Chapter 2 Revelation is Seeing God’s Glory

Revelation 1:4-8

We have seen that this book we are studying is the Revelation of Jesus Christ (1:1). In saying that, we need to realize that not only is this to be understood as revelation originating from Christ, but the revelation or revealing of Christ. As is true of all Scripture (Luke 24:27,44), we study the book of Revelation to behold Christ, who is the glory of God.

In the opening verse of this passage, we see that the Holy Spirit is described as “the seven spirits”, or the “seven-fold Spirit,” before the throne of God (1:4). In a similar manner, Zechariah the prophet uses the imagery of seven eyes or a lampstand with seven branches to describe the person and work of the Holy Spirit (see Zechariah 3:8-4:6). Seven, as we will continue to see in this book, is the number of completeness in the Bible. The Holy Spirit dwells before the throne of the living God, the eternal Father, and with His seven eyes sees completely the glory of God. Now through the Apostle John the Spirit is communicating to the seven churches of Asia what He has beheld. Of the Holy Spirit, Jesus said in John 16:14, "He will bring glory to Me by taking from what is Mine and making it known to you." God is telling us here that the church, aided by the all-seeing Spirit, is to see the glory of God embodied in the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us understand then what God Himself wants us to behold about Christ through the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

The outline of this can be seen in the three titles John through the Holy Spirit has given to Jesus in verse 5, which then are repeated by way of application to the church in the doxology found in verses 5b-6. The titles Jesus possesses cause John to offer praise for the blessings the church possesses as a result of Christ’s beneficent work.

Behold the love that Jesus has for us

As John begins revealing Christ to the churches, he breaks out in a doxology beginning in verse 5. Most worship services end with the singing of a doxology, which means "glorious word." The Spirit working in John desires Jesus to receive all glory (“to Him be the glory” we read in this doxology in verse 6). To explain why Jesus is worthy of glory, John starts by simply telling the church, "He loves us." Yet as you to study this, you may learn to think of Christ’s love in a new way.

As stated above, the truth of Jesus’ love is related to the first title John gives Him in verse 5. He calls Jesus " the faithful witness." It is the word from which we get “martyr,” a word that has lost the original sense of its meaning. A martyr in modern English is someone who is persecuted and put to death. Yet historically a witness is one who prosecutes, who testifies regarding the truthfulness of a case. At the beginning of the wedding the minister reminds those gathered that they are there as witnesses to the marriage of the bride and groom. They are to be testifiers to their love. Indeed, the best man and maid of honor's primary role is not to hold the wedding rings and look pretty, but to sign the legal document that testifies that the couple really did get married. Historically, if difficulty arose in the marriage, they would be called on to give testimony if one party was unfaithful to their wedding vows.

Now we need to see how this idea of witness and love relate with regard to Christ and the church, particularly considering what the churches of Asia needed to hear at this time. Before we do, we need to read a bit more in this section. In verse 7 John says, “ Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him.” The typical treatment of this verse is to he ar of clouds, read that every eye will see Him, and immediately conclude this is speaking about the Final Coming of Christ at the end of the ages. In so doing, we miss what Christ is faithfully witnessing to and how He is showing His love to the church.

Remembering that Revelation is completing the story of the Bible, and that we are to use the rest of Scriptures to interpret it, will keep us from misunderstanding the apocalyptic language of this and similar verses. Clouds, fire, thunder, and lightning are symbols of judgment coming down from heaven on sinful humanity, separating by grace the righteous and the wicked. Sometimes God physically employed these elements as He came in judgment in miraculous ways; other times He prophetically employed these symbols to represent His coming to war in judgment on a people by using foreign armies. Consider the following examples:

