The Nicene Creed

The Nicene Creed

I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father before all worlds; God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God; begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made.

Who, for us men and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary, and was made man; and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried; and the third day He rose again, according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father; and He shall come again, with glory, to judge the quick and the dead; whose kingdom shall have no end.

And I believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of Life; who proceeds from the Father and the Son; who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified; who spoke by the prophets.

And I believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins; and I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

FORGIVING

"Forgiveness is related to our willingness to forgive. Unless you have forgiven others you read your own death warrant when you repeat the Lord's prayer." C. H. Spurgeon

"Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors" was Jesus' instruction for prayer. (Matthew 6:12)

Paul wrote: "as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive". (Colossians 3:13)

JOHN'S VISION OF JESUS - Revelation 1:9-12

The Appearance of Jesus with Glory
1:12-20

In the midst of the lamp stands was one “like a son of man”. This is an allusion to Daniel 7:13. There, Daniel saw one like a son of man who appeared before the Ancient of Days, or God the Father. The Father gave Jesus the Son dominion, glory and an everlasting kingdom, and decreed that all should serve him. At the time Jesus appears to John, he has received this kingdom and dominion. Therefore, he does not appear as the humble, Jewish man John knew on earth, but as a powerful and glorious king.

Before analyzing the parts of Jesus's appearance, take in the whole. What does it show? It shows Jesus with power and glory, the hight priest of the church, ministering to the churches, purging sin and punishing those who persecute the church.

The vision is not to show us what Jesus looks like, but who he is!

John described Jesus as wearing a long robe with a golden sash around his chest. (13) His hair was very white, his eyes like flames, and his feet like bronze. His voice was like the sound of many waters.

The robe and sash show Jesus acting as a priest tending to the churches. HIs clothing and his appearance resemble that of a man in Daniel’s vision in Daniel 10. His appearance was so overwhelming that Daniel fell to the ground.

The description of his hair is the same as Daniel’s description of the Ancient of Days (God the Father) in Daniel 7:9. His voice was like a the roar of many waters. This again reflects Daniel’s description and the divine appearance to Ezekiel in Ezekiel 1:24.

His voice is powerful and overwhelming. The language comes from Ezekiel. Daniel also described his voice as that of a multitude.

His eyes of flame are symbols of Christ’s role as judge.

All of these attributes show us that Christ is portrayed as God. He is deity. He is our high priest, as we learned in Hebrews and he is eternal and powerful.

I, JOHN - Revelation 1:9-11

I, John
1:9-11

John identified himself the 2nd time in verse 9. In verse 4, he just recites his name. But here he describes himself in several ways:
brother;
partner in the tribulation;
partner in the kingdom that is in Jesus; and
partner in the patient endurance that is in Jesus.

John identified himself as a fellow believer with his audience in Asia. He is a brother and a partner in the kingdom that is in Jesus. Again we see John speak of the kingdom of Christ as a present reality.

John is also a partner in the tribulation. This tells us that persecution and suffering had already come to the churches of Asia. More was on the way. John had suffered along with them. John remembered what Jesus told him: “In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) I do not think John is writing of a great tribulation at the end of time, but of the tribulation that already occurred in persecution and harassment by government and people against Christians. Paul spoke of his suffering for the gospel. He was imprisoned and finally executed. He said “remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal.” (2 Timothy 2:8) James spoke of suffering trials. (James 1:2)

But John is also a partner in the patient endurance that is in Jesus. The main theme of Revelation is that Christ is triumphant over all his enemies and will conquer them in due time. But a strong sub-theme is the need for patient endurance by the church. I found this stated 14 times in the book.

John also tells his readers he was on the island called Patmos when he received the vision. He was there because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. Patmos is an island off the coast of Turkey. It was used to exile those who were disruptive to Roman order. Evidently, John’s preaching of the Word and this testimony as a witness to the life, death and resurrection of Jesus upset the locals. It could also be that John preached against Christians participating in emperor worship. That would definitely have upset things.

This brings us to the question of the date Revelation was written. This question is relevant to the idea of the tribulation to which John refers. Most scholars believe the date to be about 95 A.D. There are some who believe the date to be right before the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. The later date places the time of writing during the reign of Domitian as emperor of the Roman Empire. Domitian’s father, Vespasian, became emperor in 69 A.D. His son, Titus, Domitian’s older brother, because emperor in 79 when Vespasian died. Titus died in 81 A.D. Domitian became emperor and ruled for 15 years, until 96 A.D. Domitian was very interested in Roman religion and morals. He built the temple of Jupiter and the Temple of Vespasian and Titus. Domitian’s favorite deity was Minerva. He kept a personal shrine to her and put her image on coins.

