Introduction: Part One

Revelation 1:1-10a New King James Version

Revelation 1:1-2

1. (v.1) The Revelation of Jesus Christ,

2. which God gave Him to show His servants—things which must shortly take place.

3. And He sent and signified it

a. The revelation is said to be “signified” (AV) to John. The Greek verb (sēmainō) carries the idea of figurative representation. Strictly speaking, it means to make known by some sort of sign[1]

4. by His angel

a. Revelation 22:16 “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.”

5. to His servant John,

a. John, the author of the Gospel and three epistles that bear his name (1, 2, 3 John).

6. (v.2) who bore witness

a. to the word of God,

b. and to the testimony of Jesus Christ,

c. to all things that he saw.

Revelation 1:3

1. Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it;

a. The beatitude in 1:3 is the first of seven beatitudes in Revelation. (The others are found in 14:13; 16:15; 19:9; 20:6; 22:7, 14.) [2]

2. for the time is near.

a. Revelation = apocalyptic literature (v.1), epistolatory letter (vv.3-4; Revelation 22:21), and prophecy (v.3).

i. Revelation 22:21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.

Revelation 1:4-6

1. (v.4) John,

2. to the seven churches which are in Asia: (c.f. v.11)

3. Grace to you and peace

4. from Him who is and who was and who is to come,

a. Exodus 3:14 And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.” And He said, “Thus you shall say to the children of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’ ”

5. and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne,

a. Isaiah 11:2 The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, The Spirit of wisdom and understanding, The Spirit of counsel and might, The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.

6. (v.5) and from Jesus Christ,

a. the faithful witness,

b. the firstborn from the dead,

c. and the ruler over the kings of the earth.

7. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood,

a. (v.6) and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father,

8. to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Revelation 1:7-8

1. (v.7) Behold, He is coming with clouds,

a. Daniel 7:13 “I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, And they brought Him near before Him.

2. and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him.

a. Zechariah 12:10 “And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced. Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn.

b. John 19:34 But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.

c. John 19:37 And again another Scripture says, “They shall look on Him whom they pierced.”

d. Matthew 24:30 Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.

3. Even so, Amen.

4. (v.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.”

a. 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,

Revelation 1:9

1. I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ,

a. Revelation 7:14 And I said to him, “Sir, you know.” So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

b. Matthew 24:21 For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.

c. John 16:33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

2. was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.

a. PATMOS (Πάτμος, Patmos). A small island in the Aegean Sea off the southwest coast of Asia Minor (Rev 1:9). According to a tradition preserved by Irenaeus, Eusebius, Jerome and others, John, the author of Revelation, was exiled there in the 14th year of the reign of Domitian and subsequently released to Ephesus under Nerva (96 ad).

Revelation 1:10a

1. I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day,

Application:

1. We need God’s grace and peace in times of trouble (Revelation 1:4).

a. 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,

b. Revelation 1:5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood,

2. We need to worship despite our circumstances in times of trouble (Revelation 1:10).

a. Revelation 1:10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet,

AV Authorized Version (= KJV) [1] Mounce, R. H. (1997). The Book of Revelation (p. 42). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. [2] Mounce, R. H. (1997). The Book of Revelation (p. 43). Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.