We are continuing our series in the book of Revelation And today we are in chapter 1 and we will be looking at verses 9 to 11. So only a few verses. I was kind of thinking of maybe doing the rest of the first chapter first but then I figured out there's too much there that I want to speak on and so I chose to only do verses 9 to 11. Here we will see important themes. Important themes again relating to the rest of this last book in the Bible. Last week when we looked at, or not last week, but last time when we looked at the book of Revelation, we looked at verses 7 and 8, and in particular 7, which I believe summarizes the essence of the whole book of Revelation. Namely, the greatness of the Christ, the greatness of Jesus, and His soon return, His soon second coming. But in these verses, as we now then continue, we are given, it's kind of part in some ways of the introduction still, what this book is about, who are the different people in this book, so to say, who is writing, and where is he writing from. And also, We will here encounter an interesting phrase, namely, the Lord's Day. The Lord's Day. Sometimes you will hear me even referring to the Lord's Day on Sundays like this. In fact, I think I did that earlier today in our meeting. The Lord's Day, and then there's a little bit of even debate, what does this mean here? And in fact, this phrase, this name, this title, the Lord's Day, is found only once in the whole Bible. And it is found here. And I think it is very significant and I think it's right that Christians use it and refer to it. And I'll get to what I strongly believe and what most Christians agree what it means, the Lord's Day. And in my study even this week for this sermon, I was just in a good way kind of encouraged in my like, yeah, this is a beautiful truth and we should use this phrase more often, the Lord's Day. Well, before we look at that in detail, I do want to now begin again by reading the Word of God. The Word of God is always first and primary. If something should be taken away from a sermon or from a gathering of Christians, it should not be the reading of God's Word. You know, if we're so short on time, you can cut off my sermon. but you cannot cut off the reading of God's Word. God's Word should be always primary, and then the explanation based on God's Word is important, and of course we're committed to that, and I do that. But it is sad if you basically just assume the reading of God's Word, and you don't really do that, or you just briefly, maybe one verse or something like that. And then it's just the pastor talking about those verses. No, we actually need to hear the Word of God as well as read. And in a unique way, I believe the book of Revelation, this book that even begins with reminding us, blessed is the one who reads. Maybe it's a bit selfish, but I want to be that blessed person who reads this to you. But it's not just selfish because you also, it says, blessed is the one who hears. and keeps. It's not just hearing as in like, you know, I could go and read to a person on the street who doesn't want to hear it and he just kind of, well, he just hears the words. No, it's hearing as in joyfully receiving it and seeking then to live in accordance to it. So there's a unique blessing for you as you hear the Word of God, all of the Word of God, but in a unique way. Revelation reminds us about that. So I want to I read chapters 1, 2, and 3, and I was thinking that maybe it's too much, but then I figured out, no, it's not. And I will read all those three chapters, because it's so important. Because the verses that we will look at today, verses 9, 10, and 11, They speak about, it's part of this introduction, John who is writing this, and he speaks about tribulation, the kingdom and patient endurance that are in Jesus. Then he speaks that he receives this calling to write what he sees in a book and then send it to these seven churches that are listed. So, the one who is writing this book, John, And then he reminds his audience who he is and the relationship to them, these churches, and where he is when he got this, and that this calling was given by Jesus to him, and that this is in Jesus, these patient, endurance partakers of the tribulation and kingdom. And then that these send it to these seven churches. So I think it's very good for us to be reminded what has come before in the book of Revelation, these first eight verses. And I think it's very helpful for us, even if I would read it every week, it's only once a week. And I mean, I forget these things and I'm sure you forget as well. So that we are then reminded, what are the kind of things that Jesus wants his churches to hear? What are the things that Jesus says to these seven churches? Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamon, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea? And these are obviously the same kind of things that many of us still need. We might not have the same problems. No church has all those problems. But, you know, Christians have different problems. Churches have these different problems. What does Jesus say? And in all of this, I want to again remind you, as we'll then see later in the sermon, how central the Christian church is in the book of Revelation. How central the churches are in the book of Revelation. Jesus does not here speak to lone ranger Christians who are not committed to a local church. He does not. I don't believe in general he does that. He speaks to his churches. And what you will see again as I read these letters to these churches, some of these churches are like, whoa, man, they have some serious, serious problems. And most of the churches get a strong rebuke from Jesus saying, repent. They're still churches though. They're still churches of Christ. And also the faithful ones in those churches who were not part of whatever, even if he was even if he was frotten from the leadership up or whatever, there were serious problems in the church, Jesus commends the faithful ones. I know there are still some there who are faithful. And