Revelations 1:4 – 5 “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, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth.”
Wow! What’s going on with John? Addressing the letter to a specific set of churches in normal, as is the salutation of “Grace and Peace.” The churches mentioned were located in the Roman province of Asia, now modern – day Turkey. But John is purporting to speak for the eternal God, for Jesus, and for the “seven Spirits who are before His (God’s) throne,” that is, for the Holy Spirit. Is John delusional? Has dementia set in? “No,” to both those questions.
Just in case you thought “Fake News” was something new, you were wrong! Throughout history, people have circulated all kinds of rumors of various kinds and weird beliefs. Jesus had scarcely ascended into heaven before there were people accusing the early Christians of being crazy. Christians were accused of actually drinking human blood and eating human flesh during their communion services. And every town and village had its own local gods to be propitiated, with all kinds of myths surrounding these deities.
God gave John a vision and commanded him to write exactly what he saw. John is trying to make sure we understand that what he is about to tell us did not come from him, but from God. John is speaking to converts who might have been worshiping a plethora of false gods previously, so he wants to qualify that this message is coming from the Eternal God who existed before time and space, and who is present now and in the future. For Jews, this God would be identified as the Yaweh of their Scriptures.
“From the seven Spirits who are before His throne…” Guzik explains this phrase as follows: “John brought a greeting from God the Holy Spirit, who is described with this title. The seven Spirits who are before His throne speaks to the perfection and completion of the Holy Spirit. John used an Old Testament description of the Holy Spirit. The idea of the seven Spirits quotes from the Old Testament. Isaiah 11:2 describes seven aspects of the Holy Spirit: 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 fear of the Lord. It isn’t that there are seven different spirits of God, rather the Spirit of the Lord has these characteristics, and He has them all in fullness and perfection.”
Guzik continues, “From Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth:” John brought a greeting from God the Son, who is described by who He is and by what He has done.
i. Jesus is the faithful witness: This speaks to Jesus’ utter reliability and faithfulness to His Father and to His people, even unto death. The ancient Greek word translated witness is also the word for a martyr.
ii. Firstborn from the dead: This speaks to Jesus’ standing as pre-eminent among all beings, that He is first in priority. Firstborn from the dead means much more than that Jesus was the first person resurrected. It also means that He is pre-eminent among all those who are or will be resurrected. Jesus is the firstborn among many brethren (Romans 8:29).
iii. The use of firstborn does not mean that Jesus had a birth date and is therefore a created being, and not God. The ancient Rabbis called Yahweh Himself “Firstborn of the World” (Rabbi Bechai cited in Lightfoot’s commentary on Colossians). Rabbis also used firstborn as a Messianic title. “God said, ‘As I made Jacob a first-born (Exodus 4:22), so also will I make king Messiah a first-born’ (Psalm 89:27).” (R. Nathan in Shemoth Rabba, cited by Lightfoot in his commentary on Colossians)
iv. Jesus is the ruler over the kings. Before the Book of Revelation is over, Jesus will take dominion over every earthly king. At the present time, Jesus rules a kingdom, but it is a kingdom that is not yet of this world.
e. In this greeting, with its systematic mention of each Person of the Trinity, we see how the New Testament presents the doctrine of the Trinity. It doesn’t present it in a carefully defined, “systematic theology” kind of way. It simply weaves the truth of the Trinity – that there is One God in Three Persons – throughout the fabric of the New Testament.”
(David Guzik, https://enduringword.com/bible-commentary/revelation-1)
Why is John spending so much time in setting the stage? Why doesn’t he just get on with narrating his vision? Well, the simplest answer is that this is what God has instructed John to write. Actually, it is not John who is establishing God’s credentials; rather, it is God who is establishing John’s cedentials as a faithful witness. What John is about to describe is so mind – blowing that God wants to make certain we know He is really the One saying all this and that John didn’t just sit down to make something up.
Today, many people rarely think of God. For many, technology has become a kind of god, one that can be manipulated. But the eternal, immortal, omnipotent, omniscient, and everlasting God is far greater than anything our minds can conceive. If we worship technology, we are little better than those who used to carve idols, cover them with beaten gold, and then demand that the work of their hands should save and deliver them. Technology is only a servant, and no man is great enough to take the place of the One True Living God.
As we proceed through Revelations, we must ask ourselves this question: whom or what are we worshiping? Are we willing to worship God, realizing that we can only grasp a tiny glimpse of His greatness? Or are we trying to create our own little god, something that we can control and understand?
PRAYER: Father God, thank you that you are so great that our imaginations can only give us a small idea of your nature. Thank you that you choose to reveal yourself to us in your Word. Lord, open our eyes, our minds, and our hearts, so that we can learn more about your Nature. Thank you for loving us, for sending Jesus to die for our sins, and for granting us eternal life if we will believe on Jesus Christ. Amen.
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