00:00Hey friends, welcome back. Sorry for my voice again today. I'm struggling with these allergies
00:07and they've got me all stuffed up and my voice doesn't sound good. My throat is sore. I promised
00:14you I would be here every day regardless. So please bear with me. Here I am. And today we're
00:21going somewhere different in our journey through the New Testament. We're stepping into the book
00:27of Revelation to experience one of the most extraordinary encounters with Jesus Christ
00:33through the eyes of the man who witnessed it. As always, Scripture is our foundation.
00:40The events we're exploring are recorded in the Bible, while the personal thoughts and feelings are
00:48thoughtful literary interpretation of what this experience might have meant to the person who
00:55lived it. And today, that person is, you guessed it, the Apostle John, exiled on the island of Patmos
01:06because of his testimony about Jesus. Now, one thing I want you to consider. What happens when you've
01:16spent your life serving God, only to find yourself alone in a place you never wanted to be? Here's the
01:26story
01:26through the eyes of John.
01:31I had known his voice before. That is what made this experience so extraordinary. I had followed Jesus
01:40along dusty roads. I had listened to him teach. I had watched him welcome children, challenge powerful
01:49men, and show compassion to people others would rather forget. I had stood near his cross. I had seen the
02:01empty tomb, and I had known the joy of seeing him alive after his resurrection. But now, I was on
02:11Patmos,
02:12an island surrounded by water, far from the familiar places where so much of my life had unfolded.
02:20I was there because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.
02:27I wonder if you can understand what that might feel like.
02:34You spend your life telling people about the love of God, and instead of finding peace and comfort,
02:41you find yourself separated from the people and places you care about. The Bible doesn't tell us
02:50everything about my daily life on Patmos. It doesn't describe every hardship I endured.
02:57or every thought that crossed my mind. But I imagine there may have been moments when the silence felt
03:08especially heavy. Perhaps I remembered the voices of the other disciples.
03:18Perhaps I thought about the communities of believers who were facing their own troubles. I knew that
03:26following Jesus had never come with a promise of an easy life. He had told us that we would experience
03:34tribulation. But knowing that suffering may come doesn't always make it easier when it arrives.
03:46Then came the Lord's Day. I was in the Spirit, and suddenly, behind me, I heard a great voice,
03:56as of a trumpet. The sound must have been unlike anything an ordinary day on that island
04:03could have prepared me for. The voice commanded me to write what I saw in a book, and send it
04:11to the seven
04:12churches. I turned to see who was speaking. And there, among seven golden candlesticks,
04:21I saw one like unto the Son of Man. His appearance was overwhelming. His garment reached down to his feet,
04:32and
04:32a golden girdle was around his chest. His head and hair were like wool, as white as snow. His eyes
04:43were like a flame of fire. His feet were like fine brass burning in a furnace. His voice was like
04:53the sound of many
04:54waters. In his right hand were seven stars, and his countenance was as the sun shining in its strength.
05:05I had known Jesus when he walked among us in the flesh. I had leaned close enough to him at
05:14supper to speak
05:16with him. But what I saw now revealed his glory in a way that left me unable to stand. Revelation
05:271 verse 17
05:29records my response. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. I didn't have anything impressive
05:41to
05:41say. There was no speech prepared for this moment. I simply fell before him. Then something happened that
05:52I want you to understand. He laid his right hand upon me. The same Jesus whose glory overwhelmed me
06:01reached toward me. And he said, Fear not. I am the first and the last. I am he that liveth
06:14and was dead.
06:15And behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And have the keys to hell and of death.
06:29Those words carried a greater truth than anything I could have imagined. Death had not defeated him.
06:37Suffering had not defeated him. The powers of the world had not defeated him.
06:44And although I was separated from so much that had once been familiar, I had not been separated
06:52from him. Jesus wasn't merely a memory from earlier years. He was alive. He was reigning. And he was
07:04speaking. What followed was an extraordinary revelation concerning the churches. The conflict between good and
07:13evil. God's judgment and evil. God's judgment and his ultimate victory. I saw things that were
07:21difficult to comprehend. I witnessed visions of worship in heaven, terrible suffering, and the final defeat
07:30of evil. But among everything I was shown, one promise still speaks to the deepest longing of the human
07:39heart. In Revelation 21, I saw a new heaven and a new earth. I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem,
07:51coming down
07:52from God out of heaven. And I heard a great voice declaring that God would dwell with his people.
