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seaster204
The Entrance of
Heaven: Confession and Absolution
Text:
Revelation 1:4-18
Date: The Second Sunday of Easter
4/18/04 free anime video
This
year the Epistle readings for the Sundays of Easter are all from
the Book of Revelation. Therefore we will have a mini sermon series
on these texts for the Great Fifty Days. The Gospels narrate the
earthly ministry of Jesus from his incarnation and birth through
his passion, death, resurrection and ascension into heaven. In a
way, the Revelation of St. John picks up the story from the Ascension
on to the final return of Jesus as victorious Lord of all. We could
say that, whereas the Gospels tell of the Savior from our earthly
point of view, the Revelation tells of the Savior's saving acts
and rule and reign over the world and Church from the point of view
of heaven. The Revelation is the last and final word of revelation
we have been given until our Lord returns. Everything we need to
know concerning our salvation from sin and death and our endurance
of faith unto death is contained in the 66 books of the Bible. The
purpose of the Book of Revelation, the last and final book, is to
give Christians hope and strengthen their faith as they live out
the life of faith amid a world increasingly hostile to the grace
of God. In our mini-series we will only hear snippets of the entire
Book, but we hope to gain that strength and hope of final victory
that enables us to endure anything and everything that comes our
way as disciples of Jesus still on this side of eternity.
This
is a vision, an “apocalypse,” a revelation unplanned and unanticipated
by its recipient and author/reporter. He calls himself John in a
way that assumes that we know which John he is. Though there has
been plenty of speculation and controversy about this, we choose
to stick with the oldest tradition which is that it is none other
the John the Apostle of Jesus who is writing down these words. In
a similar way that St. Luke planned and wrote a two-volume work
consisting of his Gospel and the Book of Acts, so this could be
considered the second volume following John's Gospel. The biggest
difference is that John didn't plan it that way.
He
addresses his writing to “the seven churches that are in Asia.”
As seven is the number of completion, we could say that these churches
are representative of the whole church on earth and that, therefore,
this writing is addressed to the whole church and to all individual
churches. He begins by conveying a blessing from the only true Triune
God. Note that when he says, “Grace to you and peace,” it is not
just the pious wish of the apostle—even as pastors begin their sermons
in this way, but it is an actual conveying or delivering of “grace
to you and peace FROM HIM who is and who was and who is to come.”
This is God the Father as he revealed himself to Moses by the name,
Yahweh, or I AM, the only God who is being and existence himself.
“And from the seven spirits who are before his throne” identifies
the Third Person of the Holy Trinity, the Holy Spirit in his sevenfold
gifts. “And from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn
of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.” The Second Person
of the Holy Trinity is named, first, by the personal name of his
human nature, “Jesus,” and his official title as the “Christ,” the
Messiah, the one whose identity is “deliverer of mankind.” He is
called “the faithful witness” signifying his death under Pontius
Pilate on the Cross. Then, “the firstborn of the dead,” noting his
bodily resurrection from the grave. Finally, “the ruler of kings
on earth” speaks of his authority now and to the day of his coming
again. The risen, ascended Man, Jesus, reigns and rules over kings
and presidents and all earthly rulers, even over the forces of nature
and the entire cosmos.
But
why this order? We usually speak of “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.”
But here John has the Father, the Holy Spirit and the Son. The goal
is our reconciliation with God the Father. But that can happen only
as we begin to be drawn to him by his Son, through the Spirit. Jesus
said, “No one comes to the Father but by me.” That means, we need
to tell the world, that to try to go to God the Father either directly
as if he were only one in Person, or through Mohammed of Islam or
Joseph Smith of the Mormons or anyone else is not to reach God at
all. “No one comes to the Father but by me,” Jesus, the Son of God.
To receive “grace” (undeserved favor) and “peace” (reconciliation
through the forgiveness of sins) with this mighty God is truly an
amazing thing. But this is the kind of God the one true God is!
It
seems that the Biblical writers can never name God without also
uttering words of praise to him. And so John writes, “To him who
loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us
a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion
forever and ever. Amen.” Praise of God is never just trumpet fanfares
or timpani rumbles alone, though these serve to gain the world's
attention. The true praise of God is always in the recitation, the
announcement, the proclamation and preaching of what he has done
for us men and for our salvation, his mighty works of redemption.
This is the God who not only loved us once, but continues to love
his creation and even us in particular. His love is shown primarily
in the fact that he has freed us from our sins. That's what we're
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