The Book of Revelation points to the fulfillment of the restoration that God had initiated in Genesis 3. After Adam and Eve had willfully disobeyed God's directives, God set in motion a course of events that would ultimately lead to all creation returning to its rightful state, with everything subject to the glorified Christ. While much of the Old Testament imagery and prophecy about Jesus found its fulfillment in His incarnation, suffering, death, and resurrection, the full extent of His Lordship becomes apparent only in the time to come, as relayed in Revelation.
As the commentator notes, some of the imagery and descriptions in Revelation may seem confusing or beyond our understanding. But, with some study, it will quickly become apparent that God will be greatly glorified in this age to come and that all creation will bow before Him. Revelation records an intense spiritual battle that has proceeded throughout history, though its details have often been hidden from worldly man. Revelation calls for watchfulness and hope among the church: watchfulness because we do not know the day or hour of the fulfillment of these words and hope because we know that God through Jesus Christ will ultimately triumph and reign.
Furthermore, we may stand in worship along with the assembled worshippers around the Throne and the Lamb. Jonathan Edwards described heaven as a world of love, where the affection of the triune God flows forth into His people.
As an aside, the imagery and context presented in Revelation makes me question whether people's desire for heaven may be misplaced. If we do not seek to worship God in this life, will we wish to do so for eternity? That perspective challenges me to consider the depth of my commitment and the purity of my love for Christ.
A few notes from today's text:
1. The First and the Last. Please notice the unity and coexistence of both Almighty God (the Father) and Jesus Christ, His Son. Both are called "the First" (Alpha) and "the Last" (Omega), and both are declared to be the "Living One," Who has existed forever in the past, in the present, and forever into the future.
2. The admonitions for the churches. It appears that the words for the seven churches were indeed meant to address their present-day realities at the time of John's writing. This assurance gave the churches confidence that God indeed is sovereign over the affairs of men and that their plight had not been forgotten or in vain. Through the vision, God calls the churches to return to Him and to live holy lives, pleasing to God our Savior. The words to Ephesus and Laodicea are particularly pertinent, even
today:
a. Ephesus: "Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first."
b. Laodicea: "I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm -- neither hot nor cold -- I am about to spit you out of my mouth."
Yet, Jesus does not abandon the wayward. Instead, "those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me."
3. The promises for those who overcome. To each of the seven churches, Jesus offers promises to those who over come:
a. Ephesus: Will receive "the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God"
b. Smyrna: "Will not be hurt at all by the second death"
c. Pergamum: Will receive "some of the hidden manna... [and] a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him"
d. Thyatira: Will receive "authority over the nations,... just as I have received authority from my Father... [and] the morning star"
e. Sardis: Will "be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my father and his angels"
f. Philadelphia: Will become "a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name."
g. Laodicea: Will receive "the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne"
QUESTIONS
1. What temporal things might you be trusting more than the eternal, living
God?
Post by Steve Edwards
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