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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
John,
To the seven churches in the province of Asia:
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, 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.
Revelation 1:4-6
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
As we move past the opening three verses of the first chapter of Revelation, we see the intended audience of this amazing prophecy of the end times, a prophecy we learned was passed down from God to His Son Jesus who in turn dispatched an angel to convey it to John who obediently shared what he was commanded to share.
We see in our passage that he was writing “to the seven churches in the province of Asia” and later in this book, we will see each of these churches (Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea), receiving very personalized attention from the Lord. Much more on these churches later in this book but for now, we will keep in mind that it is John who is addressing them specifically even though in a much broader application, we know the Lord is speaking to all Christian believers – past, present, and future.
As we look at the two paragraphs that comprise these two paragraphs, we first see John sending a greeting from the Father and Son he is representing. He shares this:
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, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
The Book of Revelation might be scary in some ways as we navigate through what the end times will look like but its Christian readers need to always keep the opening verses in mind. For the very Word of the Lord guarantees that anyone who reads the content of this book aloud or hears it and takes it to heart will be blessed (1:3). And as we carry on into verses 4 and 5, we see the blessings begin right away. For John makes sure that the members of the seven churches know that God - the One who is and was and is to come - and His Son Jesus – the “faithful witness”, “firstborn from the dead”, and “ruler of the kings of the earth” - were sending “grace and peace” to them, promises from the two people who never break them, their Maker and Master as well as their Savior who was One with His Father.
What a wonderful way to begin this book and who wouldn’t be led to a place of thanksgiving after receiving such rich gifts from the most perfect Givers ever. As we look at the second paragraph, we certainly see John expressing his feelings openly with boldness. He proclaims:
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.
Here, we find John lifting up the name of Jesus, acknowledging the eternal glory and power found in Him. As we read these words, we see a praise proclamation grounded in the following benefits that Jesus brings to anyone who places their belief in Him. They include:
1. His love.
To Him who loves us...
In the Gospel written by the same John found here in Revelation, Jesus described the kind of love He was soon to bring to all mankind, a saving love that led Him to willingly bear the punishment due all sinners who that they might be made right with God and gain the assurance of eternal life. Here’s what He had to say:
Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are My friends if you do what I command. John 15:13-14
Indeed, through His deep love for all people, Jesus laid down His life, allowing those who would believe in Him and show obedience to His commands to be considered His friends. As the old hymn goes, “What A Friend We Have In Jesus”. We’ll never have a greater one than Him.
2. The liberation from sin He provided through His blood.
To Him who...has freed us from our sins by His blood
In the Book of Hebrews, we find this truth from the Word of God:
In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness (9:22).
In the case of complete atonement from sin for any sinner, no one gains it except by the shed blood of Jesus on Calvary’s cross, a blood that washes the sinner as white as snow (Isaiah 1:18). Indeed, through Jesus, the believer becomes justified or made just as if they had never sinned when they come to the judgment throne of God to give an account of the way they lived. Destined for a sure eternal damnation in Hell under the bondage of sin, Jesus breaks those chains the moment we place our hope and trust in Him as Savior and sets us free so that our eternal outcome might lead to our best life ever.
And this leads us to the third key reason we find John exhorting the Lord’s glory and power.
3. He made us into a kingdom, priests to serve Him and His Father God.
To Him who...has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve His God and Father
This statement “kingdom and priests” should be read as the church in the New Testament and what we’re reading about here is the incredible final destination for all Christian believers, the new Heavens and new Earth where all those who are saved, those whose names are found within the Book of Life, will abide with God and Jesus forever, serving and worshiping them both for all eternity.
That’s what is ahead, promised for all Christians through God’s amazing salvation plan, sealed by the obedient life and ministry of Jesus, His Son. With this truth in mind, how could we not, like John, offer up all of our praise and honor and glory to the Father and the Son, not just now but forevermore?
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.
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