Revolation

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I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

i. “Neither must we only live up to the words of this prophecy, but die for it also, and be content to be burned with it, if called thereto; as that holy martyr, who when he saw the Revelation cast into the fire with him, cried out ‘O blessed Revelation, how happy am I to be burned in thy company!’” (Trapp)d. The Almighty : This word Almighty translates the ancient Greek word pantokrater, which literally means “the one who has his hand on everything.” It speaks of the great sovereign control of Jesus over everything – past, present, and future.

Working on the same principle of numerology, academics work out 616 to indicate the Emperor Caligula. Caligula had had a statue of himself erected in the temple in Jerusalem, greatly offending Jews. If John indeed was a Jew from Palestine he would have known this. Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near. i. Some wonder if it is God the Father or God the Son speaking here. We suspect it is the Son, Jesus Christ, and we believe this for many reasons. First, since it is Jesus’ Revelation, it seems appropriate that He introduced it. Second, the titles Alpha and Omega and the Beginning and the End are titles claimed by Jesus (Revelation 22:13). Third, though the title who is and who was and who is to come is used of God the Father in Revelation 1:4, it is also true of God the Son, and seems to be directed to Jesus in Revelation 11:17 and 16:5. These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the Originator e of God’s creation. The author of the text tells us that his name is John. Christian tradition has taken him to be the apostle John, author of the Fourth Gospel. However, the John of Revelation does not claim to be one of the disciples or to have known Jesus.I will strike her children dead, and all the churches will know that I am the One who searches minds and hearts, and I will repay each of you according to your deeds. i. Jesus is the First and the Last , the God of all eternity, Lord of eternity past and eternity future. i. 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. c. The Poetic View: This approach believes that Revelation is a book full of pictures and symbols intended to encourage and comfort persecuted Christians in John’s day. In the Poetic or allegorical view, the Book of Revelation isn’t literal or historic. Revelation is a book of personal meaning.

c. Who is and was and who is to come : As shown in the comments on Revelation 1:4, this phrase communicates the idea behind the great Old Testament name for the Triune God, Yahweh. It reflects His eternal nature and His unchanging presence. Jesus has this eternal nature just as much as God the Father does. Micah 5:2 prophetically expressed it this way: Whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting. Hebrews 13:8 expressed it this way: Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. 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. when the Lamb opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony they had upheld. Scholars conclude that John was a Jew from Palestine. His use of the Greek language indicates that he was not a native speaker but of a Semitic mother tongue, and he is very familiar with the Hebrew Bible. ii. In His own blood : If there were any other way to wash us from our sins, God would have done it that other way. To wash us in His own blood meant the ultimate sacrifice of God the Son. God wouldn’t do it this way unless it was the only way. “The priests could only cleanse with blood of bulls and goats; but he has washed us from our sins ‘in his own blood.’ Men are willing enough to shed the blood of others. How readily they will enter upon war! But Christ was willing to shed his own blood, to pour out his soul unto death, that we might be saved.” (Spurgeon)

See also

ii. The light doesn’t come from the lampstands . The light comes from the oil lamps themselves. The stands merely make the light more visible. Therefore, the lampstands are a good picture of the church. We don’t produce the light, we simply display it. ii. “It is the opinion of very learned writers upon this book, that our Lord, by these seven churches, signifies all the churches of Christ to the end of the world; and by what he saith to them, designs to show what shall be the state of churches in all ages, and what their duty is.” (Poole) f. By His angel to His servant John : This tells us who wrote the Book of Revelation. It was His servant John , and the best evidence points to this being the Apostle John, the same writer of the Gospel of John and the books of 1, 2, and 3 John. Christ commends those churches whose members have endured persecution and, in some instances, even death rather than declare their allegiance to Roman rulers, who proclaimed their own divinity and demanded that they should be worshipped along with the other gods of the empire. He refers to Pergamum as Satan's home inasmuch as it was in this place that the cult of emperor worship was particularly strong. ii. Jesus is the one who lives, and was dead, and is alive forevermore . He has the credentials of resurrection, and lives to never die again. The victory that Jesus won over sin and death was a permanent victory. He didn’t rise from the dead just to die again.

whenever the living creatures give glory, honor, and thanks to the One seated on the throne who lives forever and ever, 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). Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this. The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches. b. On the Lord’s Day : When is the Lord’s Day ? Among the pagans of the Roman Empire, the first day of each month was called “Emperors Day” in honor of the Roman Emperor. Perhaps Christians proclaimed their allegiance to Jesus by honoring the first day of the week as their own Lord’s Day .b. For the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ : Most scholars assume that John was on Patmos because he was arrested and imprisoned in persecution from the Romans. This is probably the case, especially because John said that he is your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ . However, it is also possible that John was on Patmos as a missionary to the prisoners there. each of them was given a white robe and told to rest a little while longer, until the full number of their fellow servants, their brothers, were killed, just as they h this I looked and saw a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had previously heard speak to me like a trumpet was saying, “Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after these things.” b. He laid His right hand on me : First, Jesus comforted John with a compassionate touch. Perhaps the touch of Jesus felt more familiar than the appearance of Jesus. Then Jesus gave John a command: “ Do not be afraid .” John didn’t need to be afraid because He was in the presence of Jesus, and Jesus clearly identifies Himself to John with three titles.