Faithful Love (Revelation 1:4-9)

Introduction

Paul has been preaching from the OT, each week recognizing the themes of Advent—hope, joy, peace—Today I have love.

The Title

I have titled the sermon today “Faithful Love” and by it I mean two things. We will be looking at a portion of what the authors of the ESV bible call the “Prologue” or introduction of the book.

What we normally look for when we open the book of Revelation

From our daily readings and it references the OT. I want to consider at 5 of these references:

Isaiah 11:2

Exodus 3:14

Psalm 89

Daniel 7:13

Zechariah 12:10

Thinking of it as ornaments on a Christmas tree—he is intending to remind his readers of something.

I liked the idea of preaching from the book of Revelation this Sunday for a couple of reasons. We are coming to an end of our New Testament in one year plan, and if you have been following that as I have, you have been reading in the book of Revelation. And we have concluded harvest, the days are getting shorter, and I have had a little more time on my hands and so I have spent some more time diving into the book these past few weeks. And I have noticed something this time around reading this book of Revelation that is admittedly unfamiliar to me, maybe more unfamiliar to me than it is some of you, because I know some of you are very well acquainted with the book and eschatology in general. And I am in no one trying to pretend as if I have figured out an answer to all the questions that arise from the study of the book, nor do am I going to be able to display for you why you should adhere to this interpretation and not this other way. I have my own personal leanings, but the pulpit is not the place to push them on you.

But I want to make primarily just one observation that we see in these 6 verses that I think really capture the essence of the entire book of Revelation as a whole.

As I already said, this time around of reading Revelation I have noticed something that I hadn’t noticed previously, and it is that the primary emphasis of the book is this: Because God is faithful to save those who love Christ and punish those who reject him, be faithful in your love and devotion to him.

Because God is faithful to save those who love Christ and punish those who reject him, be faithful in your love and devotion to him.

That is the message of Revelation 1:4-9, and that is really the message of the whole book.

What it Says

Verse 4

John identifies himself as the relayer of the letter of the book, but looking back to verses 1-3 sheds clarifying light on the author. This vision is recorded by John, but it was a vision given by God the Father, to Jesus. An angel then communicates the message Jesus receives to John to write down.

Seven

The letter is addressed to the “seven churches of Asia”. The names of which we learn in the following chapters. Without question, there were more churches than this in the area. 7 are selected both literally and symbolically to represent the entire church. The seven churches mentioned are representative of the whole church. That means that the book of revelation has more immediate relevance for us than do some of the other books of the bible. The seven spirits, or sevenfold spirit is a reference to the Holy Spirit, connecting him and his work with the church (which is also seven) and signifying the fact that he will complete the work that Jesus has begun in establishing his church on earth. That is the significance of the use of seven here.

I am

The mention of the Spirit is a reference to his authorship, as well as God the father’s, called the one “who was, who is, and who is to come…”. This is sort of a modern, greek, way of saying, “this letter is from I am”, like he said to Moses in the burning bush. He wants his readers to recognize God’s eternal nature. John Establishes report with his readers by introducing the authors of his letter.

Verse 5

Jesus Christ

He has mentioned himself as the messenger, the church as the recipient, the Father and the Spirit as authors, and to begin verse 5 he adds a third author, “…and from Jesus Christ”.

Psalm 89

Following this final introduction, he qualifies the person of Jesus with three descriptive phrases, all three of which can be found in Ps. 89. He calls Jesus the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. Now, I absolutely think this is intentional, because Psalm 89 is a Psalm written by Ethan the Ezrahite, written about the time Judah was being exiled to Babylon. It is a long Psalm, praising God for his faithfulness especially to the covenant that he made with David, that one of his descendants would remain on the throne. Listen to verse 36 speaking of David: “His offspring shall endure forever, his throne as along as the sun before me.”: However, the psalm takes a turn in verse 38. It turns from praise to lament. Verse 38: “But now you have cast off and rejected; you are full of wrath against your anointed. You have renounced the covenant with your servant; you have defiled his crown in the dust.” And on it goes.

What Ethan the Ezrahite is lamenting in the psalm that is here referenced in Revelation 1, is that God does not seem to have fulfilled his promises. God seems to have double crossed his covenant people. In prayer form, the psalmist quotes God’s own words back to him. In children’s terms, he says essentially, “God you promised!” You said the throne would not be lacking a descendant of David, and Jeconiah has been exiled to Babylon. And so the psalmist laments. And he specifically appeals to God’s faithful love, his Chesed Love, his Covenant love. That aspect of God’s character that is faithful to loving and caring for his people even though they are unfaithful to him. Seven times in the psalm Chesed is used, and always in connection with the Hebrew word “emet” (trustworthiness).

The psalmist is appealing to God, you promised! You have been faithful to your promises, are you going to let all of that go now and send us to Babylon? He concludes the Psalm asking the question, “How long, O Lord? Will you hide yourself?”

Steadfast Love

And even more specifically, “Lord, where is your steadfast love of old which by your faithfulness you swore to David?”

Verse 6

The Churches addressed were all Gentile

And the very heart of Ethan the Ezrahite is the heart of what John wants to communicates to the believers in the churches in Asia in the book of Revelation. None of these churches were in Israel, they were all Gentile cities.

Roman Emperors demand worship

There had been 7 different Roman emperors since the time of Jesus’s crucifixion, and more than one of them demanded to be worshiped. Domitian set up images of himself to be worshipped. He demanded praise from people. An exiled John reminds his readers of God’s covenantal, faithful love, by reminding them of the previous times when Israel faced similar circumstances that caused them to question God, and God delivered them.

