Our scripture readings this evening will be found both in Daniel 7 and also in Revelation 1. I will read a few verses in Daniel 7 and then read the whole chapter of Revelation 1. And we will concentrate this evening on verses 5 and 6 of chapter 1 of Revelation. Let us hear the word of God. As I looked, thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat. His clothing was white as snow, the hair of his head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze. A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him. Thousands upon thousands attended him. Ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him. The court was seated and the books were opened. And then in verse 13 and 14, In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory, and sovereign power. All peoples, nations, and men of every language worshipped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away. And his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed. And turning to Revelation 1. The Holy Spirit says to us, The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who testifies to everything he saw. That is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near. John, to the seven churches in the province of Asia. 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 firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and freed us from our sins by His blood, And has made us to be a kingdom and priests. To serve His God and Father. To Him be glory and power forever and ever. Amen. Look, He is coming with the clouds. In every eye I 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. I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God. Who is and who was and who is to come. the Almighty. 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. On the Lord's day, I was in the spirit and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet which said, write on the scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. 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 its brilliance. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand in 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 forever 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. So far the reading of his word. I'm confused. It's so complex. I am lost. Only an expert, only somebody like Dr. Godfrey can understand this. Revelation is a mysterious book, they say. It's difficult to understand. It requires charts and maps and timelines to make it understandable. Some people think that these visions and dreams are not relevant for us today because they are mere dreams and visions of somebody who was having dreams and visions. Some other people say that these prophecies are to be taken as literally as possible with the news about the Middle East in one hand and the Bible in the other. It is sometimes said that Revelation is about the great escape, the great escape from the great tribulation, to be raptured away from the great tribulation. But are those what the book of Revelation teaches us? The book of Revelation is contrary to that. It is also called the apocalypse for a good reason because the word apocalypse means to reveal, to fully expose in full view what was before hidden or secret. This means that Revelation was written not as a puzzle to be pieced together from all kinds of sources out of context or a mysterious code to be unlocked by some sort of computer program. If we concentrate on the mysterious details of this book, then we get bogged down and we lose sight of the big picture. And what is the big picture of Revelation? It is the revelation of God's absolute control over the past, the present, and the future. And it is also written to encourage us believers in our fight, in our spiritual warfare, in our persecution and suffering. As complicated as it seems to be, Revelation is summarized by a New Testament scholar in one simple sentence. He says that Revelation is summarized as God rules history and will bring it to its consummation in Christ, to its end in Christ. So John says that we are not to avoid reading and studying this book because John in verse 3 says, Blessed is the one who reads and hears the words of this prophecy. The book addresses seven real churches in real cities in Asia during the first century. Thus, Revelation is not to be taken as an imaginary book, irrelevant to our time today. It addresses real problems in the church that is present, to be present throughout the church age, throughout our age. So they are real for us today. For example, the problems of the seven churches are usually apostasy, idolatry, false teachers, persecution, sexual immorality, false assurance, apathy or lack of concern. Those are present with us today. So John says to the seven churches that these things in the book of Revelation are about to unfold. And it has been unfolding before our eyes because these events are events beginning from the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, from His death until He comes again. So, between his first and second comings. And throughout these books, these events are a picture of the church struggling in this fallen and sinful world. But while the church struggles, Christ is present with his people. He is encouraging, comforting, leading, and building up his people. Because he is the truth and we can trust his word and his promises. he is our full assurance in our tribulations in our times of trouble as we heard from the greeting this evening jesus is revealed as the faithful witness the first born from the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth he is our complete savior because he lovingly and perfectly fulfills his work as the mediator between God and man. He is our faithful prophet, our faithful witness. He is our merciful priest. He is our glorious king. So, the topics in our message this evening are Christ is our prophet, priest, and king. He is our prophet. The Greek, the original Greek is very emphatic. It says, the witness, the faithful one. His testimony about God and himself is true and faithful because he is the truth. God could trust his words to him that he writes everything that he sees and hears on a scroll. So Jesus is the better prophet, better than Moses and all the other Old Testament prophets. In fact, he is the ideal prophet that Deuteronomy 18.18 talks about, which is familiar to us. It says, I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among