A study of Revelation

Message 7

Revelation 1:19-20

The intelligence of waiting

Rev 1:19 write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter;

Rev 1:20 the mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.

Introduction: Have you ever jumped to a conclusion and later been proven wrong? At that point we were left with the thought, what if I had only waited for enough information. As we end chapter one we are given the sound advice of waiting on God. You see John had nothing but time on his hands that coupled with his previous experience with the Lord Jesus Christ John realized it was intelligent to wait on God to reveal things not obvious to the carnal mind. What we learn tonight from these two verses will complete our study of the character of our age and cement for us a foundation that Revelation will build upon as we move forward.

I. Reveals a divine purpose v.19

This verse is key to understanding the Revelation by showing us its three major sections; (1) the things which thou hast seen, which comprises chapter one and details the person of Christ as the lion of the tribe of Judah. (2) The things which are, which comprise chapters two and three by describing the condition of the church, the church age and the rapture of the church. (3) The things which shall be hereafter, comprise chapters 4 – 22 and contain the judgments of the tribulation period.

Waiting on God grows within us patience for understating His will in our lives and the influence our lives will have on kingdom growth within this world. Waiting on God gives us the opportunity to mature spiritually making us a person fully prepared and willing to be used of God. You and I have a divine purpose just as John had a divine purpose. If we are patient and persistent will we prevail through intelligent waiting.

II. Reveals a divine program v.20

As we have briefly covered earlier in our study the seven candlesticks or lampstand as it is sometimes referred to represent the seven churches of Asia. We have learned that Christ stands in the midst of these candlesticks, or in the midst of the churches. Today Christ remains in the midst of the church, He is with us tonight watching and listening as we study His word. Our understanding of the seven churches is varied depending on a person’s interpretation of the book. Is it interpreted as a preterist view, a futurist view, a historicist view or an idealist (spiritual or symbolic) view? Remember the preterist view is written to Christians during Johns day and only his day, the futurist view looks at every chapter with exception of the first three as taking place in a future day, the historicist view is a presentation of history from John’s day until the second coming of Christ and beyond and the idealist view is a representation of the continuous struggle between good and evil and does not refer to any historical events past, present or future.

Now we must look at the “seven stars” that Jesus had shown to John. The Lord identifies them and I believe He also explains them (as our study moves ahead I feel you will understand this as well). The word “angel” is used in the King James text to interpret the Greek word aggelos {ang'-el-os} which means messenger in our modern English. Because the seven letters of chapters two and three contain reprimands it is doubtful these angels are heavenly, more than likely they are pastors or elders of these churches. If this is true they are accountable to God for the churches they represent.

God’s divine program was being revealed to John. You and I are part of Gods divine program. With this knowledge we must be spiritually prepared to fulfill the role God has for us. John had endured a lot to reach this place in his spiritual walk with God through every difficulty John remained faithful and obedient to God. This lesson by itself is an important one for us today, our faith and obedience are necessary traits for a proper walk with God.

Conclusion: As we apply this information to our study we see Gods character of this age summed up in His divine purpose and divine program for the church age, our age. Also we see John as an obedient and faithful servant prepared as a messenger to the universal church for the church age. In order for you and I to know and understand God’s divine purpose and program for our lives during this time we must first be willing to give ourselves to God as a vessel to be made worthy for His use.