Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Sermon preached on Revelation 1:4-8 by Rev. W. Reid Hankins during the Morning Worship Service at Trinity Presbyterian Church (OPC) on 11/10/2024 in Petaluma, CA.
Sermon Manuscript
Rev. W. Reid Hankins, M.Div.
After studying the initial prologue last week to Revelation, we pick up here in verse 4. You may recall that last week I said that Revelation is largely a series of apocalyptic, prophetic visions. We will get into the first vision next week. But, I also said that the book is structured as an epistle, a letter. Today’s verses give us that epistolary structure. The typical epistle of the Grecco-roman world would begin in this fashion, first identifying the letter’s senders and recipients followed by a greeting, and typically some opening remarks. The sender is identified in verse 4 as the apostle John, as we discussed last week. The recipients are listed as the seven churches in Asia, which are identified by their locations down in verse 11. While those are real locations with real churches spread throughout Asia Minor, the number seven, signifying fullness, would encourage us to see them representative of all the churches of Jesus Christ. By extended application that would include all the churches today, ours included. What follows then is a greeting or salutation, and the opening remarks include not only a doxology but also a prophetic announcement.
So then, this opening framing of Revelation as a letter emphasizes how God has sent these prophetic visions to the church. And the opening words here wonderfully set the overall context for what we’ll see in these visions. It establishes that we as God’s people have already been wonderfully saved by Jesus Christ, through his death and resurrection for us. It speaks of how Christ is already reigning right now from heaven. And it speaks of how Christ is coming again, reminding us of the coming judgment. We are reminded in all this of our great and eternal God who has a glorious plan that he is working out, a story he has decreed from the beginning to the end. Yes, this book’s many visions will go on to speak of the testing and tribulation we Christians will endure for now while we await Christ’s return, but this opening framework of a letter is God telling us that Christ is in control and everything is going according to plan, to God’s glory and our good.
Let us begin in our first point with the greeting, the salutation, there in verses 4-5. John begins by pronouncing this blessing of grace and peace upon the churches. Grace and peace are indeed upon us today as the church of Jesus Christ. Grace to give us that spiritual good which we do not deserve, even eternal life in the blessed age to come. Peace to give us that reconciled relationship with God, a harmony with one another among God’s people, and even within our own hearts having the condemnation of sin removed.
But notice that this blessing of grace and peace is not really from John. It’s from our Triune God. For verse 4 goes on to say who this blessing is from, and he lists three persons. The first person mentioned is, “Him, who is and who was and who is to come”. We think of God the Father here even as revealed himself in a similar way in Exodus chapter 3 when God appeared to Moses in the burning bush. There, God described himself as I AM WHO I AM, the great I AM. All this language reveals the aseity of God, meaning he is self-existent and eternal. This sets apart God from all other beings. Everything else has a beginning and its existence is dependent on God. But not God. God exists in himself, always has, and always will. And this is related to what we learn elsewhere, that this self-existent God has ordered all things, has foreordained all things, has decreed the end from the beginning, and is thus sovereign over all history. Everything is working out as this God who is above all has so ordered.
Let us note that this eternal God puts his own direct stamp on this letter at the end of this section in verse 8. There, God speaks directly to the churches reaffirming this title, and complementing it with the language that he is the alpha and the omega, which are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. God is the A to Z of all history. God then finalizes this by declaring himself to be the Almighty, which is the Greek equivalent for the Hebrew name El Shaddai, as he also so wonderfully has revealed himself especially to the patriarchs.