07:59And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. And there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor
08:14crying, neither shall there be any more pain. For the former things are passed away.
08:24Now, I had known grief. I had seen suffering. And now, I was being shown a future in which these
08:35things
08:35would not have the final word. The one sitting upon the throne declared, Behold, I make all things new.
08:46I was on Patmos because of my testimony about Jesus. Yet, there, in this place of separation,
08:56I received a vision of a future where separation, sorrow, and death would finally be overcome.
09:07It's beautiful. I love that. My friend, there is something especially meaningful about John
09:15encountering Jesus on Patmos. His faithfulness hadn't kept him from hardship, but his hardship
09:23hadn't placed him beyond the presence of Christ. I want to share a few things here that his experience
09:31can teach us. So, John was separated from the churches and communities that he loved.
09:38And maybe right now, you are living alone after losing your spouse, or your family rarely calls,
09:47or perhaps illness has made it difficult for you to leave home. You know, isolation can make us
09:55question our importance. But Jesus met John on Patmos. That doesn't mean loneliness immediately
10:03disappears when we pray. I understand that. But what I think it means is that our circumstances
10:10cannot prevent Christ from knowing where we are. Keep reaching toward God, and when possible,
10:19toward people who can walk beside you. You know, John was on Patmos because of his testimony
10:28about Jesus. His difficulties weren't proof that he had failed God. Sometimes, we begin to question
10:37ourselves when life becomes painful. We wonder whether we made the wrong choice, or whether God is
10:44disappointed with us. But Christians can do what is right, and still experience hardship. If you are
10:54facing disappointment, despite trying to live faithfully, don't assume your suffering means God has rejected you.
11:06John fell before the glorified Christ, and Jesus responded by placing his hand upon him.
11:14He said, fear not. Now, notice that Jesus didn't deny the overwhelming nature of what John had seen.
11:22He revealed who he was. When financial pressure, medical uncertainty, or family conflict makes
11:32tomorrow frightening, you know, we may not receive a clear explanation for everything. But you know what?
11:39We can remember that the risen Jesus holds authority beyond the circumstances we cannot control.
11:48And revelation, one thing about revelation is that it doesn't hide suffering. It tells us that evil,
11:57grief, and death are real, while revealing that they will not endure forever. You know, Christian hope
12:05doesn't require pretending we're happy when our hearts are breaking. You can grieve deeply and still trust God's
12:13promise. You can cry today, while believing that sorrow will not have the final word.
12:22God's final promise? It's bigger than our present circumstances.
12:27He said, behold, I make all things new. And those words don't promise that every problem will disappear
12:36during this earthly life. They point toward God's ultimate restoration. Our hope rests not in the
12:45certainty of an easier tomorrow, but in the faithfulness of the one who has promised a future
12:51beyond death and suffering. You know, before we go, I want to return to that moment when John fell at
13:00Jesus's feet. Before Jesus explained the visions, before John understood everything he would witness,
13:09Christ reached down and placed his hand upon him. Then he told him not to fear. Maybe you're facing
13:19something right now that you cannot explain. Maybe you've been faithful for years and still find
13:26yourself wondering why life has become so difficult. John's encounter reminds us that Jesus doesn't have
13:36to remove us from every painful place to make his presence known. And the Savior who told John not to
13:44fear
13:44is the same Savior is the same Savior who promises that one day every tear will be wiped away. Amen.
13:53And until that day, we continue trusting him, loving others, and taking the next faithful step.
14:02Because the island that seemed to separate John from the world could not separate him from the one who holds
14:10eternity. And that's beautiful. Friends, you may not get to choose the island that life leaves you on,
14:20but no island is beyond the reach of Jesus Christ. My name is Douglas Vandergraaf, and I believe in Jesus
14:31Christ, God bless every single one of you. Every single one. And everyone you love. Bye-bye.