Domitian also revived the imperial cult. He deified his father and brother. Eusebius of Caesarea, a church historian, wrote that Domitian persecuted Christians toward the end of his reign. It is believed that Domitian exiled John to Patmos.

Exile did not prevent John from worshipping. On the Lord’s Day, on Sunday, he was “in the Spirit”. This is similar to the visions of Ezekiel, whose visions began with the Spirit taking him to a place and showing him things. It was during John”s communion with the Lord that Jesus appeared to him. Jesus appeared behind John and spoke to him with a loud voice, so loud it sounded like a trumpet. He told John to write down what he would see in the vision and send it to the 7 churches of Asia.

The loud voice of Jesus is a symbol of power. It had the sound of a trumpet, signaling an important message. This symbol was used in the Old Testament also. When God came to Mount Sinai to give the covenant, there was a very loud trumpet blast, so loud it made all the people tremble. (Exodus 19:16)

When John turned to face the voice, he saw 7 golden lamp stands. This makes us think of Zechariah 4. There, Zechariah saw a lamp stand with 7 lamps. This is the type of lamp that was in the temple. It was a symbol of the temple, as the Lord told Zechariah that the temple would be rebuilt by the returned exiles even though the rebuilding had stopped for a time. The lamps represented the Spirit. The Lord told Zechariah that the temple would not be build by might or power, but by the Spirit. Similarly, then, the seven lamp stands stand for the church. Later we are told that the seven lamp stand represent the seven churches of Asia. But the number 7 leads us to believe it stands for the church as a whole. And the Spirit is building the church into the new temple of God.

REVELATION 1:4-8: The Greeting (expanded)

The Greeting
1:4-8

This greeting follows the form of letters of the time. First, the author identifies himself. Paul’s letters typically start with the word “Paul”. The greeting of this letter starts with the word “John”. Later, in verse 9, he says he is a brother and a partner in the tribulation and the kingdom. He identifies with them as a believer who is also suffering tribulation. Tradition has it that the writer is John the disciple of Jesus. But, in a greater since, since John is relating what he saw and was given, this is a letter from Jesus to churches in first century Asia.

John addressed the letter specifically to the seven churches in Asia. Jesus will address all seven churches. By Asia, John means western Turkey. He will name them in verse 9. The churches are identified by their cities: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea. These are real cities and had real churches with real people who were members.

The fact that there are 7 churches is significant. The number 7 will occur throughout the book. It is a number that is symbolic of completeness in the Bible. So, although 7 churches are specifically mentioned, the message would have meaning for all the Asian churches and even all churches.

The Greek and Roman invasions made evangelism possible in Asia. The Greeks provided a common language and a culture open to new ideas. The Romans built roads for travel, kept things safe, and provided common citizenship. Paul, in particular, benefitted from his Roman citizenship.

The greeting extended comes through John from God. Specifically, it comes from the triune God. I have heard people tell me there is no specific reference to the trinity in the New Testament. Well, here is one.

First is God the Father. He is the “him who was and who is to come”. (4) This is a statement of the eternal nature of God. He existed before he created the world. That is what “in the beginning, God” means. (Genesis 1:1) He will exist after this creation is destroyed and made new. That is a point of hope for us. There is nothing above God. He is creator; all else is creation.

The greeting is also from the seven spirits who are before the throne. (4) This is a reference to the Holy Spirit. The number 7 represents fullness. The Holy Spirit is sufficient to guide and strengthen believers to endure temptation and persecution.

The language here refers to Zechariah 4, where Zechariah sees a vision of 7 lamps on a gold lamp stand. Zechariah was a prophet called by God to urge the Israelites to finish the temple and the city. An angel showed the vision of the lamps to Zechariah, then said the famous words of God: not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit says the LORD.” He went on to say the temple would be built. In other words the Spirit would accomplish the building of thhe Spirit is sufficient for the task of building and preserving the church in tribulation.

And finally, the greeting comes from God the Son. He is identified as Jesus Christ, Jesus we temple where the strength of men could not He was sufficient for the task. Similar, tho is the anointed one, the messiah. He is the faithful witness also. When he was personally persecuted, he was faithful to the gospel. He will be faithful to strengthen us as we go through tribulation. He is also the firstborn from the dead. This is a reference to his resurrection and to our future resurrection. This is a reflection of Psalm 89:26-37 in which the Messiah cries out to God and God says “And I will make him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of heaven”.

The New Testament picked up the concept as well. 1 Corinthians 15:20 calls Jesus the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. First fruits were the first of many to come in the harvest. Jesus was the first of many to be resurrected. Colossians 1:18 also calls him the “firstborn of the dead”. Persecutors may kill our bodies, but Jesus will raise them and glorify them for eternity. He proved this in his own resurrection. This is our hope!

