Revelation 1: The Revelation of Jesus Christ

Introduction to Revelation

The book of Revelation is unique in Scripture—it is a prophecy-apocalypse-letter ("prophe-pocalypti-letter"). While other biblical books fit into one genre, Revelation masterfully combines all three: it's a letter to seven churches (chapters 2-3), apocalyptic imagery revealing the overall spiritual war (chapters 4-22), and prophetic truth about what must soon take place.

Pastor's Insight

Everything is coming together in this book. The proper culmination of all things. The Final Word. It appropriately ends the canon of Scripture.

Each church needs keys to victory in its particular battlefield (chapters 2-3), but the overall war is outlined in the entire book's imagery (chapters 4-22).

From the Teaching

John's understanding is thoroughly rooted in the Old Testament. We'll see that throughout chapter 1 and throughout the book of Revelation. John assumed and knew that all of his readers understood what the Old Testament said about these things.

Verses 1-2: The Source and Nature of This Revelation

1 The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John,

2 who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.

The opening verses establish the divine origin and authority of this book. This revelation is both FROM Jesus Christ (verse 1) and OF Jesus Christ (verse 2)—He is both the source and the subject.

The word "revelation" (apokalypsis in Greek) means "uncovering, disclosing, revealing" of what God discloses or makes known. This word is used exclusively about revelations from God—always supernatural, glorious, godly, otherworldly, and awesome!

Key Observation

Notice the phrase "made it known"—we must learn to see God's pictures. This book is deeply visual and symbolic.

John outlived all the other apostles by at least 20 years, writing this around 95 AD from exile on the island of Patmos.

Verse 3: The First Blessing

3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.

We are blessed because we're reading this aloud! We're blessed because we hear the word of this book. The phrase "take to heart" means this book is meant to affect our emotions. Why? Because the time is near.

This is the first of seven blessings found throughout Revelation:

The 7 Blessings in Revelation

1:3 – Who reads, hears & takes to heart the prophecy
14:13 – The dead in the Lord
16:15 – Who stays awake and remains clothed at Christ's coming
19:9 – Those invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb
20:6 – Who share in the first resurrection
22:7 – Who keeps the word of this prophecy
22:14 – Who wash their robes

Verses 4-5: Greetings from the Trinity

4 John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits

5 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 loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood,

Here we see the Trinity clearly: God the Father, the Holy Spirit, and Jesus Christ.

"Him who is, and who was, and who is to come" appears five times in Revelation (1:4, 1:8, 4:8, 11:17, 16:5). This phrase contains three forms of the "to be" verb, playing off the name of Yahweh—"I AM"—the name God revealed to Moses in Exodus 3:14.

"The seven spirits" (or "seven-fold Spirit") is a way to refer to the one Holy Spirit (see Revelation 3:1, 4:5, 5:6, also Zechariah 4 and Isaiah 11:2).

Three Titles of Jesus

"The faithful witness" – Jesus perfectly revealed the Father

"The firstborn from the dead" – Points to Jesus' resurrection and YOUR resurrection

"Ruler of the kings of the earth" – He's presently the Ruler—they just don't know it yet, but they will. Give it a few chapters! See Isaiah 55:4.

Verses 5-6: Doxology of Praise

6 and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.

Our understanding of God must move us to praise. Notice three beautiful truths:

"To Him who loves us" – In the ancient world, gods were either benevolent or wrathful, but not personal and loving. Our God is different!

"Freed us from our sins" – You are no longer a slave to sin! The verb tense is crucial: "loves" is present tense (ongoing), while "freed" is past tense, meaning the freedom happened at once and is always effective.

"Made us a kingdom and priests" – We are kings and priests in God's kingdom. This echoes God's promise to Israel in Exodus 19:6, now fulfilled in the Church.

Verse 7: The Promise of Christ's Return

7 "Look, he is coming with the clouds,"

"Behold, He is coming" (verse 7) and "Behold I am coming" (Revelation 22:12) form bookends for the entire book. The return of Christ is imminent, right at the door.

"With the clouds" – This imagery comes from Daniel 7:13 and points forward to Revelation 19.

"EVERY EYE will see Him" – From Zechariah 12:10. Jesus referenced this in Matthew 24:30.

Verse 8: The Eternal God

8 "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty."

"I am the Alpha and the Omega" appears four times in Revelation (1:8, 1:17, 21:6, 22:13), expressing the eternal nature of our God.

