"John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is, and was, and is to come, and from the seven spirits that are before His throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him, Who loved us, and washed us from our sins with His blood" (Rev. 1:4-5). Seven Churches in Asia (in the Roman province of Asia Minor)

were located on the territory of modern Turkey, but according to Tradition, they were the personification of the entire Universal Church, which receives the revelation of God.3 Seven is a symbol of the fullness of the world, and John the Theologian addresses the seven Churches, that is, the fullness of the entire Church. Revelation is a manifestation of the grace of God, the bestowal of an undeserved gift from God upon men, 10   who reconciles Him with them.

There is a norm according to which only those who participate in Holy Communion, in the Sacrament of the future life, can interpret the Scriptures.4 According to the Statute of the Church, the Revelation of John the Theologian is read during Great Lent and on the feast day of John the Theologian.5 "Grace to you and peace from Him who is, and was, and who comes" (Rev. 1:4). In the Russian language, an inaccurate translation of these words is given (

Grace to you and peace from Him who is, and was, and is to come), the Greek original says, "Grace to you and peace from Him who is, and who was, and who is coming." One of the names of Christ used in the Holy Scriptures is the One Who Is, which means the One Who Exists from Himself, the One Who has no need of anyone else. God does not need anything, He is omnipresent, He has a source of existence in Himself.

That is why He revealed Himself to Moses at the Burning Bush with this very name: "I am that I am. And he said, "Thus say to the children of Israel, 'The Eternal [Jehovah] has sent me to you" (Exodus 3:14). Many sectarians, for example, Jehovah's Witnesses, distort this name of God: they pronounce it as "Jehovah," and the correct pronunciation is "Yahweh" — the Eternal. It is also important to understand this way: God reigns over all the times of the world, He rules over all the kingdoms of the world, everything is in His mighty power, and nothing will escape His hand.

He is the Eternal at all times and at all times: in the past, in the present, and in the future. God's name, Yahweh, is translated in sixteen different ways. The main translation of this word is "Who Is," that is, God thereby says to people: "When you become old people, I will remain the same – the Lord of the world." Other translations of the name of God Yahweh are as follows: "Breather", "Quickener", "Lord of History", "Lord of the World", etc.

And it is said that grace and peace proceed from Him, from Him Who was, Who is, and Him 11   Children. The Father comes to us through His Son, and through the Son we have the opportunity to rise to the Father. And a blessing "from the seven spirits that are before His throne" (Rev. 1:4). The Seven Spirits are the grace given to the seven Churches.

After all, the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit are the fullness of God's gifts, which is why the grace of peace from God is called the "seven gifts of the Holy Spirit." These gifts are: the spirit of wisdom and understanding, counsel and strength, knowledge and godliness, and the fear of God. Pay attention: here the direct connection between the throne of God and the world becomes noticeable, since the seven spirits from the throne of God go out into the world and dwell among us.

All baptized people are sealed by the Holy Spirit at the moment of Chrismation: in the Sacrament, every Christian is born of the Holy Spirit and receives His gift in his heart, through faith in Christ the Redeemer, the Source of grace and peace, the Witness. Witness of what? First, Jesus Christ is the Witness of the mystery of God, the inner life of God; He comes into this world and reveals the mysteries of the Creator, bears witness to us about the Father in our souls.

Во-вторых, Христос — Свидетель и всех наших дел: все наши поступки Он знает и видит все, что с нами про­исходит. В-третьих, Христос еще является Свидетелем потому, что сделался Первомучеником, в Нем — торжество и слава всех мучеников. Ведь слово «мученик» в переводе с греческого (μάρτυς) — «свидетель». Но величайшее Его свидетельство — это Крест.

Его мы носим на груди как свидетельство исключительной, величайшей любви. Это и есть то доброе исповедание, о котором говорит апостол Павел в Послании к Тимофею, доказательство послушания и верности Отцу Своему даже до смерти: «Подвизайся добрым подвигом веры, держись веч­ной жизни, к которой ты и призван, и исповедал доброе испо­ведание перед многими свидетелями.

Пред Богом, все животво­ 12   рящим, и пред Христом Иисусом, Который засвидетельствовал пред Понтием Пилатом доброе исповедание, завещеваю тебе» (1 Тим. 6, 12-13). Таким образом, Крест Христов — это сви­детельство Свидетеля, говорящее о том, что Сын до конца покорен Отцу. И мы, будучи покорны Сыну, будем покор­ны и Отцу — до конца.

Таким образом, Святая Троица раскрывается нам как Бог Отец, Бог Святой Дух и Бог Сын. Иоанн Богослов показывает, что Отец равен Сыну и Святому Духу — все три Личности Троицы равны между собой, потому что бес­конечность не может уменьшаться. Следующее имя Иисуса Христа — Верный («Πιστός» по -гречески)

, то есть Единственный, Кто никогда не под­водит! Как говорит Писание: «Блажен, кому помощник Бог Иаковлев, у кого надежда на Господа Бога его, сотворившего небо и землю, море и все, что в них, вечно хранящего верность» (Пс. 145, 5-6). И вот единственным Верным и никогда не Подводящим является Иисус Христос, так что люди, которые надеются на Него, никогда не разочаруют­ся.