The pillar of cloud and fire that went before Israel indicated God’s presence with Israel and judgment on her enemies (Exodus 14:19-20). The cloud separated Egypt and Israel, with the dark side turned toward the enemy and the bright side shining on Israel.
Following the routing of the Canaanites by the Israelite army led by Deborah and Barak, Deborah sings of the Lord going out, causing the earth to quake and the clouds to drip (Judges 5:4-5).
As David describes the Lord's deliverance of him from Saul in Psalm 18:7-14 (also see title to Psalm 18), he says the Lord caused the “earth to shake,” “smoke came out of His nostrils,” “thick darkness was under His feet,” that God “rode on the wings of the wind” and had “thick clouds” about Him with “hailstones and coals of fire.”
When Isaiah the prophet speaks of God throwing the Egyptians into a civil war, he says in Isaiah 19:1, "See, the Lord rides on a swift cloud and is coming to Egypt. The idols of Egypt tremble before him, and the hearts of the Egyptians melt within them."
When God speaks of the destruction of the Assyrian capital of Ninevah by Babylon in Nahum 1:2-8, He describes it as the Lord coming with the clouds like “dust beneath His feet.”
As Jesus testifies of the terror that is to come on Jerusalem as she is surrounded by the Roman armies, an event that He promised would occur within the generation of His disciples ending with the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D., He says “they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with great power and judgment” (Luke 21:20–27). To the high priest who condemned Him the night of His arrest and trial leading to His crucifixion, Jesus similarly said, “You shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven” (Matthew 26:64).

Though certainly at the end of the world as we know it the Lord will physically come on a cloud to judge the nations (Matthew 25:31-46), not every time that His coming on a cloud is mentioned in Scripture are we to assume the Final Judgment is meant, as the above examples indicate. In particular, Revelation 1:7 is the event referred to by the last example given above from Luke 21. As will become more and more clear as you study this book, when this book was given to John “the time was near” for Jesus to have the holy city of Jerusalem utterly destroyed, never to be rebuilt in the same manner again. The nation of Israel would soon be facing Christ’s thunderclouds of judgment. But why?

As we shall see beginning in Revelation 2, the seven churches of Asia were facing terrible persecutions. The Jewish religious leaders persecuted Christians in city after city, using Roman officers and civil authorities against her. Those that had pierced Christ, the tribes of the earth of verse 7 (“earth” could also be translated “land,” as “the tribes of the land” of Israel) that had rejected the gospel for an entire generation, were stirring His anger. In so doing they were calling for the church's Lover to come in His chariot of clouds and protect her. As the “Faithful Witness,” Jesus is speaking through John here to comfort the church with His love even as He witnesses against those that have been unfaithful to Him. God is a jealous God, and He will not sit idly by while His bride is being mistreated. For what love He has for the church!

God had patiently waited on Israel for a generation to respond to the gospel He gave to them first (Romans 1:16). Many Jews had believed and come into the church. Yet many in leadership did not, and the Jewish nation aggressively sought to bring to an end Christianity, viewing the church as a rival. Revelation is the warning of the Faithful Witness that He is now coming to pour out His judgments on the apostate nation of Israel. God has a special love, a gracious love, a jealous love, a redemptive love for His bride, the church, and He will protect her from every evil foe. The great irony of the Bible is that the ones to whom the gospel was first given would now face the wrath of the Savior who was born “King of the Jews.” And the great irony in modern Christianity is that a book written to comfort the church with God’s protective love has been twisted to frighten the people of God! As you read this book, wonder at the fierce love Christ has in redeeming you. John says to the church about Christ, “He loves us!”

Behold the liberty that Jesus has given to us

John goes on to praise Christ because He has “released us from our sins by His blood.” Again, this relates to the titles given Jesus. In bearing witness while on earth, He had sealed His witness through being put to death. He is then called “the Firstborn of the Dead” in verse 5 (These titles are capitalized here because we should read them as titles rightfully earned by Christ, such as British nobility who would refer to the “Duke of Yorkshire!”). In His glorious resurrection, Christ has received the noble inheritance as the firstborn of all creation (Colossians 1:15-16). This phrase alludes to the truth that following His resurrection, Christ ascended to heaven and was granted authority over heaven and earth (Matthew 28:18; I Corinthians 15:20-25). To Him has been granted the legal right to bestow upon others freedom from sin, slavery and death.

Consider the contrast. The impenitent have their sins held against them, and as this book will so graphically show, suffer the full measure of Christ’s judgments for their sin. But those whom Jesus has loved, who humbly trust Him by faith in His death and resurrection, are released or set free from their sins by His blood. His precious blood, of more value than any silver or gold, has bought their freedom.

