learn to walk with the one who has “feet like brace refined in a fire.”
4. JESUS HAS HIS HAND ON YOU
The same hand that holds the stars is the hand that touches me. He’s got me in his hand and says, “Don’t be afraid.” This is an unveiling of the closeness of Jesus. Whether it is at the end of the time or the end of my rope, Jesus says, “I am here.” We can be certain of victory because he is with us.