The God Behind the Revelation
Notes
Transcript
John has taken a few verses to introduce this revelation and now he begins his greeting to the seven churches that we will explore in more detail in chapters 2 & 3. While we will explore these churches in greater detail I do want to mention a couple of important things about them now. They are referred to as the “seven churches of asia.” One commentary reminds us that whenever we see the word “Asia” in the NT it’s not the HUGE continent that we think of today, but rather is a reference to the “Roman province.”
These were SEVEN churches that the Holy Spirit singled out from among the Roman province to be addressed directly. We know from Scripture there were more than seven churches in “Asia” but these SEVEN churches are specifically mentioned here.
Why only SEVEN.
Some think this was because these churches were near the SEVEN postal districts of Asia. This would ensure that this letter would reach the greatest number of people.
Others focus on the fact that the number SEVEN is used 54 times in the Book of Revelation and since it is a significant number throughout the book, SEVEN churches would also be a good representation of the church as a “whole.” After all SEVEN is considered to be the “number of completion” and so maybe by singling out SEVEN churches, God was saying He is addressing the COMPLETE body of Christ, rather than just singling out these seven.
Others believe that these seven churches, were churches that knew John well and highly respected him, and therefore it was all the more appropriate that John give these messages to these churches, although the messages could apply to every local church throughout the generations.
Still others believe that these SEVEN churches represent seven distinct ages of church history...
I like what my friend and Bible Scholar, Dr. Bruce Barnes said:
There is no doubt that the Word of God is not for just a few churches located in part of the world at one time. The Scripture is for all, and so would be the case here.
While we can speculate about “WHY ONLY SEVEN” the fact is God did not choose to reveal to us why. It seems John wanted us to focus on something MORE THAN numbers! He wanted us to focus on THE GOD BEHIND THE REVELATION! After all ultimately this is God’s revelation, not John’s. John is just the human instrument that God chose to deliver the message.
It is clear from this passage and many others that God is a “triune” God…What do we mean by this? We see Him revealed as...
God the Father
God the Son
God the Holy Spirit
This is clear in our text before us today...
John to the seven churches that 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, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
First, we are reminded of...
The Father (vv. 4, 8)
The Father (vv. 4, 8)
John says this about the Father in verse 4...
Him Who Is, Who Was and Who is to Come
Him Who Is, Who Was and Who is to Come
He is the God who IS, who WAS and who IS TO COME! God revealed this concept to Moses in
God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’ ”
Jewish scholars understood this phrase to mean: “I was; I still am; and in the future I will be.” God is the God of the PAST, the PRESENT and the FUTURE! This reminds us of God’s eternality.
He is the God who “was.” He is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! He is the God of Moses and the prophets! He is the Ancient of Days!
In verse 4 John goes on to speak of the Spirit and the Son, but I want to stay focused on the Father for a few moments more. Notice again
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
Before we get to the concept of “Alpha and Omega” notice also that the concept of God’s eternality is repeated in verse 8. “Who IS, who WAS, and WHO IS to come.” As Barclay so aptly notes:
He was before time began; he is now; and he will be when time ends. He has been the God of all who have trusted in him; he is the God in whom at this present moment we can put our trust; and there can be no event and no time in the future which can separate us from him
In this passage God the Father is also referred to as...
The Alpha & the Omega
The Alpha & the Omega
Alpha is the first letter in the Greek alphabet and Omega is the last letter in the Greek alphabet. According to William Barclay the phrase “alpha and omega” is used to refer to completeness. God is ABSOLUTELY COMPLETE! He is “A to Z.”
The Almighty
The Almighty
He is RULER, CREATOR, SUSTAINER, He is the one whom no one can resist. Regardless of the power of Rome and regardless of the powers that be today, God is still the ALMIGHTY GOD SEATED on the throne and ruling with power and might!
