March 2001

BOOK OF REVELATION
 (continued from previous issue)         By Carlos Mesters


Initial greeting (1:4-8)

John begins his book by wishing the seven communities "grace and peace" from the Most Holy Trinity. We say, "the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit." But John says the same thing in different words: "the one who is, who was and who is to come, the seven Spirits and Jesus Christ" (1:4-5). When we pronounce a person's name we already express what we know about and expect from that person. Let us see what John thinks of, and hopes from, the Father, the Son and the Spirit.

  1. The Father: "the one who is, who was and who is to come"

    At the beginning the Father is called "the one who is, who was and who is to come" (1:4; 4:8). At the end His name is "He who is, He who was" (11:17), for He will no longer come since He has already come and fulfilled His plan. Yes, Revelation describes the coming of God into the history of His people. He is no far-off God, outside of history, but a God who is in it. He has a past, a present and a future. He was, He is, He is coming. The history of God is the history of God's people. He is with them marching along with them. The name "is, was, is coming" reminds us of the phrase which God used to explain to Moses the meaning of His name. Yahweh: "I am who I am" (Ex. 3:14). For John, the God of the communities is the very same God who, ready to liberate His people from Egypt, introduces Himself as Yahweh. God ever present, God the Liberator. "This is my name for all time" (3:15).


  2. The Holy Spirit: "the seven Spirits who are before the throne of God (1:4)

    They are "spirits", that is, the invisible action of God in the life and history of humankind. "the Spirit of the Lord fills the world" (Wis. 1:7). They are seven because they represent the fullness of the action of God in the world to work out His plan in practice. They are "before the throne" means that they are always ready to execute an order from the Father (5:6).


  3. The Son: "Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the first-born from among the dead, the Prince"

    In Revelation, Jesus is given several names, each of which reveals a trait of his countenance. Faithful witness: Jesus gave the proof that God is faithful in the fulfillment of His promises. First-born from among the dead: Jesus, our eldest brother, conquered death and is alive. In Him is already fulfilled the promise which the Father made to all of us (1:18). Prince of the kings of the earth: Jesus has the power to fulfil the Father's promise. The kings of the earth, the Roman emperor included, are unable to prevent him. Jesus is the strongest, He is above them and has dominion over them.


. . . to be continued  

- END -