This title also speaks to the special position Of Jesus as a result o his resurrection. He is the one who will be on the throne of David forever. (2 Samuel 7:13)

Lastly, Jesus is referred to as the ruler of the kings on earth. No matter how powerful a ruler lives on earth, including the devil, Jesus rules him. There are some who say the kingdom does not come until the millennium. But Revelation says Jesus even now is king. The writer of Hebrews said “But of the son he says, your throne of God, is forever and ever, and the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom”. (Hebrews 1:8)

At the mention of the greatness of Jesus, John broke into praise. This is verses 5-7. Praise and worship will be a continual theme in the letter.

John gave two more descriptions of Jesus. He is the one who freed us from our sins by his blood. Jesus’ death on the cross brought our salvation and our freedom from sin.

Lastly, Jesus is the one who made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father. Again, we have a kingdom now. We also have a role as priests to God. Believers enjoy access to God. Once that was reserved for the Jewish priests, but now all who believe have this great privilege. After God delivered Israel from Egypt, he told them, if they entered into covenant with him, he would make them a kingdom of priests. (Exodus 19:6) In fact, Moses dedicated Israel by sprinkling blood on them, just as Aaron dedicated his sons as priests. The Israelites were to witness of Yahweh to the Gentiles in their role of priests. Israel failed in its role. Christ has now made believers priests. Peter said the same thing, calling us a “royal priesthood”. (1 Peter 2:9) Believers today have a command to witness to Jesus to the nations. (Matthew 28:18-20)

Why did Jesus, and Peter, use these words for the church that God used of Israel? It is because the church now has that role.

John’s praise is to ascribe eternal glory and dominion to Jesus. He will reign for all eternity. He will also have glory for all eternity. Jesus will also return to earth. He will come on the clouds, a symbol of his diety. Everyone will see him on the earth. Those who have not believed in him will wail, for he will come in judgment. This is an allusion to Daniel 7:13-14:
“I saw in the night vision
and behold, with the clouds of heaven
there came one like a son of man,
and he came to the Ancient of Days
and was presented before him.
And to him was given dominion
and glory and a kingdom,
that all peoples, nations, and languages
should serve him;
his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away.”

and an allusion to Zechariah 12:10

Zechariah 12:10 says:
“And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.

John changed the wording of Zechariah 12:10, though, by adding “all the tribes of the earth” from Zechariah 14:17 instead of “the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem”. I think he did it to show us Jesus will not be seen just by Jews, but by believers from all over the earth. They will “wail” or “mourn” on account of him. This is often said to mean that lost people on earth will wail when he appears. But the context of Zechariah 12 is God’s people repenting. Jesus said “blessed are those who mourn”. (Matthew 5:4) He was speaking of life in the new kingdom and the fact that those who live a life of repentance will be blessed. They will receive God’s favor.

The very last statement of the greeting is from God himself. He declared his eternity by calling himself the alpha and omega, the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. He is presently, he in the past and he will be forever. And through all eternity, he is the Almighty. No one is stronger than he. He will live forever to consummate his plans for us and has the power to do so. This was a good reminder for first century Asian Christians and it is a good reminder for us.

REVELATION 1: the prologue and greeting

The Prologue
1:1-3

A prologue is an introduction to a literary work. It explains what the work is about. Here, John tells us some things about this letter.

First, this is a revelation of Jesus Christ. The word translated as “revelation” is the Greek word “apocalypsis”. It means the removal of a veil or other covering to disclose what lies behind it. Consider Matthew 10:26, which says “So have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known”. The word “revealed” is a translation of the Greek word “apocalypsis". There may also be an allusion here to Daniel 2:28. There Daniel said “there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries and he had made known to King Nebuchadnezzar what will be in the latter days”. Nebuchadnezzar was shown things that would happen in the “latter days”, the distant future to Daniel. But John will be shown things that will happen soon for John and the churches in Asia. Although some of the visions will stretch out over human history, some of the events will happen near to the time of John’s writing. In verse 3, John says “the time is near”. At the end of the letter, John says he saw things we must take place soon. (22:6-7)

So, we see that the purpose of this letter is to reveal Jesus Christ to his servants. (v.1) His servants were the people in the churches in Asia. We can benefit from this revealing also, of course. It is important to note that the purpose of the letter is not to hide the truth about Jesus, but to reveal it, to make it known. Much will be shown in symbols, but they were understandable to John and the Asian Christians. The thing we are going to see is that Jesus is no longer the suffering servant, but the reigning king who will destroy all of his enemies

Second, this prologue tells us how the revelation came to be. God the Father gave it to Jesus Christ the son. Jesus made it know to his servants by sending it to his servant, John. John bore witness to all he saw. The reason John refers to what he saw rather than what he was told, is that this revealing will come to him in a vision. He will see things and relate them to his readers.