Application
What should our response be to this ETERNAL, OMNIPOTENT, SOVEREIGN God of the ages? We should bow down and worship Him in the splendor of His holiness. We should commit our lives to Him and seek after Him with our whole heart. He is worthy to be our FIRST LOVE. He is to be reverenced and feared yet at the same time He is to be embraced as a loving Heavenly Father who delights to give good things to His children. He can be trusted, He has never failed and He’s not going to start today. He is the God of the revelation, He is the God of the universe and He should be the GOD of me and of you!
The Spirit (v. 4b)
The Spirit (v. 4b)
We also see that this grace and peace is extended from “the SEVEN spirits who are before His throne.” Once again we see the number SEVEN and it is obvious to me this is a reference to the Holy Spirit. Once again I quote Dr. Barnes who says:
…the reference is likely the seven-fold expression, administration, and ministry of the Holy Spirit in Isaiah.
Isaiah speaks of the Messiah, Jesus who will come. Jesus will have the “Spirit of the LORD” resting upon Him and the Spirit would reveal Himself in a SEVENFOLD expression…Notice...
And 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 the fear of the Lord.
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
John references this again in
From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God,
And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.
What a WONDERFUL ministry of the Holy Spirit! Dear Christian, the same Holy Spirit that RESTED upon our Lord and Savior is the SAME HOLY SPIRIT that indwells everyone of us!
He is the SPIRIT of the LORD! (Every believer has Him)!
He is the SPIRIT of WISDOM. We need to learn to lean upon Him for the wisdom that we need! (Every believer has Him) James says
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.
He is the SPIRIT of UNDERSTANDING! We need the Holy Spirit’s insight to understand His Word! This is why those without the Spirit of God will never understand God’s Word the way believer’s do....
The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
He is the SPIRIT of COUNSEL! (Every believer has Him)!
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
The word “helper” translated in the ESV could also be translated “Counselor” or “Comforter.” The Greek word refers to “one called to the side of another.” He is one who has been “called to our side!” The “Got Questions” website says:
To have the Holy Spirit as our Paraclete is to have God Himself indwelling us as believers. The Spirit teaches us the Word and guides us into truth. He reminds us of what Jesus taught so that we can depend on His Word in the difficult times of life. The Spirit works in us to give us His peace (John 14:27), His love (John 15:9-10), and His joy (John 15:11). He comforts our hearts and minds in a troubled world…What a blessing to have the Holy Spirit in our lives as our Paraclete—our Comforter, our Encourager, our Counselor, and our Advocate!”
He is the SPIRIT of MIGHT! I’m so thankful we do not have to depend upon our own might to accomplish God’s will and live victorious of the world, the flesh and the devil but we can do so through His Mighty Power!
Then he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.
He is the SPIRIT of KNOWLEDGE! Remember what Jesus told His disciples in
for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”
He is the Spirit of this Revelation! Finally we are introduced to the Son.
Notice
and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.
The Son (vv. 5-7)
The Son (vv. 5-7)
Verse 5 describes the Lord Jesus with THREE Titles...
His Titles
His Titles
The Faithful Witness
The Faithful Witness
William Barclay says that Jesus is the “reliable witness.” Kendall Easley says this refers to Jesus’ work as PROPHET.
The Firstborn of the Dead
The Firstborn of the Dead
He is also referred to as the “firstborn of the dead.” The Greek word for “firstborn” can have a couple of different meanings and they could both apply here.
First, He is the first one that rose from the dead never to die again. As the “first-born” this means there is more to come! Our resurrection is possible because the Author of life is ALIVE and well! He holds the keys of hell and death and the title deed to the universe! Jesus is the LORD of the dead and of the living! William Barclay reminds us:
Through his resurrection, Jesus gained a victory over death, which all who believe in him may share.
Firstborn also means the one who “occupies first place.” The Lord Jesus Christ is FIRST in all honor and all glory!
Finally we see that He is...
