Second Sunday of Easter

Revelation 1:4-18

April 27, 2025

The seven churches in Asia Minor, Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea had been around for, at most, 45 years. John wrote Revelation in AD 90.

At its core, Revelation is a letter, written by John, proving that Christ Jesus’ words are true, that what He said to His disciples before His ascension, that all of it was true. This is the main reason John wrote Revelation; he wrote it to bring encouragement and warning to those churches, churches he was familiar with, churches that were well-visited by outsiders who travelled along their major trade routes, churches that were well-known by the Romans who loved to persecute and kill Christians, and churches that were also built in the midst of great temptation and gnostic false teaching.

They needed the words of the last living apostle. They needed to be reminded of their Lord’s promises and strengthened in faith to stand up to the enemy.

So, Jesus inspired John to write the words he did. And as he wrote it, he had no idea how much controversy and confusion his seven letters would bring about 2,000 years later. In His first chapter, John sets the stage for what his whole message will be; the remaining 21 chapters will be based on this chapter, and everything we read in Revelation was originally meant for those seven churches.

And it’s in verses 12 through 18 where we get the theme of the book.

Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, ¹³and 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. ¹⁴The hairs of his head were white like wool, as white as snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, ¹⁵his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. ¹⁶In 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.

¹⁷When 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, ¹⁸and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.

Jesus lives. It’s the whole point. And not only does Jesus live, but He holds death and hell at bay. Therefore, do not fear. Do not fall away, and do not fear. Horrible things are coming, the devil will try and destroy everything, wars and violence and disasters will continue until the final moment, but do not lose hope. False teachers and preachers will fill the airwaves and flood the churches, but do not be dismayed, do not give into their lies. The Lord is at hand; He is in control, and He will not abandon you; He will not abandon His church.

It’s what Revelation is all about. “Fear not, for I am with you.”

About 58 years before John wrote Revelation, Jesus stood in their midst and said the same thing. Only He said it a little differently. “Peace be with you.” Now, we just sort of let those words slip by; we don’t think much of it either in Jesus’ speaking them, or in our Sunday morning service where the pastor says, “The peace of the Lord be with you.”

But you must understand that the “Pax Domini,” or the peace of Christ means everything. In fact, the entire divine service, from Invocation to Benediction, is built on the Pax Domini, “the peace of the Lord be with you.”

The disciples were shaking in their sandals, fearful of being arrested and crucified themselves for being friends with Jesus. They lost hope; they lost faith. Everything they thought was going to happen, the banishing of the Romans, the fixing of the priesthood, the return to the true Davidic kingdom, didn’t because their Teacher was dead, so they thought. Locked in the self-fortified prison of that upper room, they had no idea that moments later everything would change.

Suddenly He appears before them. He didn’t have to open the door; He didn’t have to knock at the door of their hearts and ask them to make a decision for Him – there He is, flesh and blood and spirit. And the first words that come out of His mouth, “Peace be with you.”

In other words, “dear beloved disciples, children of the heavenly Father, God is no longer against you, His wrath is no longer targeted at you. I have died, and I have paid for your sins, and now I come to assure you that peace and fellowship between God and man is won. Peace be with you. God is on your side. Do not fear.”

Now, we all know the story of Thomas who wasn’t present on that first Sunday of the Resurrection. He wasn’t there. We don’t know where he was, and it doesn’t matter. And when the disciples tell Thomas that they saw the Lord, he doubts. He doesn’t believe it. It’s impossible because people don’t rise from the dead.

Thomas was the first western, modern rationalist. Unless he could see and touch and his senses could be satisfied, he would not simply live by faith; he would not believe. Unless Jesus could be placed in a beaker and a little fire lit under Him, to test if He’s alive, Thomas would deny it all.

So, a week later, there they are again, locked away because of fear, and Jesus appears once again. And once again, He says, “Peace be with you.” This time Thomas is present. Jesus, who is more concerned about a man’s faith and salvation than He is a man’s feelings and pride, tells Thomas to touch the wounds on His hands and side, and to stop doubting and believe. Jesus, the Word become flesh, reveals the truth, and Thomas finally believes.

Once again, this is why Jesus has come – to forgive sins, enliven faith, and bring life eternal.

In Revelation and in the last chapter of John, Jesus appears, the sharp, double-edged sword speaks amidst His lampstands, the holy Christian church, the Alpha and the Omega, brings with Him hope and peace, showering God’s grace upon sinners.

And in the Book of Acts, another prison. Not an island, not a self-inflicted prison, but real prison with bars and guards, and the Apostles locked inside. But the Lord sets them free and says to them, “speak the words.”

See the connections? In John our Lord instructs the disciples to speak, telling them to forgive sins or retain forgiveness. In Revelation, our Lord instructs John the Apostle to speak through His pen and write down everything he will see in his vision. And in Acts, our Lord instructs the Apostles to speak the words of Life to all the people.

What do we learn from this? Isn’t it obvious?

First, we learn that our Lord has come to set us free. And what was our prison? Unbelief, sin, worldliness. Our prison was death and hell. And our Lord, who holds the keys to death and hell, has come to set us free by forgiving us our sins and cleansing us by water and the Word.

Second, we learn to abide in His Word. God does not lie; He does not deceive; He does not change His mind. His Word is forever, and it is faithful. When He speaks, we can fully trust that what He says is true and good and right. Granted, His Word is not always easy to swallow, but it is still healthy food for the soul and like medicine, it may sometimes upset the stomach, but what it does for our lives is worth the discomfort.

We see all the crazy going on around us in the world and we are so very tempted at every turn to just give in and do as the world, to either turn a blind eye to it all, or to embrace it. But the Word of the Lord endures forever, and it refocuses us to see Christ and His cross and His open grave, so that all the arrows of this world and the devil do not take us from our course.

And finally, we learn to speak His Word. We don’t merely learn to hear it or abide in it, but we learn to confess it. One of the big reasons we bring our kids to church on Sundays, and we put them through Sunday School and confirmation is so they learn to confess His Word rightly. To learn about The Sacrament of the Altar, that it’s not just whatever you want to personally believe, but that the Scripture teaches a very specific thing about the Lord’s Supper and that we, as God’s children, are to pursue God’s one intended meaning and then to confess it in how we live our lives and how we speak the truth. This holds true with Baptism, with church and worship, with every and all matters of the Christian faith, that we abide in our Lord’s teaching; we pursue the truth, and we confess the truth.

And yes, as we saw with the apostles, it means it will bring suffering. The world will persecute us and bring trouble because the world hates God and despises His unchanging Word.

The Christians in those seven churches were persecuted because of their confession of faith, and yes, some of them were unfaithful and did not abide in Christ and He warned them of what would happen if they continued to be disobedient. He would remove their lampstand, in other words, they would no longer be a church; their doors would close.

And so, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, abide in His Word, for Jesus has come and forgiven you and given you life eternal. Abide in His Word even when uncomfortable, when difficult, and when the devil and the world come after you with their threats. Abide in His Word when friends and family tell you you’re wrong or when classmates laugh at you for being a Christian.

Abide in His Word and confess His name. Do not fear, do not fall away. For the peace of God is with you always. Amen.

Alleluia Christ is risen!