Revelation 1:4-20

[Jim Watt]

“*TWO ARE BETTER THAN ONE” MINISTRIES*

*Jim & Marie Watt*

*Tel: 253-517-9195 - Email: jmbetter at gmail.com*

*Web: www.2rbetter.org
*

*April 18, 2010
<http://www.2rbetter.org/>*



   *“REVELATION OF JOHN” – Revelation 1:4-20*

*II. 1:4-3:22 COMMENDATION, WARNINGS & PROMISES TO 7 CHURCHES*

*A. 1:4-7 TRIUNE BLESSING AND PROMISE OF JESUS’ COMING*

*a. 1:4-5a TRIUNE BLESSING*

I*o*An*e*s tais hepTA ek-kl*e*SIais [1577] tais en t*e* A-SIa: CHAris huMIN
kai eiR*E*n*e* [1515],

*John to the seven churches :in :Asia: Grace to you and peace,*

aPO ho *o*n kai ho *e*n kai ho erCHOme-nos [2064];

*from him who is and who was and who is to come;*

kai aPO t*o*n hepTA pneuMAt*o*n [4151] ha eN*O*pi-on tou THROnou [2362]
auTOU;

*and from the seven Spirits :before his :throne;*

kai aPO 'I*e*SOU ChrisTOU, ho MARtus [3144] ho pisTOS [4103],

*5 **and from Jesus Christ, the faithful :witness,*

ho pr*o*TOto-kos [4416] t*o*n neKR*O*N [3498],

*the firstborn of the dead,*

kai ho ARch*o*n [758] t*o*n ba-siLE*o*n [935] t*e*s g*e*s.

*and the ruler of the kings of the earth.*


 *b. 1:5b-6a ASCRIPTION OF PRAISE TO CHRIST FOR HIS WORKS*

t*o* a-gaP*O*Nti [25] h*e*MAS,

*To him that loves us,*

kai LUsan-ti [3068] h*e*MAS ek t*o*n ha-mar-ti*O*N [266] h*e*M*O*N en
t*o*HAIma-ti [129]
auTOU;-

*and loosed us from our :sins in his :blood;-*

kai e-POI*e*-sen h*e*MAS ba-siLEIan, hi-eREIS [2409] t*o* The*O* kai paTRI
auTOU;-

*6 **and he made us a kingdom, priests to :God and his Father;-*

auT*O* h*e* DOxa [1391] kai to KRAtos [2904] eis tous ai*O*nas [165].

*to him the glory and the might unto the ages.*


 *c. 1:6b *aM*E*N. *Amen.*


 *d. 1:7a THE OPENESS OF CHRIST’S SECOND COMING*

I-DOU, ERche-tai meTA t*o*n ne-pheL*O*N [3507];

*Lo, he comes with the clouds;*

kai Opse-tai [3700] auTON pas oph-thalMOS [3788], kai HOIti-nes auTON
e-xeKENt*e*-san [1574];

*and every eye shall see him, and they that pierced him;*

kai KOpson-tai [2875] ep’ auTON PAsai hai phuLAI [5443] t*e*s g*e*s.

*and all the tribes of the earth shall mourn over him.*


 *e. 1:7b *nai, aM*E*N. *Yes, Amen.*


 *B. 1:8 THE EVERLASTINGNESS OF THE LORD GOD: THE ALMIGHTY*

E-G*O* ei-mi to ALpha kai to *O*, LEgei KUri-os ho TheOS,

*I am the Alpha and the **O**, says **the **Lord :God,*

ho *o*n kai ho *e*n kai ho erCHOme-nos, ho pan-toKRAt*o*r [3841].

