“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.” Revelation 1:4-5 (ESV)

The Apostle John was given the Revelation of Jesus Christ which he wrote under the inspiration of God’s Spirit. In the book God includes letters addressed to seven churches in what is called Asia Minor. Our verses today are the greeting from the common beginning of these letters. The seven letters were sent together and given to each church as the messenger brought them. In that part of the world, the custom was and is to greet people with the word “peace.” We read this greeting now because of the way it expresses the deep meaning of the source of our peace with God. It come from God and the reason He can give peace is because of who He is. To know that God has always been, that He is now, and that he will always be⸺produces a restful peace in our hearts. So when something disturbing happens let's remember that the promises of our eternal God are sure and absolute. The seven Spirits are likely a reference to the lampstand with 7 lamps—also a description of the Holy Spirit. And 7 is the number of completeness, so John is identifying the fullness of the Holy Spirit.

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