those churches, they need to repent and they need to change. But my point is here, notice how central the church is with all its failures. Some churches are more healthy than others. No church is perfect. But with all its failures, these seven churches are still churches of the Lord Jesus Christ. And Jesus expects people in those cities, in that area, that if you're a believer, you're part of a church. If you're not part of a church, Jesus doesn't speak to you as some kind of a lone ranger who is not willing to commit to other believers and churches, local churches. He speaks to His church. And yes, those churches have serious faults at times. And then they need to repent if they have problems. But they are churches. The church is central to Jesus. Jesus loves His own. And His love, His guidance, and His message to His own, His believers, come in the form of churches. Especially in the time of the New Testament, the idea that you can be a Christian without a local church is just an absurd idea. Of course not. I mean, unless you're like, Paul, you know, bound in prison and you cannot go to church. Or like John, who is on Patmos and unable to gather with at least like a church as such. Maybe there were some other believers there. And we'll get to that, what he even says on the Lord's Day, what happens to him and all that. So certainly there are situations in life that prohibit you, like you cannot. But if it is because of your own negligence, or laziness, or stupidity, or sin, or whatever it might be, then you need to deal with that. And without the context of a local church, without a commitment to a local church, your confession as a Christian is suspect. Your confession as a Christian is suspect. You tell me you're a Christian. I said, where do you go to church? Oh, I don't think that's important. Well, Christ thinks the church is important. Christ thinks the church is important. And you might think, I'm just going to go on a little bit of a rant here, but you might think he just says those things because he's a pastor. Well, you can think whatever about my motives, but that's not true. That's not true. I say that as a Christian and as someone who knows the Bible, I need the church. I just happen to be in this point in life a pastor in this church. I need the church. And so do you. And the commitment to a group of believers According to the teaching of the Word of God, the whole New Testament, basically all of it, most of it, some of them are written to individuals in a unique situation, but most of them were written to churches, whether it was in Corinth or Ephesus or Philippi or anywhere else. And these seven churches are mentioned here. And this message that Jesus now gives about the grand display of the thing that we even expect still in the future, His second coming and all these things, it's given in the context of seven churches. It's given in the context of seven churches. And these churches would have then copied it and sent it to other churches. And here we are 2,000 years after still meeting as a church. As a church. A gathering of believers in the Lord Jesus Christ submitted and formed according to the teaching of the Word of God with godly leadership and seeking to preach the Word of God, sing and pray and gather once a week on the Lord's Day. Okay, well that was my little introduction here, but think about these things. Think again about the greatness of Christ, the theme of this last book in the Bible. Think about the centrality of the church in what Jesus says here. And think also, notice how they have many failures, yet they are churches of Christ that then need to repent of those sins. Okay, Revelation chapter 1 verse 1. Please listen, and I'm reading from the ESV, so if you want to follow along in the English translation, ESV is what I'm reading, English Standard Version. Revelation 1 verse 1, "...the revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave Him to show to His servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending His angel to His servant John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near." 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. Behold, He is coming with the clouds and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him, and all the tribes of the earth will wail on account of Him. Even so, 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 partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet saying, Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus, and to Smyrna, and to Pergamum, and to Thyatira, and to Sardis, and to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea. Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands. And in the midst of the lampstands, one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest, The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. In his right hand he held seven stars. From his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, Fear not, I am the first and the last and the living one. I died, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and Hades. Write, therefore, the things that you have seen, those that are, and those that are to take place after this. As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands, the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches. To the angel of the church in Ephesus write the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands. I know your works, your toil, and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not. and found them to be false. I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for My name's sake. And you have not grown weary, but I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen, repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. Yet this you have. You hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers, I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write the words of the first and the last who died and came to life, I know your tribulation and your poverty, but you are rich. And the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested. And