Part 1 of “The Message of Revelation” || October 19, 2025 || Glynwood Baptist Church, Prattville, AL || James Jackson, Pastor
Good morning! Please open your Bibles to Revelation 1 as we begin a brand-new series on the book of Revelation.
Most of you know our kids go to Centri-Kid every summer, and each grade has its own team color—third graders are yellow, fourth are green, fifth are blue, sixth are red. So when I found this variety pack of sunglasses on Amazon—all different colors—I thought, why wait for camp? Let’s have a little fun.
I need a few volunteers.
(Invite 3–4 people to the front. Hand each a different color—blue, red, green, yellow.)
All right, look around the room and tell me, in one word, how the world looks through your glasses.
(Expect: “Blue!” “Red!” “Green!”)
Perfect. Now imagine you start arguing about it.
“You’re wrong—the world isn’t blue, it’s red!”
“Are you crazy? Everything’s green!”
We’d all recognize that the problem isn’t the world—it’s the lens. The lens colors everything we see.
And that’s exactly what happens when people read the book of Revelation.
- Some read it through a futurist lens—everything’s still to come.
- Some through a preterist lens—most of it already happened.
- Some through a historicist lens—it’s a timeline of church history.
- Some through a symbolic lens—it’s an ongoing picture of good versus evil.
Each lens shows part of the truth—but only one brings everything into focus.
[Sunglasses Slide]
This is the lens we’ll use for the next eight weeks. Because when you look through this one, everything else comes into focus.
[READ]
[Pray]
The Blessing for the True Disciple (Revelation 1:1–3)
John opens this book with something no other book in the Bible has—an invitation and a blessing. Right from the start, he wants us to know: this is not a code to be cracked; it’s a gift to be received.
A. The blessing comes from God’s prophetic revelation from Jesus (vv. 1–2)
“The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John.”
The Greek word apokalypsis means “an unveiling,” a pulling back of the curtain. When most people hear “apocalypse,” they think of the end of the world—fire and brimstone, dogs and cats living together, mass hysteria! (Thank you, Bill Murray.)
But that’s not what John meant. Revelation isn’t about how the world falls apart; it’s about the One who holds it all together.
And notice something easy to miss. Verse 1 says God gave the revelation to Jesus, not directly to John. The pattern moves from the Father, through the Son, by the Spirit, to the church—the same pattern we see all through Scripture.
The Father initiates; the Son reveals; the Spirit illuminates.
So this isn’t John’s idea—it’s God’s initiative. What you hold in your hands this morning isn’t human speculation; it’s heaven speaking to earth. If you’ve ever wondered whether God still speaks, here’s your answer: He has spoken, and His final word is Jesus.
B. The blessing comes in the church’s public reading of God’s Word (v. 3)
“Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear…”
In the first century, most believers didn’t own copies of Scripture. A messenger would bring a scroll, and one person would read while the rest listened. So John blesses both—the reader and the hearers.
That’s why the public reading of Scripture still matters today. It’s not filler before the sermon; it’s the moment God’s voice fills the room.
And isn’t it ironic that the one book so many Christians avoid is the only one that begins with a blessing for reading it? The blessing doesn’t come from decoding symbols but from hearing God’s Word together. A church that reads, hears, and treasures Revelation will be a church that learns to endure.
C. The blessing comes with our personal response of obedience (v. 3)
“…and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.”
The blessing doesn’t stop with hearing—it culminates in doing. The phrase take to heart means to guard, to keep, to obey. Revelation isn’t meant to entertain us; it’s meant to transform us.
“The time is near” doesn’t mean we can predict a date; it means God’s plan is already in motion, and every generation lives on the brink of fulfillment. The train of redemption is at the station—we just don’t know when it will depart.
The same Jesus who gave John this vision also said, “Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it” (Luke 11:28). Revelation’s blessing is really the blessing of discipleship—seeing, hearing, and obeying Jesus until He comes.
Maybe the reason this book intimidates so many Christians is that we’ve tried to make it an academic puzzle instead of a discipleship invitation. But the true disciple doesn’t just study prophecy; he lives it. He walks in readiness, holiness, and hope.
When we receive Revelation as a call to worship and obedience, we discover the blessing John promised.
2. A Greeting from the Triune God (Revelation 1:4–6)
Let’s look at verses 4–6:
“John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father—to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”
Before John ever mentions beasts or bowls, he begins with grace and peace—not chaos, but calm.
Those two words tell the story of the whole Bible. Grace is God’s attitude toward us; peace is the result of that grace in us. Grace removes guilt; peace replaces fear. And both flow, not from the world around us, but from the God above us.
A. Grace and peace from the Father
John begins with the Father: “from Him who is, and who was, and who is to come.”
It’s an expansion of God’s covenant name from Exodus 3, “I AM WHO I AM.”
He’s the God of the present, the past, and the future. He has never not been, and He will never cease to be.
Before you get to the plagues and judgments later in Revelation, remember this: the One seated on the throne never changes. The scroll of history may roll and unroll, but the Author of history remains constant.
B. Grace and peace from the Spirit
Next comes a mysterious phrase: “and from the seven spirits who are before His throne.”
That doesn’t mean there are seven different Holy Spirits—Scripture is clear: “There is one Spirit” (Ephesians 4:4).
In Revelation, the number seven symbolizes fullness and perfection, so this is a picture of the Holy Spirit in all His completeness.
