The Strand Study Bible

REVELATION

2142

Written From the Island of Patmos

Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins in Are We Living in the End Times? add:

As I explain in my commentary Revelation Illustrated and Made Plain , the seven churches profiled in Revelation 2-3 furnish us with a picture of the church throughout history. Each of the seven churches represents a different era in church history. Laodicea, the final church in the series, illustrates what the church will be like just before the Rapture occurs. 2 As we look at these seven letters in the book of Revelation, it is helpful to remember two things about them: First, they are a picture of seven kinds of churches that you find in any age, in any period of history. Every church in the world today will fall into one or more of these categories of churches. We fit into one of these ourselves. The second thing is the prophetic nature of these letters. They are a preview of the entire age of the church, falling into seven periods, from the first coming of our Lord to his second appearing. 3

Ray C. Stedman in Thyatira: The Worldly Church agrees. He notes:

1:4b Grace and peace comes from all three persons within the Triune Godhead: FATHER ( from HIM which is, and which was, and which is to come ) HOLY SPIRIT ( and from the seven SPIRITS which are before his throne ) SON ( And from JESUS CHRIST )

NOTE - There is one NA M E ( Mt 28:19 c ) for one God in three persons (I Jn 5:7). Not only is the very idea of a “compound Trinity” common in Hebrew thought and reflected for us in the very first verse of the Bible ( Gen 1:1 c ), but our early Church fathers (such as, Tertullian, Hemas, and Justin Martyr) upheld this biblical doctrine as well. Tertullian in a refutation of Praxeas wrote:

If the number of the Trinity also offends you, as if it were not connected to simple unity, I ask you how it is possible for a Being who is merely and absolutely One and Singular, to speak in plural phrase, saying, "Let us make man in our own image, and after our own likeness;" whereas He ought to have said, "Let me make man in my own image and after my own likeness…” 4

1:5 This verse answers the question as to " who is " the CHRIST ? Jesus is seen here in His three-fold office as: prophet ( faithful witness - Deut 18:15,18,19/Acts 3:22-23 and Jn 1:19-21 & 7:40-41), king ( prince - Zeph 3:15/Mt 2:1-4 & 22:41-46 & 27:42, Jn 1:49 & 12:13, I Tim 6 :14- 15b , Heb 1:13 and Rev 19:16), and priest ( Him that washed us - Psa 110:1-4/ Heb 5:5-6 & 6:20 & 7 :1- 3 ,14-28). W.H. Griffith Thomas in How We Got Our Bible notes:

There is a striking connection between the Old Testament and the New beyond the general unity mentioned above. The Old Testament emphasizes the three aspects of the divine Saviour; the prophet, the priest, and the king. These answer to the three deepest necessities of man. He requires a prophet to reveal God; a priest to redeem from sin; and a king to rule his life for God. Each of these is emphasized in the Old Testament, and in general can be associated with sections of its books. The New Testament fitly shows how this threefold need is met in Christ as Prophet, Priest, and King; revealing, redeeming, and ruling. 5

1:6 Written some sixty years after Jesus died on Calvary for our sins, John here is not saying that Jesus has a God ( GOD and His FATHER ), as some cults teach ( Jn 20:17c ). The FATHER , the SON , and the HOLY SPIRIT are three distinct, co-eternal persons, called the Godhead ( Gen 1:1c , 26a , Deut 6:4 and Rom 1:20b ). They are all equally God and each O N E is worthy of our worship ( Jn 4:20-25 & 9:35-38 and Acts 5:4 ). What John is emphasizing here is the enormous “eternal” price that Christ was willing to pay in order to save us. According to Matthew 27:46 , Mark 15:34a and I Corinthians 15:28 , Jesus was willing to give up certain aspects of his eternal authority with the FIRST and THIRD Persons of the Triune Godhead and forever place Himself in a lower order (rank) under them as a part of the eternal price He was willing to pay for us on Calvary. 1:8 This title “ ALPHA AND OMEGA ” is found three times in Revelation and is assigned to both CHRIST (Rev 1:8 & 22:13) and the FATHER (Rev 21:6). Henry Gariepy in 100 Portraits Of Christ notes: Thus here Christ assumes a title which God used in reference to Himself, rendering this title a witness to the divinity of Christ. Deity alone could make such a claim as this title asserts. 6 NOTE – Each title and name given to CHRIST reveals some unique aspect of His person and His purpose. Note some of the titles and names ascribed to Jesus throughout the Books of the Bible: 1. ADVOCATE - I Jn 2:1 2. ALPHA AND OMEGA - Rev 1:8 3. AMEN - Rev 3:14 4. ANGEL - Gen 24:7,40 & 48:16/Dan 3:24-28, Exo 23:20-23, Num 20:16, I Ki 19:5-7, I Chro 21:15-30, II Chro 32:21, Eccl 5:6, Dan 6:22, Hos 12:4, Zech 1:9,13,14,19 & 2:3 & 3:3 & 4:1,4-5 & 5:5,10 & 6:4-5 (Gal 4:14 and Exo 3:1-14/Jn 8:24,58) 5. ANGEL OF GOD - Gen 21:17-18 & 31:11-13 (Gal 4:14) 6. ANGEL OF THE LORD/LORD ( Jehovah ) GOD ( El ) - Gen 16:7-13 (Exo 3:1-14/Jn 8:24,58) ANGEL OF THE LORD/LORD ( Jehovah ) GOD ( Elohim ) - Exo 3:1-7 (Jn 8:24,58) ANGEL OF THE LORD/LORD ( Awdone ) LORD ( Jehovah ) - Judg 6:11-14 (Exo 3:1-14/Jn 8:24,58) ANGEL OF THE LORD - II Sam 24:16, I Ki 19:5-7, II Ki 1:1-4,15 & 19:35, I Chro 21:15-30, Psa 34:7 & 35:5, Isa 37:36, Zech 1:11 & 3:1,5-6 & 12:8 (Exo 3:1-14/Jn 8:24,58) 7. ANGEL OF HIS PRESENCE - Isa 63:9 (Exo 3:1-14/Jn 8:24,58) 8. ANOINTED - I Sam 2:10,35, Psa 2:2 (Mt 16:16)