Grace from the Father, Son, and Spirit: Revelation 1:1-8, by Thomas Schreiner

by Thomas Schreiner

Today I begin a series of blog posts on the book of Revelation, starting with Revelation1:1-8.

Martin Luther, writing about Revelation, complained that a Revelation should reveal something. We sense his frustration with trying to understand what the book of Revelation is saying. And we know that even today thoughtful Christians who love God’s word disagree on some of the details in the book. But the main teachings of Revelation are agreed upon by all Christians. Revelation emphasizes the sovereignty of God, the supremacy of Christ, the centrality of the cross, the need to believe and endure to be saved, and the final punishment of the wicked and reward of the righteous. These are truths that all Bible believing Christians share. These are truths that all Bible believing Christians exult in. So, Revelation is not fundamentally a strange book with a lot of strange teachings not found elsewhere in the NT. No, Revelation represents the same gospel proclaimed in the rest of the NT. We need to remember that Revelation is part of the canon of scripture, part of our Bibles, because it contains the gospel of Jesus Christ.

We also need to remember that Revelation was written to a church that was being persecuted by the Roman empire. We know from chapters 1-3 that Revelation was written to 7 churches in what is now modern day Turkey. Revelation 1:4 reads, “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.” Here is something crucial to remember. Revelation wasn’t written to those of us living in the 21st century, but to readers in the first century, and John expected his first readers to understand what he wrote to them. He didn’t write first to us but to them! In other words, we must beware of trying to interpret Revelation by reading the headlines from modern newspapers. Virtually everyone who has indulged themselves into newspaper prophecy has been wrong. So far, every date set for the coming of Jesus has been wrong and every attempt to identify the antichrist has been erroneous.

We see in reading the book how John emphasizes that Revelation was written for suffering believers. Consider the following texts:

Revelation 1:9 I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.

Revelation 2:13 I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.

Revelation 6:9 When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne.

Revelation 16:6 For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink. It is what they deserve!”

Revelation 17:6 And I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. When I saw her, I marveled greatly.

Revelation 18:24 And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all who have been slain on earth.”

Revelation 19:2 for his judgments are true and just; for he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality, and has avenged on her the blood of his servants.”

Revelation 20:4 Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

Why is this important? Revelation is not a theoretical book about what will happen in the future. It is written to encourage suffering saints in the midst of their trials and difficulties. In other words, Revelation is a very practical book. It isn’t fundamentally a prophecy chart or just a bunch of information. It was written to strengthen the faith of believers, and so it still speaks to us today because we need encouragement as well.

Let’s begin with chapter one where we read,

Revelation 1:1 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2 who bore witness 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 this 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 kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood 6 and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 7 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. 8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

1. We endure suffering when we are God centered.

Notice how the chapter begins: “Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come” (Rev 1:4). The text is clear; God rules over all: he is, he was, and he is to come. From Exod 3:14 the Lord reveals his name to Moses at the burning bush: I AM WHO I AM. Revelation can speak of God coming in the future, and not just Jesus Christ. We see this again in verse 8, “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the alphabet. The point being conveyed here is simple, yet profound: God is Almighty!

How does such a truth apply to us? To begin with, fear has the tendency to paralyze us. John’s readers likely feared losing their lives. We all understand this. I read somewhere that one of the greatest fears many people have is speaking in front of others. We may fear whether we will succeed at work, whether we will do well in school, whether we will be liked by others, whether others will think we are intelligent, whether we will ever get married, whether our children will follow the Lord, and on and on. But Revelation reminds us that our God reigns and rules over all. He knows the end from the beginning. He is now reigning. He was always reigning, and he will always reign. We can give him our fears because he is the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end.

2. We endure suffering when we are Spirit-strengthened.

Verse four ends with “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.” Notice, grace and peace are from God, the Spirit, and then Jesus Christ. The 7 spirits here must be the Holy Spirit since the Father is named first and the Son is named last. We never find grace and peace from God, Jesus, and an angel. We never find grace and peace from God, Jesus, and the apostle Paul. We have a trinitarian formula in this text: Father, Son, Holy Spirit (though not all the implications of the doctrine of the Trinity are worked out in every detail). We have one essence and three persons.

We also learn something about the symbolism of numbers in Revelation right from the beginning. This verse is not saying that there are 7 Holy Spirits! In Revelation the numbers are often used symbolically, and the number 7 represents fullness, completion, and perfection. Therefore, we are taught here that grace and peace come from the Holy Spirit who strengthens us. The Holy Spirit gives us peace. How easily we get ruffled in our lives. How quickly we lose our peace. One negative comment from a person can cause us to lose our peace. If we get 99 nice comments, we remember the 1 criticism. Perhaps it is the crunch of our finances or some other problem threatens our peace. But the perfect Holy Spirit, the seven-fold-Spirit, gives us his peace. He is our advocate, counselor, helper, and teacher. He will guide us into all truth. He will instruct us in the right way. And the Spirit can grant us his peace as a church. If we are having conflict with a fellow believer, the Holy Spirit can grant us the power to be at peace with one another. As we learn in Colossians 3:15, as a church we are to let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts.

