The God who is

After some 13 years of study I published my commentary on Revelation in the NICNT series. After another 20 years I revised if for a second edition. In that interim period more than 60 commentaries on Revelation (in English alone) were published. In preparation for the second edition I read, or at least in some cases skimmed, all of them. One can’t help but think that among all this material on the last book of the New Testament there would be one that dealt with the devotional impact of John’s writing. To the best of my knowledge there is no such book. So what I plan to do now is to write a series of posts on the book of Revelation that show the heart of the apostle as he writes of end times. They will not appear sequentially but be interspersed with devotional insights from other parts of the New Testament.

 
 
         I need to remind you, the reader, that this series of posts on the book of Revelation is not a miniature commentary. What I’ll be doing is to reflect on various issues in the ancient writing that go beyond the information they provide to interact with what is being said. It’s the difference between getting directions to grandma’s house and sitting with her on the porch for a lengthy chat about past and present. While the two may overlap I’ll try to stay on the swing and enjoy the chitchat with that honorable member of the extended family.
         Grandma wants me to know about the triune God who has been worshipped not simply for the 2,000 years since Jesus was crucified just outside of Jerusalem, but ever since the beginning when Adam and Eve took that fateful bite. One thing about the one we call Father is that he is; that’s it, “He is.” Strange statement, I know, but how else can you name one who always was, always is, and always will be all at the same time? He doesn’t pass through time like we do, but simultaneously exists in all three at the same time. What is the benefit of that, you ask, and I can’t come up with a quick answer except to say that (1) that’s why he can’t forget – he is always there), (2) he knows the future – because that’s where he is right now, and (3) the present is rich and meaningful because it includes all that has happened and all that will happen.
         Since we know that the second person of his triune being is the Holy Spirit how else should we understand the “seven spirits” who, along with Christ, make up the triune source for the “grace and peace” so generously extended to that little group of Palestinian believers? Then there is Jesus!. The text says he made us “a kingdom and priests” who would carry out the sacred duties of worshipping his God and Father. Is it not remarkable that this triune being stepped into time as a lowly Galilean and died for our sins. We were “freed from our sins by his blood.” And our section ends with “to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.”
         It is clear that in the book of Revelation we enter a literary genre that calls for a different approach. It is the same God, however, the same triune One who is also Son and Holy Spirit. How does man communicate with a being so far removed – the One who is at home in realms unknown to us? We are blessed in that has God planned from the beginning that all who would put their faith in the redemptive work of his Son and begin to speak the “language of heaven” (not tongues necessarily, but with a mind and heart wide open) would, upon leaving this realm, sing and praise forever the glories of the one and only God