1.1 Salutation (1:4-8)
v4 - John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia, - This is John's introduction, he is known by all seven churches and therefore he simply calls himself John. There were more than seven churches in Asia. The seven churches in Asia, i.e. present day Turkey, are representative of the whole church. The number seven occurs 52 times in the book and indicates divine completeness, because God finished the work of creation and rested on the seventh day, see Gen 2:2 (see also Wilcock p62, 156). This letter would probably have been circulated around the churches as some of Paul's letters were circulated (Col 4:16). v4 - Grace and peace to you - This is a fitting greeting to the saints who are saved by grace and who are therefore at peace with God. It is included as a greeting in 17 books of the NT, all of Paul's epistles (Rom 1:7), Peters (1 Pet 1:2, 2 Pet 1:2) and 2 John. 'Peace' sums up the blessings of this kingdom; 'grace' describes their origin (Ramsey). All the blessings that come down from heaven to helpless man, labouring under the fearful burden of unforgiven sin and the dread of impending wrath and the misery of conflicting passions, unsatisfied desires, and earthly woes, are forcibly and touchingly included in this one word, 'peace', the peace that is from God and that reconciles to God. The very words that come to you laden with heaven's richest mercies, to gladden and to save your soul, imply that God regards you as by nature at enmity with Him, and under the penalty of His holy law; and that deliverance from this state of sin and misery cannot be procured by any works or merits of yours or of any creature, but must be His perfectly gratuitous gift. (Ramsey) v4 - from him who is, and who was, and who is to come - There now follows a three-fold formula for the Trinity. From the eternal God, who is now, who is from past eternity to future eternity (see also 1:8, 4:8, 11:17). This salutation is from God the Father, Holy Spirit and the Son, see v4-5, below. This is similar to the name God declared to Moses 'I AM WHO I AM' and 'I AM' (Exo 3:14), He inhabits eternity (Isa 57:15). This designation can only apply to God. v4 - and from the seven spirits before his throne, - Seven refers to completeness, another reading is seven fold spirit. Isaiah gives seven modes (actually six modes) of operation of the Spirit in the life of Christ (Isa 11:2-4). See also John 14:16-27: the Spirit comforts (16), is the Spirit of Truth (17), lives in us (17), manifests Jesus (21), manifests Jesus and the Father (23), teaches us (26), gives us peace (27) {POSB}. The seven spirits are referred to again in the letter to Sardis (3:1), and as seven lamps blazing before the throne of God (4:5), and as the seven eyes of the Lamb, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth (5:6). John is not going against the traditional doctrine of there being one Spirit. For a detailed explanation see comments on 4:5. v5 - and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness - Jesus is the last mentioned member of the trinity, with a three-fold reference to his identity and function: 'the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth' (Johnson). Jesus tells us and shows us what God is really like in his ministry on earth. He is the faithful witness (John 8:13), Antipas was a faithful witness (2:13), he was faithful to death just as Jesus was faithful to death on a cross. To the church of Laodicea he is the faithful and true witness, see also the rider on the white horse, Rev 19:11, whose name is Faithful and True. The word for witness is the Greek martus and the same word is used of the martyr Antipas (2:13), of Jesus the true witness (3:14), of the two witnesses (11:3) and the blood of the martyrs (17:6) the common theme being that they all seal their testimony with their blood. v5 - the firstborn from the dead - The 'firstborn from the dead'is one of the many titles of Jesus Christ, he is the first to rise from the dead, see Col 1:18. In the census of Israel in Rev 7:5 we find the first tribe, which is usually the firstborn, listed as Judah because Jesus was descended from Judah. This mention of Jesus as the firstborn also assures us that that when He returns we will also rise from the dead because he is the firstborn of many brothers (Rom 8:29, 1 Cor 15:20-23). This is an important point to be made because Revelation clearly states that many Christians need to be faithful to death (2:10, 6:9, 11:7, 13:7-10, 13:15, 17:6, 20:4). v5 - the ruler of the kings of the earth. - One of the purposes of Revelation is to show, despite appearances to the contrary, that Jesus is the ruler of the kings of the earth. It is also a divine title cf. 1 Tim 6:15. There are many references to the kings of the earth in Revelation, it is also a common expression in the bible, Mat 17:25. The kings of the earth hide from the Lamb (Rev 6:15), the kings of the earth wage war on the Lamb (Rev 19:19) and lose (Rev 19:21). Revelation shows that Jesus is the ruler of even the highest of men as well as the lowest, 6:15. The kings of the earth bring their splendour into the city of God (Rev 21:24). Jesus is the King of kings and Lord of Lords (Rev 17:4, 19:16), in this book he demonstrates his authority by overcoming those who fight against him. Ladd points out that John was aware of the tendency in his day to deify and worship the Roman emperor. The emperors Julius Caesar, Augustus, Claudius, Vespasian and Titus had been officially declared divine after their death by the Roman Senate, and the last three had used the term DIVUS (divine) on their coins. Domitian the emperor at the time John wrote requested that he be addressed as Dominus et Deus (Lord and God). One of the purposes of Revelation is to show that despite appearances, that Jesus Christ is the true ruler of the kings of the earth, He is King of kings and Lord of lords. To the Christians living between his first coming and second coming the fact that Christ is the ruler of the kings of the earth has to be accepted by faith, because the evidence of history will frequently be