Wednesday Huddle – Revelation 1-4-8

Revelation 1:4b-8

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, 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 ^[b]loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, ⁶ and has made us ^[c]kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.  

From Enduring Word Commentary …

i. Jesus is the faithful witness: This speaks to Jesus’ utter reliability and faithfulness to His Father and to His people, even unto death. The ancient Greek word translated witness is also the word for a martyr.

ii. Firstborn from the dead: This speaks to Jesus’ standing as pre-eminent among all beings, that He is first in priority. Firstborn from the dead means much more than that Jesus was the first person resurrected. It also means that He is pre-eminent among all those who are or will be resurrected. Jesus is the firstborn among many brethren (Romans 8:29).

iii. The use of firstborn does not mean that Jesus had a birth date and is therefore a created being, and not God. The ancient Rabbis called Yahweh Himself “Firstborn of the World” (Rabbi Bechai cited in Lightfoot’s commentary on Colossians). Rabbis also used firstborn as a Messianic title. “God said, ‘As I made Jacob a first-born (Exodus 4:22), so also will I make king Messiah a first-born’ (Psalm 89:27).” (R. Nathan in Shemoth Rabba, cited by Lightfoot in his commentary on Colossians)

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.

⁸ “I am the Alpha and the Omega, ^[d]the Beginning and the End,” says the ^[e]Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Footnotes   

Re: the seven spirits …

Isaiah 11:1-2

There shall come forth a ^[a]Rod from the ^[b]stem of Jesse,
And a Branch shall ^[c]grow out of his roots.
² The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him,
The Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
The Spirit of counsel and might,
The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.

Lectionary Notes

He is Coming

Revelation 1:4-8 NRSV

The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants^[a] what must soon take place; he made^[b] it known by sending his angel to his servant^[c] John, ² who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw.  

³ Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of the prophecy, and blessed are those who hear and who keep what is written in it; for the time is near.  

⁴ John to the seven churches that 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, ⁵ and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.  

To him who loves us and freed^[d] us from our sins by his blood, ⁶ and made^[e] us to be a kingdom, priests serving^[f] his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever.  Amen.   

So it is to be. Amen.   

⁸ ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega’, says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.   

Footnotes   

Today marks the last day of the Christian calendar before we start over with Advent.  For a while now, we have been journeying through the season known as “Ordinary Time” or simply “The Season after Pentecost.”  Today, that season comes to an end with a special day called Reign of Christ Sunday or Christ the King Sunday.  Our passage for the day will take up that theme.  Our whole journey from Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Easter, to Pentecost and everything in between, arrives at today’s crowning conclusion: Jesus is king.

For our text today, the lectionary does not disappoint in its choice of a passage that unabashedly proclaims the authority and reign of one who is King of kings and Lord of lords.  However, we will only be getting our feet wet in today’s text as it serves as part of the introductory remarks to open the book of Revelation.  Not only that, but the portion we are assigned is the author’s greetings to the readers that takes the form of a prayer.  So, in a way, we are ending the year by barely beginning this theme of Jesus’ kingly rule.  But perhaps that sets the tone as we begin Advent and a new cycle of the Christian calendar.  We should take today’s passage as a reminder that all our passages going forward, as well as the conclusion of this year should be read in light of the reigning King Jesus.  We may only touch on this theme today, but we will have a whole new year to unpack who this king is and what he has done for us in establishing his kingdom. B ut for today, let’s get started with this regal theme imbedded in John’s address to his readers.

John to the seven churches that are in Asia: (Revelation 1:4a NRSVUE)

We begin with the author identifying himself to those he is writing — the seven selected churches that are in Asia Minor.  There is little question about who the author is and who his intended audience is.  But what may escape our attention is the context under which this letter was being written.  John had been exiled to the island of Patmos. As the disciple who wrote the Gospel of John, he is now a much older and weathered disciple who has been banished to this remote and forgettable rock surrounded by the sea.  He is here alone, removed from the usual fellowship of brothers and sisters he once enjoyed.  No more singing praises in worship with those who shared his faith, hope, and love.  Now, John’s only companions are the cold grey stones of an island carrying out Caesar’s decree of banishment.  His only greeting comes as crashing waves and the occasional feathered friend who has ventured off course.  It is here that John writes his apocalyptic message to the seven churches in Asia.

If you remember previous messages from Hebrews, which we heard from the book of Hebrews, the confidence we are given in Christ frees our tongue to declare the truth, the reality, regardless of the cost it may bring to us.  In this letter, we are seeing a disciple who had done just that.  John has not been cast away on Patmos because he was some unruly criminal.  His only crime was speaking the truth.  Somewhere along the way, those in power of the monstrous beast known as the Roman Empire had grown fearful of John’s message.  His message was about some “king of the Jews” that had somehow gathered a following, even though they had this king crucified and put to death.  If there is one thing empires of power fear, it is any threat to their power.  John and his message of Jesus and his soon coming kingdom was such a threat.  Power brokers must always keep control of the running narrative that insures their power.  The gospel was certainly a narrative that did not fit the mold.  So, John needed to be banished, and he was.  But is that not a hidden testimony that the King, whom John spoke of as alive and reigning, is truly alive and reigning?