3. We endure suffering when we are Christ-focused.

Revelation is about Jesus Christ and is given to Jesus Christ (Rev 1:1). John says in verse 2 that he is a witness to the word of God and to the testimony about Jesus Christ. As an aside, Revelation is a different kind of literature. In Revelation we see that John had a vision (“All that he saw…”), so this means that the book is apocalyptic. But the book is also called a prophecy. And yet, it also contains letters.

In verse one we learn that the time is near (see verse 3). Jesus is coming soon (1:1, 3). But wait a minute, how can this be true if 2000 years have passed? It is helpful to be reminded of what 2 Peter 3:8-10says because some were saying that the promise has not come true. However, Peter responds,

“But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. 9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.”

So the Lord’s timing is not the same as ours. What seems near to him is not necessarily near to us. Moreover, the Lord delays his coming to give more people the opportunity to repent and to be saved. We have an example here of God’s patience and love.

We are told in this text that Jesus Christ is a faithful witness. He is our example for believers are called to be faithful witnesses as well when their lives are at stake. When Jesus was under pressure and faced death, he faithfully did the will of God. So too, the church of Jesus Christ is called upon to be a faithful witness, to trust God in every circumstance as Jesus did. Jesus as our older brother has preceded us. We have not yet resisted to the point where we have shed blood. Our greatest fear is the fear of death. Rome was putting to death Christians who confessed Jesus as Lord and Christ, and refused to acknowledge Caesar. But John reminds us here that Jesus is the firstborn of the dead: by his resurrection he is sovereign over death. The process of death may be difficult, but we need not fear death itself. If we belong to Christ, we have already conquered death by virtue of his resurrection. No one can rob you of your life, for after death you will live forever. Jesus is the Ruler of kings of the earth.

It was easy to think under persecution that Rome ruled. But we learn in this text that Jesus is sovereign, not Rome. The same is true today. Washington doesn’t rule. China doesn’t rule. Islam doesn’t rule. Jesus rules. Jesus grants us grace and peace especially via the cross. We are loved and freed from our sins by his blood. As sons and daughters of Adam we are born into the world as slaves of sin. We may be enslaved to anger, lust, bitterness, worry, laziness, etc. But those of us who have repented of our sins and put our faith in Christ have been delivered from our sins. We have been liberated by his blood.

All of this is a testimony to his love. Meditate on his love. It is a good thing to worship corporately and sing together about the great love of God in Jesus Christ our Lord. Often singing hymns and choruses with the people of God are a great way to remind us of the power of Christ’s love with us. Our private devotions as well as hymns and choruses seal home to our hearts the love of God. Christ’s death has made us a kingdom. We are now the outpost of God’s kingdom in the world as the church of Jesus Christ. We are his beautiful bride as the end of Revelation teaches. And we are also his priests. We have access to God and we mediate the knowledge of God to others in our world. How many in our world do not know Jesus Christ. Yet, God has placed us in many different families, jobs, and neighborhoods, so that we can be witnesses to Christ in those situations. The most powerful witness is when people see the life of Christ in us who know us well. The western world is cynical and skeptical. We are suspicious of words because of constant advertising. But if people see the love of God in our lives and in the life of our church, they sense and taste the reality of such love.

Finally, Revelation 1:7 reminds us to be ready for his coming. He is coming with the clouds as the Son of Man of Daniel 7 (we will talk more about Daniel 7 in a future blog post). He told the Sanhedrin that condemned him that they would see him coming on the clouds with power and great glory. Against the preterist this cannot be limited to his coming in AD 70, for it is not just the Jews who will see Jesus. This is a universal coming: every eye and all the tribes of the earth. Then the prophecy of Zech 12:10 will be fulfilled. Those who pierced him both physically and spiritually will see him. The day of judgment will come. Are you ready for that day? It will be too late then to repent. Those who reject him will mourn forever and ever and ever. But there will be life for those who read, and hear and obey this book, by trusting in Jesus (Rev 1:3). By the way, there are seven blessing statements in Revelation. I don’t think the number is an accident. The blessing is not just for reading or hearing the book but obeying it. And we obey the message of Revelation when we trust in Christ and obey Christ till the end. May it be so. Come Lord Jesus.

Thomas Schreiner joined the Southern Seminary faculty in 1997 after serving 11 years on the faculty at Bethel Theological Seminary. He also taught New Testament at Azusa Pacific University. Dr. Schreiner, a Pauline scholar, is the author or editor of several books including, Romans, in the Baker Exegetical Commentary Series on the New Testament; Interpreting the Pauline Epistles; The Law and Its Fulfillment: A Pauline Theology of Law; The Race Set Before Us: A Biblical Theology of Perseverance and Assurance; Still Sovereign: Contemporary Perspectives of Election, Foreknowledge, and Grace, co-edited with Bruce A. Ware; Women in the Church: A Fresh Analysis of I Timothy 2:9-15; Paul, Apostle of God’s Glory in Christ: A Pauline Theology, 1 and 2 Peter, Jude.