contrary. Revelation however shows us the spiritual reality behind what we see with our eyes, for example, the beast representing political power derives his power from Satan, but that at his second coming Jesus will be declared with power to be Lord of lords and will defeat both the beast and Satan. v5 - To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood - There follows a three-fold description of his saving work. Adoration to our redeemer, to the one who loves us and proved it by His death on the cross which cancelled our sins. This is a definition of a Christian, one who is loved by Christ and freed from his sins. This book is written to those who are saved from the wrath of God through the blood of Christ, that is his death on the cross. Only this is sufficient to cleanse and free us of our sins and make us acceptable to God. In all circumstances the saints are more than conquerors through Jesus who loves us. Only those who acknowledge the word of God and the testimony of Jesus will really benefit or make sense of the book. Jesus is the only one who can save us from the wrath of God as indicated by the bowls in this book, and finally from the lake of fire, 1 Thess 1:10. Here in a book that contains much judgement we are at the beginning reminded of the gospel that through the death and resurrection of Christ 'God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them' (2 Cor 5:14-21). The blood of Jesus which purifies from us from sin is a theme of John's epistle (1 John 1:7); as is the love of God (1 John 4:7-11). v6 - 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. - In addition to loving us and dying for he has made us to be a kingdom and priests. This is similar to Rev 5:10, 'You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God, and they will reign on the earth', see also 20:6, 22:5. It is Jesus who has made us to be a kingdom and priests. Ladd notes that the church is called a kingdom not just because it is a people under a king but because they participate in the messianic reign of Christ (see 5:10 also Mat 5:2-5, 19:28, Luke 22:30). The primary reference to kingdom and priests comes from Exo 19:5-6, in the OT and 1 Pet 2:9 in the NT. In Exo 19:5-6 the Israelites were promised that if they obeyed God then they would be God's treasured possession out of all the nations of the earth and would be for God a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. The tribe of Levites became the priests, and at the death of Jesus the veil in the temple was split into two because from then on all the saints, not just the Levites, are priests. 1 Pet 2:9 emphasises that the saints are a chosen people, a people belonging to God, a royal priesthood and a holy nation who will declare the praises of God who called them out of darkness (Satan's kingdom, Acts 26:18) into his wonderful light. In the OT a priest was a mediator between God and the people offering sacrifices and incense on their behalf and for their sins. In the NT the priesthood of believers means declaring to the world the good news of the gospel, that Jesus died for their sins and offering up prayer on their behalf. Other references to 'Serve God' are Rev 7:15, 22:3. The saints are in a kingdom whose king is Christ, formerly we were part of Satan's kingdom, Col 1:13. To serve his God and Father reminds us of the words of Jesus to his disciples after the resurrection that his Father is now their Father and his God is now their God (John 20:17). These two verses (5 & 6) refer to those who know Jesus, the next verse refers to those who do not know Jesus. To those who know Jesus his return to earth will bring a new body and eternal life in the paradise of God. v7 - 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. - In contrast to the two verses above which refer to our riches in Christ this verse brings mourning to the peoples of the earth who do not know the love of God and who are not cleansed from their sins. The second coming will be public, every eye shall see him (Mat 24:30), he will bring retribution on those who do not know him (2 Thess 1:7-9, Rev 6: 15-17, 11:18, 14:17-20, 19:15) but will be marvelled at by the saints 2 Thess 1:10, Rev 19:6-9. This vision of Christ's second coming is a combination of Dan 7:13 and Zech 12:10. The announcement of Christ's second coming is a major them in the book, this is based on Zec 12:10 see also Mat 24:30, for the church this will bring solace but for the world it will bring judgement. John 19:37 'They will look on the one they have pierced' is also based on Zech 12:10 and uses the same Greek word ekkenteo as in Revelation, the only two times it is used in the NT. The second coming and the judgement upon mankind is one of the great themes of this book, its first mention is in verse 7 it's last is the penultimate verse of Revelation. In particular the book concerns the events leading up to the second coming. See Mat 24. There are at least twelve references to the second coming of Jesus Christ in the book, the other eleven references are:
v8 - "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty." - Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, this should be thought of as the beginning and the end of history, He is the author of history. The seven seals (Rev 5) concern the unfolding of God's plan in history. Revelation shows us that God is sovereign over human history, that God is both the beginning and the end is particularly appropriate to this book. This designation of Alpha and Omega is repeated in 21:6, 22:13. He came to earth and died on the cross (who was), he is now exalted at the right hand of God and intercedes for us (who is) and he is coming again in power and glory to claim his own (who is to come). In Col 1:15-20 we find that all things were created by him and for him, he is the beginning of creation and the firstborn from the dead, being the first to rise from the dead. When he returns he will consummate this present age and the righteous will rise from the dead and there will be a new age with a new heaven and new earth. |
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