The glorious message of the book of Revelation is not that the church will have to live in fear and hiding until Jesus comes and rescues her from a world-controlling Antichrist. The message of this book is that Christ has already come and saved His people! The message of this book, like all other books in the Bible, is the gospel! Christ has died and been resurrected not only so we can be forgiven the penalty of our sins, as great as that truth is . As the Firstborn of the Dead, Great Lord of the Realms of Death, Sin and Hades, Jesus the Christ has declared that we are set free from the power of sin’s dominion over us! Those reading this book should not cower in fear. They should not be afraid of their persecutors. Rather, even in trial they should shout out loud, “Satan has been defeated! Death has been conquered! Sin can be overcome! Praise be to God for Lord Jesus, the King of Life!” His love, friend, is a death-defying, evil-conquering, sin-consuming love. That is why John cannot wait until the end for the doxology. He starts off the book with it! That’s what the gospel does for people, does to people. Is this what it has done to and for you? If so, it will be seen in carrying out the following responsibility as Christ’s church.

Behold the life Jesus has bestowed on you

Now we see what the Great Lord has bestowed upon those whom He loves and redeems from sin. “He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father,” we read in verse 6. This is the same thing we are told in I Peter 2:9, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” Here we see a wondrous truth. It had been the unique privilege of the descendants of Abraham, the Old Covenant nation of Israel, to be considered God’s “kingdom of priests” to the world (Exodus 19:5-6). Yet here we see the apostles John and Peter telling the church she is now God’s royal priesthood. Do you see what is happening? The final chapter of the Bible confirms that Jesus is coming in anger against His apostate people, Israel, and replacing her with His true bride, the church, the true sons of Abraham (Galatians 3:7). As His kingdom of priests the church is replacing Israel as God's representatives to the world.

Do not attempt to limit the scope and importance of this title God has placed on the church, for consider the final title John gives us here of Jesus. He is “The Ruler of the Kings of the Earth.” In his book Messiah the Prince , William Symington says, "The persons who are here supposed to be subject to Christ are kings, civil rulers, supreme and subordinate, all in civil authority, whether in the legislative, judicial or executive branches of government. Of such Jesus Christ is Prince." Because of our union with Christ, as such the church has been seated in power with Him (Ephesians 2:4-7). We are seated with Christ in the heavenlies. We are to serve as priests who bring His dominion to the world, who call all others – even the kings and judges of the earth – to serve the One whom God has so highly exalted (Psalm 148:11-14). Far from living in fear and isolating ourselves from the world, we are to call the world to belief and obedience to Christ. The church is to truly “disciple all the nations” (Matthew 28:19-20).

Yet here is where we must beware. The messages we will be studying to the seven churches will show that though they had sought to do that, they had grown weary, and some had even turned cold because of opposition. For remember the reason for their persecution. Before Jew and Roman they had faithfully declared, “Jesus alone is Lord.”

It's one thing to say, “I worship Jesus.” In the pagan Roman Empire, that was certainly an acceptable thing. Many gods were worshipped, and if Jesus was one of many, so be it. Just as in our increasingly pluralistic culture we hear people say, “If you want to worship Jesus, and that works for you, okay. Buddha works best for me.” Yet it is a whole other thing to live and declare that Jesus alone is Lord, and that He alone is to be worshipped and obeyed. For the way the Jews and Romans saw this, the church was preaching, "There is another king, One called Jesus" (Acts 17:7), and that was not permitted by either of them. The retreatist, liberal church cannot tolerate those who remind them of their apostasy from Christ. And the deified, statist government cannot tolerate those who proclaim to them their rebellion against Christ. To be faithful kings and priests is difficult, and knowing the churches needed encouragement is why the vision of Revelation was given.

Conclusion

As those beloved by God and released from sin, who have been given the revelation from heaven by the all-seeing Spirit of God, may we humbly accept the privilege and great responsibility to be the royal priests of Jesus. The glory of the Lord Jesus Christ is to be proclaimed to all, and this book will repeatedly remind us that this proclamation involves the threat of judgment upon the apostate and the overthrow of those who rule wickedly. Though it may result in our being ridiculed, misunderstood, or even persecuted, this world and the nation in which we live need to hear that Jesus is Lord, and that He still comes!