for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death. And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write the words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword. I know where you dwell, where Satan's throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. But I have a few things against you. You have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam. who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality. So also you have some who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers, I will give some of the hidden manna and I will give him a white stone with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it. And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write the words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze, I know your works, your love, and faith, and service, and patience, endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first. But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. I gave her time to repent. But she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am He who searches mind and heart, and I give to each of you according to your works. But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold to this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden. only hold fast what you have until I come. The one who conquers and keeps my works Until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father. And I will give him the morning stars, and he who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. And to the angel of the church in Sardis write the words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your works. You have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. Wake up and strengthen what remains and is about to die. For I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God. Remember them. what you received and heard keep it and repent if you will not wake up i will come like a thief and you will not know at what hour i will come against you Yet you have still a few names in Sardis, people who have not soiled their garments, and they will walk with me in white, for they are worthy. The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the Book of Life. I will confess his name before my father and before his angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia, write the words of the Holy One, the True One, who has the key of David, who opens and no one will shut, who shuts and no one opens. I know your works. Behold, I have set before you an open door which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews but are not, but lie. Behold, I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that I have loved you. because you have kept my word about patient endurance. I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world to try those who dwell on the earth. I am coming soon. Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it. And I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven. and my own new name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God's creation. I know your works. You are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, I need nothing. Not realizing that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked, I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments, so that you may clothe yourself, and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salt to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. Those whom I love I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock, If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into him and eat with him, and he with me. The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my father on his throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. That's the first three chapters of the book of Revelation. And after that then, you know, continues all the divisions and everything related. But this is the The introduction of the book and also the letters to the seven churches which Jesus commands that John should write to. And now we will look at verses 9 to 11 in chapter 1. Verses 9 to 11 in chapter 1. What does it begin with there? In verse 9, he says, I, John. We already know John has mentioned his name already before, so we kind of talked about this in the first few verses there. And in verse 4, it says, John to the seven churches who are in Asia. But here again, he refers to himself and he says, I, John. And as we noticed in the past, he just said, which John? Well, This is John, the John. He doesn't even need to say who he is, because everyone knows which John. They knew, and John seems to have a relationship with these seven churches. In fact, according to early church history, John, I think, spent time, especially in Ephesus, before he was put under persecution to Patmos, the island, which we'll talk about in just a moment. And also after that he was released and so he basically ministered much of his latter part of his life in Asia Minor, which is obviously quite far from Jerusalem. So there in modern-day Turkey, Asia Minor. So it seems that he had close relationships with many of these churches, and they knew who he was, and not just them, but people in general would have, I'm sure, known, but especially this. It is John the Apostle. It is John the Apostle, and this is the unanimous testimony of church history. And even though some people try and say maybe it's some other John, no. It's John the Apostle, the one who wrote the Gospel of John, the one who wrote the letters of John, and here writes the book of Revelation, commanded by Jesus to do so, and receives this vision. But he just says, I, John. And notice then how he refers to himself, you know, like, this is John the Apostle. Does he go on like, I, John, the great, magnificent Apostle, you know, the one who, the last of the living Apostles, make sure you know how great I am, and here's my titles, or whatever. No, none of that. He doesn't even mention that he's an Apostle, although he is, but he doesn't need to here. He just says, I, John. And