02.02. LECTURE No. 2 -- Rev_1:4-8
LECTURE No. 2 -- Revelation 1:4-8
Why Study the Book of Revelation - Universal War Prophesied - A Divine Salutation to the Churches - A Message for Us
I KNOW some people will say: Why study the Book of Revelation? We answered this question in Chapter one.
First of all it should be studied-
(1) BECAUSE Current Events justify, and demand a study of this last book of the Bible, so that we may understand clearly, IN ADVANCE, just what the end of the present POLITICAL, INDUSTRIAL, RELIGIOUS and MILITARY strife throughout the world will be.
God knew the end from the beginning, and in this wonderful book of prophecy He has caused much NEEDED LIGHT and TRUTH to be written for our instruction, upon whom, the end of the age has come! NEXT we should study this book-
(2) BECAUSE: “All Scripture is given by inspiration and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction in righteousness.”
Again we should study this book-
(3) BECAUSE it reveals the risen and exalted Christ unto us, in His relation to things IN HEAVEN and UPON EARTH in a more complete and comprehensive way than any other book in the Bible.
And last of all we should study this book-
(4) BECAUSE: a SPECIAL BLESSING is pronounced upon all who READ and HEAR the words of prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein.” The Importance of Prophecy
I am sure that few people realize the IMPORTANCE OF PROPHECY in the Scriptures.
The first prophecy in the Bible was the promise of a Saviour, or Redeemer, who would come to bruise the serpent’s head, as recorded in Genesis 3:15.
Ever since then, prophecy has played a necessary and a very important part in the Scriptures, by revealing, IN ADVANCE, to all who will believe the Word of God, the important world events which must come to pass, in keeping with God’s plan of redemption for the world.
THE IMPORTANCE OF PROPHECY is revealed in 2 Peter 1:19-21, where, Peter speaking upon the subject of CHRIST’S SECOND COMING, said:
“We have also a more sure word of prophecy, whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:
“Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man; but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” The Ethiopian Situation When the Ethiopian situation arose some time ago, and Mussolini marched with his legions into that country and conquered it, it was an IMPORTANT EVENT IN WORLD HISTORY! Why? Because the prophets had spoken of these things in the Word of God!
EZEKIEL HAD PROPHESIED, in Ezekiel 30:1-4, saying:
“The Word of God came again unto me saying, Son of man, prophesy and say, Thus saith the Lord God; Howl ye, Woe worth the day!
“For the day is near, even the day of the Lord is near, a cloudy day; it shall be the time of the heathen,
“And the sword shall come upon Egypt, and great pain shall be in Ethiopia, when the slain shall fall in Egypt, and they shall take away her multitude, and her foundations shall be broken down.
“Ethiopia, and Libya, and Lydia, and all the mingled people, and Chub, and the men of the land that is in league, shall fall with them by the sword.”
From these words we had the right to judge, that when GREAT PAIN SHOULD COME UPON ETHIOPIA, the day of the Lord would be near! And that it would be the time of the nations! And that FIRST ETHIOPIA and THEN OTHERS would fall.
Prophecies Are Being Fulfilled
These things, my friends, should impress us with the fact that important prophesies are being fulfilled before our very eyes. Prophesies are being fulfilled IN EUROPE, and in PALESTINE, and in RUSSIA and in THE FAR EAST!
And let me tell you right now that, while every effort is being made by the Statesmen of the world to prevent the war from spreading, there is not a nation on earth, or league, or group of nations that can keep this war in check if God’s time for it to happen has arrived.
Universal War!
Let us remind you that UNIVERSAL WAR, and not UNIVERSAL PEACE, has been prophesied in the Scriptures as THE SIGN of the end of this age.
JOEL PROPHESIED in Joel 3:9-14, saying:
“Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty man, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up:
“Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into spears; let the weak say, I am strong,
“Assemble yourselves, and come, all ye heathen, and gather yourselves together round about: thither cause thy mighty ones to come down, O Lord,
“Let the heathen be awakened, and come up to the Valley of Jehoshaphat: and there will I sit to judge all the heathen round about.
“Put ye in the sickle, for the harvest is ripe; come get you down; for the press is full, the fats overflow; for their wickedness is great.
“Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.”
JEREMIAH ALSO PROPHESIED of universal conflict in Jeremiah 25:31-33, where it says:
“A noise shall come even to the ends of the earth, for the Lord hath a controversy with the nations, He will plead with all flesh; He will give them that are wicked to the sword, saith the Lord.
“Thus saith the Lord of Hosts, Behold, evil shall go forth from nation to nation, and a great whirlwind (or tribulation) shall be raised up from the coasts of the earth,
“And the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth; they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground.”
THE PROPHET DANIEL also foretold of a time of trouble in Daniel 12:1, where it says:
“And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time; and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.” AND JESUS, THE GREATEST PROPHET of all the prophets, prophesied in Matthew 24:6-8, saying:
“And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars, see that ye be not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet,
“For nation shall rise against nation, and Kingdom against Kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes in divers places.
“All these are the beginnings of sorrows:”
And so we see that we have the COMBINED TESTIMONY of the PROPHETS that a time of world trouble is coming. It is foolish, therefore for wicked men in their unbelief, to cry “Peace, peace, when there is no peace.” For in 1 Thessalonians 5:3, it says “For when they shall say peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them as travail upon a woman with child and they shall not escape.”
General Outline Nothing, my friends, is going to help us into an understanding of these things like a study of the Book of Revelation.
