Hello Friends || Introduction to Revelation || Part 2

Welcome back to my “Introduction to Revelation” Bible study. I’m taking a deeper dive into Revelation 1 to hear from John what this book will contain. My goal for this series is to set up a sturdy foundation to build our knowledge on this book, because we’re studying this book until September 8^th.

In Part 1, we learned that Revelation is a book about the future and the present. It shows it in a way that reveals Jesus’s love, power, and justice. John, the author, wrote this book from Patmos as the last surviving disciple of the original twelve. Revelation is apocalyptic literature. This message reveals the message about who Jesus is and God’s plan for the end of the world. John received a vision from Jesus, who reported that vision to his audience in the best way he could. It’s also prophetic, sharing the future events and the identity of God. John uses this book to prepare all believers for the final judgment.

Today, I’m dissecting John’s greeting to the seven churches. This is a preview to what will be discussed in Revelation 2 and 3.

Revelation 1:4-8

4              This letter is from John to the seven churches in the province of Asia. Grace and peace to you from the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come; from the sevenfold Spirit before his throne;

5             and from Jesus Christ. He is the faithful witness to these things, the first to rise from the dead, and the ruler of all the kings of the world. All glory to him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by shedding his blood for us. 

6             He has made us a Kingdom of priests for God his Father. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.

7             Look! He comes with the clouds of heaven. And everyone will see him— even those who pierced him. And all the nations of the world  will mourn for him. Yes! Amen!

8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega—the beginning and the end,” says the Lord God. “I am the one who is, who always was, and who is still to come—the Almighty One.”

There’s a lot to unpack here. This introduction is broken into two parts: verses 4-6 and verses 7-8. Let’s talk about them first before I get into the notes.

In verses 4-6:

• Grace and peace are given to them from Jesus and the sevenfold spirits (more information later.)
• Jesus is the true witness to grace and peace, the first to be resurrected from the dead, and supreme ruler.
• We give Jesus all of praise because of the sacrifice Jesus made for us.
• Jesus made us holy priests for God and his kingdom.

In verses 7-8:

• Jesus will return on a cloud from heaven.
• Everyone will recognize him, including those who ridiculed him.
• The world will be concerned with his return.
• We hear from God who describes himself as:
  • The beginning and the end
  • The one who is, was, and is to come.

The reason I separate them is because of the “Amen” found at the end of verse 6. It separates the intention of the sections for me. Verses 4-6 talk about the character and power to Jesus and Verses 7-8 talk about the world’s response to seeing Jesus’s return and the eternality of God.

The Trinity is:

• The Father (the one who is, who was, and who is to come)
• The Holy Spirit (the sevenfold spirit)
• The Son (Jesus)

The Trinity is the source of all truth. We can be assured that John’s message is dependable and reveals God’s word to us. John is recording a vision given to him from Jesus, so we can trust the information to have God’s truth for us. The struggle we often run into is the imagery and meaning that John writes with that would have made sense to the original audience given the time and culture. Underneath the literal words, we find God’s divine truth, and that’s the goal of our study of this book. To dig into the imagery and not focus on it. To understand what it meant at the time and take God’s truth into what it means for us today.

Jesus told John to write to seven churches that knew and trusted him, and had read his earlier letters (1, 2, and 3 John.) These letters, like Paul’s, were addressed so that they could be read and passed around in a systematic fashion, following the main Roman road clockwise around the province of Asia. Now, we hear “Asia” and “Rome” and maybe get confused as to how they are connected because they are on two different parts of the globe. The Asia referred to is located in what we know as western Türkiye. These letters would have been very familiar to the area because they would have intercepted Paul’s letters at some point. John and Paul both wrote to one church specifically that the Bible shows (Ephesus). These letters, while directed at one church, are shared to point out the direction of the church and potential of seeing one’s own problem in their church when its not directly called out.

The “sevenfold Spirit” is another name for the Holy Spirit. John uses the number seven through the book of Revelation to symbolize completeness and perfection. We will dive into the mentions of the number seven, such as the letters, bowls, and seals.

