REVELATION Message 2 – 28/8/16
“Grace and Peace, Glory and Power”
Revelation 1:4-8
Pastor Andrew Neville has a gift of being able to choose an event of the moment to
highlight and link to a biblical event from the great past. Today’s sermon began with
a commentary on the recently concluded Olympics, and the outstanding
achievements of the Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt, who, for the third Olympics in a
row, won 3 gold medals in the same events each time. This outstanding, probably
unrepeatable, achievement had been dubbed “The Triple Triple.”
The opening verses of Revelation, which is essentially a group letter to seven
churches in Asia at the close of the 1st Century, contain its own “triple, triple”. But
this is God’s triple, triple, and far outweighs anything a human can ever achieve. We
discover that verses 4-8 contain its own triple, triple to bless us all.
THE FIRST “GOLD” IS THE TRIPLE SOURCE OF BLESSING
From the beginning, a blessing of grace and peace (v.4) to the distressed Christian
reader living in turbulent times is delivered personally. The blessing of true peace
only comes from the grace given by the three persons of the Trinity, given here in
different order than we might expect. It is God, “who is and who was and who is to
come”, that is, the creator and controller of life, explaining to John what is about to
come and the reason for it. It will become apparent, as we track more deeply into
the book, that God is now drawing all the mystery of the Old Testament together,
and along with the first generation of Christianity, placing His work and reasons in
clarity. It is as though God embraces ALL time in a single moment of explanation.
The second person co-authoring the blessing (still in v.4) is called the “7 spirits
before the throne” (or in some translations, the “sevenfold spirit”). Andrew
suggests this could well be another name for the Holy Spirit. The number seven,
important in Revelation, symbolizes completeness.
The third co-author (v.5) is Jesus Christ.
THE SECOND “GOLD” IS THE TRIPLE TITLE OF JESUS
Jesus is described as having 3 titles (v.5).
He is first the faithful servant. And since we are to be in his likeness, we must be
faithful as well. This becomes extremely difficult when faced with virulent atheist
attacks claiming our hypocrisy. Our old sins are resurrected by Satan and turned
against us. It is our duty to turn our accuser toward Jesus, acknowledging that we
are all sinners, including the accuser! If our accusers are trying to justify their
statements by labeling us as hypocrites or similar, it will not work. The standard is
Jesus, not a human.
Jesus is the first born from the dead (v.5). In ancient cultures the first-born was
the inheritor of the father’s position in society. If he were a ruler, then the first-born
became the ruler on the death of the father.
Jesus is also “the ruler of the kings of the earth.” The world – at the close of the
first century – was firmly under Roman rule. The citizens of the Empire were
constantly being told to worship the emperor. But here, we are reminded that only
Jesus is the true king.
THE THIRD “GOLD” IS THE TRIPLE PRAISE FOR JESUS
He LOVES us, He FREED us, and He MADE us for a purpose (verses 5-6). Loves is
the present continuous tense, which means it is as pertinent today as it was 2000
years ago. Freed from our sins by his blood means we need no longer live in the
despair of sin.
He made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve God the Father. That is the
purpose of our Christian conversion. We are ALL God’s priests. We pray for other
people – that’s what priests do!
THE REASON FOR THE REVELATION
Verse 7 contains pieces from Daniel and Zechariah. The opening is short and
declaratory – Jesus is coming back to earth, with the clouds. These could be the
heavenly clouds, but they could also be like the clouds of dust a chariot produces
with its wheels as it rolls in thunder. And because of this manner, he will be visible
to every human on the planet. All will mourn this event because at last all will
understand what is happening. This is not the “gentle Jesus, meek and mild,” this is
Jesus the warrior returning to exact justice for the Father.
Verse 8 offers God’s own voice echoing the opening statement (verse 4), reminding
us once more of the great “I am” of the burning bush. Self-described with the first
and last letters of the Greek alphabet (the Alpha and the Omega), and representing
all the letters in between, God is declaring, “I began all things, I sustain all things,
and I will finish all things.” Powerful, frightening, stimulating, apprehensive,
disturbing, glorious, majestic – all and more are in this Revelation.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS ON REVELATION MESSAGE NO.2
1. Read Revelation 1:1-3 and let’s begin with a review of Message 1.
a. How are the words of Revelation the authorized and certain words of
God?
b. How do they combine urgency and hope?
c. How do they promise God’s blessing for His servants?
d. Are you ready to hear and heed more of these blessings? Good!
2. Read Revelation 1:4-5 and 1:8. Read also Exodus 3:13-14 and Isaiah 44:6.
What is God declaring about himself here? How does this affirm God’s
authority?
3. Revelation 1:4 states that grace and peace come in part from “the seven
spirits before God’s throne”. Read also Rev. 4:5. In both instances, your Bible
may have a footnote suggesting this wording “seven spirits” could be
interpreted as the “sevenfold spirit of God.” Throughout Revelation,
wherever the word 7 is written, is come from the Greek word hepta, which is
the prime number 7 and often symbolizes completeness. Read also Isaiah
11:2 where you will find a list of 7 “spirits” of God. Do these spirits describe
well the work of the Holy Spirit?
4. Reread Jesus’ triple title as given in verse 5. Give examples in the Gospels
when Jesus proved himself the faithful servant.
5. What is the significance of Jesus’ being the first born from the dead?
6. Why is it important that Jesus be the ruler of the kings of the earth? Do you
think that is true only in the future or do you think he is ruling kings today?
7. Read 5b-6. Offer a personal reflection on any one of the triple praises of Jesus
that is especially meaningful to you today:
a. Jesus loves me.
b. Jesus freed me from my sins by his blood.
c. Jesus made me to be a priest serving in God’s kingdom.