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Scripture Reading: Rev. 1:1-8
We want to stress again that our fellowship is concerning God’s New Testament economy. This is God’s divine arrangement, divine family plan, or divine household administration. In the divine life God has a family, and this family is unique, universal, and eternal. In the New Testament this great, divine family is called the household of God (Eph. 2:19). In this household of God there is a divine arrangement, administration, or dispensation. God’s family arrangement, God’s household administration or dispensation, is to dispense, to distribute, and to impart Himself into His chosen and redeemed people. The Greek word for dispensation is oikonomia, composed of oikos, meaning “house” and nomos, meaning “law.” God chose His people in eternity and redeemed His people in time for the purpose of dispensing Himself into them. We have seen that God’s economy is fully revealed and developed in the twenty-seven books of the New Testament, and this economy is focused on one all-inclusive person, who is excellent, marvelous, mysterious, and wonderful. This is why Isaiah 9:6 tells us that His name is called Wonderful Counselor.
The book of Revelation is the conclusion of the revelation concerning Jesus Christ in the Bible. In this book of twenty-two chapters is vision after vision concerning Christ. The first vision concerning Christ shows Christ as the High Priest walking in the midst of the seven golden lampstands. In this vision Christ is revealed and described in a very extraordinary way. In this vision Christ does not have merely two eyes but seven eyes (5:6). The disciples in the four Gospels never saw a Christ with seven eyes. John did not see such a Christ in the four Gospels, but in Revelation he did.
The Christ in Revelation is a “different” Christ from that in the four Gospels. I do not believe in another Christ, but I do believe in a “different” Christ. The Christ in the four Gospels had only two eyes, but the Christ in Revelation has seven eyes. Logically speaking, this Christ in Revelation is different from the One in the Gospels. In addition, Revelation 1:16 tells us that “out of His mouth proceeded a sharp two-edged sword.” In the four Gospels words of grace proceeded out of His mouth (Luke 4:22), but in Revelation a sharp two-edged sword proceeded out of His mouth. This is His discerning, judging, and slaying word (Heb. 4:12; Eph. 6:17) for His dealing with negative persons and things. Again, this shows that the Christ in Revelation is different from the One revealed in the four Gospels. In the four Gospels, John was reclining on Jesus’ bosom (John 13:23). In the book of Revelation, however, when John saw such a Christ, he fell at His feet as dead; he was full of fear (1:17). Christ as the High Priest in Revelation 1 also holds seven stars in His right hand (v. 20), and His feet are like “shining bronze, as having been fired in a furnace” (v. 15). Revelation 1:14 also tells us that “His head and hair are as white as white wool, as snow.” Probably in our past none of us ever heard a sermon that Christ, our Redeemer, has seven eyes and that His eyes are like a flame of fire (v. 14). We always heard messages telling us that Jesus is very loving, but we must realize that this One also has seven eyes for Him to observe and search for His judging by enlightening. We all need to see the vision concerning Christ in Revelation 1.
In the book of Revelation we still have the old revelation of Christ. In John 1:29 John the Baptist declared, “Behold, the Lamb of God.” In Revelation the Lamb is also mentioned many times. The revelation concerning Jesus Christ in this book is all-inclusive; it has new and old aspects. If we put all these aspects together, we will have a clear view of this all-inclusive revelation of Jesus Christ (1:1), new and old, as a conclusion of the entire Scripture (2 Tim. 3:16).
Also, the Divine Trinity in this last book of the New Testament has a new sequence (1:4-7; cf. Matt. 28:19). Matthew 28:19 refers us to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The sequence of the Trinity in Revelation 1, however, is not only changed but also very complicated. Revelation 1:4-7 says, “Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is coming, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, 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 has released us from our sins by His blood and made us a kingdom, priests to His God and Father, to Him be the glory and the might forever and ever. Amen. Behold, He comes with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the land will mourn over Him. Yes, amen.”
