The Key to the Celestial Window.
More Keys in the Message to the Seven Churches
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, 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 released us from our sins by His blood — and He made us into a kingdom, priests to His God and Father — to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen.
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” Revelation 1:4-8 NASB
What an amazing greeting “Grace and peace to you.” This is a common first century greeting. Grace is the Greek greeting, peace is the Hebrew shalom (meaning peace/well-being). As we can see from this reading the Givers of grace and peace are the three Persons of the Godhead. V8 refers to the divine name YAHWEH, referring to God’s eternal existence. Christ is here identified with three titles: “the faithful witness, the first born from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth.” These refer to His death, resurrection, and reign in heaven.
The most Amazing Key as we follow this thread to navigate the maze, is Revelation’s portrayal of the Divinity of Christ. In the first 3 chapters we find his name, or equivalent 137 times. There are 25 titles given to Christ in Revelation. Some of these testify to His deity e.g. “The Son of God,” “The Word of God” “The Beginning of the Creation of God.” In Revelation He is worthy to be worshipped, He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is the water of life. To Him is attributed: wisdom, glory, honour, power and creatorship. Titles like the Alpha and Omega, which in Revelation refers to Christ, come from the Old Testament references to Yahweh c.f. Rev 1:8,11 with Isa 41:4, 44:6 Isa 48:12. In Revelation we see a shift in emphasis from Yahweh to Jesus. Rev 1:7 is based on allusions to Daniel 7 & Zechariah 12 i.e. His “coming in the clouds.” The allusion to Zechariah 12 is particularly interesting because in Zech 12:7 & 8 it is Yahweh who comes. In Revelation it is Jesus who comes. In Zech 12:10 it is Yahweh who is pierced; in Revelation, it is Jesus who is pierced. In Zech 12:8-10 they see Yahweh come to Jerusalem. In Revelation the whole world sees Jesus come.
This shift from Yahweh to Jesus is THE Revelation.The truth that the Apocalypse is all about Christ and His divinity is the golden thread that runs throughout the book and is a vital interpretive key.
In what sense does Jesus need uncovering (revealing) in the Book of Revelation? Think for a minute what we would be missing if the Book of Revelation hadn’t made it into our Bibles. When Jesus was on the earth, He was a human being, in the flesh. He walked on this earth, talked in human language, dressed like the people around Him. He lived in a particular culture, time, and place. He got tired, dirty and sweaty. It would be easy to look at that Jesus and say, “Well, He is a great teacher, a great man, and a great prophet. But surely, He’s not the king of the universe, is He? Would the king of the universe get sweaty and tired?”
If all we knew about Jesus was what we have in the gospels, we would be missing a great deal. The Book of Revelation “takes the cover off” Jesus of Nazareth. It shows us that He is no longer just Jesus of Nazareth but the One Who sits on the throne in heaven and Who has rulership over the entire universe.
If we did not have the book of Revelation, we would not have a full picture of Who Jesus is. It was the King of the universe who was willing to become a human being, willing to serve and bless, willing to subject Himself to shame and abuse, willing to suffer and die for us. It is the greatness of Jesus that makes His sacrifice all the more remarkable. The Book of Revelation takes the cover off that greatness so everyone can see.
“All glory to Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by shedding His blood for us” 1:5. “He has made us a Kingdom of priests for God His Father. All glory and power to Him forever and ever! Amen” 1:6 NLT
John saw the resplendent, resurrected Jesus and this should be to all of us evidence of the risen Saviour who is now King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
yes if we didn’t have Revelation we wouldn’t understand how Jesus is human and how he is Jesus