what does he say? Your brother. Your brother. Such a simple statement. And this truth that is communicated here is central to the Christian faith. The Christian faith teaches obviously that believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, are then adopted into the family of God and therefore are brothers and sisters among each other. They're part of the same family. They're brothers. There's brotherhood. This is not just You know, hey, brother, hey, mate, hey, you know, whatever, hey, whatever you say in some culture, you know, in some culture, everyone is a brother. I know, yeah, in the big picture, everyone is a descendant of Adam, so sure, in that sense, okay, we are brothers, and in that sense, But this is deeper, this is a spiritual reality, and this is not just John wasting words and like, hey mates, hey whatever. He's communicating a deep reality of the fact that he is a brother. He's a brother in Christ. He's a brother in Christ. He's a true brother. Those who are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ in those churches, they are true brothers to Him as well. As we just read in those chapters, there are some who seem like they are not, or maybe they claim to be, and they're like, Jesus says, if you don't repent, that's it, kind of a thing. And some of those churches are at the brink of being no longer churches at all. So there certainly are, even still today, there are churches that call themselves churches that are no longer Jesus's churches, because they've gone on so long, and in so serious sin and rebellion against God, that they are no longer Christian churches. It's just an empty shell. The lampstand has been removed by Jesus. those kind of churches which preach a false gospel and deny Christian beliefs. They might call themselves churches, they might claim to be, but they are not. They lie. But here, John reminds and says, I, John, your brother. It also reminds us a little bit of even the book of Daniel, which is very important in understanding also prophecy. Many times in the book of Daniel, Daniel refers to himself also saying like, I, Daniel, or me, Daniel, I heard this and that, just Daniel, me, Daniel. And here, in a little bit of a similar way, like I, John, your brother. Remember what Jesus said about this. I mean, there's many places, but let me just give you one. In Matthew chapter 12, Matthew chapter 12, verse 50. There's this scene here and Jesus is speaking and his mother and his brothers are trying to find him. I won't preach this and the whole detail and context here, but notice what Jesus says in this situation, Matthew 12, verse 48. This is Jesus speaking, but he replied to the man who told him, he said, who is my mother and who are my brothers? And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my father in heaven is my brother, sister, and mother. Jesus even calls His own as His brothers, and even mother and sister here, and communicating this deep spiritual reality that by faith in the true God, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, this unites people at such a deep level that it's even deeper than blood relations. where your actual mother and father. And obviously then, sadly, sometimes it happens that a person becomes a Christian and their actual mother and father or brothers or sisters reject them because of their Christian faith and persecute them or whatever. But the Christian faith teaches that a person who truly turns to Christ, trusts in Him, is now a brother. It's not just empty words. It's not just something cool we say. There's this reality. I'm a brother. But as you then go through life, and as John himself also knew, and as you might also know if you've been a Christian for any time longer, the sad reality is that people come and go. The longer you're a Christian, the longer you are in a church, The more you get to know brothers and sisters in Christ, the sad reality is that some of those brothers and sisters end up proving that they are not. Their witness is false. They are not brothers. Even though they might claim that they reject the truth or they continue in persistent sin and unwilling to repent, and therefore their testimony is false. In 1 Corinthians chapter 5, let me read to you. 1 Corinthians chapter 5, verse 11, reads this way. I'll read from verse 9. 1 Corinthians 5, verse 9. I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people, not at all meaning the sexually immoral of this world, or the greedy and swindlers or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world, but... Now I am writing to you not to associate with anyone who bears the name of brother, if he is guilty of sexual immorality, or greed, or is an idolater, reviler, drunkard, or swindler, not to even eat with such a one. For what have I to do with judging the outsiders? Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge? God judges those on the outside. Purge the evil person among you. Here is this circumstance and obviously like some of those churches that Jesus when he's speaking to in some of those churches, some of those people even on leadership levels were acting in ways and they were allowing false prophets, there was sexual immorality and whatever. Those then that were not part of that were told by Jesus, well on you, you have not failed. But then others needed to repent. But the sad reality is that in our Christian life, in our Christian walk, the longer we are, we will see this, and it is certainly a sad, sad reality when that happens. But here, the main emphasis is still on the, and I think in that, when that also happens, that disappointment with someone who used to be a brother and now rejects the faith completely, or rejects to repent, or just continues on and that witness is no longer true, he might still claim to be a brother, but they're not. At the same time, it should be a reminder of that the preciousness of those who remain, the preciousness of those that continues, and the preciousness of friendship, brotherhood, sisterhood. And I think John certainly knew some of