1. One of the most interesting books in the Bible is the book of Revelation (not Revelations).
2. People often worry about the future and many current events (e.g. the problems in Middle East) make them uneasy. These worries and fears are dispelled once one understands the book of Revelation.
3. A young boy was reading a scary novel, some sort of murder mystery, and his father said: "Don’t you get scared reading that?" He replied: "No, sir. I already read the last chapter and so I know the good guys will come out OK."
4. Thank God, I have already read the last chapter and I am here to tell you that the Lord Jesus Christ is coming back, the wicked are going to be judged, and the antichrist, false prophet, and the devil are going to be cast alive into the lake of fire.
5. And those of us who have trusted Christ are going to be OK.
6. Let me emphasize that the central theme of the book of Revelation is the Lord Jesus Christ (cf. 1:1; 22:20,21).
7. Today, I would like for us to look at for us to look at seven aspects of the Lord Jesus Christ as brought out here in Revelation 1.

1. HE IS THE FAITHFUL WITNESS (1:5)
2. HE IS THE FIRST BEGOTTEN OF THE DEAD (1:5)
3. HE IS THE PRINCE OF THE KINGS OF THE EARTH (1:5)
4. HE IS OUR SAVIOUR WHO LOVED US AND WASHED US FROM OUR SINS IN HIS OWN BLOOD (1:5)
5. HE IS OUR SOON-COMING SAVIOUR (1:7)
6. HE IS THE ALPHA AND OMEGA (1:8)
7. HE IS THE ALMIGHTY GOD (1:8)

1. In Rev.3:14, our Lord identifies Himself to the church at Laodicea as "the faithful and true witness."
2. To Pontius Pilate, our Lord declared: "To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, THAT I SHOULD BEAR WITNESS UNTO THE TRUTH. EVERY ONE THAT IS OF THE TRUTH HEARETH MY VOICE (John 18:37)."
3. Do you hear His voice? Have you been born again?

II. JESUS CHRIST IS THE FIRST BEGOTTEN OF THE DEAD (1:5).

1. "Begotten" means "first born" in the sense of priority. Christ was the first to rise from the dead (cf. Col.1:18). Several people in both the Old and the New Testament rose from the dead, but they died again. But the Lord Jesus Christ is alive forever more (cf. Acts 26:23; I Cor.15:20).
2. The apostle Paul also refers to our Lord as "the firstborn of every creature" (Col.1:15), meaning that He is before all creation. These terms, "first begotten" and "first born" refer to His preeminence, not to any chronological order.
3. For example, in Exodus 4:22, we read: "Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my firstborn."

III. JESUS CHRIST IS THE PRINCE OF THE KINGS OF THE EARTH (1:5).

1. Our Lord’s position as the faithful witness and as the first begotten of the dead emphasize what He has already accomplished. His fulfillment as "the prince of the kings of the earth" is future, and will take place when He returns to earth at the battle of Armageddon (cf. Rev.19:11-21).
2. Over 3,000 years ago the Psalmist wrote: "Yea, all kings shall fall down before Him: all nations shall serve Him" (Ps.72:11).
3. And then later on, the prophets Isaiah, and Daniel, and Zechariah, and others, all prophesied that the Messiah would come and establish His kingdom over all the earth.
4. Daniel refers to our Lord as "the King of heaven" (Dan.4:37) and "the Prince of princes" (Dan.8:25).
5. The wise men from the east called Him the "King of the Jews" (Matt.2:2).
6. Nathanael called our Lord "the King of Israel" (John 1:49).
7. Paul calls Him "the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God" (I Tim.1:17) and "the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords" (I Tim.6:15).
8. David calls Him the "King of glory" (Ps.24:7).
9. The saints upon the glassy sea shall call Him the "King of saints" (Rev.15:3).
10. And John calls Him "King of Kings and Lord of Lords" (Rev.19:16).
11. I read an interesting story about WWII. When the Japanese invaded Korea, there were over 40 Baptist churches in that country. The Japanese military leaders called for some of the pastors and asked them their views. After interrogating them for hours, the Japanese general asked for more information concerning the second coming of Christ. The pastors told him that when Christ returns, every knee shall bend and every tongue will confess that He is Lord. The general then asked, "Does this include our great, divine Emperor? Must he bow down before Jesus Christ?" They answered: "Yes, sir. He too must bow before our Lord, because our Lord is the Prince of the kings of the earth. He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Upon hearing this, the Japanese army rounded up all of the Baptist pastors and had them imprisoned.