*who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.*


 *C. 1:9-20 THE COMMANDS AND DESCRIPTION OF GLORIFIED JESUS*

*a. 1:9 PERSECUTION OF JOHN ON ACCOUNT OF HIS WITNESS*


 E-G*O* 'I*o*An*e*s, ho a-delPHOS huM*O*N kai sun-koi-n*o*NOS [4791]

*I John, your :brother, and partaker with **you*

en t*e* THLIpsei [2347] kai ba-siLEIa kai hu-po-moN*E* [5281] en 'I*e*SOU,

*in the tribulation and kingdom and patience in Jesus,*

e-geNO-m*e*n en t*e* N*E*s*o* t*e* ka-louMEn*e* PATm*o*,

*was in the isle :called Patmos,*

diA ton LOgon tou TheOU kai t*e*n mar-tuRIan [3141] I*e*SOU.

*for the word of :God and the witness of Jesus.*


 *b. 1:10-11 COMMISSION TO JOHN ON BEHALF OF SEVEN CHURCHES*

e-geNOm*e*n en PNEUma-ti en t*e* ku-ri-aK*E* [2960] h*e*MEra,

*I became in Spirit on the Lord’s day,*

kai *E*kou-sa oPIs*o* mou ph*o*N*E*N [5456] meGAl*e*n, h*o*s SALpig-gos
[4536]

*and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trump*

leGOUs*e*s, Ho BLEpeis,

*11 **saying, What you see,*

GRApson eis bibLIon kai PEMpson tais hepTA ek-kl*e*SIais [1577]:

*write in a booklet and send to the seven churches:*

eis Ephe-son, kai eis SMURnan, kai eis PERga-mon,

*unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos,*

kai eis ThuAtei-ra, kai eis SARdeis,

*and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardeis,*

kai eis Phi-la-delPHIan, kai eis La-oDIki-an.

*and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.*


 *c. 1:12a JOHN SEEKS THE SOURCE OF THE VOICE*

Kai ePEStre-psa BLEpein t*e*n ph*o*N*E*N H*E*tis eLAlei met’ eMOU.

*And I turned to see the voice that spoke with me.*


 *d. 12b-13 A VISION OF CHRIST IN THE MIDST OF THE SEVEN CHURCHES*

kai e-pisTREpsas [1994] EIdon hepTA luchNIas [3087] chruSAS [5552];

*And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands;*

kai en MEs*o* t*o*n luch-ni*O*N HOmoi-on hui*0* anTHR*O*pou,

*13 **and amidst the lampstands one like a son of man,*

en-de-duMEnon [1746] poD*E*r*e*,

*clothed down to **the **foot,*

kai pe-ri-e-z*o*sMEnon [4024] pros tois masTOIS Z*O*n*e*n [2223] chruSAN.

*and girt about at the breasts with a golden girdle.*


 *e. 1:14-16 A SEVEN-FOLD DESCRIPTION OF CHRIST*

h*e* de ke-phaL*E* [2776] auTOU kai hai TRIches leuCHAI [3022] h*o*s
Eri-on [2053]
leuKON,

*And his :head and his :hair white as white wool, *

h*o*s chi*O*N; kai hoi oph-thalMOI auTOU h*o*s phlox [5395] puROS [4442];

*as snow; and his :eyes as a flame of fire;*

kai hoi POdes auTOU HOmoi-oi chal-ko-liBAn*o* [5474], h*o*s en kaMIn*o* [2575]
pe-pu-r*o*MEn*e*s;

*15 **and his :feet like burnished brass, as refined in a furnace;*

kai h*e* ph*o*N*E* auTOU h*o*s ph*o*N*E* huDAt*o*n [5204] polL*O*N;

*and his :voice as **the** voice of many waters;*

kai Ech*o*n en t*e* de-xiA cheiRI auTOU asTEras [792] hepTA:

*16** and having in his :right **hand** seven stars:*

kai ek tou STOma-tos [4750] auTOU 'romPHAIa [4501] DISto-mos oXEIa
ek-po-reu-oMEn*e*:

*and proceeding out of his :mouth a sharp two-edged sword:*

kai h*e* Opsis [3799] auTOU h*o*s ho H*E*li-os [2246] PHAInei [5316]
en t*e*duNAmei auTOU.

*and his :countenance as the sun shines in his :strength.*


 *f. 1:17a JOHN’S REACTION: FELL DEAD AT JESUS’ FEET*

Kai HOte EIdon auTON, Epe-sa pros tous POdas auTOU h*o*s neKROS [3498].