your brothers, and I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak to them all that I command him. The Lord repeats his affirmation of Jesus and his command in Matthew when he said during the transfiguration, this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. Listen to him. Listen to him. Are you listening to the words of our faithful prophet? Do you obey his commands? To love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. To love your neighbor as yourself. To you who reject Jesus as the true prophet and disobey His commands, the following verse in Deuteronomy, Deuteronomy 18, verse 19, has a warning. It says, And whoever will not listen to my words, that he shall speak in my name, I myself will require it of him. You who does not listen to Him is accountable to God when the time comes. When Jesus comes again in glory. So Matthew 10.33 says that whoever denies me before men, that is Jesus speaking, whoever denies me before men, I will also deny him before the Father who is in heaven. But when you listen to Jesus, he will share his words to you. And you are to speak his words to other people. In this, Jesus makes us prophets. He makes you a prophet. One who declares the gospel to other people and proclaims the glory of God to others. All believers are called out of darkness into His marvelous light to proclaim the excellencies, the glories of God into the world. As we learned this morning, it is our duty to proclaim the gospel wherever we are, to call others to repentance and faith, to encourage believers to a godly and holy life, to call others in the congregation to acts of mercy towards one another and towards those who are hungry, thirsty, sick, or in prison, whether here in Escondido or in Indonesia or in the remotest parts of the earth. To encourage missionaries who preach the gospel in the remotest parts of the earth, let us not be content with sending financial support from our church, but be more directly involved in their work. as we are prophets. Here's a few examples of how we as a congregation can get more involved in proclaiming the gospel to the world. We can invite missionaries in our Bible studies, in Sunday schools, even in our children's Sunday schools. We can organize prayer groups that will meet regularly to pray for our missionaries, for those we support. We can highlight a missionary each month in our bulletin or invite a missionary once a month to speak to our Sunday school or to speak after the worship service like tonight. We can translate the Heidelberg Catechism and the Psalter Hymnal into Spanish or encouraging churches overseas to do the same so that they will be able to worship the Lord in spirit and in truth like we do here. We can promote our church through bumper stickers with our website address on them. Those are only a few examples or suggestions. Lastly, I would suggest something that our federation has been reluctant to do, to be able to more efficiently proclaim the gospel. And this is to organize a federation-wide mission board to ordinate and encourage URC missionaries and church planters who are all over the world. Jesus calls us to be prophets like him. who proclaimed the words of his Father in heaven throughout his life. But he is not only our prophet. He is also our merciful priest. First of all, being firstborn from the dead means that he died and rose again from the dead for his people, for you and me. Verse 5 says that Jesus loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood. He is merciful toward us. By His resurrection, God the Father confirmed His acceptance of Christ's sacrifice for His people. His resurrection proved that He is God's Son. His resurrection proved that Satan is defeated. Death is conquered. This means that Jesus is God's guarantee of our own resurrection and glorification. But this is not all. Being firstborn means that He is the privileged heir to the universe, to heaven and earth, and that in everything He might be preeminent, in Colossians 1, 18. This means that all who belong to Christ are also heirs of every spiritual blessings in the heavenly places, Chosen by God, adopted by God, forgiven of sins, having the seal of the Holy Spirit, guaranteed heavenly inheritance. We are no longer aliens in God's kingdom, but we are children. We are fellow citizens and members of God's household. He made us to be a kingdom priest to His God and Father. This is obviously a reference to Exodus 19 where God separates Israel from the rest of the nations. Jesus is our high priest today. And that's why in verse 13, it describes how he is clothed. He is clothed with a long robe and with a sash around his chest. This is the same priestly robe that the Old Testament priests wore. But in the Old Testament, the priests, only the priests were allowed to enter the presence of God in the most holy place. But now, because of Christ's priestly sacrifice, we have confidence to enter the most holy place and we can draw near to God with a true heart in full assurance in Hebrews 10, 19 to 20. Whenever we come to worship the Lord on the Lord's day, we come before the very presence of the most holy God in the most holy place. Do you have confidence to draw near to God? Do you have confidence in bringing all your praises, in bringing all your confessions, your thanksgiving, your supplications, and your requests to the Father in heaven? through our Lord Jesus Christ. Only by faith in Christ will you be able to draw near to God in heaven because Christ is in heaven mediating and interceding for us. In the Old Testament, there was a golden lampstand in the tabernacle, a lampstand with seven oil lamps. It is also called the menorah. The priests were to keep them burning throughout the night And these lights symbolize that Israel was the light of the world. As priest, Jesus was seen by John in a vision walking among those lampstands. And the lampstands, we know, are symbols for the church. And so Jesus is actually walking among his people. He is present with his people. And so even if Christ is in heaven right now, Jesus still walks among us through His Spirit. He dwells among us. He encourages us. He watches us. And He guides us through His Word. And Jesus is in heaven, not only as our faithful prophet and merciful priest, He is also there as our glorious King, the ruler of the kings of the earth. The second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ will