The Three Amens

Wed 20May09:  Revelation 1: 4 - 20 KJV

Fear not; I am the first and the last. v17

There are three instances in this first chapter of the Revelation of St John the Divine which carries the affirmation, "Amen".  They are in verses 5 and 6; followed by verse 7 and finally in verses 17 and 18. Each instance carries a description of our Lord Jesus: who He is and what he has done for us.

In verses 5 and 6, we encounter a doxology that affirms what our Lord has done for us,

 . . . 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; To Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Then in verse 7, we see an affirmation of what He is going to do upon His return,

Behold, He cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see Him, and they also which pierced Him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of Him. Even so, Amen.

Finally, coming to verses 17 and 18, we read, in words spoken by our Lord Himself, who He is in eternity:

 Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am He that liveth, and was dead; and behold, I am alive forevermore, Amen

Today we can continue to make the same affirmations that the early Christians made in the first century AD.  We say Amen to Him who, in loving us, has cleansed us from sin and made us kings and priests to God the Father.  We shall also say Amen to Him who will be returning in the clouds, seen even by those who crucified Him, and making all peoples of the earth wail for having rejected Him.  And we must say Amen to Him who lived, who was dead, and who is alive forevermore.

Let us say the three Amens together everyday.