IV. JESUS CHRIST IS OUR SAVIOUR WHO LOVED US AND WASHED US FROM OUR SINS IN HIS OWN BLOOD (1:5,6).

1. A preacher went to visit a dying man in the hospital. He asked the man if he was ready to face God. The man replied that he was ready for heaven because he was a good man, went to church now and then, provided for his family, lived a good, moral life, never stole from anybody, and so on. The preacher opened his Bible to Rev.5:9, and said: "Do you see what they are singing up in heaven? If you were there, you would be singing, `I deserve to be here because I am so wonderful; I lived a good, moral life, and I never stole from anybody." Then the preacher spent some time explaining the Gospel to him and left. He came back the next day and the sick man said, "Preacher, I asked the Lord Jesus Christ to save me, and now I can sing: "Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood" (Rev.1:5).
2. Can you sing this great hymn of praise to our wonderful Saviour?
3. Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing power?

Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

Are you fully trusting in His grace this hour?

Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb?

Twenty-eight times in the book of Revelation, our Lord is referred to as "the Lamb."

4. Notice that our Lord loved us first, then He washed us in His blood. The apostle Paul wrote: "But God commendeth His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Rom.5:8).
5. And again: "Who loved me, and gave Himself for me" (Gal.2:20).
6. And John wrote in his first epistle: "Hereby perceive we the love of God, because He laid down His life for us" (I John 3:16).

V. JESUS CHRIST IS OUR SOON-COMING SAVIOUR (1:7).

1. This great prophecy is one of the most important verses in the book of Revelation. It’s purpose is to inspire the faithful with courage and hope, and to warn the unsaved to repentance.
2. When our Lord comes back at the battle of Armageddon, "every eye shall see Him" (1:7).
3. The Jews will see Him – "and they also which pierced Him" (1:7; cf. Zech.12:10).
4. All of the Gentiles will see Him also – "and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him" (Rev.1:7; cf. Matt.24:30).
5. Are you ready for the second coming of Christ? ( cf. II Thess.1:7-9).

VI. JESUS CHRIST IS THE ALPHA AND OMEGA (1:8, 11a).

1. Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. Jesus Christ is "the beginning and the ending" (1:8), "the first and the last" (1:17b), in other words, the eternal God (cf. Rev.21:6; 22:12,13).
2. When John heard the "great voice" (1:10) on the Lord’s day proclaiming, "I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last" (1:11), he turned to see who was speaking (1:12). Then he saw that it was our Lord, the Son of man (1:13-18).
3. This identifies the Lord Jesus Christ as Jehovah God (cf. Isa.41:4; 44:6; 48:12).
4. Both God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are eternal God (cf. 1:4 – "which is, and which was, and which is to come" and 1:8 – "which is, and which was, and which is to come").
5. Hebrews 13:8 says: "Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and forever."

VII. JESUS CHRIST IS THE ALMIGHTY GOD (1:8).

1. On the basis of Isa.9:6, some false cults will acknowledge that Jesus Christ is "The Mighty God." But then they try to confuse people by insisting that while He is the Mighty God, He is not the Almighty God.
2. But the Lord Jesus Christ is both the Mighty God and the Almighty God (cf. Rev.11:15-18).

CONCLUSION:

1. The great Scottish preacher, Thomas Chalmers (1780-1847), was also a great mathematician.
2. One day, a fellow pastor asked him why he went full-time into the ministry rather than pursuing a career as a mathematician.
3. He replied: "What sir, is mathematics? It is magnitude and the proportion of magnitude. Before I was converted I had not realized two magnitudes – the shortness of time, and the length of eternity."
4. Beloved, the time is short. Rev.1:3b says: "for the time is at hand."
5. And eternity is a very long time. Rev.14:11 says: "And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever…"