He who is, was, and is to come
—An overview from Revelation 1:4
The Revelation of Christ (Revelation 1-5) >The Prologue >The Introduction >The doxology
We are thinking about the relevance of the book of Revelation to the modern reader. We've looked at the benediction (word of blessing) and the salutation (word of greeting). Now let's look at the doxology (word of praise).
1 Revelation’s Doxology
Revelation 1:4-7
¶“4...from Him who is, and who was, and who is to come... 5And from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, 6And has made us kings and priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion, for ever and ever, Amen. 7Behold he is coming with clouds, and every eye shall see him... Even so, Amen.” (Revelation 1:4-7).
We will look at this passage again in other lessons, but for now we will consider the first part where Jesus Christ is described as "Him who is, and who was, and who is to come" (Revelation 1:4).
This statement is linked to Jesus’s own claim, "I am the Alpha and the Omega" (Revelation 1:8).
2 The Awesome Authority of Jesus
Consider the following analysis:
him who is This ties in with Jesus saying, "I am..." and it makes Jesus real in your lifetime, right now. He lives, "the firstborn from the dead".
Through Jesus, right now, you are being saved. Jesus today is ruler of all; even of all rulers. Yet he "loves us" and wants to be the close personal friend of everyone, even you.
The living Lord makes your short lifetime meaningful as you serve God faithfully as a royal priest for his glory in his church.
who was This ties in with Jesus being "...the Alpha..." or beginning, and makes Jesus real as you look back over 2000 years to the beginning of the Christian era. Jesus "has freed us from our sins by his blood".
The Son of God, who created the world, who was eternal and in the beginning with God, became flesh and died for your sins. This is what "was" a very long time past, yet it is your hope for reconciliation with God and new life today in the risen Lord. What you believe took place in the past becomes your foundation for living today.
and who is to come This ties in with Jesus being "...the Omega..." or the end, and makes Jesus real as you look to the future when Jesus will come in the clouds.
Jesus will right all wrongs, and you shall have victory. Even if you die, you will be raised to life again so that your eyes may see the glory of the Lord. What you believe about the future, becomes your motivation for living today.
3 Your Wonderful Blessings
You need to be continually reminded of these three things in this doxology. You are wonderfully favoured, forgiven and not forsaken.
- You are favoured by God because Jesus "is" and you are God’s royal priest under his rule.
- You are forgiven by God because Jesus "was" and died for you.
- You are not forsaken by God because Jesus "is to come" and you will see and share his glory.
You must take these things to heart. The book of Revelation was written for this purpose, and this is what the book is essentially about.