Revelation 1
CHAPTER 1
The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things which must shortly come to pass; which he sent and put into sign by his Angel to his servant John; 2 who testified of the word of God and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, even of all things that he saw.
3 Blessed is he that reads, and they that hear the words of the prophecy, and keep the things that are written therein; for the time is near.
4 John to the seven churches that 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 that are before His throne. 5 And from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him that loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and who made us kings and priests to his God and Father; to him be the glory and the dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
7 Behold, he comes with the clouds, and every eye shall see him, and they that pierced him, and all the tribes of the earth shall mourn over him. So shall it be! Amen.
8 I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.
9 I John, your brother and partaker with you in tribulation and the kingdom and patience of Jesus, was in the isle that is called Patmos, because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, saying: 11 What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches. To Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.
A vision of the glorified Jesus
12 And I turned to see the voice that spoke to me. And having turned I saw seven golden candlesticks. 13 And in the midst of the candlesticks- one like a Son of Man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. 14 And his head and his hair were white as white wool, white as snow, and his eyes were as a flame of fire. 15 And his feet were like bronze refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the voice of many waters. 16 And he had in his right hand seven stars, and out of his mouth proceeded a sharp two-edged sword, and his countenance was as the sun shines in its strength.
17 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as one dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying: Fear not. I am the first and the last, 18 the living one; and I was dead, but behold, I am alive for always, and I have the keys of Death and of Hades. 19 Therefore write the things which you see, and the things which are, and the things which shall hereafter come to pass.
20 This is the mystery of the seven stars which you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven candlesticks are seven churches.
Commentary
1:1 Revelation speaks of things future to the time of John in the first century. Therefore the later references to events concerning Satan, the adversary, aren’t descriptive of anything which happened in earlier history, e.g. in the garden of Eden.
1:6 We will be King-priests in the future Kingdom of God on earth (5:10), but by status we have been given this position now in that we are even now redeemed in Christ.
1:7 The return of Christ will be literal and visible to all (Acts 1:9-11). Those who crucified Jesus will see Him again- because they will be resurrected to judgment at His coming.
1:12 The candlesticks represent the churches; yet the voice and person of Jesus came from them. This shows how closely Jesus is associated with His people.
1:20 Not only do we as individuals have guardian Angels, but groups of believers, churches, have a specific guardian Angel also.
