Salutations to the seven churches

4 John, to the seven churches which are in Asia : Grace and peace to you 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 from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. At that loved us, and washed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and has made us kings and priests unto God and his Father, to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever . Amen .

The greeting read a very important message for our lives , but what we notice first is the greetings . It begins with the word ” John ”  we  will learn more about John in detail as we go into the study of the book of Revelation , but for now , it is enough to know that it is the apostle John .

After identifying the bearer of greeting, we salute the recipients . ” The seven churches which are in Asia ”

John understands that the greeting is for the seven local churches that were in the Roman province called Asia at that time . This area is now known as Asia Minor , where the modern country of Turkey is located.

Later in the chapters 2 and 3 of the book of Revelation the seven local churches receive a message of eternal application. In a way this is where we You and me. Both the greeting, as subsequent posts , we see that it was addressed to believers in each of the seven churches , a too indirect way to our churches . In these times believers today, though we are not part of any of the seven local churches , we can truly say that the greeting Juan brings us also arrives .

So we know that the greetings are John and greeting receptors are the seven churches . Verse 4 says, “Grace and peace to you ”

This is an important greeting. The word ” grace ” means undeserved please . Peace is a state of mind manifested by peace and quiet , as opposed to the embarrassment and passions and restlessness . Peace of which the Bible speaks is the result of an inner transformation that takes place in the person who trusts in Christ and receive Him as Savior. It is therefore of vital importance the order shown in the greeting .

First the “Grace” , which we know is already the unmerited favor by which a man is transformed into a new creature with the perfect sacrifice of Christ on the cross.

Second, the ” Peace.” It is the result of grace. It is the mood of peace and tranquility , as opposed to the embarrassment and passions and unrest , because if you do not have peace in your life , it is likely that the reason for this is because you have not yet been transformed by God through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. If that is the case, today receive Jesus Christ as Savior and You’ll enjoy the peace that only God can give .

Now , let’s salute the authors . First we see that there are three celestial characters:

Father . In verse 4 says, ” who is and who was and who is to come ”
This is a reference to the heavenly Father . He is Jehovah , the eternal I AM. Which exists by itself . He who has no beginning or end. He whom the passage of time has no effect . He is the same yesterday , today and tomorrow. He who knows the future is like the past. Receive greetings this great character .

Two . The Holy Spirit . At the end of verse 4 says, ” and from the seven spirits who are before his throne ”

This is a symbolic way of speaking of the Holy Spirit in all its fullness. This symbol brings us back in time to the book of the prophet Isaiah , when speaking of the Holy Spirit shows us in his seven functions. It says in Isaiah 11:2 ” rest on him the Spirit of the Lord . Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might , the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord” The number seven is a charged number symbolism . Represents perfection, completeness . When John speaks of seven spirits is showing us the perfection of the person of the Holy Spirit and the fullness of his power. The Holy Spirit before the throne of the Father. The reason is because the Holy Spirit has always been the person of the Trinity has been commissioned to execute the will of the Deity . Receive greetings of this great person .

Three . Christ

We have another character who from eternity past shared the glory with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Indeed , the Son , the Lord Jesus Christ. As Revelation is the revelation of Jesus Christ , it is not surprising that the description of Jesus is the most extensive and detailed .

First, is presented as the faithful witness . The first part of verse 5 says, ” And from Jesus Christ the faithful witness ‘

Jesus Christ is the faithful witness , no witness has been so faithful as Jesus Christ . He is unique . A witness is one who speaks what he saw . That’s what Jesus did in this world. He spoke what he saw . We announced to his Father. His testimony was so faithful , so accurate , to hear Him is like hearing the Father. View He’s like to see the Father . To believe in Him is to believe the Father and certainly reject Him is like rejecting the Father. But also, Jesus Christ is the faithful witness because he was obedient unto death . As the faithful witness, Jesus takes the role of prophet.

Second, is presented as ” the firstborn from the dead.”

That’s what we have there and then in verse 5 . This means that Jesus Christ is the first to receive a resurrected state of glorious immortality body. Therefore, Jesus Christ is the most important among all those who receive glorified bodies at the resurrection , he is the preeminent . As such , at the right hand of the Father pleading for all who believe in him. As firstborn from the dead , Jesus performs the function of a priest.

Third, Jesus is presented as ” the prince of the kings of the earth.”

That ‘s what we have here in verse 5 . The earth has always had powerful men , many of them have become kings of the earth . Above them is someone who is sovereign. This means someone who exercises or has the supreme and independent authority . Learning this is very important because we know that Jesus Christ has all supreme authority. He is someone who is above all , someone great , someone who can never be surpassed. It pays to be greeted by the ruler of the kings of the earth. Here we see Jesus Christ in his role of King . The first three characteristics we have Jesus Christ as prophet, priest and king. But the description of the Son does not stop here .

We are introduced to Jesus Christ as our Savior Fourth . Revelation 1: from the last part of verse 5 and verse 6 says , “Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins by his blood and made ​​us kings and priests unto God and his Father, to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen . ”

How beautiful to know that the King of Kings, the ruler of the supreme justice love us so that give us eternal life he gave his blood gave his life for you and for me and not just the died for us but also constituted us kings priests unto God and his father .

There will be nothing before the eyes of men and therefore the world we despise . But in the eyes of God are kings and priests , and as kings we reign together with the King of kings and as priests we can enter as many times as we want and when we want to the throne of the heavenly Father .

The truth that just thinking about this, all that is left is to express praise and worship to the Son.

That is exactly what John did : To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever . Amen . It is the Son who sends you greetings . Enjoy this blessing of knowing that the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit have sent you greetings.