Revelation Chapter 1
VERSE 4 continued, “John, to the seven churches which 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…”
FROM HIM WHO IS AND WHO WAS AND WHO IS TO COME
“Wherever it is found, the appellative clause “which is [in the present]…which was [in the past]…which is to come [will ever be in the future]” exclusively designates the Supreme Deity, the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY. God is the Eternal One, who always was and ever will be, “He that inhabits eternity,” “from everlasting to everlasting,” without beginning or ending of days (Psa. 90:2; 106:48; Isa. 57:15).
Essential being is stated first (“him which is”), then time past, followed by time to come. This emphasis harmonizes with Jehovah’s declaration to Moses in respect to His being the “I AM” (Exod. 3:14).”
“This is Yahweh and is consistently used throughout the book as a description of Him. NOTE that the three verbs are NOT in chronological order. The first one is IS. This is the equivalent of the great "I AM". It is no accident that this verb is mentioned first.
If the phrase said “from Him Who WAS, IS, AND IS TO COME”, it would misconstrue the existence of the Father.
WAS is past; but even though the Father is from everlasting, there is nothing PAST about Him. He simply IS.
The next two parts of the description (in its correct order), then, are not to tell us about His past and future, but rather about what He has done IN THE PAST and WILL DO IN THE FUTURE for us, the seven Churches. To elaborate on the meaning of the phrase, we could say, “from Him who is the "I AM," Who prepared for us before we were here, and who will direct the future events for us also.”
The phrase “who is to come” refers not to the Second Advent of Christ but to the abiding nature of God.
The Master admits this title does not apply in his own case, for there existed a time when he was not.
“I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.” (Rev 1:18)
He says that he is NOW the “living one" —one who has gained immortality; but he WAS DEAD; but this death was forever overcome.)
In short, Yahweh IS; but to add to our confidence, He tells us that He has been in control BEFORE we were here, and WILL BE in control while we sleep in death and after we awaken.
AND FROM THE SEVEN SPIRITS
Comfort and consolation of the Holy Spirit emanate or “proceeds from the Father” to those destined to be His children (John 15:26). This gift of the Father is in harmony with Jesus’ promise to his disciples prior to his departure and ascension to heaven at his First Advent (John 16:13). Although there is only one Holy Spirit, there are diversities in its operation (1 Cor. 12:4, 8–13). In this text of Revelation, the Holy Spirit is spoken of as “seven Spirits.”
This loving provision for SEVEN outpourings of the Holy Spirit is further evidence of God’s tender care for His Church. The seven Spirits are figuratively portrayed as sentinels “before his throne,” that is, as emissaries of Jehovah sent to aid and enlighten the Church (John 14:16, 17; 15:26). Stated another way, God’s intention is to distribute SEVEN dispensations of the Holy Spirit upon the Church during the Gospel Age. SEVEN separate, successive, timely messages would be sent from heaven, largely dispensational in character, to guide the Church during the seven stages of its chronological development.
How carefully and wisely the Heavenly Father foresaw and considered the interests of all His people! He knew what suffering, ignominy, shame, and sorrow would be inflicted on His beloved children all through the Gospel Age. His omniscient eye foresaw the fagot, the torch, the rack, and the thousand refinements of cruelty with which satanic ingenuity would fight the Church on her journey through this wilderness to the Promised Land. These glimpses of Jehovah’s character show how true were the Master’s words to his disciples: “The Father himself loves you” (John 16:27).”
WHO ARE BEFORE HIS THRONE
A position of service is what this phrase symbolizes. The Holy Spirit is the immediate and unquestioning respondent to the will of God.
..................................................................................................................................................................................
NOTE: You will note from some of what is quoted that some brethren refer to the Father as Jehovah while others as Yahweh and etc., this according to their own personal understanding and preference, I myself prefer to just use the word God when referring to the Father and Lord or Jesus Christ when referring to the Son. I find it’s best not to get all worked up over how an individual chooses to address the Father or the Son (as some are inclined to do) this only side tracks them and prevents them from receiving the intended message.
We will continue on to Verse 5 in our next post.
