"John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace, from him which is and which was and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne; and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loveth us, and loosed us from our sins by his blood;and he made us to be a kingdom, to be priests unto his God and Father; to him be the glory and the dominion for ever and ever. Amen.Behold, he cometh with the clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they which pierced him; and all the tribes of the earth shall mourn over him. Even so, Amen. I am the Alpha and the Omega, saith the Lord God, which is and which was and which is to come, the Almighty." - (Rev 1:4-8)(Revised Version)

Anybody familiar with the structure of a scientific paper or thesis is aware of something called an "Abstract" which precedes the main document. In the abstract, the core argument or premise of the document is stated or summarized to enable the reader to understand the idea behind it. In this weeks passage, verses 4-8 provide a similar function, but as is customary of the apostle John and the Holy Spirit, they do it with such truly remarkable economy and depth, that there is no doubt that the text is inspired! Let us look at the components one by one...

1. It is addressed specifically to seven churches which are in Asia (Asia minor today). This document is intended, as we saw last week, for Christians! This was done, as we will see later, by express commandment of the Lord, including the churches were to be addressed. It did not include other churches/congregations that were also existing at the time e.g. Colossae, Galatia, Thessalonica etc. This does not mean that they were not to read it - the number seven, signifying completeness in the scripture, indicates to us that these churches were chosen as being representative and symbolizing christianity worldwide. The electoral college - as it were. This is a message to all Christians for all ages.

2. The object of God's mission to man through the church is given next. First - Grace, and then Peace. Through sovereign Grace mankind is enabled to have peace with God, instead of enduring His wrath. This has been His mission from the Garden of Eden. Peace with man through His Grace!

3. It introduces us to the Person(s) from whom this comes. A pattern of 3 is begun here, and we will see this continued throughout this passage - very visible once you see it, but its easy to miss if you are just skimming it. Three persons are mentioned here, but they are united in one, who is characterized by his existence in the three dimensions of time - Present(IS), Past(WAS), and future (IS TO COME), and He is listed first, followed by the Holy Spirit (the seven Spirits before His throne), and then Jesus Christ.

4.It is unusual to see the Holy Spirit spoken of as "seven Spirits", and there are commentators who have surmised that some persons other than Him are in view here, but when you look at the context in which they are referenced (the Trinity that offer grace and peace) we hope that you will agree with us that it is He who is being spoken of. Isaiah 11:2 gives us a hint into His 7 fold nature - (1) the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of (2)wisdom and (3)understanding, the spirit of (4)counsel and (5)might, the spirit of (6)knowledge and of the (7)fear of the LORD; His Seven-fold operations in man are (1) conviction - reprove the world of sin (2) convince us of righteousness by revealing Christ (3) seal us by giving us our new birth (4) sanctify us (5) comfort us (6) teach us (7) Intercede for us. He is ever present in His operations in the World, moving upon the waters at creation and going to and fro over the earth. (See also Rev 5:6, Zec 3:9, Zec 4:10) There are other hints of this seven fold-ness when you see the fruits of the Spirit - there is much more to say, but we cannot do it justice here! Suffice it to say that His seven-foldness shows us that He is completely and fully God!

5. Last but not least we see the three fold ministry of Christ - In His human incarnation He "was" (1) the faithful witness - not speaking of Himself but of the Father. (2) After His ministry was ended - He became ("is") the firstborn of the dead, and (3) "is to come" to be ruler of the kings of the earth.

6. His Threefold blessings to the church are then listed - (1) He loves us. First and foremost, and this is in the present tense forever! He has, does, and will ever love us - and it is from this that everything springs! (2) He has loosed us from our captivity to sin by His own blood .. and (3) made us a kingdom of priests to His God and Father. This was the original design for Israel, and is the destination of the church! Oh what a richness of blessings we have here! Indeed He is worthy to be glorified and to have a dominion for ever and ever - for He has done all these things FOR us - not ONE of them is due to our merit!

7. Next, the prophecy is itself summarized, both as a promise of a future event, as well as pointing back to a promise made in the Old Testament. He is coming with the clouds. Christ Himself told the Jewish High priests this...these were His last words to them! (Mat 26:64, Mar 14:62), but it was prophesied in Zechariah even before this - "And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication; and they shall look unto me whom they have pierced: and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn." This is what this book is going to tell us about - and God is showing us that this is not new news.. He has told us this before! As the angels said to the disciples in the Acts 1, He is coming back the way He has gone - with the clouds!

We see the pattern of 3 repeated here.. He is coming with the clouds, everyone (including those who pierced Him) will see Him, and everyone will mourn.

8. The abstract concludes with a reminder, that this is about Gods plan from beginning to end - Alpha to Omega. Created and fulfilled by the only one who sees the end from the beginning, who IS the origin and destination of ALL things, and who has been and will be the same for all eternity! All powerful, and able to do what He has promised !

We have only sketched out in broad brush strokes what is an ocean of meditation in just 5 verses, and we encourage you to think and meditate on not just the content of what has been said, but also to marvel at the economy and beauty of expression here! Hallelujah!