1 The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2 who testifies to everything he saw – that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. 3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.
4 John,
To the seven churches in the province
of
Grace and peace to you from him who is,
and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, 5
and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from
the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
To him who loves us and has freed us from
our sins by his blood, 6 and has made us to be a kingdom and priests
to serve his God and Father – to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.
7 ‘Look, he is coming
with the clouds,’
and ‘every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him’;
and all peoples on earth ‘will mourn because
of him.’
So shall it be! Amen.
8 ‘I am the Alpha
and the Omega,’ says the Lord God, ‘who is, and who was, and who is to come, the
Almighty.’
Double
Blessings.
The book of Revelation
is known as apocalyptic literature – meaning it reveals divine mysteries. It was
written near the end of the first century to a Christian church that was suffering
extreme persecution. It had meaning for those early readers, just as it has meaning
for today’s readers. It is full of imagery, but that does not mean it is in a code
that needs to be cracked.
The writer, John,
is describing something that was ‘revealed’ to him (hence the title ‘Revelation’),
by Jesus in a vision. We are going to spend nine days looking at the first three
chapters of the book, which contain an introduction in chapter 1, and seven letters
in chapters 2 and 3 – letters written to early churches in
The book is in
the form of a letter in itself – and these first eight verses in today’s reading
are the opening of the letter, with the ‘from’ and the ‘to’ parts that we are familiar
with finding at the beginning of a biblical letter. It is from John, to the
seven churches in the province of
John gives a
greeting from God the Father, and from God the Son. First, from the Father: “Grace
and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the
seven spirits before his throne.” That is a picture of the majesty and kingship
of God, seated on his throne – and of the fact that he is eternal, with no
beginning and no end. Second, from the Son: “and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful
witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.”
He defeated death and rose again – and all of us will follow. Jesus was the
‘firstborn’. And as ruler of the kings, we sometimes use the phrase, ‘King of
kings’.
Verse 7
matches what we looked at recently in 1 and 2 Thessalonians, concerning the
truth of the Second Coming, and what it will be like: “‘Look, he is coming with
the clouds,’ and ‘every eye will see him, even those who pierced him’; and all peoples
on earth ‘will mourn because of him.’ So shall it be! Amen.”
This is a
wonderful introduction to the book, and it sets the scene for what John will be
writing about, concerning what has been revealed. There is a message to the
seven churches, there is grace and peace from God the Father and God the Son,
and Jesus is coming again! No wonder the writer gives a double blessing in
verse 3 – We are blessed if we read aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed
if we hear it and take to heart what is written in it!
Prayer
Lord, we thank you for the double
blessing from reading and hearing the words of Revelation. Help us, by your
Spirit, to understand it and learn from it. We worship you, our Father, who is,
and who was, and who is to come, and Jesus Christ our Saviour, the firstborn from
the dead, and King of kings! Amen.
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