*And when I saw him, I fell at his :feet as **one **dead.*


 *1:17b-18 RE-ASSURING STATEMENT OF JESUS*

kai Eth*e*ken t*e*n de-xiAN auTOU ep’ eME, LEg*o*n,

*And he laid his :right **hand **upon me, saying, *

M*e* phoBOU; eG*O* ei-mi ho PR*O*tos kai ho EScha-tos [2078],

*Fear not; I am the first and the last,*

kai ho z*o*n; kai e-geNOm*e*n neKROS,

*18** and the Living **one**; and I became dead,*

kai iDOU, z*o*n ei-mi eis tous ai*O*nas t*o*n ai*O*n*o*n [165],

*and lo, I am alive unto the ages of the ages,*

kai Ech*o* tas kleis [2192] tou thaNAtou kai tou HAdou.

*and have the keys of :death and of :Hades.*


 *h. 1:19-20a JESUS COMMISSIONS JOHN TO WRITE THE VISION OF MYSTERY*

GRApson oun ha EIdes, kai ha ei-sin,

*Write therefore what **things **you saw, and those which are,*

kai ha MELlei GInes-thai meTA TAUta;

*and those which shall come to pass hereafter;*

to musT*E*ri-on [3466] t*o*n hepTA asTEr*o*n hous EIdes ePI t*e*s de-xiAS
mou,

*20 **the mystery of the seven stars which you saw in my :right,*

kai tas hepTA luchNIas tas chruSAS.

*and the seven :golden lampstands.*


 *i. 1:20b INTERPRETATION OF THE SEVEN STARS AND LAMPSTANDS*

hoi hepTA asTEras AGge-loi [32] t*o*n hepTA ek-kl*e*-si*O*N ei-sin:

*The seven stars are angels of the seven churches:*

kai hai luchNIai hai hepTA hepTA ek-kl*e*SIai eiSIN.

*and the seven :lampstands are seven churches.*



 *NOTE:* Revelation 1:5b has a significant change in Panin’s Numeric New
Testament. Most versions read “To him who loves us, and washed us from our
sins in his blood;” – *not* so our text, which reads, “To him who loves us
and *loosed* us from our :sins in his :blood;” The Textus Receptus
(Stephanus) and other Greek texts add one letter to this word. Instead of
“LOUsan-ti,” it reads “LUsan-ti,” one letter less.


 Much of our Theology and our hymns are based on this variation. “But is it
that important a variation,” you might ask? Well, let’s look at it from the
first Torah reading following “Simcha Torah,” the “Joy of Torah,” which took
place last Thursday, October 4, or Tishri 22, the last day and great
celebration of the 3 Fall Feasts of the Bible (Blowing of Trumpets, Day of
Atonement and Feast of Tabernacles). Genesis 1:1-6:8 was the first Torah
reading of the New Year last week.


 Now consider Cain and Abel in Genesis 4. Abel obeyed God’s desire and
offered a blood sacrifice, looking forward to the day when Jesus would
fulfill all Old Testament sacrifices by the shedding of His own blood on
Calvary, and effectively reversing all the damage* *Adam did when he
transgressed God’s first command and ate the forbidden fruit from the Tree
of the Knowledge of good and evil. His sin gave entrée to the spirit of
satan to enter the human race. This immediately brought death to the spirit
of all mankind, and subsequently death to the body too. Mankind immediately
moved into a fleshly rather than a spiritual mode, and became self pleasers
rather than *God*-pleasers. Cain clearly demonstrated this drastic shift.


 Jesus: Son of Man and Son of God – showed the exact opposite example. Every
word He spoke – every miracle He performed – were at the *Father's* behest.
He sought to please the Father supremely, *not* His own will. He
*perfectly*fulfilled Revelation 4:11 –
*“**You** **are worthy, our :Lord and :God, to receive the glory and the
honor and the power: because you did create :all **things**, and because of
your :will they were, and were created.”*


 So – though *God* is worthy to be put first in all things, why then do we
put ourselves as individuals of the human race ahead of Him in preference?
Because of the tragedy that the first Adam allowed to happen to us by siding
with satan and letting *his* nature to permeate the race.