Him who is and who was and who is coming is God the eternal Father. This title refers to the Old Testament title of Jehovah. Jehovah is the great I Am; He is the One who is, who was, and who shall be. In Exodus 3 the great I Am told Moses that He is the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob (vv. 14-15). Jehovah is the God of the grandfather, the God of the father, and the God of the grandson — the Triune God. The One who is and who was and who is coming is the Father, yet this One also denotes the great I Am, Jehovah, the Triune God. Some may ask, “How could the Father be the Triune God, since the Triune God is the entire God, and the Father is only one-third?” The thought of today’s theology is that the entire God is divided into three parts — the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. Many of us subconsciously hold this concept. The description of the title given to the first of the Divine Trinity in Revelation, however, is Him who is and who was and who is coming. The threefold predicate used for the first of the Divine Trinity implies and even indicates the Divine Trinity. This definitely refers to the great I Am, Jehovah, in Exodus 3. The great I Am in Exodus 3 is the Triune God — the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Jehovah is the Triune God, the entire God. How could the entire God in Revelation be the first of the Triune God? This shows the mystery of the Triune God, and it also shows that it is not easy to study the holy Word or to study our infinite, eternal God. Our finite minds are incapable of fully understanding Him.
The seven Spirits who are before God’s throne are the operating Spirit of God, God the Spirit. Now we must ask whether the Spirit of God is one or seven. He is the sevenfold intensified Spirit. For what purpose, though, is He intensified? Many Christians try to avoid studying the last book of the Bible. They say that it is too hard to understand and that we should not try to understand it. The complete Bible has been in the hands of the Lord’s children since A.D. 397. As Christians, we all should love this book and attempt to study it. If we are to understand the Bible, we surely have to understand the conclusion of the Bible, the conclusion of the entire divine revelation. We cannot take Revelation 1:4-7 for granted. Why has the sequence of the Divine Trinity in these verses changed and become so complicated as compared to Matthew 28:19? Even though this is hard to understand, we must find out the significance. It is not logical for us to skip over these verses by using the excuse that we are too limited to understand them.
The seven Spirits are undoubtedly the Spirit of God, because They are ranked among the Triune God in Revelation 1:4 and 5. As seven is the number for completion in God’s operation, so the seven Spirits must be for God’s move on the earth. In substance and existence God’s Spirit is one; in the intensified function and work of God’s operation God’s Spirit is sevenfold. It is like the lampstand in Zechariah 4:2. In existence it is one lampstand, but in function it is seven lamps. At the time the book of Revelation was written, the church had become degraded; the age was dark. Therefore, the sevenfold intensified Spirit of God was needed for God’s move and work on the earth.
The seven Spirits of God are listed in the second place instead of the third. This reveals the importance of the intensified function of the sevenfold Spirit of God. This point is confirmed by the repeated emphasis on the Spirit’s speaking in 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22; 14:13; and 22:17. At the opening of the other Epistles, only the Father and the Son are mentioned, from whom grace and peace are given to the receivers. Here, however, the Spirit is also included, from whom grace and peace are imparted to the churches. This also signifies the crucial need for the Spirit for God’s move to counteract the degradation of the church. Revelation 1:4 tells us that the seven Spirits are before the throne of God. This modifier, “before His throne,” indicates why God the Spirit has become seven and who these seven Spirits are.
Thus far, we have seen that in these verses the Father is designated as Him who is and who was and who is coming, and the Spirit is used in plural as the seven Spirits. Furthermore, the third of the Trinity is not designated as the Son but as Jesus Christ. The two names Jesus and Christ as a compound name bear a tremendous amount of significance. Who is Jesus, and who is Christ? Actually, a ten-day conference would not be adequate to describe who Jesus and Christ are. To God He is the faithful Witness, and to the church He is the Firstborn of the dead because it was through Him as the Firstborn from the dead that we all were resurrected and reborn to produce the church. To the world He is the Ruler of the kings of the earth. In addition, this One loves us and has accomplished redemption for us by shedding His blood, which washes us and cleanses us from all our sins. He also made us a kingdom, and this kingdom is the priesthood. The kingdom is for God’s dominion, and the priesthood is for God’s expression, which fulfills the purpose of God’s creation of man in Genesis 1:26. Eventually, He comes with the clouds.
