Grace
and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to
come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, 5 and
from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the
dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
To him
who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and
has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him
be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.
“Grace
and peace to you from Him who is, and who was, and who is to come.“ John imparts a greeting to the churches from God
Himself. He is today, He was before, and
He is coming again. How encouraging this
has to be in all of our understanding.
We must be lifted in our spirit when we are able to read this and repeat
it to ourselves. He always has been and
He lives today and He will be our Lord forever.
He loved us before we were, He loves us today and He loves us forever
more. You were precious to Him before
you were born, you are just as important to Him today as you will ever be (it
does not matter where you are or what you have done) and you will always be the
His most prized creation. He is, and was
and is to come.
It is important to discuss the importance of the number seven as this
is used many times in the coming texts.
When the number seven is used in the Bible, it is a reference to
completeness. It does not always
represent perfection. Sometimes
completeness is perfection, but not always.
In particular, seven refers to God’s covenant and work in Israel. A few examples. The Sabbath and worship are all connected to
the seventh day. Jericho was circled
seven times; Naaman had to dip in the Jordan River seven times; there were seven
years of plenty and seven years of famine in Joseph’s time in Egypt;
Nebuchadnezzar was insane for seven years, there are seven beatitudes in the
New Testament; there are seven petitions in the Lord’s Prayer; there are seven
parables in Matthew 13; seven loaves fed the multitude; Jesus spoke seven times
from the cross; and in the book of Revelation the number seven cannot be
considered accidental.
The greeting is also “from the seven spirits before His throne.” The seven spirits are also mentioned in Revelation
3:1; 4:5; and 5:6. The seven
spirits are not specifically identified, at least in clear language. This
verse mentions that the seven spirits are before God's throne. 3:1 indicates
that Jesus Christ "holds" the seven spirits of God; 4:5 links
the seven spirits of God with seven burning lamps that are before God's throne;
and 5:6 identifies the seven spirits with the "seven eyes" of the Lamb and
states that they are "sent out into all the earth." The interpretation that seems the most
relevant is that the seven spirits of God are symbolic of the Holy Spirit. As mentioned above, the Bible, and especially
the book of Revelation, uses the number seven and it refers to
completion and perfections. If that is
the meaning of the “seven” in the "seven spirits," then it is not
referring to seven different spirits of God, but rather the complete and perfect
Holy Spirit. This greeting then becomes the only one in the New Testament
that imparts grace and peace to the reader from God the Father, the Holy
Spirit, and from the Son Jesus the Christ and this seems fitting when applied
to the revelation to come.
“And
from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the
dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has freed us
from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be
a kingdom and priests to serve His God and Father—to Him be glory and
power for ever and ever! Amen.”
This is the 3rd person of the greeting and He has seven
aspects to Him. He is:
- The faithful witness
- The firstborn from the dead
- The ruler of the kings of the earth
- Him who loves us
- Him who freed us from our sins by His blood
- Him who made us to be kingdom and priests to serve His God and His Father
- Him who receives the glory and power forever and ever
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