Louie Giglio - Jesus Is Surely Coming
Revelation’s probably the least read and most intimidating book in the Bible, and it’s the most least read book because it’s the most intimidating book. Maybe Daniel would be in there as second place as intimidating books in the Bible, and a lot of it, we preach out of it, it’s really amazing, but a lot of it, we’re like, «Woah, man that’s, kinda, crazy prophecy, apocalyptic, you know, picture of what’s coming down the road». But Revelation for us is a huge gift from God. And I wanna say right off the bat today, there is a lot in Revelation, it’s hard to understand. And maybe you’re thinking, «Thank goodness we’re gonna do this at Passion City Church because once we’re done, I’m gonna understand every single thing in Revelation».
You’re probably not because there’s a lot of stuff in Revelation that’s not easy to understand. And so, I’m excited. I think it’s the best gift that any of us has, it’s the greatest letter that you’ve ever received in your life, it’s the most important letter that you’ve ever received in your life, and you need to embrace it, you need to breathe it in, you need to plant in it, you need to root in it, you need to be reading it, you need to treasure it and not be afraid of it and not be intimidated by it.
Now, it is awe-inspiring, so there is a little intimidation in it because it is the throne room of almighty God, and it is the end of the age. So, a few thoughts about the prologue. Number one, this is the revelation of Jesus Christ. Can you say that with me? It is the revelation of Jesus Christ. Now, this just a small note, not trying to, you know, poke on anybody here, but growing up in church and being around church people all my life, some things you kinda pick up along the way and then it just become a part of the story, and I’ve had several people tell me this week how excited they are that we’re gonna be studying Revelations.
Every now and then, I’ll be in a Bible study, and someone always say, «Yes, last week I was in Revelations 3». And I’m like, «No, no, it’s just one revelation. So, there is no revelations, and when you’re reading in chapter 5, you’re reading in Revelation 5». So, that’s for free. Nobody in particular. But it is the revelation of Jesus Christ. And Revelation here means it’s the unfolding, it’s the revealing. This letter is written to you to unfold to you Jesus Christ. You’re like, «Oh, I’ve already heard about Jesus Christ». Oh no, there’s more about Jesus Christ that you need to see and know.
And so, this is the apocalypse, if you will. An apocalypse doesn’t necessarily mean the end of the age when everything blows up and it’s just crazy wild. Apocalypse means we’re unfolding, unveiling, revealing, revelation. This is the revealing of Jesus Christ to you and to me, and it is the revealing of the risen Christ. We’re gonna talk about that in a moment. The second thing I want you to see is that this revelation or this letter, if you will, that we all have received is to show us something. You see this? It’s to show us something, and the main thing it’s gonna show us is what must soon take place.
In other words, there’s an urgency in this, there’s a confidence in this. Something’s gonna happen and you need to know about it. So, there’s a revelation, an unfolding, a revealing of Jesus, and the revealing of Jesus is to show us what’s gonna soon come to pass, what must take place. How did we get this? We get it because He sent an angel to John. The same John who wrote the gospel of John, 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John, one of the disciples, the follower of Jesus, the one who said about himself, «The disciple that Jesus loved».
That guy. He is the one who is getting the privilege of having the angel come to him and invite him into this story so that, as we are gonna see in just a moment, he has the ability to have a tour of Heaven and to see the future unfold so that he can come to us to let us know what is happening. The next thing we see here is that he’s gonna share with us what he saw. So, he’s gonna testify to everything he saw. So, this isn’t just John going one day, «I, kinda, had some ideas, and then I wrote them all down and it’s, kinda, cool, and hopefully it’ll fit into the Bible». No. This isn’t a guy saying, «I had these internal sense of some kind of a revelation or a mystery of God».
No, this is John being used as an instrument to see things that are so he can record them and then share them with you and with me. And because of that, in this first chapter we’re gonna see that we’re getting a glimpse of what’s happening in the throne room of God and at the end of the age. There’s something awe-inspiring about what John has seen. He’s never seen anything like it before. And interestingly about this letter, he says in verse 3, «Blessed is the one who reads the words».