Concerning the first of the Divine Trinity, we see three modifiers — who is, who was, and who is coming. Concerning the second of the Divine Trinity in Revelation, the seven Spirits, is the modifier, “before His throne.” For the third of the Divine Trinity, Jesus Christ, there are the modifiers: the faithful Witness; the Firstborn of the dead; the Ruler of the kings of the earth; and Him who loves us, who has released us from our sins, who made us a kingdom and priests to His God and Father, and who comes. All these modifiers are used to modify the three of the Godhead and indicate that the Divine Trinity in Revelation is not the essential Trinity but the economical Trinity. The essential Trinity refers to God’s existence. In God’s existence, the Father, the Son, and the Spirit coexist and coinhere from eternity to eternity. There is no modifier needed for the essential Trinity. The book of Revelation, however, does not touch the existence of the Trinity but the economy of the Trinity. According to God’s economy, the Father is the One who is now, who was in the past, and who will be in the future. These modifiers indicate economy. Also, in God’s existence the Spirit of God is one, but in God’s economy the Spirit of God is seven in function. Essentially, God’s Spirit in existence is one, but economically, God’s Spirit had to be intensified to fulfill His function to carry out God’s economy. In essence God the Son is just the Son, but in God’s economy He is Jesus, Christ, the faithful Witness, the Firstborn of the dead, the Ruler of the kings of the earth, the One who loves us and has released us from our sins by His blood, the One who has made us a kingdom, priests to His God and Father, and the One who comes to execute God’s final government. All these modifiers do not refer to the existence of the Son but to the Son in God’s economy, in God’s move, in God’s actions. The sequence of every modifier of the Son in Revelation 1:5-7 is related to God’s move, God’s economy. Again, Revelation does not touch the divine essence of the Trinity but the divine economy of the Trinity. The throne of God in the book of Revelation is the center of God’s administration. God’s throne is seen in Revelation to administrate God’s eternal purpose. This is altogether a matter of God’s economy.
In God’s essence the Trinity is simply the Father, the Son, and the Spirit. In God’s economy, though, the Trinity is complicated. Also, in God’s essence the Father is first, the Son is second, and the Spirit is third. In God’s economy, however, the Spirit comes before God the Son. The Spirit carries out God’s administration and infuses and searches the churches. In the four Gospels the Son was more present than the Spirit, but in Revelation the Spirit is more present than the Son, so the Spirit comes before the Son in the sequence of the economical Trinity in Revelation 1. The Trinity in Matthew 28 is the Trinity of God’s existence, the essential Trinity, and the Trinity in Revelation is the Trinity in God’s economy, the economical Trinity.
Some may argue, however, that the first designation of the Father refers to existence since it indicates Him who is, who was, and who will be. To be means to exist. In Exodus 3, however, God is not referred to as the One who is, who was, and who will be. He is referred to as “I AM WHO I AM,” the great I Am. This, undoubtedly, purely denotes God’s existence. God is the One who is, the great I Am. However, when Revelation 1:4 refers to Him who is and who was and who is coming, this denotes some activities. God was there in eternity past, in creation, and with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; He is now here with us; and He will be there in the New Jerusalem for eternity future. This does not refer to existence but to doings, to actions. In John 5:17 the Lord Jesus said, “My Father is working until now, and I also am working.” The Father was working in eternity past, He was working in creation, He was working in the Son for redemption, and He will be working. This shows us that the title Him who is and who was and who is coming does not mainly refer to existence but to the Father’s working, the activities of the Father, in different times. The Father worked in the past, He works today, and He will work in the future.
Revelation 1:8 says, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, He who is and who was and who is coming, the Almighty.” This word does not refer to the existence of God the Father but to the activities, the work, of the Father. As the Alpha, He is the beginning; He originated all the things of the universe. He will be the Omega, the ending for the completion of His eternal purpose. He will finalize and finish what He has initiated. God the Father worked in the past, He works in the present, and He will work in the future.
Some may think that if this is the case, there is no need of the Son or of the Spirit to work. John 5:17, however, indicates that the Father works and the Son works also. The Father never works alone or by Himself. The Father always works in the Son by the Spirit. The Lord Jesus told us that when He was on the earth, He was working with the Father and even in the name of the Father (v. 43). Also, in John 14 the Lord indicated that the word He spoke was not His own word and that while He was speaking, the Father was working within Him (vv. 10, 24). We must also realize that when the seven Spirits are working, this is not merely the work of the Spirit. The seven Spirits are out from the eternal One and of the Redeemer. The seven Spirits are not working alone today, but this intensified Spirit is working out from the Father and of the Son.
Both God the Triune as the Father, and Christ as the Son, declare to be the Alpha and the Omega, indicating that God the Father and God the Son are one (Rev. 1:8; 22:12-13). Both the Son and the Father declare that They are the Alpha and Omega in the book of Revelation. This shows, again, that the Son and the Father can never be separated.
After the fellowship in this chapter I hope that none of us are so clear that the three of the Godhead are distinct, separate, and clear-cut persons. Even when we touch the economical Trinity in the book of Revelation, none of us can be so clear that the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are three distinct, separate, and clear-cut persons. These complications involve the finalization of God’s New Testament economy and the conclusion of the divine revelation.