So, John says this blessing of grace and peace is not only from this God the Father, but also from the seven spirits who are before his throne. While it is not absolutely clear, the general consensus is that this is a reference to the Holy Spirit, but described as seven to reflect the fulness of God’s Spirit. This is based out of recognizing that Revelation is referencing Zechariah 4 here. What we’ll find is that Revelation’s apocalyptic visions often refer to something in an earlier apocalyptic vision in the Old Testament. Zechariah 4 contains a single lampstand with seven lamps coming from it which seem to be equated with the Holy Spirit and are also described as the LORD’s seven eyes that range through the whole earth. Revelation will later use the same language to equate the seven spirits here with seven lamps and seven eyes (4:5 and 5:6). When it does that, that further tells us that Zechariah 4 is the background for understanding this reference to the seven spirits. So, based on Zechariah 4, and how Revelation will go on to explain, it seems these seven spirits are a reference to the Holy Spirit as the instrument for God in Christ to reach out from heaven to earth to see and help God’s people. Grace and peace comes to us from the Holy Spirit as well.
So then, lastly, John says this grace and peace comes from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. Jesus is our exalted Messiah, and this language draws itself from Psalm 89 which is a psalm about the Davidic Covenant and the coming Messiah king and his everlasting kingdom. For him to be a faithful witness reminds us of his prophetic word that speaks divine truth to us. For him to be firstborn of the dead reminds us of his death and resurrection where he not only as a priest offered himself as a sacrifice for us, but conquered as the exalted first of humanity to raise from the dead unto the glorified resurrection life. For him to be the ruler of kings on earth is to remind us that his kingdom is over all, that all other kings and kingdoms are under him and subject to him, called to kiss the LORD’s Messiah be in submission to his rule and reign. Let us appreciate that Revelation here says that Jesus is already these things. Sometimes Christians have mistakenly taught that one day Jesus will reign over all the earth, as if he isn’t yet reigning. But here we are reminded that in the victory of the resurrection and ascension, Christ is already ruling from on high at the right hand of God in heaven. Jesus is already King and Lord of all.
So then, this opening salutation paints the Triune God greeting us from heaven. He sees and hears and knows from heaven the troubles and trials we will be facing at this time. He greets us with assurance of his grace and peace. He greets us with the assurance that he is the eternal God in control of all things. He greets us with the reminder that even now our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ reigns on high over all the kingdoms of the earth, even those that yet reject him.
Let us now turn to our second point and consider the doxology that is here. This is verses 5b to 6, saying, “To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” That the doxology, and it starts out by saying, “To him” — “To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood.” In other words, this is a doxology directed to Jesus. John just gave us a salutation from God, now he leads the churches in responding to it. John leads the churches to respond by praising Jesus. Jesus so loved us that he gave up his life on the cross to wash us clean from our sins. It was our sin that separated us from God. Our sin should have left us under God’s hatred and wrath. But God’s love for us in Jesus meant that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. And in so doing, he put away our sin. He paid for its guilt. It has been removed from us as far as the east is from the west. This is what everyone has received who has become a disciple of Christ through faith in his name.
John then continues the doxology by going on to say that Jesus has also made us a “kingdom, priests to his God and Father”. Let us recognize the reference here back to what God told Israel in Exodus 19:6. Moses at Mt. Sinai gave Israel that prophesy from God, that he would make them into a kingdom of priests. Here, John tells us what we see throughout the New Testament, that the church of Jesus Christ is the beneficiary of these covenant promises given to Israel. That is because the true Israel is today made up of both Jews and Gentiles who are in submission to the son of David, King Jesus. Ethnic Israelites who reject Jesus are not a kingdom of priests to God as long as they reject the Messiah. They have been cut off, even as us Gentiles according to the flesh have been grafted into the holy nation of Israel through faith in Jesus. We Christians now have found what God promised through Moses in Exodus 19 to be fulfilled. We are a kingdom made up of a royal priesthood. Each of us as priests can call out to God and worship him, coming covered in the sanctifying blood of Jesus.
