Who is and who was and who is to come

Revelation 1 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John, ² who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. ³ Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near.

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 who are before His throne, ⁵ 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— ⁶ and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.⁷ 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.

⁸ “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

⁹ I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance which are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. ¹⁰ I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet, ¹¹ saying, “Write in a book what you see, and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.”

¹² Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands; ¹³ and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His chest with a golden sash. ¹⁴ His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire. ¹⁵ His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters. ¹⁶ In His right hand He held seven stars, and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength.

¹⁷ When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last,¹⁸ and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades. ¹⁹ Therefore write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after these things. ²⁰ As for the mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

John begins saying:  The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John, who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near.   So first, along with John, we recognize that what is written is based on a prophetic vision given to John. The sum of the entire vision, the entire revelation, is:  The Revelation of Jesus Christ, just as all of scripture is. It was and is to reveal more fully who Christ is and what He will be. John knew Jesus the man probably as well as any person on earth. In his gospel account, he referred to himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved. Having known the living Jesus, having walked with Him and heard His teaching, there was still a lot that John needed to have revealed about the risen Christ, the one who would come again. That the prophecy is a vision of things which still have not taken place, helps us to understand the descriptions and images John saw and describes. Imagine even people who lived just a few generations ago in the 1800’s or early 1900’s trying to describe the things of our everyday life. How would they describe cell phones, microwave ovens, TV’s, computers; what about cars and airplanes? Like John, they would use the words “like”, describing the indescribable in terms of what they knew and understood, what was familiar.

Here is the beginning of the message to the churches:  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.”     Around this time of year we often hear about and experience the “war on Christmas.” We are told that celebrating the birth and the coming of our Lord and Savior into the world as an innocent baby is offensive. We are told that we can no longer have public displays; our schools cannot incorporate the birth of Christ through songs or performances in their Christmas programs. In fact we are told that it is no longer acceptable to say Merry Christmas, we need to say happy holidays instead. Look what John records as the words of the Lord:  “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”   Then John says:   Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands; and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His chest with a golden sash. His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire. His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters. In His right hand He held seven stars, and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength. When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last,and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades. Therefore write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after these things.”    If they are offended today by a baby in a manger, or by a man who lived a life of compassion, mercy, grace and peace; if they are offended that He went to the cross to die for our sins; If they are offended by the revelation of who Christ was and is, how will they respond to the Christ who will be? In Revelation 19:11-16 John describes Christ’s return:   I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS.”  Jesus has been revealed as Savior and Redeemer. He came as a baby, lived as a man and died to be our Savior. That is Christ who was and is. The Christ who is to come, is coming as King Of Kings and Lord of Lords. He is not coming as a baby in a manger. He is not coming to live a life of compassion and grace. He’s not coming to die for our sins. That revelation of Jesus Christ has come. If they are offended by the Jesus who has been, how will they respond to the Christ to come; to the conquering King? 

Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near. Grace to you and peace, from Him who is and who was and who is to come. Amen.