"The Lord God... Almighty" appears nine times in Revelation. "Almighty" means Lord of Hosts, Lord of Armies, or Lord of Military might. While used only 12 times in the New Testament, it appears 321 times in the Old Testament, with 242 of those in the prophets. Calling God "Yahweh Almighty" is a direct callback to the prophets.

Verses 9-10: John's Situation and Vision

9 I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.

10 On the Lord's Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet,

John uses personal, familial language: "brother, companion in suffering and kingdom and patient endurance." His encouragement to us: Your inheritance as a believer includes THE KINGDOM and patient endurance! You can make it.

Patmos is a small island (40 square miles) off the coast of Ephesus in modern-day Turkey—substantial enough for John to be self-sustaining during his exile.

Historical Note

"The Lord's Day" – The early church was already worshipping on Sunday, not Saturday. This is one of the earliest references to Sunday worship.

"In the Spirit" – This phrase appears throughout Scripture describing a heightened sense of spiritual awareness, where the Spirit of God envelops you and you can see into the spiritual realm. See Numbers 24:2-4, Ezekiel 1:1, Acts 7:56, 2 Corinthians 12:2-4.

"Voice like a trumpet" – This echoes God speaking at Mount Sinai (Exodus 19:9), the trumpet call at the end (1 Thessalonians 4:16), and appears again in Revelation 4:1 when Jesus says "come up here."

Verse 11: The Commission to Write

11 which said: "Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea."

Jesus wanted this to be a circular letter—He called out these specific churches for strengthening. These seven churches represent real congregations facing real challenges, but also represent the universal Church throughout history.

Verses 12-16: The Vision of Christ in Glory

12 I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands,

13 and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man,

14 The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire.

15 His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters.

16 In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.

Every detail of this vision connects to Old Testament imagery that John's readers would have recognized immediately:

"Like a Son of Man" – The divine title given to the Messiah in Daniel 7:13

"Robe reaching his feet" – Showing the priesthood and holiness of Jesus! The Great High Priest!

"Hair... white like wool" and "eyes... like blazing fire" – From Daniel 7:9, describing the Ancient of Days

"Feet like bronze" – From Daniel 10:6

"Voice like rushing waters" – From Ezekiel 1:24

"Sharp, double-edged sword" – The Word of God as sword appears throughout Scripture (Ephesians 6:17, Hebrews 4:12). In Revelation, see 1:16, 2:12, 16; 19:15, 21

"Face like the sun" – This anticipates Revelation 21:11-22:5 where the sun is no longer needed because Christ lights up everything!

From the Teaching

John's readers would picture this easily, unlike us. They knew their Old Testament prophecies and would immediately connect these descriptions to Daniel, Ezekiel, and Zechariah.

Verses 17-18: Christ's Reassurance and Authority

17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.

18 I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.

John falls down before Jesus and is not corrected—Jesus is worthy of our worship. The powerful hand that was holding the stars now rests ON John in comfort and reassurance.

We already have two references to the Beginning and End in the first 17 verses: "Alpha and Omega" in verse 8 and now "First and Last"—a title used by Yahweh in Isaiah 44:6.

"The Living One" – Yahweh is called the "living God" throughout the Old Testament; now Jesus claims this title for Himself.

In just 18 verses, we have two references to the resurrection of Jesus: "firstborn from the dead" in verse 5, and now "I was dead, and now look, I am alive forever." The word "forever" echoes Deuteronomy 32:40.

"Keys of death and Hades" – Picture Jesus with the keys on His belt. He has conquered death and holds its keys! See 1 Corinthians 15 for Paul's full teaching on Christ's victory over death.

Verse 19: The Structure of Revelation

19 "Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later.

The command to "write" appears throughout the prophets, echoing God's command to Moses. Here Jesus gives John the outline for the entire book:

"What is now" – Revelation 2-5 (the seven churches and the heavenly throne room)
"What will take place later" – Revelation 6-22 (the seals, trumpets, bowls, and final victory)

Verse 20: The Mystery Explained

20 The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels

Jesus immediately explains the symbolism—He won't leave us guessing:

7 stars = 7 angels of the churches
7 lampstands = 7 churches (Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea)

The image is powerful: Christ walks among His churches, holding their messengers in His hand. The Church is meant to be a lampstand—a light in the darkness, sustained and empowered by Christ Himself.

Interactive Web Commentary | Revelation 1

Synthesized from: NIV Scripture, Pastor Jared Stepp's teaching notes, and November 2023 teaching transcript

For review and editing by Pastor Jared Stepp

💡 Tip: Hover over blue scripture references to see the verse text.