Isaiah 11:2 describes the Spirit resting on the Messiah with seven attributes—wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, and the fear of the Lord.
So as we begin this book, take comfort: the same Spirit who stands before the throne stands beside the church. The One who inspired these words opens our eyes to understand them.
C. Grace and peace from the Son
Finally, grace and peace flow “from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.”
Each title reveals a facet of His glory:
- Faithful Witness: He reveals the Father perfectly, even to death.
- Firstborn from the Dead: He conquered death and became the pattern of resurrection life.
- Ruler of the Kings of the Earth: Even before crowns and thrones appear later, John declares Jesus already reigns.
Those three titles tell the whole gospel: the One who testified faithfully died, rose, and reigns forever.
D. The Doxology
And John can’t describe Jesus without worshiping Him:
“To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood and made us a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever! Amen.”
Before the thunder of judgment, there’s the melody of grace.
- Loved—continually. He didn’t love us once; He loves us still.
- Freed—completely. Not partially forgiven, but fully released by His blood.
- Made—a kingdom of priests. We’re not spectators; we’re servants in His work.
This is who you are in Christ: loved, freed, and sent. You’re not defined by failure or trapped by your past. You’re not a victim of your story—you’re a priest in His kingdom.
And the same grace and peace that greeted the seven churches still flows to you from the Triune God who sits on the throne.
3. The Return of the Triumphant Lord (Revelation 1:7–8)
Verse 7 begins with a single word that sounds like a trumpet blast: “Behold!”
John doesn’t whisper this; he shouts it from Patmos to every generation—Look! Pay attention! Don’t miss what’s coming next.
“Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.”
A. “Behold, He is coming with the clouds.”
That phrase echoes the vision of Daniel 7:13–14 and the promise of Matthew 24:30—the Son of Man coming with power and great glory. John gathers both passages into one thunderous truth: the same Jesus who ascended in the clouds will return in the clouds.
The first time He came in humility, riding on a donkey.
The next time He’ll come in majesty, riding on the clouds.
And don’t miss the tense—“He is coming.” Not someday, but certain and active. The train of redemption is already rolling. His return isn’t an if but a when.
B. “Every eye will see Him.”
His coming will be public, undeniable, and glorious. No secret return, no hidden moment—every eye will see Him.
Those who loved Him, those who rejected Him, those who pierced Him.
That line points both backward to Calvary, where humanity pierced the Son of God, and forward to Zechariah 12:10, where God says, “They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and mourn for him as for an only child.”
When Christ returns, there will be only two responses: mourning or worship.
The same event that terrifies the unrepentant will thrill the redeemed.
Better to bow now than later.
C. The Almighty’s Signature (v. 8)
“‘I am the Alpha and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.’”
Here God signs His name across history. Alpha and Omega—the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet—mean He is the beginning, the end, and everything in between.
The phrase “who is, and who was, and who is to come” ties back to verse 4, reminding us that the same eternal God who offers grace and peace will also bring justice and renewal.
And here’s the breathtaking connection: the same title appears again on Jesus’ lips in Revelation 22:13—“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.”
The Father and the Son share the same divine name, the same authority, the same unstoppable purpose.
Revelation opens with a united Trinity—and closes with a united triumph.
Application: Anchored, Not Anxious
Revelation isn’t written to make believers anxious about the future—it’s written to anchor them in it.
The message is not “Look what the world is coming to,” but “Look Who’s coming to the world.”
Every headline, every rumor of war, every shaking of the earth is just a reminder that history has a direction—and its destination is a Person.
When the clouds roll back and the trumpet sounds, it won’t be chaos on the throne. It will be Christ.
And when you belong to Him, you already belong to the winning side.
Conclusion: The Right Lens for the End of the Story
When we started this morning, I handed out those colored sunglasses—blue, red, green, yellow—and we laughed because each person was technically right, yet none saw the world as it truly was.
That’s what happens when we read Revelation through the wrong lens.
- If you read it through the lens of fear, you’ll see monsters and mayhem.
- Through the lens of pride, you’ll see yourself as the hero.
- Through the lens of speculation, you’ll see headlines instead of hope.
- But if you read it through the lens that says GOD WINS, everything comes into focus.
Because this book isn’t about beasts and battles—it’s about the Blessed One who reigns over them all.
It isn’t about codes and calendars—it’s about Christ.
Two Responses
John says every eye will see Him, and all the tribes of the earth will wail on account of Him. When that day comes, there will only be two reactions: mourning or worship.
But there’s another sound in heaven—the song of the redeemed:
“To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood—to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever! Amen.”
You can’t sing both songs. You’ll either mourn His coming or celebrate it.
So the question isn’t Will Jesus return?
The question is, When He does, which song will you be singing?
Invitation and Prayer
Maybe you’ve been looking at life through the wrong lens—through fear, shame, or control.
The truth of Revelation 1 is that Jesus loves you, freed you, and made you new.
He’s already done everything necessary for your redemption.
If you’ve never trusted Him, you can change lenses today.
If you already belong to Him, let this book steady your heart again.
Let’s begin this series as John began his vision—by worshiping the One who holds the future.
Prayer:
Father, thank You for unveiling Jesus to us.
Thank You for the grace and peace that flow from Your throne.
We praise You that the end of the story is already written, and the headline is simple: God wins.
Help us read, hear, and keep Your Word—not with fear, but with faith.
In the name of the Alpha and the Omega, who is and was and is to come—our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
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