So then, John says it is to this Jesus, “To him be glory and dominion forever and ever, amen.” To Jesus, he will be our glorious king forever, a king of an everlasting kingdom, just as God promised to David in the Davidic Covenant. And let us appreciate how John explained this doxology to Jesus. John just connected Jesus’ praise and exaltation for his work in saving us. As, for example, you can see so clearly in Luke’s gospel, Jesus had to first suffer and die to save us then he would be exalted and enter into the highest glory. John leads us again today to give such glory and praise to King Jesus. Blessing, honor, glory, and might, be to Jesus, our Lord and Savior! As royal priests we declare this word of praise again today!
Let us turn now in our third point to consider the announcement that follows this salutation and this doxology. I refer to verse 7 which says, “Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.” Notice it begins with the word “Behold!” This signals us to attention, a call to an important announcement, something to be ready for, and even to get excited about! “Behold, he is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so. Amen.” This announcement draws from both Daniel 7:13 and Zechariah 12. Daniel 7 is an apocalyptic vision of the coming of the Messiah who would be given an everlasting kingdom over all the earth. Zechariah 12 is about how God’s people will have a spirit of lament and contrition for their sin over whom they have pierced at the coming day of the LORD. It goes on to paint that as a day of forgiveness of sins for his people but a day of judgment to the wicked nations that try to destroy God’s redeemed people. John clearly applies all this to Jesus. As Jesus himself foretold, he will come again in the clouds for all the world to see, both the righteous and the wicked. That day will be the culmination of our salvation even as he brings a final judgment upon those who are his and our enemies.
That weeping, in the spirit of Zechariah 12 can describe how God’s people lament of our sin ahead of his coming. Finally, when he does come we will surely have tears of joy and profound appreciation for his grace and mercy toward us, to save sinners such as we are. We can also think of how we’ll see in Revelation a different kind of weeping that the unsaved world will have at that time. They will weep and mourn when the day of judgment comes and they finally realize their downfall. For the saved, God will ultimately wipe away our every tear on that day. We will then weep no more. But for the wicked, there will be an unending weeping and gnashing of teeth as they are cast into the eternal lake of fire where the fire is not quenched and worm does not die, a place of torment forever.
This announcement is the message of Revelation in summary form. There is coming a day of judgment. Right now, the world hates Christians and persecutes us. Right now, Satan looks to afflict us and get us to turn away from Christ. Even our old man still fights against us, looking to turn us back to the way of sin. The coming judgment of the Lord is a warning to world and also a warning to us to stay the course in faith. But this announcement is simultaneously meant to encourage us in the victory we will have if we will trust in Jesus. Yes, there are challenging times in this life for a Christian. But it is all worth it. Christ is coming again and he will finally and fully deliver us from it all.
Trinity Presbyterian Church, let us summarize then this opening letter of Revelation to the churches of Jesus Christ. Our Triune God greets us from heaven with an assurance of his grace and peace for us. Our eternal God reminds us that he knows the end from the beginning and this all is part of his good plan. His Spirit sees from heaven what we are going through and we can be comforted to know that he does not forget us or forsake us. His Son, our Lord and Savior Christ has already secured our salvation from sin and damnation. He has already made us priests and kings. He loves us. And he speaks to encourage us in this time. He is coming again to save us from this evil world.
Let us then be encouraged. Let us then be spurred on to persevere in this fallen world. Let us see the spiritual battle before us and continue in faith to take up the full armor of God. Let us look to continue to put to death the old man and put on the righteousness of Christ. Let us look to resist the devil with his lies and accusations and temptations and trust the word of Jesus instead. Let us have confidence in the face of the world’s opposition, boldly testifying of Jesus and his gospel. Let us trust that Jesus is truly coming again for us.
And let us give Jesus all the glory. That’s really the center of this opening section. It’s to praise Jesus saying, “To him be glory and dominion forever and ever.” And if we are part of his kingdom, then that glory and dominion is for us too, as citizens of such an everlasting kingdom.
The book of Revelation is here to encourage us. Let us be encouraged again today and be strengthened in praising our Lord!
Amen.
Copyright © 2024 Rev. W. Reid Hankins, M.Div.
All Rights Reserved.
