Welcome to the third post in a five-part series on Revelation chapter one. There are so many fascinating things about the Bible. And one of those things is the Trinity Godhead. In this post, we’ll see how the Trinity is present at the beginning of the first book of Bible, Genesis, and present in the beginning of the last book of the Bible, Revelation. Interested? Keep reading.

REVELATION CHAPTER ONE

Third in a Five-Part Series
By Karen Thompson

Greeting From the Trinity

Rev. 1:4 John to the seven churches which are in 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; 5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, 6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

In obedience to the command to “shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass,” John wrote down what he saw in the vision to send to the seven churches in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey). John began his letter to the seven churches with a greeting: “Grace and peace be unto you….” Then in verses 4–6, John tells us “the grace and peace” is being sent from the Godhead which is represented in three phrases. The first phrase “from him which is, and which was, and which is to come” represents the eternal God the Father. The next phrase, “and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne,” represents the Spirit of God, or the Holy Spirit. You’ll see the Holy Spirit described in this manner in three more places in Revelation. The last phrase, “and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth” obviously represents Jesus Christ.

Then verses five and six focus on what Jesus did for mankind saying, “Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father.”

Trinity and Mankind—Full Circle

When you compare the beginning of Revelation with the beginning of Genesis, you’ll see something interesting—the Trinity and mankind come full circle. In the beginning of Genesis, the first book of the Bible, we also see the Trinity Godhead represented: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light” (Gen. 1:1–3).

The Hebrew word for God is El. But in the first verse of Genesis 1:1, we see the plural form for God being used: ‘elohiym—Father, Holy Spirit, and Jesus, who is the Living Word.⁴ The first thing we read in Genesis is the Trinity Godhead in the creation story. In verse one, we see God the creator represented in the phrase “God created.” We see the Holy Spirit represented in verse two when it says the Spirit of God moved (or hovered) upon the face of the waters. Then in verse three, we see Jesus, who is the Living Word, in the phrase “and God said.”

How do we know Jesus is represented in the words “God said”? Jesus is called “the Word of God” in Revelation 19:13: “And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.” The Greek word for “word” is logos and it means “speech, or a word uttered by a living voice, as in God said.”⁵ Also, John began his Gospel account by talking about Jesus as “the Word”: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men” (John 1:1–4). Jesus is the Living Word of God.

The beginning of Genesis tells us how God created mankind in His own image and then gave mankind dominion and authority in the earth. Then immediately, we read how mankind fell from grace and fell out of fellowship with God, losing his dominion and authority. Then in the beginning of Revelation, we read how the problem of fallen mankind was solved because of Jesus: “Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood” (v.5). It was love that sent Jesus to earth as a flesh- and-blood man, and it was because of love that Jesus washed us from our sins with His own blood.

Revelation 1:6 goes on to say how mankind was restored in his relationship with God: “…and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father.” Through Jesus, not only was mankind’s relationship with God restored, but man’s dominion and authority in the earth were restored as well. We are made kings and priests unto God. Also Ephesians 2:6 says, He has “raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”

So the Bible begins with ‘elohiym creating mankind in His image and then mankind quickly fell from grace. The Bible ends with ‘elohiym, and we see mankind as redeemed and lifted up to the place that God originally intended, thus completing a full circle.  

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