We begin with Revelation 1:1-3 which says, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must soon take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John, who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near.” The opening verse simply says, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ.” Quite often when we think of Revelation we think of future events and the prophetic portions of the book. That is true, but it says itself right at the very first line that this is, “The Revelation of Jesus Christ.” So, Christ is the central figure of the book, and we see that throughout the book and especially in Revelation 1.
He is revealing something to John who is in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day in Revelation 1:10. This is the first time, and only time, in Scripture that we hear this word the Lord’s Day. Historically and traditionally, we have considered the Lord’s Day to be Sunday. That may be what John means here. That he was in the Spirit on Sunday, or it could also simply mean that it is a spiritual event of the Lord’s Day, something in the future. We don’t want to be dogmatic about that, but that is what we hear from John in this verse.
The Lord has given a vision to John, and He says in Revelation 1:4, “John to the seven churches that are in Asia.” So, He is writing directly to seven existing churches that are in Asia, or what would be Turkey minor today, that were in existence. These churches were New Testament churches, they were at different levels of spiritual maturity, and the Lord is addressing this book to them. In Revelation 2-3, He gets very specific with each of the churches.
As read on, it says, “Grace to you and peace, from Him who is and who was and who is to come.” So, we see a picture of God the Father and God the Son in those particular words. Who is – He exists now. Who was – He has always existed. Who is to come – these are future events detailed concerning the coming of Jesus Christ.
He moves on to talk about Christ in Revelation 1:5, and says here, “the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood.” So, we have a Redemption factor here right from the beginning. This is not simply eschatology -- which is the doctrine of end times. It is not simply prophecy. It is reminding us that Jesus Christ released us. He set us free. He redeemed us by His blood from our sins as Revelation 1:6 tells us, “and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father.” So, we are a chosen people. We have been brought out. We’ve been drawn into a kingdom for Him, “to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.”
And then it says in Revelation 1:7, “Behold, He is coming with the clouds...” so we are going to be looking at the coming of Christ in this book. This goes back to Zechariah 12, in a prophecy there in concerning the coming of Christ and the Jews seeing Him as He comes. And they will mourn over Him, they will repent, and they will turn to Him at that time.
In Revelation 1:8 He says, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God” that’s the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. So, He’s the First and the Last, the beginning and the end of all things. All things begin with Him, and all things come to a conclusion in Jesus Christ. Revelation 1:8 finishes saying, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”
What a picture we already have here of Jesus Christ, and we have only just begun.