Revelation 1:1-20, Revelation 2:1-29, Revelation 3:1-22 are rather introductory in nature, and necessarily so. But Revelation 4:1-11, Revelation 5:1-14, Revelation 6:1-17, Revelation 7:1-17 Revelation 8:1-13, Revelation 9:1-21, Revelation 10:1-11, Revelation 11:1-19, Revelation 12:1-17, Revelation 13:1-18, Revelation 14:1-20, Revelation 15:1-8, Revelation 16:1-21, Revelation 17:1-18, Revelation 18:1-24, Revelation 19:1-21, we have given a PROPHETIC FOREVIEW of those events which will take place during THE GREAT TRIBULATION PERIOD spoken of by Daniel, in Daniel 12:1, and by our Lord in Matthew 24:21-22.
The closing chapters have to do with THE NEW THINGS which will come to pass when the awful time of Tribulation is ended.
In our preceding message we studied only the INTRODUCTION of the book of Revelation, which gave us an understanding of the ORIGIN and NATURE of the book, and impressed us with the EXTREME value of the MATERIAL and MESSAGE which the book contains. The Salutation
Now in this lecture we will at least begin our study of the GREAT SALUTATION of the book, recorded in Revelation 1:4-8, where it says:
“John to the seven churches which are in Asia; Grace be unto you, and peace, from Him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before the Throne;
“And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the Prince of the Kings of the earth. Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood,
“And hath made us Kings and Priests unto God and His Father; to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever, Amen.
“BEHOLD, HE COMETH WITH CLOUDS; and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him; and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him. Even so, Amen.
“I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.”
Here, my friends, in very beautiful expressive and very forceful language, you have a very SOLEMN SALUTATION to the seven churches here addressed.
In this passage reference is made to the DIVINE TRINITY, with special reference made TO CHRIST, who is the CENTRAL SUBJECT of the entire Book of Revelation.
In this salutation we have also a PROPHECY that Christ will come again in the clouds of heaven!
In brief, my friends, in this wonderful salutation to the Seven Churches, we have an OUTLINE, or SYNOPSIS, of the entire Book of Revelation. We would do well, therefore, to study it carefully, for it is, (as it were) an index of what we are about to study in the chapters which follow. To Whom Addressed First of all, let us notice TO WHOM the contents of this entire book were addressed.
Revelation 1:4 says: “John to THE SEVEN CHURCHES which are in Asia.” These were literal Churches in Asia Minor at that time, and were chosen to receive these messages, no doubt, because they were REPRESENTATIVE OF ALL CHURCHES throughout the entire Church age.
The first thing which the aged Apostle was caused to invoke upon them was GRACE and PEACE. In this regard there is no question but what GRACE WAS NEEDED, and that PEACE also was desired by all of the seven Churches addressed.
GRACE, my friends, is defined as-
(1) Unmerited favor;
(2) Unbought love, and (3) Undeserved mercy.
And that was exactly what those churches needed, and must have, if they were to continue in their work and service for the Lord, as our later studies will reveal.
It speaks ALSO OF PEACE!
Peace, my friends, is both the DESIRE and THE GOAL of all of our lives! It is the GOD GIVEN REWARD for our faith, and is the GRAND CLIMAX of all our struggles in this life. Truly, it is the SUPREME REWARD for all our painful endeavor in this world of sin and sorrow! And how few people ever find real peace.
Now, where were grace and peace upon those Churches to come from? According to this salutation they were to come from: “Him which is, and which was, and which is to come.” In other words; they were to come from GOD THE FATHER, for He is the one who occupies, all time, PAST, PRESENT and FUTURE!
FROM WHOM ELSE were GRACE and PEACE to come from? According to our text they were to come also “from the Seven Spirits which are before the throne.”
What can be the meaning of this strange expression?
The general interpretation here is, that by THE SEVEN SPIRITS it means, the COMPOSITE FULLNESS of THE HOLY SPIRIT OF GOD. Reason for this belief is based upon such passages as Isaiah 11:1-2, where it speaks of Christ, saying: “And the SPIRIT OF THE LORD shall rest upon Him, the SPIRIT OF WISDOM, and UNDERSTANDING, the Spirit of COUNSEL and MIGHT, the Spirit of KNOWLEDGE and of FEAR of the Lord.”
These Seven Spirits mentioned here we know make up the fullness of the NATURE and PERSON and WORK of the Holy Spirit of God! Therefore, it is generally accepted that these are the Seven Spirits spoken of in Revelation 1:4 as being BEFORE HIS THRONE!
Therefore we may say that God’s GRACE and PEACE invoked upon the seven Churches in Asia was to come from (or we might say) proceed FROM THE HOLY SPIRIT, which was before God’s Throne, as well as from GOD THE FATHER.
But that was not all! GRACE and PEACE upon the Churches was to come also “FROM JESUS CHRIST, who is the FAITHFUL WITNESS, and the FIRST BEGOTTEN OF THE DEAD, and the PRINCE OF THE KINGS OF THE EARTH.”
Therefore, my friends, we see that GRACE and PEACE upon those Seven Churches, and upon ALL CHURCHES during this age, must come to us from the triune God, as revealed in the salutation of this book, i. e.-
(1) From GOD THE FATHER, who inhabits all time.
(2) From THE HOLY SPIRIT before His Throne, who works with all wisdom and power,
(3) And from JESUS CHRIST, who gave Himself IN LOVE and SUFFERING and SACRIFICE upon the Cross in order that GRACE and PEACE might come to our hearts as a result of the supreme sacrifice which He made for us when He shed His Blood upon the Cross, to make an atonement for our sins!
~ end of lecture 2 ~