Revelation 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.
Taming the Future
The future is the sum and substance of all your worries. I don’t know what you are worried about today, but I do know what timeframe those worries reside in; it is always the future. You may regret the past or be afraid of consequences regarding something in the past, but you can’t fear the past. You can only fear the future.
Revelation, which reveals the future, seems to be all of our worries on steroids. There are bizarre pictures and obscure predictions that seem intimidating to many people, yet as you look at the Book the Revelation, you realize that it is the revelation of Jesus Christ. The revelations found there are from Jesus but they are also of Jesus. This isn’t just a book for future events, but a book of the Savior Who loves you and Who was, is, and always will be. We learn here that we don’t tame the future by understanding it; we tame the future by knowing Jesus.
In the first place, Jesus stands in the future. Verse 4 says, “Grace be unto you, and peace, which is, and which was, and which is to come.” Jesus is neither just an historical figure nor one Who will merely come at some point in the future. He has a leg in both distant past and unforeseeable future. He is right here, right now, and at the same time, in the future. He owns the future. I don’t need to fear the future when I know Jesus.
In the second place, Jesus is the faithful witness Who loves us. Verse 5 says that we receive this grace and peace from “Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness…unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood.” You and I probably don’t know as many faithful people as we would like to know, but even those who we find faithful are not nearly as faithful as this witness Who has given what He has and told us what He knows. Jesus is the faithful witness, and I don’t need to fear the future when I know this Jesus.
In the third place, Jesus makes us fit for the future. Verse 6 says that Jesus “hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.” Do you know the future? No. Need you fear the future? No. You know Jesus, and for today and always that is sufficient.