So you have emperors like Domitian, demanding his people worship and praise him, and then you have this tiny side group of people, reserving their praise for God as he has been revealed through Jesus. And that is exactly what happens in verse 5.

The end of verse 5 begins a new section. It is an outburst of praise that continues through the end of verse 6, before another Old Testament reference in verse 7.

”To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood” (verse 5).

Verse 5 Grammar

The verb “loves” is in the present tense, signifying ongoing action. It could be translated “to him who is loving us” and the other verb “freed” is in the perfect tense in Greek, signifying completed action.

There were 7 Roman emperors from the time of Jesus’s ascension through the end of the century. Some of them believed themselves to be deities, and demanded more than just loyalty from their subjects, but praise and worship. Especially Domitian, who could have been the emperor at the time the book of Revelation was written, demanded that subjects burn incense to him and refer to him as “Lord God”.

Considering this contextual backdrop, verse 6 is an exceptionally brave one to write. Jesus is the true deified King, not Domitian. We are subjects and priests of his kingdom, and he is the one we will recognize as “Lord God”.

Verse 7

Combining Two OT verses

In verse 7 is another reference to the Old Testament, this time a combination of two verses, Daniel 7:13 and Zechariah 12:10. And this is where it gets confusing. Because both of these references refer to Christ’s first coming and ascension, his coming to save the lost, the coming we celebrate at Christmas time.

Salvation or Judgement?

But the larger context of Revelation would indicate to us that these verses are not about Jesus’s salvation, but judgement, because most of the rest of the book of Revelation is about the future reality that God will judge those who reject Christ.

And so if you know your Old Testament well, as the recipients of the letter most likely would have, and the words of Jesus as well, you would recognize that that these passages do not refer to the judgement of Christ but his salvation, and so the part about “all the tribes of the earth “wailing” does not seem to make sense. It looks as if John did not understand the Old Testament passages he is using.

How the OT was used in NT (Osborne)

But actually he did. What John is doing by using language from these two Old Testament prophecies is reminding his own readers of Jesus’s words that he will return in the way that he came.

So John knows this is not consistent with the meaning of the original Old Testament passages, and he knew his readers would know that as well. By borrowing the language from the OT, he can do two things, remind his readers of their promised salvation in Jesus, and simultaneously, remind them of the coming judgement on those who oppose and reject him. He is borrowing well known Old Testament language to communicate a new truth without distorting the original meaning.

Great Wolf Lodge Illustration

Conclusion of “What it Says”

Christmas tree ornament illustration, he is decorating his introduction with invitations to remember God’s Chesed Love

*It is especially important to see that this love is applied to the gentile churches, not Israel.

What it Meant For them

In verse 9 John reveals that he was exiled on an Island at Patmos as he says in verse 9 “on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus”. As a result of loving Jesus, John was exiled, he was persecuted.

What one of the Pastors said at worship night, “concerned we might miss the point.”

I wonder, is it possible that we are missing much of the grace in the book of Revelation by focusing too intently on what the signs might mean? Rather than focusing on God’s faithfulness?

Illustrate: The word translated Revelation in verse one means to unveil what is concealed.

There are examples of this elsewhere in scripture:

Job—Satan Goes before the throne of God

Isaiah—Isaiah is called to prophesy to Israel

Luke 2, when Christ’s birth is announced to shepherds.

In the book of Zechariah,

Believers in the context of a Roman Government that was hostile to God and to them get a glimpse through the book of Revelation into what is taking place in heaven. On the earth, was Roman control, dominance and demands for worship, in heaven was God on his throne, preparing judgement for those who oppose him, and salvation for those being persecuted. The persecution from Rome should not cause them to doubt Jesus, it should make them more sure of his faithful love for them, because this is the way he has worked through his people all throughout history.

Illustrate: Daniel

Spent his whole life in Exile serving punishment for sins his fathers committed and yet, at the end of it he prays and is met by Gabriel and addressed as “Man Greatly Loved” or precious one.

What it means for Us

Experiencing tribulation because of Jesus is not a sign of God’s absence or displeasure, but it may actually be a sign of his grace and pleasure.

From a 2024 Aljazeera article

“When Nwaohia turned 17 in 1983, he was baptised. But on the day of the baptism, he had an accident. “While riding my motorbike home with the man who baptised me, I suddenly veered into the bush and sustained fleshly injuries, but my co-rider was unscathed,” he said, later coming to the conclusion that it was a sign he was on the wrong path.

But back then, Nwaohia was still ignorant of the prophecy, so at age 18, he became a Bible teacher at a church in his hometown.

After another road accident – a car crash in 1987 – left him with a limp and leg injuries he said would not heal despite years of hospital care, he took a friend’s advice and went to a medicine man for help. The wounds, the dibia told him, were signs that Nwaohia’s calling to the priesthood in the African traditional faith was due.

Nwaohia, then 23, told his mother what the dibia said. She finally revealed the prophecy she received about him many years ago. Although she was hesitant about it, he felt his path was now clearer, and gradually, he accepted his new spiritual role.

“People who identify and follow their true path will thrive, while those who stray will face difficulties until they find their way back,” said Nwaohia, who claims his leg injury healed on its own after he embraced his calling.

He was officially ordained a dibia in 1993, in an elaborate ceremony…”

Conclusion: We know God is faithful not because of our experiences, but because of the trustworthiness of his word. We know he loves us, because he has said he loves us. We know he will return for us because Christ said he will return. God is faithful to keep his promise to us.

Lampstand illustration