Seven Letters
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1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John, 2 who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw. 3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.
This is the beginning of the Book of Revelation.
The Apostle John is telling us this revelation came from God to Jesus.
Jesus Signified it by His angel to John.
Continuing to verse 8
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
The Book of Revelation was written in Greek.
Jesus is starting off by affirming He is the First and the Last and everything in between.
“I am the Alpha and Omega”
Alpha is the first letter in the Greek Alphabet, and Omega being the last letter.
J Vernon McGee said,
“The Only language God speaks and understands is the language where Jesus is the Alpha & Omega and all the letters in between.”
(Thru the Bible with, J Vernon McGee, Volume V pg.891)
Then he begins to issue a greeting to the seven churches in Asia.
Revelation 1:4–5 (NKJV)
4 John, to the seven churches which are in Asia:
Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth…
As we go through each church and the letter sent to them, we’re going uncover some words and phrases that will cause us to stop, and rewind so-to-speak.
To make sure we didn’t miss and details we should make sure we read it correctly.
So lets spend some time and explore what the Apostle John is describing.
Each time we understand what is being described and why, we will strengthen our understanding of this most precious book full of treasures, if you know where to find them.
We’ll dig into Scripture to find where this treasure hunt leads us too in the Book of Revelation.
Right at the beginning we’re confronted with a phrase that should cause us to stop examine what we just read.
For instance, verse 4 says, “Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne”
What is he talking about here?
Who or What are these seven spirits before the throne excatly?
The book of Isaiah gives a an explanation speaking on the coming of Jesus, the Son of God,
2 The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.
If you didn’t count them, they are as follows:
The Spirit of the Lord
The Spirit of Wisdom
The Spirit of Understanding
The Spirit of Counsel
The Spirit of Might
The Spirit of Knowledge
The Spirit of the Fear of the Lord
Thanks to Isaiah we understand the what these seven attributes are of the Holy Spirit.
Continuing on several verses later, when giving an account of what happened, John explained what he saw.
12 Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. 14 His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; 15 His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; 16 He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength.
He said he saw seven golden lampstands, and among them stood one like the Son of Man dressed dressed as a Hebrew Priest.
We are told that His hair was white
These are allusions to what the Prophet Daniel saw.
9 “I watched till thrones were put in place, And the Ancient of Days was seated; His garment was white as snow, And the hair of His head was like pure wool. His throne was a fiery flame, Its wheels a burning fire;
And He had eyes like a flame of fire.
24 For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.
And His Feet were like Bronze,
13 “Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion; For I will make your horn iron, And I will make your hooves bronze;
And a sharp Two-Edged Sword came from His mouth.
12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
His face was bright shining like the son.
Here there is an allusion to the presence of the Lord in all His glory, known as the Shekinah Glory.
35 And whenever the children of Israel saw the face of Moses, that the skin of Moses’ face shone, then Moses would put the veil on his face again, until he went in to speak with Him.
1 When Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the Lord filled the temple. 2 And the priests could not enter the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord had filled the Lord’s house.
In the midst of this vision, John also says he saw (7) Golden Lamp stands, and there were seven stars in His “right” hand.
The “Right” hand being the dominant, and primary.
What on earth does that mean?
Well, thank God, literally, because He clears that up for us in the following verses.
He explains what it means to John in
17 And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. 18 I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death. 19 Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this. 20 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 which you saw are the seven churches.
So, Jesus clears up this mystery for us, telling John the (7) Lamp Stands, are the (7) Churches being written to, and the seven stars are the angels of these (7) churches.
Here we are left to assume that each church has an angel over them, and these letters are written to them as well.
Also, notice that the churches themselves are the Lamp Stands.
What do Lamp stands do?
They are not the source of the light, they merely hold the light.
I remember once debating a catholic brother who has since converted and become a Deacon in a Hispanic church.
He got angry about something happening at church, he said he was angry because, in his understanding, the Catholic church, was God.
Brothers and sisters, The church is not God.
Only God is God, He is the only “Source” of the Light of the World.
The church has only ever been, just as the Lamp Stands are, are “Light Bearers”
We are to hold up the Light for the world to see.
Therefore Jesus alludes to the churches with the term Lamp Stands.
Also, notice that John writes in verse
13 and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band.
In the midst of the light bearers, was one like the Son of Man.
What he is saying is, Jesus was there among the light bearers, or, rather
Jesus is there among the churches.
So, Jesus is right here to day in Anna First Baptist.
Amen.
Probably sitting right next to you.
We remember last week Sharon mentioned a little boy that lost everything in a recent house fire.
What did he say when he entered this sanctuary?
“Shh! Jesus lives here”
Like, be aware, This is God’s house.
And he was right!
Or didn’t you know?
When you and I come to church here, we are coming to someone else’s house, we are visitors.
This is God’s house, Amen!
In verse 13, John said the Son of Man was among them.
This reinforces the promise that Jesus made to the world.
20 For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”
So, no matter what, we are not alone.
It doesn’t matter who the president is, or what the value of the dollar is, or what diagnosis you have,
Speak Jesus and Jesus will show up and be with you.
No matter what you are going through, Speak Jesus into your circumstances, and He promises to show up, and be with you
As you bear His light.
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