Revealing RevelationSample

God in Three Persons – Blessed Trinity
Grace and peace are offered to the recipients of the letter first from the Eternal One—the Father who is, who was, and who is to come. Then, the greetings are given from the Holy Spirit. He is described as the seven Spirits who are before the throne of the Father. Finally, we come to the Son, placed in the third position of this mini-hymn of praise. He is described as the Faithful Witness, the Firstborn from among the dead, the Ruler of the kings of the earth, the Lover of our souls, the Washer of our sins, the Enthroner of kings and the consecrator of priests.

“I Will Return”
The Lord knew that reassurance was needed, so that was exactly what He gave:

“Behold, He is coming from the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen” (Rev 1:7).

The event promised in Revelation 1 is the second coming of Christ. That is when He returns to bring judgment upon the world and to set up His kingdom, which He will rule from His throne in Jerusalem. While that is certainly a time to anticipate, the blessed hope of the church is not the second coming. The rapture is our “go time.” At the second coming, we will be on the clouds with Jesus.

The Beginning and the End
The phrase “Alpha and Omega” is used three times in the book of Revelation. The first two can be speaking of either the Father or the Son, but the third is most definitely a statement coming from Jesus the Son.

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty” (Revelation 1:8).

“Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to everyone according to his work. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last (Rev. 22:12–13).

“I am the First and the Last. 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. 1:17–18).

What Is the Church?
The church is not a building or a religion or a denomination. The church is made up of the people who have received Jesus as their Lord and Savior. At times the church is spoken of as the “body of Christ” (1 Cor. 12:27) and at other as “the bride” of Christ or the Lamb (Rev. 21:9). If we have been promised to Christ as His bride, then until the day of the marriage feast (Rev. 19), we are in our engagement period. The Spirit inside us is the token of our engagement to our Bridegroom, the Lord Jesus Christ.