Greetings from the Throne
SYNOPSIS - The greetings to the churches of Asia serve to highlight key themes of the book, including the present reign of Jesus – Revelation 1:4-8.
- (Revelation 1:4-8) - “John, unto the Seven Assemblies which are in Asia, Favour to you and peace from — Him who Is, And who Was, and who is Coming, and from — The Seven Spirits which are before his throne, and from — Jesus Christ, — The Faithful Witness, The Firstborn of the Dead, and The Ruler of the Kings of the Earth. Unto him that loveth us, and loosed us out of our sins with his blood,—and he hath made us [to be] a kingdom—priests unto his God and Father, Unto him be the glory, and the dominion, unto the ages. Amen. Lo! he cometh with the clouds and every eye shall see him, such also as pierced him; and all the tribes of the land shall smite themselves for him. Yea! Amen. I am the A and the Z, saith the Lord, — the God who Is and who Was and who is Coming, The Almighty” - (The Emphasized Bible).
God is the one “who is
and who was and who is coming.” This phrase expands on the self-designation
of Yahweh given to Moses from the Burning Bush - “I am who I am.”
The clause will occur three more times in the book of Revelation but
with some modifications that reflect theological developments – (Exodus 3:14).
Like Moses, John received his
commission while in exile and separated from God’s people. Just as Yahweh freed
His people from Egypt to make them into a “kingdom of priests,” so Jesus
has “loosed” his people and made them a “kingdom, priests.”
The application of terms from
the history of ancient Israel to the seven churches is consistent throughout
the book. The Exodus motif reappears in several of its subsequent
visions - (Exodus 3:14 19:4-5, Revelation 4:8, 11:17, 16:5).
The “seven spirits”
are not mentioned anywhere else in Scripture. The “seven spirits” are
linked to the Divine Throne. The image itself is derived from a passage in the book
of Zechariah - The “seven eyes of Yahweh go about
all the earth” - (Zechariah 4:10, Revelation 3:1, 4:5, 5:6).
“Faithful Witness”
refers to the obedience of Jesus in death, and “firstborn of the Dead”
to his subsequent resurrection. “The Ruler of the kings of the earth”
is the present status of Jesus. The phrase alludes to two
Old Testament passages:
- (Psalm 2:2-9) - “The kings of the earth set themselves against Yahweh and his anointed one.”
- (Psalm 89:27) - “I will make him higher than the kings of the earth.”
Likewise, the 89th Psalm is the
source for the other two messianic titles applied to Jesus in the salutation:
- (Psalm 89:27) - “I will make him my Firstborn…”
- (Psalm 89:37) - “His seed shall endure forever, and his throne as the sun before me. It shall be established forever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven.”
The “kings of the earth”
is the verbal link that connects Revelation with these two messianic Psalms.
Both passages are applied to what Jesus became because of Death and
Resurrection. His sovereignty over the “kings of the earth” is reiterated
later in the book, and his reign is a present reality - (Revelation 11:15,
12:10, 17:14, 19:16, 20:4).
“To him who loves us, and
by his blood loosed us from our sins.” His sacrificial death redeemed the
churches and demonstrated his love for them. “Loosed” is a literal
rendering of a Greek verb, which has the basic sense of “free, deliver, loose.”
The point here is not so much the forgiveness of sin as their liberation from its
bondage.
“Loosed us from our sins.”
This clause is unexpected. More commonly, the Bible refers to being “forgiven”
or “cleansed” from sin, not “loosed.” The probable Old Testament
passage behind the clause is from the book of Deuteronomy, a verse linked
conceptually to the passage from Exodus already used in the verse:
- (Exodus 19:4-6) – “Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be mine own possession from among all peoples: for all the earth is mine: and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a holy nation.”
- (Deuteronomy 7:6-8) – “Yahweh thy God has chosen you to be a people for his own possession, above all peoples that are upon the face of the earth…Because Yahweh loves you, and because he would keep the oath which he swore unto your fathers, Yahweh brought you out with a mighty hand, and delivered you out of the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.”
