See Revelation 1:4-8 directly below, and my comments following.
1:4 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,
1:5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood,
1:6 and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
1:7 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.
1:8 “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.”
John was writing to the seven churches in Asia. These actual churches, located in modern Turkey, but have application to us today, ( which we will look at as we move through Revelation chapters 2-3 )
But, the message to the churches, starts off with "Grace to you and peace from Him etc," This is the lens through which God looks if you will. It's His grace, His unmerited favor, His blessing upon those who do not deserve it, but through Christ, God gives His blessings.
God's eternal nature is also described for us, He is, He was, and He is to come. Past, present and future. More to be said in just a verse or two.
Jesus Christ is said to be the faithful witness. Or the reliable witness, dependable. You can count on Him, in every way to be just who He says He is, and that He does just what He says He will do. And, He is the "firstborn from the dead" He is the primary example of what God does in the life of every person who puts their faith in Him. We go from death to life, and our own bodies will one day be raised from the dead, just as His was and is today.
Christ is also the "true ruler over the kings of the earth" That is, in direct contradiction to the coming anti-christ, world ruler, who is demonically empowered, and is a deceiver, and is against God and against Christ, Jesus is indeed the true ruler over all etc.
He is even today, guiding the world just as He intends to. He is even today, working all things according to the purpose of His own will.
About His love.......... To Him who "loved us" which of course He has, and has "washed us from our sins by His own blood" His love was shown to us at the cross. Only His blood could wash, that is to remove completely our sins from us. They are gone, and not remembered by God.
Our future, is that we are made "kings and priests to His God etc" God has a glorious future in store for us, and we will see more of this later in Revelation.
To Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. He is the worthy one, and He is the ruler over all, now, and in the eternal future. Forever, and ever. It could not be said any plainer, or in language we can understand. Forever means, an unbroken age, perpetuity of time, evermore. This is our future with God. It's forever, and ever.
He is coming. That's the message of 1:7. The clouds may very well be referencing the fact of His bringing a great cloud of witnesses ( or His saved bride ) with Him when He comes back to the earth. Also, His coming again to the earth will be seen by everyone. How this could happen given the globe we live on, is something that only God could make happen, but He will.
Back to God's self-description. "I am the Alpha and the Omega" These are the first and last letters of the Greek Alphabet. God's usage of them in describing Himself is very appropriate. Because He is the first and the last. He is un-created, and existed before anything and anyone did.
"Who is to come" This is really the message of Revelation. For this book explains the events that lead up to His return to the earth, and even beyond that return, into the eternal future.
Additional thoughts.
1. God has grace and peace for you today.
2. Let's ask Him right now for them in abundance.
3. God has cleansed you from your sins.
4. Your sins are gone because of Him.
5. We have an eternal hope in Christ.
6. This world will one day pass away.
7. We will rule with Christ on this earth.
8. His kingdom will come.
9. His will, will be one on earth, like in heaven.
10. He is the almigthy. He is able.
Pastor Bob Grenier
Calvary Chapel Visalia
God's eternal nature is also described for us, He is, He was, and He is to come. Past, present and future. More to be said in just a verse or two.
Jesus Christ is said to be the faithful witness. Or the reliable witness, dependable. You can count on Him, in every way to be just who He says He is, and that He does just what He says He will do. And, He is the "firstborn from the dead" He is the primary example of what God does in the life of every person who puts their faith in Him. We go from death to life, and our own bodies will one day be raised from the dead, just as His was and is today.
Christ is also the "true ruler over the kings of the earth" That is, in direct contradiction to the coming anti-christ, world ruler, who is demonically empowered, and is a deceiver, and is against God and against Christ, Jesus is indeed the true ruler over all etc.
He is even today, guiding the world just as He intends to. He is even today, working all things according to the purpose of His own will.
About His love.......... To Him who "loved us" which of course He has, and has "washed us from our sins by His own blood" His love was shown to us at the cross. Only His blood could wash, that is to remove completely our sins from us. They are gone, and not remembered by God.
Our future, is that we are made "kings and priests to His God etc" God has a glorious future in store for us, and we will see more of this later in Revelation.
To Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. He is the worthy one, and He is the ruler over all, now, and in the eternal future. Forever, and ever. It could not be said any plainer, or in language we can understand. Forever means, an unbroken age, perpetuity of time, evermore. This is our future with God. It's forever, and ever.
He is coming. That's the message of 1:7. The clouds may very well be referencing the fact of His bringing a great cloud of witnesses ( or His saved bride ) with Him when He comes back to the earth. Also, His coming again to the earth will be seen by everyone. How this could happen given the globe we live on, is something that only God could make happen, but He will.
Back to God's self-description. "I am the Alpha and the Omega" These are the first and last letters of the Greek Alphabet. God's usage of them in describing Himself is very appropriate. Because He is the first and the last. He is un-created, and existed before anything and anyone did.
"Who is to come" This is really the message of Revelation. For this book explains the events that lead up to His return to the earth, and even beyond that return, into the eternal future.
Additional thoughts.
1. God has grace and peace for you today.
2. Let's ask Him right now for them in abundance.
3. God has cleansed you from your sins.
4. Your sins are gone because of Him.
5. We have an eternal hope in Christ.
6. This world will one day pass away.
7. We will rule with Christ on this earth.
8. His kingdom will come.
9. His will, will be one on earth, like in heaven.
10. He is the almigthy. He is able.
Pastor Bob Grenier
Calvary Chapel Visalia