Jesus is the all-powerful King of kings. He is the one who is victorious in battle. He is the one who brings us peace that we cannot understand. He wasn’t just a humble earthly teacher, but the Lord of lords for all creation. When we read John’s descriptions of these visions, his teachings aren’t just good advice for when the Final Judgment happens. They are the divine truth. Don’t just read this book for the interesting, shocking, and confusing portrayal of the future. Let the truth about Jesus and his power and mercy change your life deeply. Allow it to deepen your faith in him. Allow it to strengthen your commitment to follow him no matter what it takes.

Many people will hesitate with sharing their faith because they don’t feel like the change in their lives has been significant. In my early 20s, I was jealous of the testimony of others because I felt like God had never had that level of transformative impact on my life. Now, I share what I can with where I am and where I’ve been because where I am is not where I thought I’d be. We qualify as a witness for Jesus because of what he did for us, not because of what we did for him. Jesus showed us his grace by releasing us from our bondage of sin through his death on the cross, guaranteeing us a place in his Kingdom and giving us the power to share God’s love and compassion to those around us. The end-goal of our Christian journey is to make sure we have a spot in heaven and can live eternally. I know we can do good and take care of others in the world without following God. Somebody might be at peace with whatever happens, regardless of if they engage in Christianity or not. We would want to make sure that our goodness in this world has a purpose. Our purpose can be found in honoring God through obeying his teachings (not the teachings of organized religions) and reflecting his grace, mercy, and compassion to the world. At the end of the day, the fact that this ultimate divine deity has offered you and me a place to live eternally in a place with no pain, sorrow, and tears is nothing short of spectacular.

John announces the return of Jesus to earth. Jesus’ second coming will be visible and victorious. Every single person will see him and have no doubt it will be Jesus. When he comes, Jesus will be victorious over evil and execute the final judgment of all people according to their deeds. Our good deeds in the world will be the signifier. How did you treat your neighbor? How do you care for the marginalized? How did you share the testimony about God (pertinent for those who refer to themselves as Christian)? People who do not claim to be a follower and still have the ability enter the Kingdom of Heaven. (See more about this in my “What the…?” series)

Here are my notes about the words that John used:

“…the first to rise from the dead…” – Others had come back from the dead – people who the prophets, Jesus, and the apostles resurrected during their ministries – but those people eventually died anyways. Jesus was the first people who died and rose back from the dead in an imperishable body. This is what John means by claiming Jesus as the first to rise from the dead.

“…even those who pierced him.” – Those that pierced him could mean the Roman soldiers who pierced Jesus’s side as he hung on the cross. John saw Jesus die, and he would have scarred and traumatized at what he saw.

“I am the Alpha and the Omega…” – Alpha and omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. God is the beginning of all things and the end of all things. God the Father is the eternal Lord and ruler of the past, present, and future. There is nothing eternal that exists without him. There is nothing that can save us from our sin aside from him. We must honor the one who starts and finishes all existence, wisdom, and power.

Today, I talked about John’s greeting to the seven churches in the province in Asia. The source of these letters came from the truth found in the Trinity. John wrote these letters to churches that trusted him and his knowledge. I talked about Jesus is the all-power King that is always victorious and brings a source of peace beyond understanding. We may not feel comfortable sharing our testimony because it hasn’t been anything massive, but Jesus has called us to do so and empowered us at the same time. Jesus will return. Everyone will notice it. He will come to defeat evil and judge all of us according to our deeds.

In Part 3, we’ll look at the vision of Jesus, the Son of Man. Until next time, stay blessed.

• Associated Scripture
  • Rev 1:4
    • Exodus 3:14
    • Revelation 1:8
    • Revelation 3:1
    • Revelation 4:5, 8
    • Revelation 5:6
    • Revelation 11:17
    • Revelation 16:5
  • Rev 1:5
    • Psalm 89:27
    • Isaiah 40:2
    • Colossians 1:18
    • Revelation 3:14
    • Revelation 19:11, 16
  • Rev 1:6
    • Isaiah 61:6
    • 1 Peter 2:5, 9
  • Rev 1:7
    • Daniel 7:13
    • Zechariah 12:10
    • Matthew 24:30
  • Rev 1:8
    • Isaiah 41:4
    • Amos 3:13
    • Amos 4:13