Third, there is a blessing. This letter was to be circulated among the churches. It would be read aloud. Therefore, John says blessed is he who reads aloud and blessed are those who hear and keep it. They are blessed, at least in part, because it will prepare them for things that will happen soon. John says the words of the letter are a prophecy. A prophecy is a vision of the future with an exhortation to faithfulness. This letter will show hard times to come upon the church and show the need for faithfulness to endure it. Persecution may be martyrdom. Christians need to prepare for that so that they may endure it in faithfulness. Seduction leads to defilement. Christians need to prepare to resist it. Satan works through both. He did in John’s day and he does in ours.

John will see the devil behind the events of Revelation. The devil is the ultimate enemy of the church. John calls him the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan. You recognize the allusion to the serpent in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3), who enticed Adam to sin. In chapters 12-19, we will see the beast from the sea bring a physical assault on the church, and we will see the beast from the land bring spiritual deception and the harlot who brings material seduction.

The Greeting
1:4-8

This greeting follows the form of letters of the time. First, the author identifies himself. Paul’s letters typically start with the word “Paul”. The greeting of this letter starts with the word “John”. Later, in verse 9, he says he is a brother and a partner in the tribulation and the kingdom. He identifies with them as a believer who is also suffering tribulation. Tradition has it that the writer is John the disciple of Jesus. But, in a greater since, since John is relating what he saw and was given, this is a letter from Jesus to churches in first century Asia.

John addressed the letter specifically to the seven churches in Asia. Jesus will address all seven churches. By Asia, John means western Turkey. He will name them in verse 9. The churches are identified by their cities: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadephia and Laodicea. These are real cities and had real churches with real people who were members.

The greeting extended comes through John from God. Specifically, it comes from the triune God. I have heard people tell me there is no specific reference to the trinity in the New Testament. Well, here is one. First is God the Father. He is the “him who was and who is to come”. (4) This is a statement of the eternal nature of God.

The greeting is also from the seven spirits who are before the throne. (4) This is a reference to the Holy Spirit. The number 7 represents fullness. The Holy Spirit is sufficient to guide and strengthen believers to endure temptation and persecution.

And finally, the greeting comes from God the Son. He is identified as Jesus Christ, Jesus who is the anointed one, the messiah. He is the faithful witness also. When he was personally persecuted, he was faithful to the gospel. He will be faithful to strengthen us as we go through tribulation. He is also the firstborn from the dead. This is a reference to his resurrection and to our future resurrection. This is a reflection of Psalm 89:26 in which the Messiah cries out to God and God says “And I will make him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of heaven”. The New Testament picked up the concept as well. 1 Corinthians 15:20 calls Jesus the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep. First fruits were the first of many to come in the harvest. Jesus was the first of many to be resurrected. Colossians 1:18 also calls him the “firstborn of the dead”. Persecutors may kill our bodies, but Jesus will raise them and glorify them for eternity. He proved this in his own resurrection. This is our hope!

Lastly, Jesus is referred to as the ruler of the kings on earth. No matter how powerful a ruler lives on earth, including the devil, Jesus rules him. There are some who say the kingdom does not come until the millennium. But Revelation says Jesus even now is king. The writer of Hebrews said “But of the son he says, your throne of God, is forever and ever, and the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom”. (Hebrews 1:8)

At the mention of the greatness of Jesus, John broke into praise. This is verses 5-7. Praise and worship will be a continual theme in the letter.

John gave two more descriptions of Jesus. He is the one who freed us from our sins by his blood. Jesus’ death on the cross brought our salvation and our freedom from sin. Lastly, Jesus is the one who made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father. Again, we have a kingdom now. We also have a role as priests to God. Believers enjoy access to God. Once that was reserved for the Jewish priests, but now all who believe have this great privilege.

John’s praise is to ascribe eternal glory and dominion to Jesus. He will reign for all eternity. He will also have glory for all eternity. Jesus will also return to earth. He will come on the clouds, a symbol of his diety. Everyone will see him on the earth. Those who have not believed in him will wail, for he will come in judgment. This is an allusion to Daniel 7:13-14:
“I saw in the night vision
and behold, with the clouds of heaven
there came one like a son of man,
and he came to the Ancient of Days
and was presented before him.
And to him was given dominion
and glory and a kingdom,
that all peoples, nations, and languages
should serve him;
his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away.”

Zechariah 12:10 says:
“And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.

The very last statement of the greeting is from God himself. He declared his eternity by calling himself the alpha and omega, the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. He is presently, he in the past and he will be forever. And through all eternity, he is the Almighty. No one is stronger than he. He will live forever to consummate his plans for us and has the power to do so. This was a good reminder for first century Asian Christians and it is a good reminder for us.

Holiness

There can be only one purpose response to grace: a life of grateful holiness. Derek Thomas.