this. And as the churches heard this, and they said, John, our brother. That old apostle who has poured into our life, he's our brother. He's a brother in the faith. What a great reality. Not only does he say that, then he continues saying there in Revelation 1 verse 9, and partner, and partner, or some translations like the Legacy Standard Bible and others also, fellow partaker. The idea is that you are a partner in something. You are together. So he's saying to these churches, so John is saying, I'm your brother, so we're together. And not only are we just brothers, we are fellow partakers. Just something that we partake of, that we are partners in together. Something that we're in together. What is it that he says? Partner in the tribulation and the kingdom. and the patient endurance that are in Jesus. Three things. So this Christian brotherhood consists in a partnership or partaking in these three things. Notice, tribulation, kingdom, and endurance, patient endurance, or also other translations, perseverance. These well communicate, again, what the book of Revelation is about. The main theme of the book of Revelation, the book of Revelation talks a lot about difficult times that are ahead. It also talks about difficulties that the churches are already there experiencing. And John himself is experiencing, as we'll get to in just a moment, as he says where he is. And this reality that the Christians will have tribulation in this world. And then he talks about the kingdom, which is what we await, and the book of Revelation ends with the kingdom of Christ coming, and His rule and reign on the new heavens and the new earth, and the promises throughout the book of Revelation that those who are faithful will rule and reign with Him, and sit on His throne, and all these things. I believe these three, tribulation, kingdom, and patience, endurance, and they're given like they're all in this one kind of package. I believe it's basically, it may be most helpful to summarize that Tribulation essentially summarizes much of our experience in the present. Tribulation, different kind of difficulty. And this is not simply, this is not tribulation as in, I did a stupid decision and now I'm suffering because of it, or I sinned and now I'm suffering because of it. Yeah, that might be tribulation as well, but that's not, you know. If I suffer as an evildoer, there's no glory in saying, oh, look at me, I'm suffering, you know. It's like, yeah, you're just getting what you deserve. And God is rebuking you and you should learn not to do that kind of thing. Or, you know, even if it goes to the courts or whatever. That's not tribulation as in like rejoicing in tribulation. Tribulation, true rejoicing in tribulation is where you suffer unjustly. Where you suffer unjustly. And also then God brings different trials in your life. You do not know what happens, but you trust Him in it. So you're not suffering because you've done stupid things and sinful things. No, it's just part of the life. And then you also suffer because of faithfulness to Christ. There are times when people will reject you, speak bad about you. You might be canceled. You might be this and that, or whatever. People might get angry at you. People might exile you on an island called Patmos because of being a preacher of the gospel. They might put you in prison like Paul. They might crucify you like the Lord Jesus Christ was crucified for righteousness sake. And many of the apostles were martyred and killed. It's tribulation, or someone mocking you at your workplace, or fellow students, whatever it is. But it's tribulation. But this is the time that we live in, the difficulty. But we are waiting for the kingdom. We're going toward the kingdom. We're already partakers of the kingdom. We're members of the kingdom of faith in Christ. And that's where we're going. And the way we're going from the tribulation to the kingdom is through patient endurance. So that's why I believe he's kind of saying these two things. We're partners in the tribulation in the kingdom. The way we go from tribulation to kingdom is through patient endurance. Perseverance. Persevere. Do not give up. Do not give up. That's one of the constant refrains throughout the whole book of Revelation. Do not give in. Do not take the mark of the beast. Do not, whatever, do not deny him even if you would die martyrdom. Be faithful to death. Do not give in. patient, endurance, persevere, and the one who perseveres to the end, he will be crowned, and he will receive. And that perseverance is also the thing that will then, throughout the time, will show that some of those brothers and sisters were not true brothers and sisters, and they flake off. But you continue on. You continue on. You were not on this journey in the first place, just because even if someone began that journey with you, like in the book of, like John Bunyan wrote, The Pilgrim's Progress, you know, and if you remember, there's different people who come and some want to be with him in the first place, then they give up. It's now the pilgrim, is he going to give up? Because they know. I'm going. Keep your eye focused on Christ. And it's to be expected that there's people who come and go, and praise God for those who are faithful and continue on and love them and care for them. And do not become cynical, even if people fail you many times. Take them at their word, but at the same time, do not be surprised when some of them flake out. But you keep patient endurance. Let me read to you from John chapter 16 what Jesus says about relating to this theme as well. In the Gospel of John, again written by the same one who receives this revelation, John 16 verse 33, Jesus said, I have said these things to you that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart, I have overcome the world." Christianity offers those who believe and turn to the Lord Jesus Christ, Christ himself promises to his followers, depending on how you summarize it, you could say a longer list, but let's just keep it simple. Let's just take two things. He