2 - The One who is and who was and who is to come

Summary

The theology of Revelation is highly theocentric. This, along with its distinctive doctrine of God, is its greatest contribution to New Testament theology. Our study of it must begin with God and will both constantly and finally return to God.

THE DIVINE TRINITY

Almost from the outset of his work John depicts the divine in threefold terms:

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 from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

These words are a formal part of the form of letter-opening which is used in verses 4–5. Following the statement of writer and addressees, ancient letters gave a ‘salutation’, which in Jewish letters took the form of desiring blessings from God for the addressees. Early Christian practice often gave a specifically Christian character to this form by specifying the divine source of blessings as God and Jesus Christ. The standard form in the Pauline letters is: ‘Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ’ (e.g. Rom. 1:7; 1 Cor. 1:3;2 Cor. 1:2; Gal. 1:3; Eph. 1:2). This form is of considerable theological significance. It places Jesus Christ with God on the divine side of the distinction between the divine Giver of blessings and the creaturely recipients of blessings.