The Revelation of Jesus Christ
Revelation 1:1
The Revelation of 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,
This book was written by the Apostle John while a prisoner on the island of Patmos which is in the Aegean Sea. It is a Revelation given to Jesus by God and is an unveiling of His Son Jesus and of His relationship to the church and of things that where to take place in the future. Therefore, our focus should be on Jesus as seen throughout this Book.
Revelation 1:2
who testifies to everything he saw-that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.
John is here certifying that what he heard and saw was from Jesus Christ Himself.
Revelation 1:3
Blessed is the one who reads 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.
It would do well at this time to realize that this is the only book in the Bible that makes the promise to bless all who read and hear the words of this book, His prophecy, believe it, and take it to heart. We today can say that truly the time of the end is near.
Revelation 1:4
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 before His throne,
We are now given a look at seven churches which many scholars believe were chosen because they represent the history of the church from John's day through today and into the future. He alludes to the Seven Spirits that were before God's throne, these are believed to be the seven Spirits spoken of in the book of Isaiah.
Isaiah 11:2
The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him - the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD-
These are the ways in which the Holy Spirit ministers to all of us today.
Revelation 1:5
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
John establishes for us that it is Jesus Christ from who he is receiving this Revelation and the importance of His role over all the earth and in our personal lives by the forgiveness of our sins by His own blood.
Revelation 1:6
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.
Through Christ we are brought into a royal priesthood that we would be acceptable to serve His Father and our God and to know that we will reign with Him in His Kingdom.
Revelation 1:7
Look, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of Him. So shall it be! Amen.
This event is referring to the Second Advent when Jesus will physically return to this earth and everyone who is alive at this time will see His coming. The first advent was when He came as a baby, the second will take place at the end of the Tribulation when He places His feet on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem and the 1000 years of His rule will begin. They will most likely be mourning because of the way they rejected and treated Him.
Zechariah 14:3-4
3 Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations, as He fights in the day of battle.
4 On that day His feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south.
Zechariah 12:10
They will look on Me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for Him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for Him as one grieves for a firstborn son.
Matthew 24:30
"At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory.
Revelation 1:8
"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "Who is, and Who was, and Who is to come, the Almighty."
Jesus confirms to all that He was there in the beginning and will be there when the end comes and that He is the same yesterday, today and forever and is the Almighty.
Revelation 1:9
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
John, a brother in Christ tells us that he was a prisoner on the Island of Patmos because of his faithfulness in preaching and witnessing for Jesus. He connects himself to all who have or will suffer for the cause of Christ.
Revelation 1:10
On the Lord's Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet,
John was chosen to be a special messenger to write down and preserve for us today the Revelation that God gave to Jesus. He was in the Spirit and heard a loud and clear voice like that of a trumpet probably like the one we will hear when Jesus returns for His church in the Rapture.
Revelation 1:11
saying, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last," and, "What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.
Jesus confirms once more that He is the Beginning and the End and then commands John to write in a book what he is going to be shown and send what he writes to seven churches in Asia. There were more than seven churches but these seemingly are the ones that would most likely represent the history of the church right up to the present time.
Revelation 1:12
Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lamp stands,
John was to see a sight such as he had never seen before, he would see the one who was
speaking to Him and he saw seven golden lamp stands that represented the seven churches.
Revelation 1:13-15
13 and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band.
14 His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire;
15 His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters;
John was privileged to see a side of Jesus that no one else had ever seen; He was standing in the middle of the seven lampstands or as some versions refers to them, seven candlesticks, in all His heavenly glory. He was a commanding figure with eyes of fire that can pierce the darkness of men s hearts and a voice as powerful as thundering waters that commands the attention of all men. These descriptions of Christ are symbolic.
Revelation 1:16
He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength
Hebrew 4:12
For the Word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword,
The seven stars He held represented the angels of the seven churches and the two-edged sword represents His Word and can pierce and divide the very soul and spirit of man and can discern the thoughts and intents of his heart and nothing is hidden from Him. His face shown like the sun in all it's brilliance and radiance, so much so that we humans would not be able to look at Him with our earthly eyes.
Revelation 1:17
and when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, "Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last.
When John saw Jesus in all of His splendor, he could only fall on his face as though he was dead and then Jesus gently laid His strong right hand on him and calmed his fears saying,
"Don't be afraid for I am the first, the only begotten of the Father and the last, the Almighty."
Revelation 1:18
I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death
He tells John that He was the one who was put to death on the cross on Calvary, but rose again to live forever more and that when He arose He brought with Him the keys to death, hell and the grave snatched out of Satan's hands. This confirms that it is Jesus talking.
Revelation 1:19
Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this.
John was told not to fear what was happening to him and to just to write down what he had already seen and the things that were presently happening plus the things that he was going to be shown.
Revelation 1:20
The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden Lampstands (candlesticks): The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches.
Jesus clarifies to John and to we who are reading this book the mystery of the seven golden Lampstands and the seven stars. The stars represent the seven angels that are over the Lampstands which are the seven churches. The guessing is removed and we are clearly informed so that we can proceed with a clear mind and understand that we will be shown other things that may confuse us but we will be informed of them just as we have been informed up to this point.
The churches that are spoken off here could easily represent all the different churches or denominations that exist in the world today. So we should look at the Seven Churches that are represented here as symbolic of seven different periods of church history.