Greetings From The Triune God
GREETINGS FROM THE TRIUNE GOD
REVELATION 1:1-8
It is not only the original readers who can expect to receive encouragement from this great prophecy (1:3).
Fundamentally “the Preacher” was correct in maintaining that “there is nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9), for neither the nature of God, of Satan, nor of humanity changes. Therefore the same patterns keep on recurring, though no doubt they may reach a climax before Christ’s second coming. This justifies the emphasis on “the time is near” (1:3). Jesus is the coming One, and Christians are intended to be kept awake by seeing signs of that coming in the things that happen. So it would be unfair to say that the Preterist or Historicist was spiritually wrong in their interpretation.
We may look on Jesus in two ways. He is the eternal Word of God (John 1:1-18), but he is also that Word who was once in time made flesh for us, keeping his humanity forever. It is these two aspects that are united in this portion; in 1:2 “word” should probably have a capital letter. Before Greek philosophical skill led to our formulation of the doctrine of the Trinity, there was really no other way of expressing this mystery. God as the one “who is to come” (1:8) is Jesus Christ (1:7). If God is the A and the Z, the modern English for “Alpha and Omega” (1:8), Jesus calls himself “the first and the last” (1:17; see also 22:12f.). For “the seven spirits” (1:4), see Isaiah 11:2; the Holy Spirit is meant, but Hebrew thought allowed each of his attributes to be considered separately; seven is the number of perfection and completeness. There is nothing outside his power and influence.
The Greek of Revelation is unusual and it is likely that we should take 1:6 as in Exodus 19:6, to which it obviously refers. We are not merely under God’s sovereignty, the force of “kingdom” (1:9), but we also have the right of unhindered access to him, the force of priests. Zechariah 12:10 refers only to the Jew, but 1:7 extends the truth to all, for in the sight of God all are responsible for the crucifixion. The expression “the clouds” (1:7), means that he comes from God as God’s representative (see also Daniel 7:13).
Thought The main thoughts of Revelation are so understandable that there is a blessing in its public reading (1:3).