In continuation of Revelation chapter 1 we see John write to suffering Christians encouraging them. John writes a salutation, a doxology, a prophecy and a designation. Join us to learn the answer!
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Encouragement To Suffering Christians
Revelation 1:4-8
In the year 115 A.D., the Roman historian Tacitus, who was hostile to Christianity, wrote the following:
“Therefore to eliminate this rumor he (Nero) falsely produced defendants and inflicted the most extraordinary punishments upon those whom, hated for their crimes, the people called Christians. The origin of this name was Christ, whom the procurator Pontius Pilate put to death in the reign of Tiberius; crushed for a while, the deadly superstition burst forth again not only throughout Judea, the source of this evil, but even throughout Rome, to which all horrible and shameful things flow from everywhere and are celebrated. Therefore the first persons arrested were those who confessed; then on their information, a great multitude was convicted not so much on the charge of setting fire as on hatred of the human race. Mockeries were added to their deaths, so that wrapped in the skins of wild animals they might die torn to pieces by dogs, or nailed to crosses they were burned to death to furnish light at night when day had ended. Nero made his own gardens available for this spectacle and put on circus games, mingling with the people while dressed in a charioteer’s uniform or standing in his chariot. As a result there arose compassion toward those who were guilty and who deserved the most extraordinary punishments, on the grounds that they were being destroyed not for the public good but for the savagery of one man (The Annals 15.44.2-5).”
It was hard to be a Christian in the first century. Remember that Jesus had said, “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me.” For many first century Christians, taking up their cross was not a figurative statement about being willing to accept trials and tribulations for their faith, but was a literal statement of readiness to die for their faith in Christ.
As John begins his letter to the seven churches of Asia, being inspired by God, he writes in a way that will encourage his readers to persevere under great suffering and persecution to the end. This morning we are going to look at his introductory encouragements.
You will recall from last Lord’s Day that Revelation 1:1-3 are the prologue to the book. In this section we discover how the contents of this book were transmitted to John. They began with God, were given to Jesus, who transmitted them to His angel, who communicated them to John. John received this revelation in both audio and visual form. He saw the visions which he wrote of.
There is two references in the first three verses of the imminence of the things recorded in this book. 1:1 “the things which must soon take place”; 1:3 “for the time is near.” The things recorded in this book had special application and relevance to the Christians living in John’s day, the first century. That’s why it seems dubious to me to interpret the things in this book as only being fulfilled in the final generation of people who will be alive at the second coming of Christ.
Let’s continue on in the Revelation. Today, we will look at John’s introduction in Revelation 1:4-8, and here we will see his encouragement to suffering Christians.
In these verses we have four things: a Salutation, a Doxology, a Prophecy, and a Designation.
1. A Salutation (1:4-5)
In all New Testament letters there is a certain form which is followed. The author states his name, and then the people to whom he is writing to are mentioned. This is followed by a short prayer for grace and peace upon the recipients of the letter. This is exactly the form John uses here. Let’s examine it together.
The Author: John (1:4). 1:9 says, “I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance which are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.” Who was this John? The church fathers of the 2nd century unanimously ascribe the authorship to John the apostle – the disciple whom Jesus loved.
The author simply identifies himself as John. It is difficult to see how any other person in the early church other than the apostle John would have so well known that he could refer to himself simply as “John” and expect to be recognized by all the churches.
There are certain words that only the apostle John uses. “The Word” is used in John 1:1; 1 Jn. 1:1; Rev. 19:13. “The Lamb” is found in Jn. 1:29, 36; Rev. 5:6. The concepts of “Satan being cast out” and “overcoming the world” are found only in John’s writings.
The Recipients: the seven churches that are in Asia (1:4). This book was written and sent to seven different historical churches that existed in the first century in Asia. At the same time, there were more than seven churches in Asia. We know of at least ten churches. So, why did John write to seven churches? Seven is a favorite number in the book of Revelation. It is found 55 times in only 22 chapters. In addition to being the literal number of seven different churches, it probably also functions as a symbolic number for the complete church. This book is applicable and instructive to the whole church, in every age.
Prayer: Grace and Peace. Both of these are needed for Christians undergoing persecution. They need the grace of God to persevere in faith when persecution is the result of confessing Christ. They need inner peace to counterbalance the external turmoil their persecutors were bringing upon the church. So, John prays that God may grant them both the grace to persevere and peace in this midst of their turmoil.
The 3-Fold Designation of God:
God The Father: “Him who is and who was and who is to come” (1:4). This speaks of God’s self-existence. Just as God was in the past, so is He now, and so will He always be. He is the “I Am” who appeared to Moses. But why doesn’t He say, “Him who is and who was and who will be”? Instead He says, “who is to come.” When Christ comes it will be to save His people and judge His enemies. God wants to remind these suffering Christians of that great truth. He is coming, and when He does, He will save them, and destroy their enemies. Of that they can be sure!
