8. A DEVOTED PERSON REV. 1:4-8 part 8

THE MESSENGER                  John

THE MEETINGS                     to the seven churches, which are in Asia

THE MASTER

GOD THE SOVEREIGN    grace and peace, from Him, which is, 

                                                       and which was, and which is to come; 

THE MASTER                          and (grace and peace)

GOD THE SPIRIT               from the seven Spirits which are before His throne

THE MASTER V.5

     GOD THE SON                    and (grace and peace) from Jesus Christ,

Jesus Christ is described as prophet, priest and prince.  The word “prince” at first appearance looks less then a King.  The word is rendered ruler in the ESV.  It is the Greek word “archon” which means total authority.

THE PROPHET

       HE’S RELIABLE              who is the faithful witness,

He is our only reliable communicator.  He’s never wheedled or finagled in His expressions to gain popularity or praise.  He didn’t minimize His words to blur reality.  His message clarifies mysteries, releases treasures and discloses the issues of life.  As prophet He is unswerving, unfailing, unshakeable and unfailing.  He lets us know who we are without Him in our life and how rich we are in receiving Him into our heart.

AS PROPHET HE MAGNIFIES

Acts 10:43 to him give all the prophets witness

His message is clear: Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be delivered Joel 2:32

There is no greater message then to magnify God and the great deliverance He provides in Jesus.

The greatest spiritual revival of all time has not yet taken place. We learn about it in Revelation 7, which says that enormous multitudes will be saved as a result of the witness of the 144,000 Hebrew evangelists.  A fresh outpouring of the Spirit will energize this revival.  In Acts 2 we see a partial fulfillment of the prophecy of Joel when Peter preached.

This deliverance of the outpouring of the Spirit is still available to all as we call on the Lord in faith.

Our faithful witness reveals His message:

Worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophesy. Rev. 19:10

The true purpose of prophecy is to bear testimony to the Person and work of Jesus. “Prophecy,” says C. C. Ryrie, “is designed to unfold the loveliness of Jesus.” 

It’s amazing that John, who had a deep relationship with Jesus, would need a corrective rebuke.  He had lost focus and was worshipping the wrong person.  We are in danger of the same mistakes of placing value on the wrong things and extending positions of worth to the wrong persons.