Wanting more of Jesus' Shining Light - Revelation 1:12-16

Revelation 1:12 "Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands."

As you study the book of Revelation, the one desire that should continue to grow in your heart is wanting more of Jesus Christ.  John's experience thus far in the Book of Revelation has been a "hearing experience".  But as we will soon see, John's experience of Jesus in this Divine revelation will turn into a "seeing experience".  Like Job in Job 42:5 - “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; But now my eye sees You." John is going to see and hear Jesus in a way that he hasn't experienced since the early years of his Christian life some sixty years before.  As we will see in today's blog, the full-length vision of Jesus Christ, as well as John's response to it, will lead to the glorified Christ commissioning John to write his blessed apocalypse.  Reading these verses makes me want more of Jesus Christ.

As we begin considering Revelation 1:12-20, we ask the following question: "Why should you and I want more of Jesus Christ?" Consider the fact that Jesus Christ is...
1. Shining Light.            Revelation 1:12-16
2. Strengthening Love. Revelation 1:17-18
3. Supreme Lord.          Revelation 1:19-20

Jesus Christ is the Shining Light. Revelation 1:12-16
John says in Revelation 1:12 "I turned to see".  What did He turn to see? The text continues: "the voice which was speaking with me, and I turned around and saw seven golden lampstands."  John saw "a voice" and "the lampstands" and then in verse 13 we read: "and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like "a son of man".  Now thankfully the book of Revelation has a built in interpretive system to unfold some of its mysteries.  Revelation 1:20 explains -  "As for the mystery of the seven stars which 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."

Jesus Christ shine light in the midst of His church.  1:12-15
Notice then what John sees: he sees the voice of Christ speaking to Him, which elsewhere is described as God's written word. (Colossians 3:16; 1 Peter 1:23) The lampstands or the church is the the next thing John sees.  God has ordained in this age that the church, proclaiming the scriptures shows forth to the world the Lord Who is in her midst. (Matthew 5:16  

The lampstands in these verses hearkens one back to the days of the Old Testament tabernacle and temple. (compare Exodus 25:31-40)  In those worship centers no windows were present.  Once the priests entered into the interior room called "the holy place", the only source of illumination was the seven branched lampstand or "menorah", which in the Hebrew tongue means "light bearer, lamp".  The Golden Lampstand in the Old Testament was designed to illuminate the interior of the tabernacle or temple and to symbolize the Divine presence of God in the innermost room called "The Most Holy Place".   Without that Lampstand, the place of ministry in the temple would had been plunged into darkness.  Exodus 30:8 instructed the priests to tend to the lampstand every morning and evening to insure that the light was not quenched.

Jesus Christ is the light shining over His church.  1:16
It is with the lampstand imagery that God shows John that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Shining light in his church.  As you go down through the verse, Revelation 1:16 states - "In His right hand He held seven stars, and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength."  

In the vision John sees Jesus holding the "seven stars" which Revelation 1:20 reveals to be "seven angels" or "messengers", most likely the pastors of the seven churches.  No pastor can preach God's word apart from the Great Shepherd.  The sharp two-edged sword corresponds to the scriptures by which He reigns over His church. (compare Hebrews 4:12)  

The description of Christ's face is extraordinary: "and His face was like the sun shining in its strength." (Revelation 1:16)  Scripture uses the sun as a word-picture for the glory of the Lord.  In Psalm 84:11 we see God described as a "sun and a shield." In Malachi 4:2 the prophecy is given of Christ coming as the "Sun of Righteousness with healing in His wings".  The glimpse of Christ's Divine Glory given to John, Peter and James on the Mount of Transfiguration is described as "His face shone like the sun". (Matthew 17:2) 

The sun is a light bearer, a middle sized star that is 93 million miles away from the earth.  Big enough to contain over 1,000 earths, our sun energy output in one second could light a major city for hundreds of thousands of years.  

Jesus Christ's glory shines light over His church.  Without Him, the church would have no guidance, no power, no message, no existence. (Philippians 3:20-21; Acts 26:13) Jesus Christ's light shining over and in His church insures that we will have an open heaven We need Jesus' shining light to shine in our midst and above us.  

more tomorrow....  