“He made us a kingdom,
priests to his God and Father.” “Made” is in the aorist tense
and points to a past event, in this case, the death of Jesus. This priestly
role is a present calling to which the churches are appointed. What
Israel was called to do, but failed, has now fallen to the saints. “Kings
– Priests.” The term signifies what kind of reign this is - How the
saints execute it - (Exodus 19:5-6, 1 Peter 2:5-10, Revelation 5:10, 20:6).
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| Photo by Fernando @cferdo on Unsplash |
“To him be the glory and the dominion unto the ages of the ages.” The doxology reiterates the theme of God’s rule and alludes to a passage from the book of Daniel:
- (Daniel 4:34-35) - “I, Nebuchadnezzar uplifted my eyes and I blessed the Most-High and glorified him who lives forever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom lasts from generation to generation.”
This bold declaration stands
in opposition to the claims of the Roman Empire, and now is announced to the
suffering churches of Asia. God reigns supreme through his appointed heir – Jesus
- regardless of appearances, the claims, or the persecuting activities of the
Empire - (Revelation 1:9, 7:9, 10:11, 13:7).
“He is coming with the clouds.”
The clause alludes to the seventh chapter of Daniel where
a human figure was “coming with the clouds of the heavens to approach
the Ancient of days.” However, the verb tense is changed from an imperfect
(“he was coming”) to a present (“he is coming”). What
was promised is now coming to fruition.
- (Daniel 7:13-14) – “I continued looking in the visions of the night when lo! with the clouds of the heavens, one like a son of man was coming, —and unto the Ancient of days he approached, and before him they brought him near; and unto him were given dominion and dignity and kingship, that all peoples, races and tongues unto him should do service, — his dominion was an age-abiding dominion, which should not pass away, and his kingdom that which should not be destroyed.”
“Every eye will see him,
whoever pierced him, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over him.”
“Every eye” includes the churches of Asia and hints at a broader
group. The “tribes” mourn because the Son of Man was pierced on
their behalf, not over their eternal doom. Later, “tribe” will be
applied to the redeemed men and women from “every tribe” who mourn
when they see him - (Revelation 5:9, 7:9-17).
The book combines clauses from
the books of Daniel and Zechariah - Both refer to “tribes,”
the term that links the two passages:
- (Daniel 7:14) – “And unto him were given dominion and dignity and kingship, that all peoples, tribes and tongues unto him should do service,— his dominion was an age-abiding dominion, which should not pass away, and his kingdom that which should not be destroyed.”
- (Zechariah 12:9-12) – “That I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. But I will pour out upon the house of David and upon the inhabitant of Jerusalem the spirit of favour and of supplications, and they will look unto me whom they have pierced,— and will wail over him as one waileth over an only son, and will make bitter outcry over him as one maketh bitter outcry over a firstborn… So shall the land wail, tribe by tribe apart.”
In Zechariah, it was not
the hostile nations that mourned but the “tribes” of Israel. Now,
in Revelation, the “tribes” of Israel become “all the tribes
of the earth.” That is, a prophecy originally given to Israel is now
universalized and applied to the churches of Asia (at a
minimum).
“I am Alpha and the
Omega…the Almighty.” The one speaking is the “Lord God who is and
who was and who is coming.” In the book, His voice is heard only here and
in the city of “New Jerusalem.” No other scriptural passage refers to
God as the “Alpha and Omega.” ‘Alpha’ is the first letter
of the Greek alphabet, ‘Omega’ the last (‘Α,’ ‘Ω’). He is the one
who begins things and brings them to their intended conclusion - (Revelation
21:5-8).
“Almighty”
represents the Greek noun pantokratōr, which signifies one with
might or sovereignty over others. It is used in the Greek Septuagint to
translate the Hebrew term commonly rendered “hosts” - (“Yahweh of hosts”).
This is a fitting end to the salutation. The reference to His might reassures the
churches. The same One who transcends history - (“He who is, who was and who
is coming”) - will complete what He started - (“Alpha and Omega”) - And
He possesses the power to do so - (“Almighty”).
Throughout the salutation,
the seven churches remain in view, and its stated themes set the tone for the remainder
of the book. From the start, Revelation is addressed to the marginalized
Christian congregations located in the Roman province of Asia.
Above all, the opening
paragraph anchors the visions of the book - And their interpretations - in the
past Death and Resurrection of Jesus.
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