Now, your translation might say, «Reads the words aloud». Most translations just say, «Reads these words». But by all means, read them aloud. Read the entire Bible aloud. Read all the words of God aloud. But blessed is the one who reads these words. So, that’s the invitation today. It may be a little intimidating, it may be things we’ve never seen before, maybe hard to explain and we just got a glimpse and we were just trying to dial in when the phone closed, but keep reading, dig in because «Blessed is the one who reads these words,» and not only those who hear it, but «Those who take to heart what is written in it».
My prayer is that we will not come into the journey, however long it is, this collection around the revelation of Jesus Christ with this mindset like, «We’re gonna study Revelation because I think God has a different plan, I think God’s thinking is that Revelation’s gonna study us». That is isn’t a, «Ah, I’m gonna go, you know, look in this thing and see if I can understand it better and get some information». No, this thing is gonna study us, it’s gonna read us at the end of the day.
So, to jump ahead, we, kinda, got a ways to go here, but the greetings and doxology shows us what’s going on. «John, to the seven churches in the province of Asia». And we get these churches a little bit later because he turns and he sees and Jesus says to him, «Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamum, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea».
Now, if you just Google really easily, you’ll get present day Turkey, you can see Istanbul right here, and in present day Turkey, you can see the location of these ancient cities. Here they all are. These are cities that have churches, a lot of them established by Paul and others who’ve gone there to spread the news of resurrection and of the crucifixion of Jesus for the sins of the world, and churches have emerged here, and pressure has come. It’s a difficult time to be in the church.
And so, he’s writing to the seven churches in the province of Asia, and he says, «Grace and peace to you from Him who is, and who was, and who is to come. And from the seven spirits before his throne and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the first born from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us,» that’s Jesus, «And has freed us from our sins by his blood and has made us to be a kingdom and priest to serve his God and father. To Him be glory and power forever and ever amen». What we get right in this opening is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. To His father and to the one who is and was and is to come, that’s who this letter’s coming from, and from the seven-fold spirit. It says, «The seven spirits that come from his throne,» but it also, in some translations says, «The seven-fold spirit».
So, what are the seven spirits that come from his throne and who is the seven-fold spirit? Well, seven, as we’re gonna see all through Revelation is a number of completion or perfection. And so, the seven-fold spirit is the fullness of the Holy Spirit. It’s the Holy Spirit in all of His fullness and completion, and He’s coming from the throne. Everything else you’ll see in Revelation is looking at the throne, the seven-fold spirits coming from the throne.
So, we see Father, we see Spirit, and we see Son here, the one who saved us, the one who redeemed us. They’re the ones who are sending us this revelation, they’re the ones who are unfolding what is to come, and they come down to this next little section and we see that our Father, Holy Spirit, and Jesus, that Jesus is the centerpiece of Revelation. That’s why it’s called the Revelation of Jesus Christ. And this may be the epicenter of the entire revelation and everything we’re gonna study over these days.
«Look,» your translation may say «Behold». That word «Look» or «Behold» is gonna be a regular occurrence in this journey. «He,» the one who has the glory and power forever, Jesus, «Is coming with the clouds and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of Him. So shall it be. Amen». He’s coming on the clouds. You’re gonna see in this next language that this song that we’ve been singing across the last few months, «He who is to come,» hello, why is it anointed? Why does it feel so powerful? Why does it have that extra on it? Because it’s just the word of God extracted and put into music.
It’s not just poetic, «He’s coming on the clouds». No, it’s right here. Look, «He’s coming on the clouds and every eye will see Him». It’s right here coming out of the text. Now, this is one of those places really quickly where we can spend forever or we can, sort of, move on. And not to say that every word of scripture isn’t God breathed and inspired and important. But it says here, «Even those who pierced Him and all the people of the earth will mourn because of Him».