The Ruler of Kings on Earth
The Ruler of Kings on Earth
The is the Sovereign King of the Universe! There is no emperor, or king, or ruler, or president that can hold a candle to MY KING! He is the King of kings and He is the Lord of lords! As we will see in Revelation 19 He is the CONQUERING KING as well!
Not only does John reveal Christ’s titles, but he also reminds his readers...
What Jesus Did for Us
What Jesus Did for Us
He Loved us and Set us Free Through His Blood (v. 5b)
He Loved us and Set us Free Through His Blood (v. 5b)
He set us free at the cost of His own blood. William Barclay points this out:
We must note carefully the tenses of the verbs. John says that Jesus loves us and set us free. Loves is the present tense, and it means that the love of God in Christ Jesus is something which is continuous. Set us free is the past tense, the Greek aorist, which tells of one act completed in the past—and it means that in the one act of the cross our liberation from sin was achieved. That is to say, what happened on the cross was one act in time which was for our benefit and an expression of the continuous love of God.
What a joy it is to know that the love of God propelled Jesus to sacrifice Himself on the cross, poured out His blood to cleanse us from our sins and ACHIEVE our FREEDOM and FORGIVENESS! What a MAGNIFICENTLY AWESOME Savior we have!
He Made us a Kingdom and Priests
He Made us a Kingdom and Priests
Christ has made us ROYALTY! You are children of the King through Jesus and you are a part of His Kingdom! Did you know that? Through Jesus He has made you ROYALTY and He has made you an HEIR to His Kingdom!
This passage is very similar to what Peter said in
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
He has also made us PRIESTS! Did you get that? Did you hear that? We are PRIESTS! Scripture teaches the “priesthood of the believer.” In the OT system only the priests had direct access to God. Unless you were a priest you could only go certain places in the temple. Only the priests could go into the court of the priests and only the High Priest could go into the Holy of Holies, where the Ark of the Covenant was.
However the writer of Hebrews reminds us that we can come directly to God through Christ!
Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.
What a wonderful truth this is! We have CONFIDENCE to enter into the Holy Place BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS! He is our Great High Priest and He has made us a kingdom of priests!
As we conclude notice
Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.
This is the first announcement of what will come to pass shortly and it is about the Lord Jesus Himself!
He IS Coming Again!
He IS Coming Again!
The way this is worded in the Greek indicates it is a FUTURE REALITY that is as real as the PRESENT. It is GUARANTEED…it is ASSURED. As we might say in 2021 …YOU CAN TAKE IT TO THE BANK!
His coming will be “with the clouds” just as the angel said in
And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”
Also EVERY EYE will see Him.
There will be a SHOCK VALUE in His coming! EVERY person on planet earth will see Him. Eventually all those who are resurrected will see Him. Even those responsible for putting Him to death will SEE HIM!
Those who have rejected the lovely, Lord Jesus and who denied Him as their own Master and Savior, the Bible says they will “WAIL” because of this Second Coming. Most likely this verse looks ahead to Revelation 19:11ff which we will look at in greater detail in the coming months.
We have been introduced to the God behind the Revelation. He is the God of Creation. He is the God of the Incarnation. He is the God of the Universe. I hope He is YOUR GOD! I hope you know Him in a personal way. I hope that YOU have surrendered your life to Him and have a hunger and thirst for Him and His righteousness.
The only way we can know Him is because of the GRACE that John mentions in
John to the seven churches that 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,
This GRACE that John mentions refers to the grace that caused God to step into our world and do FOR US what we COULD NOT do nor ever COULD DO for ourselves.
Through this GRACE we can also have this PEACE. Because of grace we can have PEACE WITH God and know the PEACE OF GOD. We can be at peace with God because of His grace expressed in Christ and God can be at peace with us!
Do you know Him? Do you know the Prince of Peace? If not, why not surrender YOUR life to Him right now? Today YOU can be rescued from the penalty and power of YOUR sin!
EARNIE’s ANNOUNCEMENT
BAPTISM