Today, I am reading and commenting on Revelation 1-3.

This morning I want to go over what John wrote in his introduction to his letter.  As I read it this morning it evoked a sense of awe in me.  First, I want to point out that I think the translation of verse four in the NIV is incorrect.  The NIV translates verse 4 and five as, “Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits^[a] before his throne,  and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.”  That little {a} references a translators’ note which says, “That is, the sevenfold Spirit.”  So, verses four and five here are an outright reference to the Trinity.  First it references the Father, “Him who is, and who was, and who is to come.”  Then it references the Holy Spirit, “the sevenfold Spirit before His throne.” (The “His” whose throne is referenced is the Father).  Finally, it references Jesus, and in doing so indicates that He is also God.

But it was verse seven which really spoke to me today.
“Look He is coming with the clouds.”
We usually read that as being about Jesus’ second coming, and I think that is generally the correct reading.  However, today I thought that perhaps that is too narrow of a reading.  I think we should also call that out to people today, people who need to see and understand the glory of God in Jesus.  Every eye will indeed see Him, but those of us who see Him now, before that glorious day when He comes in judgement of the earth, are blessed.  When you see clouds in the sky, think about the fact that Jesus came with the clouds, and that He holds the keys of death and of the place of the dead.  Jesus died and rose from the dead, and now He holds the keys to free all of us from death.  I want to go back once more to the statement that “Every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him.”  Again, that is not just about at His second coming.  Many will see Him before that, even from among those who chose to reject Him.  There are those, such as Paul while he was still Saul, who reject Jesus only to see Him “coming with the clouds” and turn to follow Him.  Just as rainbows are a sign to us that God will never again destroy the entire world with a flood, so are clouds a sign to us that Jesus died and rose again and is now here for us for eternity.  The clouds are a sign that we should preach His gospel to those who reject Him, because His Spirit will strike down some of those as Saul was struck down outside of Damascus.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Revelation 1-3.

I always want to write so much about today’s passage.  Today I decided to focus on what John wrote at the end of the message to each of the seven Churches: “Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
The wording varied slightly, but he put that after his message to each of the Churches.  I read that as an indication that while the contents of each message contained specifics for the Church to whom it was specifically addressed, it also contained things to which everyone who follows Christ needs to pay attention.  First, there are the characteristics we should strive to incorporate into our lives:

• Do not tolerate wicked people
• Rich in faith, even if lacking in material possessions</li?
• Do not renounce Jesus name in the face of ridicule and persecution
• Exhibit love and faith through service
• Patiently serving God even though weak and worn out

And then there are the characteristics we should strive to remove from our lives:

• Loss of our initial enthusiasm for Christ
• Do not tolerate sexual immorality and the pursuit of sensual licentiousness
• Maintaining a reputation for righteousness without the accompanying actions
• Lack of enthusiasm

Interestingly, there is more overlap between the things for which the Churches are condemned then there is among the things for which they are praised.  And yet, in many ways the things for which the Churches are praised are just variations on the same thing.  The passage ends with one of the great images of Christianity.  Jesus says to us “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.”  So, if you have ears listen to what the Spirit says, hear Jesus knocking, and open the door so that He may come in.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Revelation 1-3.

Usually when I read this passage I write something about what John writes to each of the seven Churches to which this letter is addressed.  Today I was struck by what John writes about God, and about Jesus.  John refers to God the Father as “Him who is, and who was , and who is to come.”  A few verses later he quotes God as saying that He is “the Alpha and the Omega who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”  Then when Jesus speaks to John in his vision, He says, “I am the First and the Last.  I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever!”  The phrase, “who is, and who was, and who is to come,” strikes me so powerfully.

• God is!  There may be those who say that God is dead, that He does not matter, that mankind no longer needs God, but they are mistaken.  God is, and mankind desperately needs Him now.
• God was!  There are those who say that  we cannot trust what the Bible says because it happened so long ago, but God was there.
• God is to come!  There are those who say that we do not know what the future holds, and they are correct.  But we know that God is already there waiting for us.

God was there at the beginning and He is there at the end.  Jesus was dead and now He is alive because death could not hold Him.  And that means that death will be unable to hold those who put their faith in Him.

Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Revelation 1-3.