 Does God hold us as his progeny responsible for this? No – ten thousand
times no! *that* is why God so loved us that He sent His Son – the
*last*Adam, to restore fellowship between us and Him through His blood
sacrifice
on the Cross of Calvary. Jesus said to the Father in His pre-incarnate state
as quoted in Hebrews –* “Sacrifice and offering you would not, But a body
did you prepare me, **6 **In whole burnt offerings** **and
**sacrifices**for sins you had no pleasure:
**7** Then said I, Lo, I am come (In the roll of **the** book it is written
of me) :To do your :will, **O** :God”* (Hebrews 10:5-7). Mel Gibson grasps
this in his “The Passion of the Christ!”


 There it is! The Father and the Son are agreed in pre-incarnate times! Old
Testament sacrifices are but types and shadows. Abel with all others looked
forward to Jesus the Son of God as the Lamb of God slain from the foundation
of the world. And what Jesus our Messiah, the Son of God did, was to
*loose*us from the bondage of satan at the time of the first Adam’s
sin. Legally
satan has *no right* now over the human race since Calvary. It wasn’t a
“washing” but a *loosing* that took place. 50 days after Calvary came
Pentecost and the Holy Spirit, the very *heredity* of Jesus – entered first
the 120, then the 3000 – and then to us through their children, and
children’s children. And when we receive the Holy Spirit, Jesus fulfills the
Father’s desire to bring *many* *sons* (and daughters) into glory! We become
like Jesus through the gift of the Holy Spirit. Jesus through the Spirit now
lives His victorious life through us in the Sermon on the Mount – and
*all*His commandments. Remember the Great Commission of Matthew
28:18-20 –
*make disciples *from all nations, *baptizing* them, and *teaching* them to
keep *all* My commandments! And think *not* that Jesus’ commandments are but
the “red” words of Jesus in the Gospels! For Paul by the Spirit said in 1
Corinthians 14:37 – “If any think himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let
him take knowledge of what *things* I write you, that it *is* the *Lord's
commandment*.. And that applies also to all other New Testament writers!


 Assuredly the above is *not* milk of the Word, but meat. Neither is the
book of Revelation milk of the Word! *Be loosed* then from the bondage of
sin through the First Adam’s failure, and seize hold of the Blood Sacrifice
of the *Last Adam*, and the New Covenant in His blood! *Then* the Holy
Spirit within will work to appropriate to us *all* the heredity, nature,
victory and beauty of Jesus to live through us *His* overcoming life.
*Then* Galatians
2:20 will have reality. *Then* will *loosing* over washing have
*great*significance. J.A.W.


 *
*

*2010-04-18 - Friends - My apologies.* Like Harry Truman I must say, “The
buck stops here.”

I am occasionally asked to send out with these mailings a document that
seems to the requester to be relevant and needful. I trust that those first
receiving it over the Internet have checked it out with “Snopes” or others.
*But* - that is no excuse. I have no right to accede to such requests
without checking it out myself.


 I recently sent out an addition to a Revelation 1:1-3 mailing entitled -
“In Memoriam” - concerning an action by the University of Kentucky regarding
the Holocaust. This is not true. It first started circulating in 2007 and
has resurfaced a couple of times. Just an email rumor.


 Please forgive my negligence. There is a Latin Proverb for this: -

*Errare humanum est - ignoscere divinum.*

*To err is human - to forgive is divine.*


 This however is not the original proverb, but an adaptation, which police
officers often like to use concerning some criminal cases. The original is:
-

*Errare humanum est - perseverare autem diabolicum.*

*It is human to make mistakes - it is of the devil to continue making them!*

Seneca the Younger - 4 BC to AD 45 wrote this to Nero, who he was mentoring.
Unfortunately, Nero did not heed this wise maxim. I, However, wish to do so,
and invite all others to thoroughly check out emails over the internet
before passing them on. - Chastened - Jim Watt.



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