promises tribulation and persecution in this age, eternal life, forgiveness of sins in the Kingdom of God, and ruling with Him in the age to come. He hasn't promised that a Christian life is an easy life. In fact, it usually is the opposite. If you want just ease, if you just want always what is the easiest, simplest, be like Esau who sells his birthright for a bowl of soup, which I'm going to preach about in the Finnish service later today. It's easy to live a life of ungodliness, but it's difficult to live a life of patient endurance, continuing as a follower of Christ. But we do not ultimately do it in our own strength. In Him we have peace, and we know, take heart, I have overcome the world. And the reason we can do all of this is, getting back there to Revelation 1, verse 9, He doesn't just say, I'm your brother and partner in the tribulation, kingdom, and patience, endurance, end of sentence, new thought. What is this tribulation, kingdom, and patience, endurance? Where is it found? Notice what he says, that are in Jesus. You patiently endure in Jesus. You go through tribulation in Jesus. You wait for the future kingdom and you pray, may your kingdom come in Jesus, in Him alone, in Him alone. And if you're outside of Him, if you reject Him, and if you reject His call to repent, if you need to repent, if all that, you are outside. You're not walking in darkness. You are not following in light. And you have no hope without Him. But in Him, you have all this. And in Him, you have confidence. You can have peace, and you know that He has overcome the world. So the book of Revelation, before it gets to all the visions about the future, and even the terrible things about the beast, and the mark of the beast, and tribulation, and plagues upon the earth, and all these kind of things, There's a reason why the book of Revelation begins by focusing on the Lord Jesus Christ. And as we will then see next week, what does John after this see? He sees a vision of the greatness of Christ. Like, let that sink into your brain and my brain, how great Jesus is. If you have that clear in you, then you will go through tribulation with patience, endurance, even if it would cause you to be martyred, which some of our brothers and sisters are still today in the world in different parts. People are still killed as being Christians. We might just face a little bit of mockery or, you know, inconvenience or something like that. But the point is, in Jesus, in trusting in Him, knowing that He is great and He is in charge of the kings and rulers of the earth, He's overall, it's like, no one can do anything to me. apart from His purpose. The worst thing they can do is they can kill me. They might torture me or kill me. Okay, at the end of the day, I'll be with Him and I'll wait for resurrection and His Kingdom. Keep your conscience clear before Him. Live for the audience of one and not for the approval of people around you in one way or another. Live for the approval of Him. This is what John reminds them of, and John is a faithful example. And John then, I need to hurry up here, John says, he says, so this is in Jesus, I, John, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. So when John says that he's a partner in tribulation, and patient endurance, and he knows that some of these churches are being persecuted by the synagogue of Satan, as he calls themselves, and there's even false leaders, there's false prophets, and all these kind of things. So when John says that he's a partner, he's not just, John is just not like somehow like, I'm living in this ivory tower, and everything is easy and comfortable, and you know, like I'm saying, you just have it okay there, you know, I'm just like, king in my castle, everything is fine, I'm eating luxury food and you're just barely getting by. No, he is actually, and he's on the island called Patmos, and at the same time we're like, what is he doing at the island of Patmos? He doesn't go on saying, oh look at me, my circumstances, and you know, start moaning about it. He just mentions it. Then by church history, we know and we can make educated guesses, but basically Patmos is an island right off the coast there. So there's the, you can look it on a map, but you know, just Google again, Patmos, it's in Greece, modern Greece. It's there like Patmos is on Greece side, Ephesus and all the other towns in Asia Minor are in Turkey. And it's like, you know, there's not much between there. It's this island. And on that island, He is on the account of the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus. There's basically two options. Some people say that he is there because he went to evangelize. Okay, it could be possible. But this island is a very small island. It's about 12 kilometers long, 8 kilometers wide. And it's like a volcanic barren desert island. And according to history, basically it's a military occupation. And these islands were used by Romans to send troublemakers. Get rid of them, cancel them, shut their mouth by setting them on an island where they can't reach people. And that is the... So it's unlikely that he just went there to evangelize. And if you imagine, like, why is he still there? Why didn't he come there? Okay, maybe he went to visit. Why didn't he then come? He's like stuck there somehow, it seems. And that's the early church witnesses that John was taken there about 95 AD during the reign of domination, and that he was sent there because he was a Christian, a preacher of the gospel, and therefore they wanted to get rid of him, and he was probably maybe working in the mines there or at the very least he was estranged from people. He had obviously some freedom because he was able to then send this letter and stuff but he's on this island as an old man in difficult circumstances. This is where he is on this island called Patmos and he says verse 10, I was in the spirit on the Lord's day. I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day. And what does this now mean here? I believe spirit here is referring to both the context