God's Gift and Assurance from Revelation

Scripture Verses that caught my attention today: Revelation 1:4-6 John to the seven churches that are in Asia:
Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Observation: the beginning of Revelation is as important, as the end. These early verses in chapter one set the tone for the whole book. They tell us:

1. who the book is written to (the seven churches that are in Asia—in the time of John which would have been the 1st century AD)
2. what is offered (Grace and peace)
3. who the book is ultimately from (God, the seven spirits, and Jesus himself)
4. what this God does and has done (loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood)
5. what we are called to be (part of a kingdom, priests serving God)

Points 3 & 4, like points 1 & 2, were originally addressed to the people of John’s day 20 centuries ago.

Application: When I looked up the readings for today I thought to myself, “ah…time for Revelation again.” It’s a mixed bag. It’s not really one of my favorite books by any means. I can certainly understand why Martin Luther wasn’t too fond of it being in the Bible to begin with. On the other hand, since much of the evangelical world is fascinated (and at times seemingly fixated) on this last book of the Bible, it’s interesting to explore it periodically myself.

I was struck today by point #2 above: grace and peace are offered to the readers of this book. And this grace and peace come from God who, through Christ, has already set us free and has given us a mission.

Somehow I suspect that, if one were to take a poll of what thoughts first come to mind when the book of Revelation is mentioned, hardly anyone would blurt out “grace and peace.” Yet right after we see who the book is written to we find out what they are being offered—grace and peace! Or, to put it in other terms, they are offered both gift (grace) and assurance (peace).

Often I begin my sermons with the words “Grace to you and peace from God our father and from our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.” Yet until now I don’t think even I had fully considered the implication of these words.

Grace (gift) and peace (assurance) is like getting a gift with a lifetime warranty. It’s a gift that comes without worry.

Truth be told, Revelation will reveal some little worries. There will be persecutions to varying degrees. Yet such struggles cannot compare with the opportunity to eat from the tree of life. The people of John’s day were given both gift and assurance. So have we.

Prayer: Lord, thank you for the gift and assurance you offer. It’s far more than we deserve and more than we could ever dream of. Yet you have swept up in each of them. We are most certainly blessed. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

(Readings today included: revelation 1-4)