Revelation 1

Revelation 1:1

I. THE THINGS WHICH JOHN HAD SEEN (Chap. 1) A. Title and Salutation (1:1-8) 1:1, 2 The first verse announces the subject of the book, namely, the things which must shortly take place. The book of Revelation is primarily an unfolding of the future. This revelation of future events was given by God to Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus, in turn, committed it to His angel, and the angel made it known to His servant John. John’s purpose in writing the Book was to share the information with the Lord’s servants, that is, with all true believers. In doing this, John bore witness to the prophetic word which God had spoken to him and to the testimony to which Jesus Christ had borne witness. In short, John testified to all things that he saw in heavenly visions. 1:3 It was obviously God’s intention that this Book should be read in church because He promised a special blessing to the one who reads it aloud and to all those in the assembly who hear it and take it to heart. The time for the fulfillment of the prophecies was near. 1:4 John addresses the book to the seven churches located in the Roman province of Asia. This province was situated in Asia Minor (modern Turkey). First, John wishes for these churches grace … and peace. Grace means the undeserved favor of God and the strength that is needed in the Christian life day by day. Peace is the resulting calm that enables the believer to face persecution, sorrow, and even death itself. Grace and peace are said to come from the Trinity.

They come from Him who is and who was and who is to come. This refers to God the Father and gives the true meaning of the name Jehovah. He is the ever-existing One and the One who is always the same. It comes from the seven Spirits who are before His throne. This refers to God the Holy Spirit in His fullness, seven being the number of perfection and completeness. It is not surprising that the number seven is found fifty-four times in this final book of the Bible. 1:5 It comes from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. This clearly describes God the Son. He is the dependable witness. As firstborn from the dead, He is the first One to rise from the dead to die no more, and the One who holds the place of honor and pre-eminence among all who are raised from the dead to enjoy eternal life. He is also the ruler over all earthly kings. Following his initial greetings, John writes a tribute of praise to the Lord Jesus.

First of all, he speaks of the Savior as the One who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood. Note the tenses of the verbs: loves, a present, continuous action; washed, a past, completed work. Note too the order: He loves us, and indeed loved us long before He washed us. And note the price He paid: His own blood. Honest self-evaluation forces us to confess that the cost was too high. We did not deserve to be washed at such an exorbitant price. 1:6 His love did not stop at washing us, though it could have done so. He made us a kingdom (NKJV margin) and priests to His God and Father. As holy priests, we offer spiritual sacrifices to God: our persons, our possessions, our praise, and our service. As royal priests, we tell forth the excellencies of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. If we meditate on such love, we can only conclude that He is worthy of all the glory, honor, worship, and praise that we can heap on Him. And He is worthy of dominion over our lives, the church, the world, and the entire universe.

Amen.1:7 This blessed One is coming back to earth in chariots of clouds. His Advent will be neither local nor invisible, because every eye will see Him (cf. Mat_24:29-30). The people who were guilty of His crucifixion will be aghast. In fact, all the tribes of the earth will be plunged into mourning because He comes to judge His enemies and set up His kingdom. Believers do not mourn His Coming; they say, Even so, Amen.1:8 There is a change of speaker.

The Lord Jesus introduces Himself as the Alpha and the Omega (the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet), the Beginning and the End. He spans time and eternity, and exhausts the vocabulary of excellence. He is the source and goal of creation, and it is He who began and will end the divine program in the world. He is and was and is to come, eternal in His being and the Almighty in power.