of what's happening to him and the reason it's happening to him. Some people, there's the debate, is he talking about the Holy Spirit or is he talking about basically the human spirit? It's like a spiritual thing that's happening. I believe it's purposefully a little bit vague that it's both. It is a spiritual thing that's happening to him and so he's in the spirit. He's not just sleeping and having a vision in sleep. He's receiving this supernatural vision in his spirit as he's bound in Patmos. He can't get off this island. But God reveals to him. He sees these things. Supernaturally, he receives these things. And the way he receives these things is by who? The Spirit, the Holy Spirit. The one who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. And when does this happen? On the Lord's day. This is then the thing that I said is mentioned only one time. What does this mean? Some people take this to mean that this happened, that He is transformed, He's in the Spirit, He receives revelation. And I don't think it's a bad guess in that sense, because the Old Testament talks about the day of the Lord. Even the New Testament talks about the day of the Lord. Day of the Lord is this... Phrase that refers specifically to end time events, the coming judgment and all those things, the day of the Lord that has not yet happened. 2 Thessalonians 2, verse 2, I just mentioned it, but it says, the day of the Lord has not come. And there are false teachers who are saying the day of the Lord has come. It says, no, it hasn't come. The day of the Lord is still referring to it. So it would be a good guess in that sense. There is a lot of stuff in the book of Revelation that speaks about the day of the Lord, certainly. So maybe it means that he basically, in the Spirit, he went to see the events that are in the future, the day of the Lord. I don't believe though that's what this means here. for a few reasons. First of all, the Greek doesn't say, and even in English as we say, it doesn't say, the day of the Lord. The day of the Lord and Lord's day are very similar, I grant you that, even in Finnish translations, because in Finnish there's no way to say it differently, but the Greek words are different. So if John was wanting to say, for example, what's said in 2 Thessalonians 2.2, He would have said it in a different way. This phrase only appears here. It's not, I was in the day of the Lord. I was on the Lord's day. I know it's minor, but it's a difference still. Secondly, when he says, I was in the spirit, and the next thing he hears is not some kind of event in the future. He just sees the first thing he hears is this vision of the greatness of Christ. And then he gets these letters to the seven churches, which are present reality. So the immediate context is not even future things yet. That will come. I believe, and almost all Bible commentators believe, that this is a reference to Sunday. The first day of the week. Today. The Lord's day. And this is how Christians have used this phrase ever since that time. and probably the one who started that was John. We also, in 1 Corinthians, we call the Lord's supper in a similar way, the supper that belongs to the Lord, communion. And here now the day, what day? The first day of the week when Jesus rose from the dead. And we, I don't have time now, but you can look up. It's told to us many times that it's emphasized that Jesus rose on the first day of the week. And then you also read in the gospels and in Acts, you notice that Christians met on the first day of the week. They may be met other times also, but uniquely it always emphasizes first day of the week, which is Sunday. For us, we usually think Monday is the first day of the week, but in a biblical view, and even America still today, Sunday is the first day of the week. Sabbath is Saturday, which is the last day of the Jewish calendar. First day is Sunday. Jesus rose from the dead and Christians started gathering on that day. to celebrate His resurrection. And I believe what John is here doing is he's reminding them and saying, I'm on Patmos. And you know, I'm on Patmos. I don't even need to tell you more except that it's on faithfulness to the Word of God that I'm on Patmos. And I'm estranged from fellowship with you and any churches. But on the Lord's Day, then when you are worshipping there in your churches and you are gathering in your churches, Ephesus, Myrna, Philadelphia, and all the rest, on that day, that first day of the week, Jesus gives me this vision and gives me this command to send it to you, which you will then read in your churches on another Lord's Day as you are given this, which I'm here still 2,000 years after reading on another Lord's Day to this particular congregation in Tampere. The Lord's Day. I don't have time here, but I just want to mention it. In the Didache chapter 14, you can read about it. It says, when you meet on the Lord's Day, then it warns about if there's sin, you should not take communion and all those kind of things. But Didache, which is one of the earliest church Christian documents, speaks about the Lord's Day, the Sunday as the Lord's Day. But let me read here two brief things. One from Ignatius, who died in 107 after Christ, so a very early church father. He writes in the Epistle to the Magnesians. This is from the early church fathers. There are writings. He says this, and after the observance of the Sabbath, he talks about the basically, we're not doing the Jewish Sabbath anymore, we're doing this spiritual thing. And he says, after the observance of the Sabbath, let every friend of Christ keep the Lord's day as a festival, the resurrection day, the queen and chief of all the days. So he's saying, We don't do the Jewish Shabbat. We do first day of the week, the Lord's Day, Sunday. And then Justin Martyr, in his first apology, I don't remember what now, this chapter. I'm bad at remembering Roman numerals and he has Roman numerals. I think it was 36 or something. But he says this. He talks about Christians, and Christians meet together. He talks about