It is important when we read the Book of Revelation to pay attention to the symbolism.  So, I want to note that seven churches in Asia Minor were chosen as the recipients for this letter because seven is the number of divine perfection.  Yet, these churches were not perfect.  I want to spend a little time looking at what was written to these seven churches.  John was given nothing negative to write about two of them, and nothing positive to say about two more.  Let’s look at what he wrote about the two churches about which John wrote only good things.  About one of those churches, the church in Smyrna, he writes that they are poor, but rich.  About the other, the church in Philadelphia, he writes that they are weak, but that God has opened a door for them that no one will be able to close.  In both cases, the message is that if we dedicate ourselves to serving God, we will succeed even though by the standards of this world we do not have the strength or resources to accomplish that for which we strive.  Now, let us look at the two churches about which he has nothing positive to write.  At the first of those, the church in Sardis, he writes that they have a reputation for being alive, but aren’t.  And about the church in Laodicea, he writes that they are neither hot nor cold, they are just indifferent.  Further, he says they are the opposite of the church in Smyrna…they think they are rich, when in fact they are poor.  In both cases the church had lost its first love for God and they were merely going through the motions.  John writes that it would be better to make no profession of faith than the half-hearted one they currently had, it would be better to be one of the three churches about which John writes both good and bad.  The churches about which John had nothing good to write had avoided the failings of the three churches about whom John gave mixed reviews. but they also failed to do any of those things for which he praised those churches.  We will be better off being enthusiastic disciples of Christ who fail in some areas, than lackadaisical ones who do nothing particularly wrong, but also nothing particularly right.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on  Revelation 1-3.

I am not sure where I am going with my blog today.  I have some not really connected thoughts.  First I want to point out how John connects Jesus as God.  John writes that God says, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”  Then a few verses later he writes that he saw someone “like a son of man” who said to him, “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.  I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.”  Now from the statement, “I was dead,…I am alive for ever and ever” we can only conclude that this is Jesus, because no other being fits that description.  Further, when John writes that God says, “I am the Alpha and Omega,” that is another way of saying, “I am the First and the Last.”  So, in the vision, Jesus told John that He and the Father were one being.  I want to go on to look at the power of God’s statement that He is the One “who is, who was, and who is to come.”  That means that every place and time, God is present.  When good things happen, God is there.  When bad things happen, God is there.  God knows the joys you experience, and the suffering which you experience.  He knows when you bring joy to others, and will reward you.  He knows when you bring pain to others, and will hold you accountable.  Think of the most horrible event you know happened, God was there, offering comfort to those who suffered, and preparing the fate for those responsible for that suffering.

When I started this I intended to write on the messages to the specific churches, But I think  I will stop here.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Revelation 1-3.

I want to comment on what Jesus said to John at the beginning of John’s vision.  Actually, I want to go back to what John wrote in his introduction, and forward into the intro portion of the message to each of the seven Churches.  In his introduction, John writes that God says, “I am the Alpha and the Omega—the beginning and the end,  I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come—the Almighty One.”  Then when Jesus first speaks to John in John’s vision He says, “Don’t be afraid! I am the First and the Last. ¹⁸ I am the living one. I died, but look—I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave.”  So, we see Jesus telling John that He is God, that He was with God in the beginning and will be with Him at the end.  For me, this passage represents the starting point for understanding the idea of the Trinity.  Yet, there is much more to it than that.  It is a message of hope.

If we go on and look at the introductions to the message to each of the seven Churches, we see the theme continued.  In the message to the Church of Ephesus, Jesus describes Himself as the “one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, the one who walks among the seven gold lampstands.”  The “seven stars” are the angels of the seven Churches…their spirits, or their essence.  So, Jesus is telling John that He holds our essence, our spirit, in His hand.  In the message to Smyrna, He says He is the One who was dead, but is now alive.  Death has no power of Him, and since He holds us in His hand, death has no power over us.  To the Church in Pergamum, He describes Himself as the one who wields the sharp two-edged sword.  This is both a promise and a warning.  Because He holds the sharp sword, He can, and will, strike down our enemies.  Because that sword is two-edged, He can strike us down if we turn against Him.  To Thyatira, He describes Himself as having eyes of flame.  Nothing can be hidden from Him, and His gaze can strike down those who think their evil is hidden.  To Sardis, He says that He has the sevenfold Spirit of God.  Being sevenfold indicates that God’s Spirit is complete.  We too must seek completeness.  We cannot be satisfied with just a portion of righteousness, but must seek all aspects of it.  To the Church of Philadelphia, Jesus reminds them that what He opens cannot be closed, and what He closes cannot be opened.  When God gives us an opportunity, nothing can prevent us from taking advantage of it.  And when God closes a door nothing can come through it to harm us.  Finally, to the Church of Laodiciea He informs us that He is a faithful and true witness.  What Jesus has said is true and He will not change His testimony.

I hope the words I have written above convey the message of hope which reading this passage inspired in me.