Think Wink.

Look at Revelation 1:4-5 where John greets the readers of the seven churches of Asia Minor, “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, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.” Now I want us to just look at the rich symbolism as it relates to the Temple and the Trinity.

First, let us see the Trinity in this text. First, “from him who is and who was and is to come.” The Greek for “who is” is ὁ ὢν. This is the same phrase found in the Memorial name found in the LXX of Exodus 3:14, ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ὤν, “I am the one who is.” The expression “the one who comes” ὁ ἐρχόμενος is also found in Psalm 118:26 LXX. So what we see in this expression “him who is and who was and who is to come” an unalterable noun that refers to Yahweh, κύριος. John does not abandon his Hebrew origins and allegiances. Second is “from the seven spirits who are before the his throne.” In his vision found in Zechariah 4, the prophet sees, “a lampstand all of gold, with a bowl on the top of it, and seven lamps on it, with seven lips on each of the lamps that are on the top of it” (Zechariah 4:2). Then when the prophet inquired of the angel what or who this was the angel said, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts” (Zechariah 4:6). The lampstand, with its seven lamps and seven lips, is the Holy Spirit. The use of seven is also of note in Revelation 1:4 as it is the second time the number is used. The number seven stands for perfection and divine activity (the creation week is seven days). Thus the seven spirits refer to the perfect divine Spirit, the Holy Spirit (it is of note that the Holy Spirit is not referred to anywhere in the Revelation as the Holy Spirit). Third, “from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.” The second person of the Trinity, who John believes to be God revealed in the flesh (cf. John 1:1-18). He is the Christ, the Jewish Messiah who the Old Testament Scriptures refer to over and over again as Yahweh incarnate in the flesh. Jesus is the witness who is faithful (ὁ μάρτυς ὁ πιστός: the Greek is emphatic at this point). Jesus is the firstborn of the dead, the one who God raised from the grave on the third day and exalted him to the right hand of the Father. Jesus is ruler of the kings of the earth, the supreme sovereign over all nations and kings by virtue of his death and glorification. All three persons of the Trinity are present in the greeting.

But do notice the order in which they come. We say that the Father is the first person, the Son (Jesus) is the second, and the Spirit is the third person. Here we have Father, Spirit, Son. And we see the Father on his throne, “Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his [the one who is and who was and who is to come] throne.” The Father sits upon the throne of all creation. The Holy Spirit stands before the Father. But if the imagery from Zechariah 4 holds, and I think it does, then we see the Holy Spirit as the Lamp before the Father. This scene strikingly resembles the scene in the Temple with the Menorah shining forth its light before the mercy seat where the Father is seated. And we see Christ, the third person mentioned, on the altar of the Temple, slain for sin and propitiating the wrath of God for the sins of his people (cf. Revelation 1:5; 5:9-10).

This image was given to me by Dr. Simon J. Kistemaker, Professor of New Testament, Emeritus at Reformed Theological Seminary. But we see in this image the path to the Father. First we must die at the altar with Christ, being freed from the wrath of God against our sin and given a righteousness that will enable us to stand before God spotless and righteous by his perfect standards. Then we enter the temple and walk behind the inner veil where the Menorah that is the Holy Spirit is burning bright to illuminate our minds to see the Father reigning in all of his splendor and beauty between the wings of the cherubim.

Oh the infinite depths of the Scriptures and their meaning. I echo the doxology of Revelation 1:5-7 in praise of my great God and Savior Jesus Christ (Titus 2:13), “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.”

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