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 .

Here we see that the greetings is “John” . The prophet John talk with more details as our study progresses .

After greeting we receptors which are the seven churches of Asia are , Roman province called Asia at the time. Today is known as Asia Minor , or is today the country of Turkey .

Chapters 2 and 3 of the book of Revelation identifies by name the seven local churches and each receives a message of eternal application. Here , in a way , is where we You and me. Both the greeting, as subsequent messages , was directed to believers in each of the seven local churches and indirectly also to us believers today today , though we are not part of any of these seven local churches. Then it’s you and me also comes the greeting that brings Juan.

We will now identify the proper greeting . “Grace to you and peace “

Very important this greeting. As we know many ” grace ” means unmerited favor . Peace is a state of mind manifested by peace and quiet , as opposed to the crazy passions disturbed . 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 grace, unmerited favor by which a man is transformed into a new creature with the perfect sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. Second , peace . It is the result of grace. It is the mood of peace and tranquility , as opposed to the embarrassment and passions . If you do not have peace in your life, it is very likely that the reason for this is because you have not been transformed by God through the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ 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 . Is not clear that this is three heavenly characters .

We see the Father ” who is and who was and who is to come” He is the Eternal I am . Which exists for the same for ever and ever the beginning and the end to the Alpha and Omega . Then receive greetings great God Heavenly Father.
      Two . The Holy Spirit . ” 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 , seven spirits of God is showing us perfection of the person of the Holy Spirit and the fullness of his power. The Holy Spirit before the throne of God and 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 . It is our Lord Jesus Christ ” and Jesus Christ is the faithful witness “

Here he talks to another character from eternity has shared the glory with the Father and the Holy Spirit. The Lord Jesus Christ is the Son of God . As Revelation is the revelation of Jesus Christ , it is not surprising that the description of Jesus is the most extensive and detailed .

He is the faithful witness , look like it says in verse 5 ” ” and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness ‘

Jesus Christ is the faithful witness definitely not a faithful witness . No witness has been so faithful as Jesus Christ the son of God . ” 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.

Also presented as ” the firstborn from the dead.” This means that Jesus Christ is the first to receive a resurrected state of glorious immortality body. Thus , of all those who receive glorified bodies in the resurrection Jesus Christ is the most important , 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.

Thirdly , Christ 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 . 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. In this function 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 . “

What a beautiful greeting! with so many truths. You like me who are believers , were loved by the Son. At the time, the Son became flesh and dwelt in this world. He came to his , and his own received him not . In the fullness of time , Jesus Christ was crucified and shed His precious blood that washed us from our sins. Once constituted washes us kings and priests unto God and his Father. In the eyes of men are nothing and therefore the world despises us . But in the eyes of God we are kings and priests. As kings reign together with the King of kings. As priests we can enter as many times as we want and when we want to the throne of the heavenly Father . In thinking about this , all that is left is to express praise and worship to the Son.

That is exactly what John did . Dice : To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever . Amen . It is the Son who sends you greetings . I hope that you feel joyful and lively knowing that the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit have sent greetings .