Revelation Unlocked #9

You are invited to the ZOOM sessions on the rules for interpreting the book of Revelation. Monday night at 7pm. The session will go for about 45minutes with opportunities for questions and comments. It is important to realize that you cannot correctly interpret Revelation without an understanding of the Hebrew Sanctuary service and many of the stories and characters from the Old Testament. I will explain how the Sanctuary is fundamental to a correct interpretation of this book.  Monday 7pm here:

https://zoom.us/my/ross.chadwick

“This letter is from John to the seven churches in the province of Asia.  Grace and peace to you from the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come; from the seven-fold Spirit before his throne;  and from Jesus Christ. He is the faithful witness to these things, the first to rise from the dead, and the ruler of all the kings of the world. All glory to him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by shedding his blood for us.  He has made us a Kingdom of priests for God his Father. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.” Revelation.1:4-6. 

In the Book of Revelation, a lot of things happen in threes. There are three angels (Rev.14:6-12) and three frogs (Rev.16:13). There are three beasts (Rev.12 and 13, cf. 16:13) and three woes (Rev.8:13. In this passage, the godhead is described as a complete “trinity” of persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. There are, in fact, three “trinities” in Rev.1:4-6. We will focus on the second of the three in today’s meditation. 

Jesus is described as “the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.” These phrases describe the main characteristics–or qualities–of Jesus. The marvellous qualities of Jesus are not widely known in this world. That’s why the Book of Revelation is so important. In Revelation, the secret things about Jesus are openly and publicly revealed. 

Jesus is “the faithful witness.” In the original language, the word for “witness” is the one from which we get the English word “martyr.” In the self-sacrificing love of Jesus on the cross, we see a clear witness to the character of God. 

Jesus is also “the firstborn from the dead.” This is a reference to His resurrection. When God raised Jesus from the dead, He pronounced a blessing on the whole human race (Acts.13:30-33). From then on, a human being was seated at the right hand of God (Heb.8:1-2)! 

That means He is the “ruler of the kings of the earth.” While most people do not acknowledge Him as such, we can become citizens of His kingdom and all the benefits of citizenship become ours. Because He rules the kings of the earth, we don’t have to be afraid of oppressive governments anymore. They rule only by permission (John.18:36-37). In the Book of Revelation Jesus is everything we need. He is the “one who freed us from our sins…” God is in control, He is also our ‘advocate’ in the court room of heaven. He is the God of new beginnings.

If you are a social golfer, you have probably heard of a ‘mulligan’. That means if you tee off and it doesn’t go so well, you can play a mulligan (pull out another ball and do it again without penalty.) The chance to start over now and then takes the pressure off and makes the whole game more enjoyable. Computers have a similar feature, the “undo” key. Whenever your finger slips and hits a key that totally skews everything, and you have no clue what went wrong or how to fix it, you just hit the undo key and everything is restored the way it was before your mistake.

The analogies are not perfect, of course. But something like a mulligan happens in your life when you give yourself to Jesus. There’s a chance to start over, to undo the guilt and burden of the past. The blood of Jesus frees us from sin. That means that His death makes it possible for us to break the chains of the past, to have a fresh start, to be forgiven. The blood of Jesus frees us not only from sin, but from fear, the fear that something we do will make us unacceptable to Him. The fear that our best will never be good enough. I don’t know about you, but I could use a mulligan now and then in my spiritual life.