Peter - A Christian Testimony of Grace

1 Peter 5:12 Through Silvanus, our faithful brother (for so I regard him), I have written to you briefly, exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it!"

The Apostle Peter is the focus of today's post, in that he gives us a Biblical example of a Christian testimony of grace.  The word "testimony" in scripture comes from a Greek word that we translate "martyr".  Thus when someone was "martyred" for their faith, they were using their life to "testify" of their faith in Christ as being more valuable than life itself. In our everyday Christian usage, a testimony has come to refer to what life was like before salvation, followed by the circumstances wherein God called us to faith and repentance with a third part referring to our lives post-conversion.  

I call the Apostle Peter the "apostle of grace" due to the nature of his Christian testimony, the message of his preaching in the book of Acts and the letters he wrote in 1 and 2 Peter.  For today I want to sketch out the Christian Testimony of Peter as we see unfolded in the New Testament.  As you will see, five components can be gleaned that help us understand what is part of a Christian Testimony of Grace.

1. Begins with the Call of Grace. 
John 1:40-42 is the first place in redemptive history that we see Simon Peter being mentioned: "One of the two who heard John speak and followed Him, was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He *found first his own brother Simon and *said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which translated means Christ). 42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John; you shall be called Cephas” (which is translated Peter)."  That first initial contact by Jesus of Peter led Peter to follow Jesus for about a day, but the manner of his following was more of curiosity than commitment.  

Peter was outwardly called by Christ in his physical ears and mind.  He was curious but not converted, and thus he resisted and went back to his fishing business along with the sons of Zebedee.  A number of weeks and perhaps months would pass until Jesus would come calling on Peter again in Mark 1:16-17 "As He was going along by the Sea of Galilee, He saw Simon and Andrew, the brother of Simon, casting a net in the sea; for they were fishermen. 17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.”  This time the call of Christ was effective in reaching the ears of Peter's heart, for the passage states he immediately left his nets and followed Jesus. (Mark 1:18)  The resistance to the gospel is the complete work of man, however the response to Jesus' call is due to the grace of God at work.  Every Christian can testify of the times they heard the Gospel and resisted repeated attempts, however upon the hearing of the Gospel in which they believed, Grace alone can be credited for their free response.  Salvation from beginning to end is a work of God's graceful call.

2. Birthed Through Faith. 
Once grace came calling Peter's name through the voice of Christ, Peter's response was immediate.  Faith in the original language means "firm persuasion."  Faith is a Divine gifting of God that turns into a decision of the will. (John 1:12-13; Ephesians 2:8-9) Faith must first come in order to be freely received and acted upon. (Galatians 3:24-26).  The New Birth is both a miracle that logically preceeds our faith and yet in actual practice is simultaneous with faith.  As the Baptist Faith & message 2000 notes:  "Regeneration, or the new birth, is a work of God's grace whereby believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus. It is a change of heart wrought by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Repentance and faith are inseparable experiences of grace."  Without faith no one can be born again. (John 3:3,16).  Peter was cut to the heart and from Mark 1:16-18 onward followed Christ as a genuine believer. 

3. Boldness
Peter's testimony of grace centered around the boldness by which He expressed his faith-life, whether positively or negatively.  The natural as well as spiritual boldness of Peter placed him first on the listings of twelve disciples mentioned throughout the Gospels. (Matt. 10:2; Mk 3:16; Lk 6:14-16; Acts 1:13)  Once when Jesus slipped off to be alone with His Heavenly Father, Peter led the way to look for Him. (Mark 1:36-37) Peter was the first to confess Jesus as the Christ (Mark 8:29) and was the first to enter into the empty tomb following Christ's resurrection. (John 20:6).  Negatively Peter's denial of Christ is figured quite prominently in all four Gospels, however Peter is restored by Christ in John 21, indicating the leadership role Christ intended for him to perform in the early church.  All in all, Peter's testimony is one of grace, whether in his triumphs or failures.  

4. Brokenness.
Peter's testimony of grace includes those episodes where he experienced humiliation and brokenness before God.  Mark 8:33 has Jesus rebuking him for his impulsive rebuke of Jesus.  Mark 14:72 records the tearful episode wherein Peter denied our Lord three times.  Then of course even later on in his Christian walk, Peter was confronted by the Apostle Paul in Galatians 2:11ff for his compromise of the Gospel with a powerful Jewish party.  Peter's life was punctuated by brokenness, and yet Jesus restored him in John 21 and Paul was able to still refer to Peter as one of the three pillars of the early church in Galatians 2:9.  Only when we are broken can we be healed.  Every Christian who has moved forward in the faith has only done so when brokenness has occurred. 

