"John to the seven churches which are at Asia: grace be unto you and peace from Him which is and which was and which is to come: and from the seven spirits which are before His throne: and from Jesus Christ" ..... Revelation 1v4
A letter from the throne of heaven, signed by the Triune God to the seven churches in Asia. We are introduced to the number seven; seven churches, seven spirits of God. The number seven speaks of completion, as per Genesis chapter 2v1&2 the first mention of seven was in connection with a finished work. The Revelation is the book of completion of all things as we know them. The entire book is built around the number seven, and this depicts the end, the completion, the perfection of all God's work. We have throughout the book seven spirits, seven churches, seven angels, seven seals, seven trumpets, seven vials, seven thunders, the seven heads of the beast, seven horns, seven last things, seven dooms. This is all by design and reflects the fulfillment of all things so far as this present world is concerned. This is in contrast to the number six which corresponds to man's imperfection (the number of the beast is 666). God, unlike man, will fully perfect all that He has planned.
There were more than seven churches in Asia, but it is likely that these seven represented the variety of conditions that could exist either then or now. These churches were very carefully selected, since the salient features of the exalted Christ, as portrayed in the latter half of chapter one are directly applied to each individual church according to their needs.
From the contents of the letters in chapters 2 & 3, it is clear that most of these churches were in a poor state. One (Smyrna) was under severe persecution; one (Philadelphia) had a little strength; five were told to repent by the Lord Jesus. The decline in churches does not take long; already in late apostolic times, Paul had occasion to say " all in Asia have forsaken me." In the post apostolic times (by now most of the apostles had been martyred), yet the message from heaven to these seven churches is "grace and peace." This is a wonderful truth; declining conditions do not alter divine love and concern for the churches. Even when we are faithless, God remains faithful!
This letter comes from the Triune God; Jehovah (Him which is and which was and which is to come) signifying God the Father: the seven spirits of God, signifying the Holy Spirit in the fullness of His resources: Jesus Christ the Saviour of the world and the Redeemer of Israel. From Jehovah, grace and peace; from the Spirit of God grace and peace; from Jesus Christ who loved the church and gave Himself for her, grace and peace. This is truly the delight of this verse and in all our weakness and failure we should imprint that within our hearts, because that is the message from the throne to all of us.
From the One who has always existed, who is now, and who will always be, the One who never changes, who cannot act other than His eternal character demands, comes the message to the seven churches struggling with the rigours of life in this world ....... grace and peace. From the seven spirits of God, that is the Spirit of God in the fullness of His manifestation, as is portrayed in Isaiah 11v2 (The Spirit of Jehovah, the Spirit of wisdom, the Spirit of understanding, the Spirit of counsel, the Spirit of might, the Spirit of knowledge, the Spirit of the fear of the Lord). From that One who holds all the powers and gifts of the Triune God, from Him the message is.....grace and peace. From Jesus Christ who took human flesh, in order that He would deal with our sins and who for us went through death and is now raised in glorious exultation to become the only one who can bring together sinful man and Holy God, from Him........ the message is grace and peace.
What would you do if you received a letter from God? Well we all have and it is here with us today, the book of the Revelation. Let us read it, and study it, and enjoy it together and by God's help live in the light of it because for the believer the future is glorious.
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