The very attempt to snuff out the gospel message by banishing John to Patmos became the means of producing this very book that we are reading today.  In fact, the book of Revelation is one of the most blatant critiques of the powers of this present evil age, including the many empires that have come and gone, like Rome. John’s use of apocalyptic devices freed his pen to employ the images around him to unleash a barrage of empire crushing insight along with an unapologetic declaration of their demise. It seems like Rome’s attempt to silence and censor John had the opposite result. But we shouldn’t be surprised because John is declaring the Word of God as the one who gets and is the last word. So, if you choose to read further into John’s wonderful book of Revelation, keep in mind the staggering pronouncements that are being made under the nose of Caesar, statements that could cost you your life in the worse way. However, John is not intimidated or deterred. His age is renewed by the Spirit who empowers him. He writes on.

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, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. (Revelation 1:4b-5a NRSVUE)

John wastes no time in making King Jesus central to his letter. Unlike the “peace” promised by Rome, and insured by its military might, Jesus is the one who brings grace and lasting peace as he is the one who was here far before Rome was even an idea. He is the one in charge even during Rome’s height of power, and he will be here long after Rome settles into the dust of its collapse. On top of that, John writes some fighting words that would send some Roman rulers into fits of rage if they knew what was being written. Specifically, John gives us three descriptions of Jesus that put in question any authority in Rome that would pretend to be his rival.

First, Jesus is “the faithful witness.” With the word “witness” carrying the meaning of “martyr,” we have the double understanding that Jesus is the faithful one who gave his life to reveal the heart of the Father and reconcile us to him. This would be an encouragement to those who were experiencing persecution at the hands of the Romans and to those who were being martyred. Jesus was the “faithful” witness, because all things that he heard of the Father he faithfully communicated to his disciples. And he faithfully taught the way of God in truth.

Second, Jesus is “the firstborn of the dead.” By Jesus’ resurrection, he has become the first who has risen from death, sharing his victory so others can as well. Here again, this can serve as a particular jab at the Roman cross that aimed to kill Jesus. The worst that Rome could throw at Jesus had no lasting effect. Jesus went right through it all the way to the throne.

Third, and this is the most obvious affront to the Roman rulers, Jesus is “the ruler of the kings of the earth.” That’s a serious note for the theme of our day and a serious offense to any kings who see themselves as answering to no one. No matter how unruly, arrogant, and self-serving a ruler may become, they are still accountable to the true King. No ruler escapes this reality.

Now that John has given us some descriptions of who Jesus is, he will now tell us a few things about what he has done.

To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. (Revelation 1:5b-6 NRSVUE)

First, it is noted that Jesus “loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood.” If Jesus is truly the King of kings and Lord of lords, it is certainly good news to know that this king actually loves us and demonstrates that love by giving himself for us. Here is a king very unlike any king we have ever witnessed in our world. Most kings will parade the propaganda that they only do what is in their subjects’ best interest, but history has shown otherwise. The rulers like we saw in the Roman Empire cared only for their own power and advancement, and they will readily throw you off a cliff if you threaten their pursuit of self-exaltation. This doesn’t mean all rulers are evil or commit even close to this kind of abuse. But thank God there is a king who rules over the good and bad rulers alike. And praise God that Jesus is more for us than we are for ourselves. He will pay any price to gain our freedom, even from our self-imprisonment.

Second, he has not only freed us from our fallen state, but he has also elevated us to the status of “priests serving his God and Father.” Jesus is a king who does not mind sharing with us all things. As our Ordinary Time journey in the book of Hebrews made clear, Jesus is our high priest who leads us into worship. Jesus brings us into the throne room to share in worshiping his Father by the Spirit.

Now John will make the proclamation that will be of great encouragement and hope for those who place their trust in King Jesus. At the same time, it will cause a time of wailing for those who do not want to give up their own illusions of power and control.

Look! He is coming with the clouds; every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all the tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. So it is to be. Amen. (Revelation 1:7 NRSVUE)

This King of kings is coming back. And it will not be a private return, as “every eye will see him,” and John adds, “even those who pierced him.” It seems he wants to be clear that the Empire’s participation in Jesus’ crucifixion will not go unaccounted for. In short, those who have rejected the Lord will wail on account of seeing that Jesus was the true King all along. They will wail for the foolishness of not placing their trust in him. This points to the opportunity to place our trust in him now. John has boldly proclaimed who Jesus is as the true and soon coming King. More importantly, he has told us that this King is not like the kings we dread in our times. He is good and he is for us more than we are for ourselves. But there is no room for us to be king of ourselves and be in the room where Jesus rules. And there is no room where he doesn’t rule. So, as we come to the end of this cycle in the liturgical year, we are reminded that all is well when we put our trust in King Jesus. He is coming, and we will not be disappointed.

Now that the prayer has concluded with an “Amen”, the Lord God makes a proclamation of his own:

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty. (Revelation 1:8 NRSVUE)

This is the same statement made at the beginning of our chosen text today. So, everything in between is bookended with this statement that the Lord God is eternal and stands as ruler even over time. There is no king or earthly ruler or any other thing in all creation that could possibly rival that claim. So, we are left to conclude the year with the invitation to once again turn to the one who is turned toward us in Jesus Christ. We are invited to once again place our trust in the Lord who is faithful to us from beginning to end. This is our Lord God who is Almighty indeed.

Call to action: As we end the liturgical year and face the beginning of another, it’s a good week to spend time in prayer asking God to reveal to us those areas where we lack trust so they can be healed, and to help us trust him as the one and only King of kings and Lord of lords.

Small Group Discussion Questions