The Holy Spirit: “the seven Spirits who are before His throne” (1:4). What are these seven spirits? John uses this phrase several times in this book. In 1:5 the seven spirits are referred to as seven lamps of fire. In the ancient world, lamps were placed on lampstands (churches). The fulness (7) of the Holy Spirit in the church provides her with everything she needs to be faithful witnesses to Christ in a hostile world. Do you see how this reference to the all-sufficient Holy Spirit would encourage these Christians to persevere?
Jesus Christ: Here we have three descriptions. These descriptions follow the order of His life. All three would prove helpful to them in their hour of testing.
- The faithful witness. The church is called upon to give a faithful witness to the watching world, even if it means suffering and even death. Jesus was a faithful witness before Pontius Pilate, and it ended up costing Him His life. John 1:18 tells us that Jesus came to explain the Father. And He is our example in this regard. Revelation is a book about the church bearing faithful witness in a hostile world.
- The first-born of the dead. Refers to His resurrection (Acts 13:33). He is the first-born in a family of many children. He was the first person to die, never to die again. All faithful believers will follow Him in resurrection, even if it means martyrdom. 1 Cor. 15:20 speaks of Christ as the “first fruits of those who are asleep.” But being the first-born also speaks of superiority. The first-born was given a double portion of the Father’s blessing. Col. 1:18 “He is the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything.”
- The Ruler of the kings of the earth. First Jesus was a faithful witness during His life on earth. When he was crucified for that faithful witness, God responded in raising Him from the dead. Now that He has been exalted to the right hand of God the Father, He has been given all authority in heaven and earth and is the Ruler of the kings of the earth. He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. The earthly rulers cannot do anything against the church, except Jesus Christ permit it. Christ is sovereign. The church can take comfort from that truth.
We must follow the path that Christ has modeled. First, we are faithful witnesses. If we are martyred, we will be raised as Christ was and will reign with Him.
2. A Doxology
A Doxology is an declaration of praise.
To Him who loves us: This is in the present tense. It denotes ongoing, continuous activity. Jesus has loved us, is loving us, and will love us. To these suffering Christians, John writes that Jesus Christ loves them. Perhaps they were struggling to believe that truth. Antipas had been killed. The threat of imprisonment loomed large. The Jews slandered them, and the Romans hated them. Their situation seemed to contradict it. If Christ loved them, why was He allowing this suffering?! Where do we look to find the demonstration of Christ’s love? The cross! Paul says in Galatians 2:20 “the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself up for me.” Or Ephesians 5:2 “just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, and offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.” Or Ephesians 5:25, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her.”
And released us from our sins by His blood. Past tense. Jesus’ ongoing continuous love is demonstrated by the shedding of His blood. Christ’s love is proven by His sacrificial death on our behalf. “Released” harkens back to the Exodus. The blood of the Passover Lamb was associated with the release of the children of Israel from slavery in Egypt. So too, Christ has accomplished a much greater Exodus. Through His death, He has released us from slavery to sin, Satan, death and hell. Christ is our Passover Lamb. He is the Lamb who takes away the sin of the world!
And made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father. John is alluding to Exodus 19:6. This is what God said about the children of Israel. They were to be a kingdom of priests who would mediate God’s saving message to all the Gentile nations around them. Now John quotes that verse and says it applies to the church, made up of Jews and Gentiles. The Church is the kingdom. Israel no longer makes up the kingdom of God. The church does. And this isn’t any kingdom. It is a kingdom of priests! Every member of the church is a priest. They are priests “to His God and Father.” We minister to God as spiritual priests. Our sacrifices are not of animals that we offer on a brazen altar and consume in the fire. Our sacrifices are giving of thanks, doing good, praise, our bodies, those converted through our ministry.
The church may be humble and weak in the eyes of the world, but they are the kingdom of God on earth! What an exalted status. Yes, they may have to suffer and even die for Christ, but they are more than conquerors and reign on the earth!
So, how do we respond to Christ’s love and saving grace towards us? To Him be the glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. An ascription of praise to Jesus Christ He is worthy of all glory and all dominion, not just now, but forever. There is no need to tremble in fear of those who would kill the body. Jesus Christ is the ruler of the kings of the earth! He exercises sovereign dominion, having all authority in heaven and earth!
3. A Prophecy
There are two different interpretations of this verse. The Historicist, the Idealist, and the Futurist all interpret it as the second coming of Christ. The Preterist interprets it of the Coming of Christ in Judgment through the Roman army to destroy Jerusalem and the temple in 70 A.D.
The Second Coming of Christ Interpretation:
Behold, He is coming with the clouds. Verse 7 is what is called a conflation. It is a blending together of two different texts into one new text. John alludes to Daniel 7:30 and Zechariah 12:10 and pulls elements from both of them together to produce Revelation 1:7, which has an altered meaning from the original meaning of those texts.
Daniel 7:13, “I kept looking in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven One like a Son of Man was coming, and He came up to the Ancient of Days and was presented before Him.” Here we read of the coming of the Son of Man with the clouds of heaven. But what direction is He coming? Is He coming to the earth? No! He is coming to the Ancient of Days. This is a prophecy foretelling Christ’s ascension and enthronement subsequent to His death and resurrection. Can you think of another occasion in which the Son of Man ascending in clouds to God the Father? Acts 1:9, “And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.”
