Christ is risen. That is the truth we celebrated on Easter Day; but after Easter, then what? In some ways perhaps when Easter is over it seems that we come down to earth with a bump. The Sunday after Easter is actually known as Low Sunday, perhaps as an acknowledgement that we are back to reality.

The reality so often is to do with the fact that we are up against it. Life is difficult. That is the reality for most of the people most of the time. For the Christian and for the church, these difficulties have often been related to the fact that the challenges of Jesus and the light that the gospel sheds often arouse opposition and hatred.

By nature, men often prefer darkness to light. The response of sinful human beings to the light of the risen Lord Jesus is to desperately attempt to put out the light. In practice that means hostility to Christians because as Christians we are the ones that our risen Lord Jesus has entrusted to be the light of the world.

In many parts of our world today Christians face hostility and injustice for this very reason. Even in tolerant Britain, living as followers of Jesus can attract resentment, and sometimes even downright hostility. Yes Jesus may be risen; but many pour scorn and suspicion on what we say about the events of Easter.

This morning we are looking at the book of Revelation. Revelation is set at a time when Christians were up against it. They knew Jesus was risen, but things looked grim for the church. Domitian was Roman emperor at the time. He had been a reasonably acceptable emperor, but later in his reign he had experienced defeats and he had become paranoid; a scenario that often seems to have occurred in human history. We could instance Hitler, Stalin, Saddam Hussein and Robert Mugabe as other examples of rulers losing sound judgement and becoming paranoid.

Domitian as Roman emperor was now demanding that all his subjects worship him. But two groups refused to; the Jews and the Christians. The book of Revelation is set In Asia Minor, the area which we know today as Turkey. It is addressed to seven churches in prominent towns in Asia Minor. At that time in history there were probably more Christians in Asia Minor than anywhere else in the world.

The leading city of Asia Minor was Ephesus. It was from Ephesus that Paul preached the gospel for three years. The scriptures tell us through his preaching there the gospel had become known throughout all Asia- Asia minor that is. On all three of his missionary journeys, Paul had spent considerable time in Asia, and three of his epistles, Ephesians, Galatians and Colossians were addressed to the churches in Asia.

The Christians here in Asia were now facing persecution. One form that it seems this persecution took was the arrest and exile of their leaders. John, the author of Revelation was in exile on the isle of Patmos. It seems likely that John had been a leader of the church in Ephesus, although the scripture doesn’t actually say that. Many think that this man was actually the apostle John, although the scripture doesn’t tell us that either. What the book does tell us however is that there in his exile away from the fellowship of God’s people the risen Lord Jesus appears to his servant John.
In a situation of great difficulty when the church seemed up against the might of the Roman Empire the risen Christ appears and he speaks. What an encouragement that would have been to John and to the early church for whom the revelation was given.

Of course the book’s name describes what occurred there on the isle of Patmos. We know what revelation means. It means revealing the truth. No doubt in the Sunday papers today there will be revelations, although the Sunday papers are not always as careful as they should be to make sure that what they reveal actually is true. The revelation that Jesus gives to his church, both to the churches of that age and to the church today are true.

But before we think about what Christ says, we will think first about the importance of listening. John tells us that he was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day. The Lord’s Day is rarely mentioned in the bible. There are many references to the Sabbath. The Sabbath is Saturday. The Jews still worship on that day. Some Christians do too, the Seventh Day Adventists do.

But you find just a few fleeting references in scripture to the Lord’s Day. Sunday was the Day when Jesus rose from the grave. Generally in the church it eventually became known as the Lord’s Day. Christians chose in due course to make the Lord’s day their day of worship.

It was on this day, as John was in the Spirit that the risen Christ reveals himself. But what does it mean to be in the Spirit? Firstly to be in the Spirit means to be in an attitude of worship. We are so privileged to be free to gather in worship on the Lord’s Day. I’m sure we don’t always appreciate it as we should. Time and again, we are reminded that when we gather in the name of Jesus, that is when the risen Christ is present with us.

Of course it is quite possible to be in church, but not to be in the Spirit. We can be in a church building; we can be among Christian people and still not be in the Spirit. Being in the Spirit is to do with opening your heart in worship to God and in love towards our fellow men and women. Being in the Spirit is to do with letting the Holy Spirit stir us up to worship and prayer and to open our hearts and minds to God and his word to us.

When we gather in worship, even if we are few in number, only two or three together Christ promises to be present. What a privilege to be able to gather for worship. But our passage reminds us that even if we can’t produce a quorum of two, that still doesn’t mean we can’t be in the Spirit. As far as we know from the way John writes he was on his own that day. But he was in the Spirit.

