Revelation 1:9b I, John…was on the island of Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Patmos is a small island in the Aegean Sea, located 37 miles southwest of Miletus. The island was a political prison, a place of exile that Roman emperors used to put away dissidents. John was apparently such a one for the testimony he preached regarding the unique and supreme nature of Jesus Christ.
Revelation 1:9a I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ,
Verse 8 appears to be the conclusion of John’s greeting, with verse 9 beginning the purpose of Christ’s revelation to him. Verse 4 solidified that this letter was (initially) to the seven churches of Asia. John states that he was both a brother and companion to these churches.
Revelation 1:8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
Verses 5 through 7 have John focusing his readership on Jesus Christ. From being the faithful witness, to the tribes of earth mourning because of Him at His triumphant return. Skipping ahead briefly to verse 9, we also find John speaking about the kingdom of Christ and his subsequent exile because of his witness regarding Jesus.
Revelation 1:7 Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.
Scripture speaks of a bodily, glorious return of the Lord Jesus Christ when the Second Coming occurs. Now the Second Coming should not be confused with the Rapture, which is an event that precedes it. The Rapture, which Paul refers to in 1 Thessalonians 4:14-17 and 2 Thessalonians 2:3, is the event in which the Lord summons the living saints and the bodies of the dead saints to Him in the air for a glorious meeting.
Revelation 1:6 and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Jesus said, when He had just been resurrected, “Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God,” John 20:17. Paul, in his letter to the Ephesians, writes that the Father is, “the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory,” Ephesians 1:17.
Revelation 1:5c To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood,
The conclusion of verse 5 is an excellent swan song for the train of thought John had built in this passage alone. Christ died for our sins according to the Scripture. When He died, mankind died with Him. Man will not be judged as to whether or not we have sinned; all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, Romans 3:23.
Revelation 1:5b the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth.
Christ was the first to be resurrected, to see death no more, Colossians 1:18, Romans 6:9. The firstborn, in Jewish tradition and Scripture, was the inheritor of the father’s estate. All that belonged to the father would be the son’s. Those who, through faith in the Lord, received the Second Birth belong to Christ as part of the Father’s estate, John 10:29.
Revelation 1:5a and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness,
In verse 4 we have mention of God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. Now, in verse 5, we have mention of God the Son. Yes, the word Trinity does not directly appear in Scripture. But the concept and contextual argument for the Trinity abounds in Scripture.
Revelation 1:4 John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne.
John employs the first use of the mention of 7 in Revelation. This number, which Biblically signifies completion, occurs 54 times in this book; twice in this verse alone. The choice of using the number seven for the churches John writes to may have particular significance.
I come to you today with a prayer request for my family; more specifically for my father-in-law, who has been contending with prostate cancer for a count of years, and it has finally progressed to needing treatment.
Revelation 1:3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.
The book of Revelation comes with a special blessing for those who first read, and then hear the words of this prophecy. There are two camps identified here: those who read Revelation, and those who listen. First there is a blessing to the reader of this prophecy. Bible teachers are flatly told that there is a blessing in reading this prophecy to others. Readers are informed that hearing these words–hearing and genuinely listening–is also a blessing.
Revelation 1:2 who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw.
I first want to direct our mutual attention to the beginning and end of this verse, “who bore witness…to all things that he saw.” The who of course is the Apostle John. The idea of witnessing is of utmost importance both here and in all of Scripture. Why?
Revelation 1:1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants–things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John,
I have in my possession a copy of the original AV, or King James Version of the Bible. Its title for this book is as such: “The Revelation of St. John the Divine.” The title carries with it a fundamental error in understanding. It is not a revelation of John; it was a revelation TO John, vouchsafed by Jesus Christ.