So, are we saying that actually the guy that took the spear and stuck it in His side, He’s gonna see Him? The people that drove the nails in His hands, they’re gonna see Him? The people who conspired the plot, they’re gonna see Him? Are we saying the Roman Centurions are gonna see Him? All the people that pierced Him and why is the whole earth gonna mourn when He comes on the clouds? And you can spend all day long answering all those questions. Not saying they’re not amazing and important questions, but the point is He’s coming on the clouds and every eye will see Him.
So, you can go down into the little hole of what does it mean that the whole earth’s gonna mourn when they see Him? Or you can just stand amazed that the whole earth is gonna see Him. Even the people who organized His extinction are gonna realize now that He is the risen Lord, and every eye is going to see Him. That’s the important part. Your eye is gonna see Him when He comes on the cloud. So, don’t get too confused over here about the people that pierced Him because it was our sin ultimately that pierced Him. We’re all going to see Him when He comes.
And then Jesus speaks in Revelation, in red, «'I am the Alpha and the Omega, ' says the Lord God, 'Who is and who was, and who is to come. I am the Almighty.'» And then John tells us his story. «I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the Island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus». So, what does that mean? It means that like the disciples, John was persecuted.
Now, Peter and Paul are already dead by this time. This is 96 A.D. Domitian is emperor in Rome, he’s running the world, and he thinks he’s God. In fact, he has everybody going to a temple and make a little spiritual act of worship to him or else they’re gone. And most people don’t care 'cause what does it matter? They go to the temple, they do the little thing, they put the deal on the thing, and basically they’re saying Domitian is God. But not John, he’s not going in somewhere and putting something on anything and saying Domitian is God.
So, he’s been persecuted for his faith, and he has been now exiled out on to the Island of Patmos, not too far from where all these seven churches are. Tradition says that they tried to kill him multiple times, but he didn’t. Some church tradition says they boiled him in a big vat of oil. Dropped him in on a birthday celebration for entertainment and he sank into the oil and bobbed back up to the top and out of the edge of the vat, began to proclaim Jesus. So, they said, «We gotta get rid of this guy, send him to Patmos». So, he goes out onto Patmos where there’s a rock core and he spends the rest of his life there as far as we know.
This is 96, Jesus died in 33, so we’re already a ways down the road, we’re 63 years later after Jesus was risen from the dead. I don’t know how old John was, I mean, you can go watch «The Chosen» and figure it out, what you think. But, I mean, you know, 28, 29, 27, 26. So, here’s John now, 90, in a rock core. That’s what he got for following Jesus. But notice what he said. He said, «I was on Patmos,» but verse 10, «On the Lord’s day, I was in the spirit».
Physically, I was on Patmos, spiritually I was in the spirit of God. Hello? Banish me to the worst part of earth, I can still get in the spirit on the Lord’s day. Put me in a tough spot, I can still get before my God on the Lord’s day. And He was in the spirit on the Lord’s day. He was still showing up. He had not lost his faith, he had not given up on the risen Jesus because he had seen Him. And here he was in the spirit, and he, «Heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet». It wasn’t a trumpet, it was, kinda, like a trumpet. And it said, «Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches. And I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. I turned to see the voice».
Do you see how this is already a little bit off? You don’t turn to see voices, you turn to see who’s speaking. He heard some kind of voice in such a way to go, «I don’t know if I’ve ever heard a voice like that voice before. I had to check that voice out». So, he turns, he’s interested, he’s pursuing, he’s beholding, he’s looking. So, he turns to see and then he saw. «He saw seven golden lamp stands and in the midst of them, someone like a son of man dressed in a robe, reaching down to his feet, golden sash, his head and hair were white like wool,» amen and hallelujah.
«They were as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet like bronze glowing in a furnace and his voice was like a sound of rushing waters. In His right hand he held seven stars and out of His mouth came a sharp double-edged sword». Here’s a guy talking to you with a sword coming out of his mouth. A sharp one. White hair, eyes of fire, feet glowing like they’d been in a furnace, and «His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance».