It is possible to be in the Spirit when humanly speaking we are on our own. Yes it is good to share fellowship with others. But we can be in the Spirit when no other person is present. In fact we are foolish if we do not cultivate Christ’s presence when we do not have human company. Yes, do gather for worship, seek to be in fellowship in the Spirit with your fellow believers. But do not forget that when circumstances do not permit that, we can still be in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day and we can encounter the risen Christ as we listen for his word to us.
Now let’s think then, about the one who speaks. It is of course the risen Lord Jesus. He is ruler of the kings of the earth. John, and the Christians to whom he ministered had a problem. In many ways the Roman Empire had been an aid to the work of the gospel. Roman roads meant easy travel so the gospel could be spread. Roman authority and order maintained peace and enabled the message to be preached.

Roman citizenship had been of considerable benefit to Paul to enable him better to spread the gospel. But now the empire was turning against the church. It was persecuting its leaders. It was demanding of believers that they give the emperor that which in all conscience they could give only to Christ: their worship.

Humanly speaking the emperor was the supreme authority. But the risen Jesus reminds John that he is the ultimate authority. He is ruler of the kings of the earth. Just as the emperor threatened the church with his tyrannical demands for worship, time and again others have done the same. Law makers of all shades have attempted to make demands that those who give their first allegiance to Christ cannot in all good conscience comply with. God’s word reminds us again that the risen Lord Jesus is ruler of the kings of the earth and prime ministers and presidents too. They may come; they may use their authority to make all manner of demand upon men and women. But ultimately they will go. They will be called to give account to a higher authority; to the one who is ruler of the kings of the earth.

More than that however, the risen Christ is also the one who loved us and freed us from our sins by his blood. The risen Christ is the one who showed his love in laying down his life on the cross to free us from the just penalty of our sins. Christ’s death on the cross was not a failure. Christ is the one who has liberated his children from their sins.

Jesus is also the one who holds the keys of death and Hades. Jesus is the one who is alive for evermore. The Christians to whom the revelation was given faced the reality of the threat of death because of their faith in Christ. But Christ is the one who holds the keys of death. Every human being is faced with the reality that one day they must die. But Jesus has overcome the power of death. Christ has enabled believers to pass through death to eternal life.

Now we must not belittle the pain that grief causes. Nor must we pretend that for each of us our own death is not an awesome thing to face. We all have to face it one day. The wonderful truth is that Jesus holds the keys of death. Our life and our death are safe in his hands. Because Christ is risen, there is eternal life for you and me.

And finally, what does the risen Jesus say to us? First of all he says ‘Grace and Peace’. Grace has come to us through Jesus. The risen Jesus offers us grace. Most people offer us something at a price. We have to pay to get the goods or service, because everything costs, everything has a price that must be paid. But if we are offered something gratis, or in other words on the basis of grace, no payment is required. That is because someone else has borne the cost of that item. Christ has welcomed us into his kingdom on the basis of grace; he has borne the admission cost. Christ has also has mediated peace between God and us.


The world shouts, ‘you must pay for your failures and mistakes’. Grace, the message of Christ is that I love and accept you in spite of your mistakes. The message of peace is that by repentance and forgiveness your sins can be dealt with; your relationship with God restored.

Christ also twice tells John to write what he sees and hears. Words are sometimes fairly meaningless. But when someone puts their words into writing, then what they say become more significant. When we write down our promises or agreements, then we can be held accountable for them.

The risen Christ tells John to write down the revelation, because he means what he says. Revelation is a long book. Christ has much to say to his church and we will be thinking at length about it over the coming weeks, but the point to remember is that the risen Christ commissioned this to be committed to writing for his Church; we can rely on what is written.

Finally, Christ is present with his church. John sees the risen Christ among seven golden lamp stands. It is explained that the lamp stands represent the churches. No doubt those specific seven churches referred to in revelation felt beleaguered, they probably felt very much on their own. But Christ reveals that he has not left his church on its own. He has a concern for each individual church. As we look at the following chapters we see that Christ sees and knows the situation of each.

He has appropriate challenges for each; but above all he wants each one to know the reality of his presence among them. The risen Christ knows us as we are; he has challenges for us here at Clarence Road as a church and as individuals.

He wants us to know more of the reality of his presence. May we find ourselves in the Spirit on his day, that we might hear.

 

Amen.

Return to top of page