this Jew, and he says that we meet together, people come, and he says this, and the wealthy among us help the needy, and we always keep together for all things wherein we are supplied. We bless the maker of all through his son, Jesus Christ, and through the Holy Ghost. And on the day called Sunday, all who live in the cities or in the country gather together to one place and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read as long as time permits. Then, when the reader has ceased, the president..." Here's the one who is presiding over the meeting, the leader. "...the president verbally instructs and exhorts to the imitation of these good things. Then we all rise together and pray. And as before I said, when our prayer is ended, bread and wine and water are brought, and the president in like manner offers prayers and thanksgivings according to his ability, and the people ascend, saying, Amen." And then he continues on, and then he says here, But Sunday is the day on which we all hold our common assembly, because it is the first day on which God, having wrought a change in the darkness and matter, made the world, and Jesus Christ our Savior on the same day rose from the dead. That then became a tradition among Christians and it's still today. It's not just the accident that we happen to meet on a Sunday. And I believe John is there, he's reminding, it's the Lord's Day. And the gathering of the church On the Lord's Day, reminded of the Word of God, should remind us to patiently endure tribulation, wait for the Kingdom, help one another, pray for one another, encourage one another, regular observance of the Lord's Supper and baptism and all those things, even what Justin Martyr talks earlier, which I didn't have time to read. And then it just, what does it, this is brief now. So he was on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet saying, write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamum, and to Thyatira, and to Sardis, and Philadelphia, and Laodicea. So as this happens, he's, the spirit is causing him to see this vision. He hears something. Notice what he hears. He doesn't hear a whisper. Don't you for one moment imagine that John is just some old senile man who is imagining things, hoping for the best. No, this is God Himself unquestionably, clearly shouting like the voice of a trumpet. It's not just like, oh, I had this kind of vague feeling maybe God spoke to me or something like that. No, no, no, no. God actually spoke to him. It's not unclear. It's not some kind of whiny whisper or guest talk. or just hopeful expectation. No, I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet. It's unmistakably clear. And that loud voice says, write what you see in a book. Literally, it's a scroll. They didn't have books as we think of them, these codex style books. They had scrolls. But anyway, but write and then send it to the seven churches. And it's Jesus speaking as he will then turn around and he will see the vision of the Son of Man. And then the Son of Man begins to speak to the churches, which we read, and most of it is, repent, repent, repent, and be faithful. And you're doing well, some of them. And it's the Lord of the Church speaking to His Church. And these seven churches were unique and historical, but they also summarize the problems that we as churches, Christian churches, even still today and have for the last 2,000 years. There's a complete picture in these seven churches given about the different trials that churches face. And the message is still the same, be faithful to Christ, endure faithfully, persevere through tribulation, and wait for the kingdom. Do not give in. Do not give in. And if you need to repent, then you need to repent. And there is nothing more beautiful than repentance. What a beautiful thing that a person can ask for forgiveness from God and come to Him by repentance in Christ and have his or her sins forgiven. Not just when a person becomes a believer, but even throughout his life. When he does what is wrong, repent. What a beautiful thing. And what an unloving thing it is if churches and Christians and pastors never speak about repentance and just let everything slide. And bitterness and hatred and anger and sexual immorality or whatever it is, just spreads, spreads, spreads. No. The answer is, turn to Christ. trust in him and endure patiently waiting for his future kingdom. John did that and he wrote to churches that were called to do that and we still do the same thing because Christ has not yet come but he will come one day we do not know when but he will come And in the meantime, we should seek to be faithful, living faithful Christian lives, which includes the weekly gathering of the Lord's people on the Lord's Day, to strengthen and encourage one another, and then live lives, work, studies, all that, in light of that. But let's pray. Our Father, we thank You. We thank You that You've given Your Word, the Word of God. Thank You that You have spoken. We thank You that You've spoken through the vision given to John on the island of Patmos. He was facing great difficulty and persecution for his faith, yet he gave that beloved disciple in his old age to one of the most glorious visions ever given. And we partake in that vision. We are blessed by reading it and hearing it and keeping it. Help us, Lord. Help us, therefore, to apply these truths to our life. Lord, give us the humility to, in our own lives, always evaluate our own actions, our words, our desires, our motives, and that if there's things that we need to repent, as these churches needed to repent, help us to do so. That we might repent and joyfully be restored to relationship with You, and sometimes even relationship with others. if sin has broken that relationship. So Lord, help us in this. We rejoice in the truth of your word. Help us to keep it and joyfully rely upon you, knowing that all these things can only be done in Christ. In him we endure patiently, because we know he has overcome the world. I pray these things therefore in Jesus' name. Amen.