Revelation 1:4-8

“Christ revealed as Lord over the Churches”,
Part 1

This passage begins the first major section of Revelation (not counting the 3 verse introduction to the book). It begins at Revelation 1:4 and ends at Revelation 3:22.

[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 who are before his throne, [5] and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood [6] and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. [7] Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. 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.”
Revelation 1:4-8

Though many people think that Revelation is a book only focused on the End Times, it actually begins with a “present-day” message to 7 churches in “Asia” (which is now modern-day Turkey).

This section begins with the Apostle John proclaiming grace and peace from God the Father “who is and who was and who is to come” to these 7 churches. There is a real emphasis on God as the God who never changes; He is eternally constant and secure. The result is that the churches can rest assured in the unchanging nature of God. Though crazy times may be coming, churches can rest assured that they will always have grace and peace with God.

However, John adds a very confusing phrase to the end of verse 4. The verse continues and says that grace and peace are also from “the seven spirits who are before his throne.” What does that mean?

This does not mean that there are seven different spirits (Holy Spirit, Funny Spirit, Strong Spirit, Purple Spirit, Spirited Away, etc), there is only one Holy Spirit. But by saying the “7 spirits”, John is teaching us about how the Holy Spirit relates to the churches. In the Bible, the number 7 is often used to represent fullness, completion, sometimes even divine perfection. And though we usually should not put too much emphasis on numbers, we can in this situation because the book of Revelation emphasizes numbers quite often. So when the Apostle John talks about the 7 spirits, he is talking about the perfect fullness of the Spirit. And this is reinforced by the fact that he is writing to the 7 churches. Each church gets the fullness of the Holy Spirit; the Holy Spirit is not spread out too thin across the world, He is fully present with each church.

[5] and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.

After grace and peace from God the Father and the Holy Spirit, we see grace and peace from Jesus Christ as well. He is the faithful witness, the only One who displays all of God. And He is firstborn of the dead, faithfully revealing how God will one day resurrect all believers. Lastly, He is the ruler of kings on earth. The resurrected King is the rightful ruler of the Earth, and this foreshadows that He is coming to take His Creation back.

So in verses 4-5, we see the beauty of Trinitarian grace and peace, each Person of the Trinity pouring out grace and peace upon the churches! The Gospel has led us to an unimaginable position: to be loved fully by the complete Trinity.

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood [6] and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

This outpouring of grace and peace is even greater when we consider that we never earned it. We were sinners, and our condemnation was so great that God Himself had to die as a sacrifice for our sins. Yet, we see as verse 5 continues, He freed us by His own blood because He loved us. What a staggering truth! His love for us compelled Him to even die for us. What a grace to be loved by such an amazing God!

And it was not merely out of pity. It was not as though God did it just because He felt bad for us and after rescuing us tossing us away because we are lowly and weak. We are not saved to merely live as shameful pardoned criminals. Rather, He saves us to bring us into His own family. We are not pardoned criminals, we are priestly children, precious family, beloved sons and daughters of the King of Kings! And we are called to stop serving the destructive and disappearing idols of the world, but to serve the everlasting Kingdom and to enjoy true glory.

[7] Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.

Yet there is another revelation. His Kingdom is not only the everlasting Kingdom, His Kingdom shall be the only Kingdom. Jesus will return with an earth-shattering undeniable glory. The first time, He came secretly as a baby, as a Lamb to be killed for sinners. The second time, He comes triumphantly as a King, as a Lion to judge sinners. And though the earth will wail, even so, “Come Lord Jesus Come! 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.”

Jesus is God. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the Creator and the Finisher of all things. He is the same God who created the universe, the same God who watched Adam and Eve fall, the same God who made a covenant with Abraham, the same God who rescued Israelites from Egypt, the same God who returned Israel from Exile, the same God who became flesh and walked among us, the same God who died for our sins and resurrected, the same God that works through the Churches, the same God who will one day return to judge all people, and the same God who will be glorified for all eternity. He has not changed. He is faithful, He is true, He is the Alpha and the Omega, He is the Almighty.

Once again, we are reminded that the book of Revelation is ultimately about revealing the glory of Jesus Christ. And in this passage, as we introduce Christ as Lord over all the churches, we learn an important lesson: what a glorious privilege to have grace and peace from God through the Gospel of Christ! And, what a frightful condemnation awaits all who reject the one true King of Kings.