Gods plan of Salvation throughout the Bible:

The Revelation

Theme: Jesus is the central figure in Gods plan of salvation, throughout history.
Aim: be excited at the prospect of Jesus' return!

I love books. I especially love exciting stories. How do you like to read a book? My brother always used to read the last page of a book to decide whether he wanted to read it all. I used to know a lady in Yorkshire who always read the last page of a book "in case she died before she finished it". Make of that what you will! Myself? I like to start at the beginning and wait to see how the story unfolds; I get captivated, caught up by the story. Now the Bible is a big old book, and it may be that time makes it difficult to read through the whole thing - but if you wanted to skip to the end to see whether it is worth reading, I can tell you the good news right now. God wins!

This is the last talk in a short series tracing Gods plan of salvation through the whole Bible. We've seen how the very beginning of the very first book in the Bible already has the seeds of Gods plan of salvation. We started off with Gods people, under Gods rule in Gods place. We've seen the fact that even in the perfect situation of Eden the sin of Adam and Eve didn't take God by surprise and cause him to hurriedly think up 'Plan B'.

We've seen how God made promises to Abraham and others throughout history which demonstrate his ongoing commitment to his plan of salvation. We've seen the role that the Law and the Prophets have played - setting the standards for Gods people in accordance with Gods character.

We've seen how everything comes to a head at the cross where Jesus died, and how God graciously extends the free gift of salvation to all who will come to him.

The Revelation is the last book of the Bible, almost certainly written by the apostle John while an old man imprisoned on the isle of Patmos . Persecution was getting worse and worse for Christians all across the Roman empire , and they needed the reassurance which this book gives - God wins! His plans are secure! He has a wonderful future in mind.

Now this book is full of strange and disturbing imagery, but I'm not going to talk about that today - we are not looking at the book itself, so much as what it tells us about Gods plan of salvation - and as Jesus is the central figure in Gods plan of salvation, I want us to think about what we learn of Jesus in this book.

Alpha and Omega - the centrality of Christ to the gospel

If you are doing any walking around London , what indispensable item do you need to have with you? The A-Z. With that little streetmap in your pocket you can find your way to and from anywhere in the metropolis. It works because it covers every single street - literally from the first street beginning with A to the last street beginning with Z. That little map is the last word in finding your way around London , it covers the lot. If it had been written in ancient Greece it would have been called the Athens Alpha to Omega.

Rev 1v7-8, 21v6, 22v12-13. This is an important title which Jesus uses for himself. Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. The first and the last, the beginning and the end.

What does Jesus mean by these titles he gives himself? Simply that he is central to all of creation, to all of Gods plans.

We read in John 1v1-3 "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made."

And in Col 1:15 -17 "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him . He is before all things, and in him all things hold together."

In Heb 1v3 "The Son is the radiance of Gods glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word".

In Eph 1v9-10 "And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfilment-- to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ."

And Phil 2v10-11 "that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father"

Before the Big Bang, before any of creation existed, Jesus was there. He was instrumental in the making of everything that exists. He is even now instrumental in sustaining it in some way that I can't guess at. And it is all created for him.

Lion and Lamb - two aspects of the expected Christ

We have already read the well known words of Rev 5 - and sometimes it is so familiar that we lose sight of the shock that comes between v5 "Then one of the elders said to me 'do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals" and vs 6 "Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain" .

Looking for a heroic figure to break open the seals on the scroll, an impressive announcement is made about the Lion of Judah. Powerful, triumphant, kingly. But what is seen? A docile and helpless lamb, looking as though it had been slain.

In this way John shows how the two great prophetic themes of the old testament come together in the person of Jesus.

In Jesus' day there was a keen interest in prophecy (much as there is in some quarters today). The people were downtrodden under the Roman heel and in those circumstances you can understand how appealing the prophecies of a conquering Messiah would be. We know that time and time again Jesus' disciples wanted to know when He would institute the kingdom of God on earth that they were all hoping for. They had a clear vision of the end coming, then the new age of Gods rule beginning.

What so many of the people back then couldn't see was that the Christ, the promised Messiah would be the suffering servant of Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22 and then at a later date appear as the conquering king.

You know what its like when you are out walking in the mountains of the lake district? You can see that you need to get over the little summit ahead of you and the peak you are aiming for is just over that. but when you reach that little summit you find that there is still a great gulf to traverse before you can get to the top of your eventual summit, the place you are hoping to reach.

From the point of view of the old testament people, the advent of Jesus was a little like that. They were expecting the Messiah, the new kingdom of God, the fulfilment of all Gods promises, all at once.

In fact there was going to be a gap between the first appearing of the messiah and his second coming. We've passed that little summit and we're on our way to the peak - our ultimate goal (and Gods ultimate goal in his plan of salvation)

Gods kingdom on earth was actually inaugurated by Jesus nearly 2000 years ago - it is accurate to talk about the Kingdom of God in place now, embodied in Gods people - the Church. But the full realisation of the Kingdom of God - every knee bowing to Jesus - is still in our future. That hasn't happened yet, but is surely coming.

My mum doesn't believe in Jesus yet. Once when we were discussing Christianity and we got onto the subject of the second coming, my mum said "oh, people will probably reject him just like last time". She doesn't understand the fundamental difference between the first coming and the second coming. The first time Jesus came like a lamb that was slain. The next time he is going to come like a lion and nothing will be able to stand before him.

Bride and Groom - the glorious hope of our future union with Christ!

I'd like us to flick quickly to the closing chapters of this mysterious book. I hope you'll forgive me for skipping so quickly over so much interesting material! But as we draw our survey of Gods plan of salvation throughout the Bible to its close, I want to take us to the climax of this plan, the final realisation of the last aspect of our salvation.

Lets look quickly at Rev 19v5-9; 21v1-4; 22v1-5

First, I must tell you a little story. Jo and I first met when I was 37 years old, and I have to tell you that I'd actually given up hope of marriage by that time. We fell in love, and to my complete delight, Jo agreed to marry me. Six years ago, but I can still remember with crystal clarity the morning of our wedding. I was filled with anticipation, I was so happy. When Jo arrived and the music swelled I turned to watch her walk down the aisle and I was so delighted I was beaming all over my face. I was so happy I could almost burst. I have never known a happier moment.

But I will do.

The delight I experienced that day is a pale shadow of the joy that Jesus is anticipating as he waits for his bride, his Church. us. It was a spark compared to the incandescent blaze of the noonday sun of his love - and on that glorious day it will call forth an answering response from our hearts too.

The most wonderful, amazing, uplifting, exciting, glorious day we will ever experience is in our future, and it is drawing nearer.

Jesus says (Rev 22v12) Behold, I am coming soon!"

Rev 22v17 " The Spirit and the bride say, 'Come!' and let him who hears say 'Come!"

Rev 22v20 " He who testifies to these things says 'yes, I am coming soon' Amen, Come, Lord Jesus".

Alex White