Bible Based
When you look at the life of the Apostle Peter, his testimony of grace began with God's call of grace, birthed through faith, was bold, included seasons of brokenness but was also Biblical based.  At the end of John 6 we see many thousands of people leaving Jesus.  Jesus turns to his twelve and inquires as to whether or not they will leave.  Peter's response is that he has no where else to go since Jesus alone has the words of life.  Church history tells us that Peter's preaching was the basis for Mark's Gospel and that he authored the two epistles bearing his name: 1 and 2 Peter.  Throughout the book of Acts we see Peter preaching 5 Biblically saturated sermons. (Acts 2:14-36; 3:11-26; 4:8-12; 10:34-48; 15:7-11)  Peter's love for scripture stemmed from his love for Jesus Christ.  

May we as Christian people be those who have visible and obvious testimonies of grace.  

P6 How to share the gospel with Jehovah Witnesses

2 John 12 "Though I have many things to write to you, I do not want to do so with paper and ink; but I hope to come to you and speak face to face, so that your joy may be made full."

For the past several days we have been comparing and contrasting Biblical Christianity to that of Jehovah Witnesses.  In this final post of the series, I want to give some tips for sharing the Gospel with Jehovah Witnesses.

A story about a conversation with a Jehovah Witness
One day I was working in the garage at a house we had rented when up drove a couple of nicely dressed people that I recognized immediately to be Jehovah's Witnesses.  They got out of their car and one of them came up to me and handed me a piece of literature.  On the brochure was an advertisement for a conference that contained this heading: "Come hear about how Jesus Christ is the Savior of the World." I politely told the person that their brochure conflicted with their theology.  The Jehovah Witness was puzzled and asked how that could be.  

So I took them to two passages of scripture, one of which is used by Jehovah Witnesses to show why they call themselves such and one which asserts the Deity of Jesus Christ:

1. Isaiah 43:10-11 “You are My witnesses,” declares the Lord, “And My servant whom I have chosen, So that you may know and believe Me And understand that I am He.
Before Me there was no God formed, And there will be none after Me. 11 “I, even I, am the Lord, And there is no savior besides Me."

2. Titus 2:13 "looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus."

I told her that if Jesus Christ is to be the true Savior of the World, and being that the Bible asserts that Jehovah God Himself is the only Savior, then it stands to reason that Jesus Christ is God.  I wish I could report that the person had converted to faith in Christ, however she politely dismissed herself and moved on.  

Some tips to sharing the Gospel with Jehovah Witnesses

From the above conversation, as well as others that I have had over the years or from other people who have had similar experiences, here are some tips to think about:

1. Know the truth.  That is, know what the Bible says in four key areas: God, Christ, the Bible and Salvation.  It has been taught for years to bank tellers that in order to detect a counterfeit bill, you need to be very familiar with the details of a genuine one.  It is far better and more effective to know the scriptures and to know enough to communicate it than to have exhaustive knowledge of the opposing system.  Focusing on the Person and work of Jesus Christ is the key. 

2. Share the truth in love.  I think it is vital to follow John's prescribed pattern in 2 John of balancing out truth and love.  I usually will give the Jehovah Witness 5 minutes, but with the condition that they will give me 5 minutes to share the Gospel.  

3. Don't argue.  Jehovah Witnesses are sincere about what they believe.  In other experiences I've had, some have pressed their position so far as to actually begin to argue.  I have never found debate and argument to be an effective means of communicating the Gospel to them.  There is a time and place for such things, however in a one on one conversation with a Jehovah Witness I would say avoid argumentation.  Normally if a person, whether Jehovah Witness or not, is wanting to argue with you, they are likely not open to receiving what you have to say.  Its one thing to have a discussion where voices are kept at an even tone.  However if voices begin to raise and if it looks like either they are getting argumentative or if you feel like you could get argumentative, its best to excuse yourself and politely send them on their way.