Revelation 1:9

B. The Vision of Christ in Judicial Robes (1:9-20) 1:9 Back to John, who introduces himself as a brother and companion of all believers in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ. He here links tribulation, perseverance (patience), and the kingdom. Paul similarly linked them in Act_14:22 when he exhorted the saints to continue in the faith, … saying, We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.John was in prison on the island of Patmos in the Aegean Sea because of his loyalty to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ. But his prison became an anteroom of heaven as he received visions of glory and judgment. 1:10 John was in the Spirit, that is, walking in unclouded fellowship with Him and thus in a position to receive divine communications. This reminds us that a person must be near to hear. The secret of the Lord is with those who fear Him (Psa_25:14). It was on the Lord’s Day, that is, the first day of the week. That was the day of Christ’s resurrection, of two subsequent appearances to His disciples, of the descent of the Spirit at Pentecost. The disciples gathered to break bread on the Lord’s Day, and Paul instructed the Corinthians to take a collection on the first day. Some think that John refers to the time of judgment about which he will be writing, but the expression is quite different in the original. Suddenly John heard behind him a voice with the clarity, volume, and tone of a trumpet. 1:11, 12 It was Jesus, directing him to write in a book what he was about to see and to send it to the seven churches. Turning to see the Speaker, John saw seven golden lampstands, each one having a base, a single vertical stem, and an oil-burning lamp at the top. 1:13 The Person in the midst of the seven lampstands was One like the Son of Man. There was nothing between Him and the individual lampstands, no agency, hierarchy, or organization. Each church was autonomous. In describing the Lord, says McConkey: The Spirit ransacks the realm of nature for symbols that might convey some faint conception to our dull and finite minds of the glory, splendor, and majesty of this coming One, who is the Christ of Revelation. His outer garment was the long robe of a judge. The band around His chest symbolizes the righteousness and faithfulness with which He judges (see Isa_11:5). 1:14 His head and hair were white like wool, picturing His eternity, as the Ancient of Days (Dan_7:9), and also the wisdom and purity of His judgments. Eyes like a flame of fire speak of perfect knowledge, infallible insight, and inescapable scrutiny. 1:15 The Lord’s feet were like polished brass, as if refined in a furnace. Since brass is a consistent type of judgment, this supports the view that it is the judicial office that is primarily in view. His voice sounded like the waves of the sea, or a mountain cataract, majestic and awesome. 1:16 He held in His right hand seven stars, indicating possession, power, control, and honor. Out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, the word of God (Heb_4:12). Here it refers to the keen and accurate verdicts concerning His people, as seen in the letters to the seven churches. His countenance was radiant as the sun at high noon, the dazzling splendor and transcendant glory of His deity. Combining all these thoughts, we see Christ in all His perfections as supremely qualified to judge the seven churches. Later in the book He will judge His foes, but judgment (must) begin at the house of God (1Pe_4:17). Note, however, that it is a different kind of judgment in each case. The churches are judged with the purpose of purification and reward, the world with the purpose of punishment. 1:17 The sight of the Judge prostrated John at His feet as if dead, but the Lord revived him by revealing Himself as the First and the Last, a title of Jehovah (Isa_44:6; Isa_48:12). 1:18 The Judge is the Living One who was dead but is now alive forevermore. He has the keys of Hades and of Death, having control over both and uniquely able to raise the dead. Hades here stands for the soul and Death for the body. When a person dies, the soul is in Hades, a name used to describe the disembodied state. The body goes to the grave. For the believer the disembodied state is the same as being present with the Lord. At the resurrection, the soul is reunited with the glorified body and raptured (caught up) to the Father’s house. 1:19 John must write the things which he had seen (chap. 1); the things which are (chaps. 2, 3); and the things which will take place after this (chaps. 4-22). This forms the general outline of the book. 1:20 The Lord then explained to John the hidden meaning of the seven stars and the seven golden lampstands. The stars represented the angels or messengers of the seven churches, whereas the lampstands represented the seven churches themselves. Various explanations of the angels have been offered. Some say that they were angelic beings who represented the churches, just as angels represent nations (Dan_10:13, Dan_10:20-21). Others say that they were the bishops (or pastors) of the churches, an explanation that lacks scriptural support. Still others say that they were human messengers who picked up the letters from John in Patmos and delivered them to the individual churches. The same Greek word (angelos) means either angel or messenger, but in this book the first meaning is very prominent. Although the letters are addressed to angels, the contents are clearly intended for all in the churches. The lampstands were light-bearers and were a fitting emblem of local churches, which are supposed to shine for God amid the darkness of this world.