Do you know what that feels like? Have you ever felt the sun shining in its brilliance? And there He is. And here’s John, the disciple Jesus loved. At one point he said, «When we were all crashed at the end of the day, I had my head right on His shoulder». And he said, «And when I saw Him, I fell at his feet as though dead». There is a big difference and we’re gonna dig into this risen Jesus a lot next week between the risen Jesus, right now, currently, presently right this second and forever, and the man from Galilee.
Oh, same Jesus, but this Jesus chose incarnation, meaning He took on flesh so he didn’t walk around Galilee with a double-edged sword literally coming out of His mouth. Yes, his words were a double-edged sword. He didn’t terrify people by His presence when He would walk in. He terrified the demons. But then He’s risen, and I think a lot of us, just stay with me for a moment, I think a lot of us in our relationship with Jesus somehow stalled out or became stagnant in our relationship with Christ at the end of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
So, I’m praying to the guy that walk out on the boat and said, «Hey, everything’s okay». I’m praying to the guy who broke the bread and fed all the people, I’m praying to the guy who reached over and touched a leper, I’m praying to the guy with the robe and, you know, who didn’t have a place to lay His head, and I’m praying to the guy who’s, you know, maybe my height and just a little bit smarter than me.
And God is saying, I’m holding up the phone today so you can move your relationship with Christ through Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John to the ascension back into Heaven, to now understand that the man from Galilee is the risen Son of God and he is fierce and unrivalled and unparalleled in every way. His eyes are like fire and his face is like the sun at noon day. And yes, He lives in us and yes, He’s closer than a friend, yes, we call Almighty God Abba Father, and yes, we know that he’ll never leave us or forsake us.
But I’m telling you, this risen Christ, don’t get any crazy ideas that you’re gonna high five Him when you see Him. This is not the man upstairs and the man from Galilee, this is Yahweh who sits on a throne, and this is the risen King of kings. And John collapsed. I wonder, have you ever collapsed? Has there ever been a time in your life that you knew the only place you could get is right here? And you didn’t even wanna look around. John fell down like a dead man. Not like he knew how to worship.
You know, the one hand, hand on the heart, two hands, the open hands, the one knee, you know, the two knees, the two knees with the hands, the two knees with the thing, the two knees with the up, the down, the down, the down, the head, he didn’t know how to do all that. He just went down when he had a glimpse of Jesus. He just went down. And I want us to come into this journey and around this text and I want us to understand that glimpses of the risen Jesus change us. And what does He want you to glimpse? He wants you to glimpse that He’s triumphant, currently, that He wins and is winning, that He reigns now and is reigning.
He’s not gonna reign, He is reigning. He’s not gonna be victorious, He is victorious. He’s not gonna sit on a throne of thrones, He is on the throne of thrones right now. And He’s gonna tell us and He’s showing us it’s gonna get dark, it is gonna get messy, it is gonna get hard, it is going to be brutal but don’t ever forget that I’m reigning. I don’t know if it’s the end, and can I just tell you this? Revelation isn’t given to us to tell us the timeline, it’s given to us to tell us that our King is reigning triumphant. And it’s given to us to tell us that He’s coming soon because what chapter tells us is that He’s near.
See, if you were going to LA, you would get your Google maps out, you’d see your blue dot, you’d see LA, you know, «Yeah, we’re not close». but then you can, kinda, say, «We’re getting closer and closer, and closer, and closer, and closer». Then you start texting people, «We’re getting closer». Then you’d say, «We’re outside the city». Then you say, «We’re here, we’re on the freeway». Then you say, «we’re…» You know. You can see all that.
That’s not how Jesus is coming. Jesus is here and if this is earth in this kingdom, I want you to imagine the thinnest thing you can imagine and He’s right here on the other side of it right now. And just like that, just like that, He can step through the veil 'cause He’s right here. He’s near. That’s how I knew He’s coming soon, 'cause He’s near. He’s not gonna go, «Okay, I’m leaving now. Track me on GPS». No, He’s right here right now, and before you get in your car, He could step through the veil and every eye will see Him. He’s triumphant and He’s coming soon. Are you ready?