4. Pray for them.  Prayer is so vital to any evangelistic discussion.  Be prayerful and if possible, have someone else be praying for that person and you as you talk.

5. Keep the conversation centered on Jesus Christ.  Of the four essentials that we have covered in this study (God, Christ, Salvation and the Bible), the one that explains the others or is the focus of the others is Jesus Christ.  When a Jehovah Witness tries to start off the conversation with trying to disprove the Trinity, steer them back to Jesus.  Why? Because the twin truths of Christ's Deity and Humanity lead to the necessity of the Doctrine of the Trinity, since affirmation of One God and the Deity of Christ are impossible without the Triune understanding of God's identity.  Focusing on Christ naturally has you pointing them to the Bible and to salvation, being that Jesus Christ is the focal point of Bible and the source of salvation to all who repent and believe by His grace.  

My prayer is that this blog series has been used by God to shed light and to equip you for when you here that knock at your door.  

P5 When they Knock - Jehovah Witness view on salvation

2 John 10-11 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your house, and do not give him a greeting; 11 for the one who gives him a greeting participates in his evil deeds.

Yesterday we saw how the Jehovah Witness view of the Bible views it to be inadequate. In today's post we want to consider what they teach on salvation and compare and contrast that to the scriptures.  To aid us in our study, I will be using the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 (hereafter designated "BFM 2000") to represent the viewpoint of Bible believing Christianity. 

Biblical View of Salvation

“Salvation involves the redemption of the whole man, and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, who by His own blood obtained eternal salvation for the believer. Regeneration, or the new birth, is a work of God’s grace whereby believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus. It is a change of heart wrought by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance towards God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.” BFM 2000  This statement from the BFM 2000 corresponds to such passages as John 1:12-13; John 3:16; Romans 10:9-10; Ephesians 2:8-9; James 1:18

Jehovah Witness View of salvation is illogical. 

At times the Jehovah Witnesses will say on the one hand they believe in salvation by grace through faith alone. Yet they will affirm consistently their belief in needing to perform good works to gain favor with God.  Salvation in Jehovah Witness teaching is by faith and by faith & works.  Any system that tries to teach both is by default a "salvation by works" system.  Consider the two quotations below:

1. “All who by reason of faith in Jehovah God and in Jesus Christ dedicate themselves to God’s will and then faithfully carry out their dedication will be rewarded with eternal life.” Publication – Let God be true.

2. “Likewise, Jehovah’s Witnesses believe God’s promise of everlasting life for all who obey him. (Romans 6:23) We endeavor to share our faith with others, hoping that they will benefit from God’s promises. But we don’t believe that we earn our salvation by engaging in our ministry. (Romans 1:17; 3:28). Really, no human could ever do enough to merit such an astounding blessing from God. “He saved us because of his mercy, and not because of any good things that we have done.”—Titus 3:5. JW.org 

In attempting to appeal to a wider evangelical crowd, Jehovah Wintesses over the years have even used scriptures commonly used by Bible believing Christians.  Nevertheless the movement is still a false Gospel, which in reality is no Gospel at all.  

Conclusion:

Over the past few days we have compared and contrasted Jehovah Witness error with Bible believing truth and have discovered the following:

1. The history of Jehovah Witnesses demonstrates that their teachings are not new, but rather reappearances of older heresies

2. Their view of God is incomplete, since they deny the Trinitarian truth of God's nature taught in the Bible.

3. Their view of Jesus is inadequate since they deny His Deity, hence rendering Him unable to be the source of salvation.  Likewise their doctrinal system ultimately makes Jesus less than truly human, meaning that He is incapable of truly representing anyone before God,  Thus the Jehovah Witness Jesus is not the Jesus of the Bible.

4. Their view of the Bible views scripture as insufficient in its authority, since the Watch Tower (the Jehovah Witness headquarters) is the true authority on all matters of their life.

5. Then finally, Jehovah Witnesses viewpoint on salvation is illogical, since they try to assert a works salvation while pretending to advocate a salvation by grace through faith alone.  Any system that tries to say both is by default a works salvation system.  Hence the Jehovah Witness message is not a message of good news.  

In tomorrow's blog we will consider some tips on sharing Christ with Jehovah Witnesses with a personal testimony.  See you then!