Scripture Text (NRSV)
1:4b 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,
1:5 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,
1:6 and made us to be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father,
to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
1:7 Look! He is coming with the clouds; every eye will see him, even
those who pierced him; and on his account all the tribes of the earth
will wail. So it is to be. Amen.
1:8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, who is and who
was and who is to come, the Almighty.
Comments:
The book of Revelation recounts a vision of the risen Christ
experienced by a Christian prophet named John. Here he describes
Christ as the faithful witness, or martyr; firstborn of the dead;
ruler in a kingdom of priests; the one who comes; the beginning and
the end of all time.
This Easter season will include several readings from the book of
Revelation. The readings will bear witness to the transforming power
of God's saving acts: all things will be made new. This introduction
names Jesus as a faithful witness to this power, as the one who
reveals its presence.
"To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood..."
Aahh! I could not wait to write this down. I had a dream last night.
For the past few days, I went into moral lapse and give in to
temptation. Last night I went to a Bible study. I had some time with
my prayer partner, and I confessed my condition to him. He prayed for
me. This morning I woke up, feeling so restored and forgiven. In my
dream, I saw myself being called upon to publicly share about myself
and how God forgave me.
Father God, thank you so much for loving me and freeing me from my sin
by your blood.
I wish that all preachers and bible teachers would understand this
particular set of verses. He will come back, or we will meet with him
face to face and have account for our thoughts and motives for what we
have done in this life.
I'm not sure exactly of how I'll approach this, but I believe that I
will use the current election "debacle" to assert the need for a
benevolent dictatorship that can only be found through the Lord Jesus
Christ in the kingdom to come. While all of this is rather nebulous
right now, my main points would be: 1. The Priesthood; 2. The Promise
(of His return) and; 3. The Pronouncement (of about Himself). Any
insights?
Willimon looks at Revelation and sees a letter to a persecuted church
in the midst of terrible times. This pericope, he says, is a hymn of
praise, set right at the beginning of the letter. He suggests that
that's how we need to approach life in the midst of terrible things
that face us: by starting with the proclamation that God's power of
grace will prevail. Unless we have confidence in that, we won't be
prepared for the bad stuff. I think that's an interesting bridge into
Advent. MTSOfan
Oooo, thanks MTSOfan - that's a good start. I decided on this pericope
because our bulletin cover and our choir anthem both converged upon
"Lo, He Comes With Clouds Descending!" There's a hymn in the UM hymnal
(718) with that name also - some beautiful words: "those who set at
naught and sold him, pierced and nailed him to the tree, deeply
wailing, deeply wailing, deeply wailing shall the true Messiah see."
Any good ideas from the Interpretation commentary? I loaned my copy to
a Sunday School class friend.
Isn't the sentence "So it is to be" neat? A nice collection of
two-letter words.
kbc in cold at last sc
Does anybody know of a poem with the line "We will know him when he
comes"?
kbc in sc again
Hi all.
Note to "kbc in cold at last sc."
Our hymn book (The Lutheran Book of Worship) has the last line of the
verse you quoted as follows:
"Those who set at naught and sold him, pierced and nailed him to the
tree, deeply wailing, deeply wailing, deeply wailing shall THEIR true
Messiah see."
Personally, I like this version. It reminds me of something I read
(sorry, can't remember the source), which roughly said, "If we cannot
say WE have killed him, we cannot say he has risen FOR US."
Rick in (suddenly white!) Canada, eh?
I am serving two churches. One is having their annual youth Sunday.
The other has an average worship of about 10 and is coming face to
face with the probability of closing within the next year or two. I am
preparing a sermon for the latter congregation using the Revelation
text, and I think this is a great opportunity to address their
specific situation (while only having to write one sermon this week).
The average age in this congregation is about 70, and the members are
tired and most are limited in their physical abilities.
Therefore, I am leaning toward an emphasis on the one “who is, who was
and who is to come.” (There is an obvious tie in to Heb 13:8, where
Jesus is described as being “the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.”
I don’t know whether or not I’m going use the Heb text or not.)
While I am trying to help the congregation through the seemingly
terminal state of their church, I also want to keep their focus on
serving God, not on the decline of their congregation.
Any ideas, suggestions, or illustrations that might bring hope and/or
perseverance to these struggling Christians?
Charley in NETx
In answer to the unsigned entry: Willimon writes in the periodical,
"Pulpit Resource." MTSOfan
kbc: Thanks for the hymn reference; I'm U.M. and I'll check it out. I
haven't consulted Eugene Boring yet (Interpretation). I'll let you
know if I find any gems! MTSOfan
I hope this hymn that I wrote might help those looking for something
to suit this occasion. God’s Blessings on you all in this time the end
of the Christian year (and Christian millenium?)
"I am Alpha and Omega" sung to Hyfrydol (I Will Sing the Wondrous
Story) by Rev Dr Peter Oliver 2000
As we cross the years’ new thresholds Let’s give thanks for days gone
by - Sometimes blessings, sometimes hardship, Trusting God with every
“Why?”
CHORUS I am Alpha and Omega He who is and was, will come I am Alpha
and Omega End and beginning in God’s son.
Here and now we are together, Drawn by threads of faithfulness,
Weaving joyfully our praises, Mending tears where there’s distress.
As we look into the future God alone is our real hope. Transformations
will surprise us, Changing us beyond our scope.
Now is time within God’s presence History’s page is blessing past
Trust in God to hold the future Find that Christ is first and last.
My title came easily for me this week: "A Cosmic Christ in a Flesh and
Blood World." I will be talking about how a change in our perspective
- looking upon the "pierced" one as the reigning one - makes a big
difference in how we deal with our flesh and blood issues. The pierced
one knows our flesh and blood existence, but he is now the exalted one
who offers us hope. -Dale in Chattanooga
Note about Dr. William Williman: This was good advice. I refer to his
work often. Good work MTSOfan (John)
A beautiful hymn. Thanks for sharing it!
To kbc in sc: I think the poem you refer to was made into an anthem:
"Thou Shalt Know Him when He Comes>" Published about 10 years ago.
Perhaps the difference in the first two words will help you find it. I
want to say Jane Marshall or Natalie Sleeth set it to music. Shalom,
revrobk