be characterized by two things. First, it will be a visible and audible appearance. In verse 10, it says, I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet. And here, John refers to one spirit. I was in the spirit on the Lord's day. Not the seven spirits that we heard in verse 4. As an aside, the seven spirits are confusing to many people. Why is the revelation of John referring to God in nine persons? The Father, Son, and the seven spirits. And this is sometimes confusing. But in Revelation, the number seven is usually symbolic of God's fullness, God's completion, God's perfection. And so because the Holy Spirit is God, He is perfect and complete and full. And so the Holy Spirit is not seven spirits, but one spirit. The loud trumpet that John hears is reminding us of the loud trumpet at Mount Sinai when the Israelites gathered there to make a covenant with God. Here the trumpet voice announces the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ. Paul also tells us about a loud trumpet at the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. in 1 Corinthians 15, 52, Paul says, In a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet, for the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and all will be changed, and we will be changed. He says again in 1 Thessalonians, For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. The same John who wrote the book of Revelation also wrote in John 5.28, Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who have done good to the resurrection of the life and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment. Note that John says an hour is coming. It doesn't say a period of a thousand years will come. And here's the first resurrection of the believers and then a second resurrection after one thousand years of unbelievers. This is an hour is coming when all will be raised from the dead. What this means is that there will be no secret rapture. he says in verse 7 look he 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 his second coming will not be a secret coming his second coming will be a glorious appearance in verses 13 to 18 we see a description of the vision of John of Christ when he came into the world the first time our Lord Jesus Christ was born in a manger and he lived a simple life as a carpenter this morning we heard we learned that he was mocked he was beaten and suffered the curse of God on the cross but not so in his second coming he will come again as the glorious king and judge, as the almighty God, as the alpha and the omega, as the first and the last, as the beginning and the end. His head and hair are white like wool, as white as snow. His face was like the sun, shining in brilliance. This symbolizes His great age, His holiness and His purity. His eyes are like blazing fire. Nothing can be hidden from his sight. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace. He is powerful and immovable. His voice is like the sound of rushing waters, a frightening voice as when he appeared at Mount Sinai. And out of his mouth comes a two-edged sword. The thundering voice and the sword symbolize the word of God in judgment, living and active, discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. This is one of the clearest statements that we have in scripture about the deity of Christ. Because in Daniel 7, as we read, this description is similar to the description of the ancient of days, of God himself in heaven. And Daniel continues to describe the ascension of Jesus to heaven to take his seat at the right hand of God the Father. It says in Daniel 7, verses 13 and 14, we read, I saw in the night, and behold, with the clouds of heaven, there came one like a son of man. And he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away. And his kingdom, one that shall not be destroyed. John's vision of the second coming of Jesus is very similar. He is like the Son of Man coming with the clouds in glory. Christ has also made us kings. We are seated with Him in the heavenly places. Ephesians 2.6 He has given us authority over unbelievers. We hold also the key to heaven and Hades through the preaching of the word and the testimony that we make to others. Revelation 24 says that our loved ones who have gone before us are now reigning with Christ in heaven. But our reign now is only a foretaste of what is to come. When the Lord comes again, we will reign with Him forever and ever. As a believer, Do you look forward to the blessed hope, the appearance of the Son of Man before our eyes? Do you look forward to the day when we will hear the trumpet sound and a voice that says, come up here with me? Do you eagerly wait for that grand reunion with our loved ones who have gone before us when they rise from the grave with new bodies? Or does the second coming of Jesus terrify you because you know it's judgment day for you? Are you one who will mourn the coming, the appearing of our eternal judge? Then acknowledge that Jesus is your only Savior and the only King of your life. Then you will rejoice when He comes again. Beloved in Christ, the Holy Spirit says that you are blessed if you read the book of Revelation. You are blessed if you guard and obey what is written in it. Do not be confused, afraid, or cynical about this book. Because in it, you will find hope and encouragement in the sufferings in this sinful world. Just as John and the first century Christians did. These persecutions and sufferings will always be with us until He comes again. But be patient. Just as Christ endured sufferings and was exalted, so we too, if we endured the sufferings and the persecution in this world today, we will also be glorified. We have full assurance that as we suffer in this world, that we have a Savior who is in heaven, who is interceding for us as our prophet, priest, and king. In heaven, He makes all our requests and all our petitions in our need and in troubles to God our Father. From heaven, He is reigning over all the powers, good and evil, And he is reigning forever and ever as the Lord of history. To him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Let us pray. We give you thanks, O God, for your son's love shown to us through his sufferings for us. For his faithful testimony. For your sovereign rule over the universe. may we show our gratitude to you in word in our word in our deeds so that others will see your light through our faithful witness Amen