And every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. This is an allusion to Zechariah 12:10, “I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.” Did you hear anything about Jesus Christ coming to the earth in that passage? When did God pour out His Holy Spirit on Jewish people in Jerusalem so that they looked on Jesus and mourned? The day of Pentecost! That’s when 3,000 Jews looked with grief and repentance because of their part in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
Both of these OT references were about something other than the 2nd Coming of Christ. Dan.7:13 is not about Christ returning to earth, but of Him coming to the Father at His ascension and enthronement. Zech.12:10 was fulfilled on the Day of Pentecost. However, John takes these OT Scriptures and applies them to something different – to the 2nd Coming of Christ. How? He universalizes them. “Every eye will see Him” – this is not stated in either OT prophecy. Zechariah says the house of David and of Jerusalem will mourn – here it is all the tribes of the earth. In Revelation, there is a universal seeing of Jesus and a universal mourning. All unbelievers will mourn in despair at Christ’s second coming, because they will realize that the gospel was true, and that there is no more possibility of their salvation.
Summary: The Historicist, the Futurist and the Idealist, all see a reference to the second coming of Christ in this passage. Remember, that John is giving encouragement to suffering Christians. It would certainly be encouraging to be reminded that Jesus is coming, and when He does He will provide eternal comfort and salvation to His persecuted children, and destruction to His and the church’s enemies.
The Destruction of Jerusalem Interpretation
The Preterist interprets this coming of Christ, not as His second coming, but of His coming through the Romans in judgment against the Jews when He destroyed Jerusalem and the temple, and over a million Jews were massacred in 70 A.D.
But what about this phrase “coming with the clouds”? Did Jesus come with the clouds in 70 A.D.? Not if you interpret that literally. However, there are Old Testament passages which speak of a figurative coming with the clouds. In Is. 19:1, “The oracle concerning Egypt. Behold, the Lord is riding on a swift cloud and is about to come to Egypt; the idols of Egypt will tremble at His presence, and the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them.”
It is true that every passage which speaks of the “coming of Christ” does not refer to His second coming. We have several right here in this book, such as Rev. 2:5; 3:20; Mal. 3:1-2.
“All the tribes of the earth” – could be translated “all the tribes of the land” referring to the land of Israel. In that case, this would not be a reference to every individual on earth mourning, but to all the Jewish people from all of the Jewish tribes. They are mourning because of the severe judgment brought on them through the Roman army, in which they were decimated.
I will leave it to you to decide which interpretation fits best with the rest of this book, and of the whole New Testament.
4. A Self-Designation
How can we know that this prophecy will take place? God’s own self-designation in verse 8 proves it beyond doubt.
Who is Speaking here? “the Lord God.” Even the translation of the Bible the Jehovah’s Witnesses use, The New World Translation, translates this verse, “I am the Alʹpha and the O·meʹga,” says Jehovah God, “the One who is and who was and who is coming, the Almighty.” Everyone agrees that God Almighty is speaking.
The Alpha and the Omega. This is the first and last letter of the Greek alphabet. We would say, “I am the A and the Z.” It means, “I am the first and the last.” And that is exactly what we read Jesus saying about Himself in verse 17. Interestingly, this is the claim that Jehovah God makes about Himself in Isaiah 44:6, “Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: ‘I am the first and I am the last, and there is no God besides Me.” So, the book of Revelation links the identity of Jesus Christ to that of Jehovah God!
However, that’s not all. If there were any doubt in our minds at all, as to whether we should identify Jesus with Jehovah, Revelation 22:13 should remove all doubt. Here Jesus is speaking and He says of Himself, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” Here Jesus links both phrases, “The Alpha and the Omega” and “the first and the last” together into one. We know it is Jesus speaking, because the preceding verse says, “Behold I am coming quickly and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done.” That can only be a reference to Jesus Christ.
This title can only mean that Jesus is the One who has no beginning and will have no end. He is the eternal “I Am”, the Self-Existent One. That’s how the church can know that He has the ability to fulfill the prophecy in Revelation 1:7.
“who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” Interestingly, this exact same phrase is found just a few verses earlier in verse 4, where it is a reference to God the Father. God says in both verse 4 and verse 8, that He is coming in judgment. This phrase functions as bookends. In the midst of those two bookends, we have a prophecy that Christ is coming. God is coming! For the Christian, this provides unshakeable confidence in the midst of the most hostile opposition. For the non-Christian this sets the tone of dread and despair.
Conclusion
Non-Christians. Friends, you do not want to be the enemy of Jesus Christ when He comes to judge! If you don’t mourn now in repentance, you will mourn then in despair. At that time, you will not have any second chance. It is game over. Only eternity in hell. God is coming! You better get ready.
Christians. Lift up your head, for your redemption draws nigh. No matter what pain, heartache, suffering, persecution you face in this world, Christ is coming, and He is going to bring you into a world full of joy and peace and truth and righteousness. Eagerly wait for Him. Amen.
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