VERSE 4 continued, “John, to the seven churches which 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…”
FROM HIM WHO IS AND WHO WAS AND WHO IS TO COME
“Wherever it is found, the appellative clause “which is [in the present]…which was [in the past]…which is to come [will ever be in the future]” exclusively designates the Supreme Deity, the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY. God is the Eternal One, who always was and ever will be, “He that inhabits eternity,” “from everlasting to everlasting,” without beginning or ending of days (Psa. 90:2; 106:48; Isa. 57:15).
Essential being is stated first (“him which is”), then time past, followed by time to come. This emphasis harmonizes with Jehovah’s declaration to Moses in respect to His being the “I AM” (Exod. 3:14).”
“This is Yahweh and is consistently used throughout the book as a description of Him. NOTE that the three verbs are NOT in chronological order. The first one is IS. This is the equivalent of the great "I AM". It is no accident that this verb is mentioned first.
If the phrase said “from Him Who WAS, IS, AND IS TO COME”, it would misconstrue the existence of the Father.
WAS is past; but even though the Father is from everlasting, there is nothing PAST about Him. He simply IS.
The next two parts of the description (in its correct order), then, are not to tell us about His past and future, but rather about what He has done IN THE PAST and WILL DO IN THE FUTURE for us, the seven Churches. To elaborate on the meaning of the phrase, we could say, “from Him who is the "I AM," Who prepared for us before we were here, and who will direct the future events for us also.”
The phrase “who is to come” refers not to the Second Advent of Christ but to the abiding nature of God.
The Master admits this title does not apply in his own case, for there existed a time when he was not.
“I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.” (Rev 1:18)
He says that he is NOW the “living one" —one who has gained immortality; but he WAS DEAD; but this death was forever overcome.)
In short, Yahweh IS; but to add to our confidence, He tells us that He has been in control BEFORE we were here, and WILL BE in control while we sleep in death and after we awaken.
AND FROM THE SEVEN SPIRITS
Comfort and consolation of the Holy Spirit emanate or “proceeds from the Father” to those destined to be His children (John 15:26). This gift of the Father is in harmony with Jesus’ promise to his disciples prior to his departure and ascension to heaven at his First Advent (John 16:13). Although there is only one Holy Spirit, there are diversities in its operation (1 Cor. 12:4, 8–13). In this text of Revelation, the Holy Spirit is spoken of as “seven Spirits.”
This loving provision for SEVEN outpourings of the Holy Spirit is further evidence of God’s tender care for His Church. The seven Spirits are figuratively portrayed as sentinels “before his throne,” that is, as emissaries of Jehovah sent to aid and enlighten the Church (John 14:16, 17; 15:26). Stated another way, God’s intention is to distribute SEVEN dispensations of the Holy Spirit upon the Church during the Gospel Age. SEVEN separate, successive, timely messages would be sent from heaven, largely dispensational in character, to guide the Church during the seven stages of its chronological development.
How carefully and wisely the Heavenly Father foresaw and considered the interests of all His people! He knew what suffering, ignominy, shame, and sorrow would be inflicted on His beloved children all through the Gospel Age. His omniscient eye foresaw the fagot, the torch, the rack, and the thousand refinements of cruelty with which satanic ingenuity would fight the Church on her journey through this wilderness to the Promised Land. These glimpses of Jehovah’s character show how true were the Master’s words to his disciples: “The Father himself loves you” (John 16:27).”
WHO ARE BEFORE HIS THRONE
A position of service is what this phrase symbolizes. The Holy Spirit is the immediate and unquestioning respondent to the will of God.
..................................................................................................................................................................................
NOTE: You will note from some of what is quoted that some brethren refer to the Father as Jehovah while others as Yahweh and etc., this according to their own personal understanding and preference, I myself prefer to just use the word God when referring to the Father and Lord or Jesus Christ when referring to the Son. I find it’s best not to get all worked up over how an individual chooses to address the Father or the Son (as some are inclined to do) this only side tracks them and prevents them from receiving the intended message.
We will continue on to Verse 5 in our next post.
