Chapter # 1 Paragraph # 2 Study # 3
April 23, 2023
Broadlands, Louisiana
(Download Audio)
1901 ASV
1:4 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 that are before his throne;
1:5 and from Jesus Christ, [who is] 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 from our sins by his blood;
1:6 and he made us [to be] a kingdom, [to be] priests unto his God and Father; to him [be] the glory and the dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
1:7 Behold, he cometh with the clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they that pierced him; and all the tribes of the earth shall mourn over him. Even so, Amen.
1:8 I am the Alpha and the Omega, saith the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.
- I. John And His Wishes For The Seven Churches.
- A. "John" is the God-given name that means "Yahweh is gracious" and was initially the name of the forerunner (John the Baptizer) of Jesus, the Christ, and was also the name of one of the sons of Zebedee who was the author of the Gospel of John and is here identified as the author of this written "Revelation".
- B. The name "John" is used in this "Revelation" in 1:1; 1:4; 1:9; 21:2; and 22:8 and its uses signal both the fact of "Grace" and the consequences of rejecting it. [The period of "Grace" is going to turn into the "Day of the Wrath of the Lamb".]
- C. John's audience.
- D. John's wishes for his readers.
- E. John's Sources.
- 1. The One Being and Who Was and The Coming One [The Eternal/Everlasting God Who Comes].
- 2. And the Seven Spirits Who are before the throne of Him [The Provisioning God]...
- 3. And Jesus Christ...The Savior/King by name [The Qualified God].
- a. The Witness (five references to "Witness" in this Revelation). These references focus upon the reality that "death" is the outcome of "being a witness".
- 1) The first is our current text (1:5).
- 2) In 2:13, the reference is to Antipas whose identity as My Witness, My Faithful One and his fidelity is described as one who "did not deny My faith" and "who was killed among you where Satan dwells". This stresses how critical the issue of "Truth believed" is.
- 3) Referred to again in 3:14. This text/context makes "being a witness unto death" the significantly absent characteristic.
- a) At issue in this text/context is the Laodicean church.
- b) The characterization is attended by "The Amen" and "The Beginning of the Creation of God".
- c) The "problem" is "lukewarmness" that threatens to cause those involved to be "vomited out of His mouth" and who are "wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked".
- d) Includes the issue of the faithful passing on of the "revelation" that was given to by God.
- 4) In 11:3 there are two witnesses who will prophesy for 1260 days and end up being "martyred" (11:7).
- 5) The last reference is 17:6 where the issue is Babylon is "drunk" with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus.
- b. The Faithful One. The word "pistos" is used in eight places in This Revelation.
- 1) This first use (1:5) focuses upon "faithfulness" in terms of the Jesus' earthly testimony regarding the "Truth" that resulted in His death. It is an "adjective" that might be descriptive of "The Witness" as "The Witness, the Faithful", or it might be a "nominal adjective" that is a stand-alone along with "witness" and "firstborn" and "ruler". The form of the sentence leans strongly in the direction of "nominal adjective".
- 2) In 2:10 the members of the church in Smyrna are encouraged to "faithfulness" in the face of persecution "unto death".
- 3) In 2:13 the issue of "faithfulness" is again coupled to "My witness, My faithful one" in respect to Antipas in Pergamum.
- 4) In 3:14 it is Jesus, once again, who is attributed with "faithfulness" in the letter to Laodicea.
- 5) In 17:14 it is "those who are with Jesus" who are "called and chosen and faithful". It is a "theological fact" that not all who are "called" are also "chosen" (Matthew 22:14) and not all who are "chosen" are "faithful" (except in the barest form of non-apostate). Thus, for all three attributions to be assigned to a group indicates a significant identity.
- 6) In 19:11 "He Who sat on it [the white horse] is called "faithful and true".
- 7) In 21:5 and 22:6 "these words are faithful and true".
- c. The combination of "faithful" and "true" is found in 3:14; 19:11; 21:5; and 22:6. In the first two it is Jesus that is "faithful and true" and the last two it is these words are faithful and true.
- b. The Firstborn from the dead..."This day I have begotten You..." (Acts 13:33/Psalm 2:7).
- c. And the Ruler of the kings of the earth.
- F. John's ascription of glory...
- 1. To The One Loving us and having loosed us from our sins by His blood.
- 2. And He made us a kingdom.
- 3. Priests to His God and Father.
- 4. To Him the glory and the power unto the ages.
- 5. Amen.
