God immediately elevates our hearts and minds beyond our temporal concerns and cares, He elevates our thirst for cerebral knowledge of eschatology and end times events, beyond mere facts and charts about His "Parousia", the Second Advent of the Lord Jesus to about He, Himself, after all this book is a Revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ - the God-Man, the Holy and glorious "Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, which is, which was, and is to come, the Almighty" - the all-powerful, above all powers and kings, the supreme ruler and all sovereign God.

v1 - This record we have in the Book of Revelation is unique in Scripture in that it comes directly from the Lord Jesus to John and John relays it to us. This Revelation originated from the Father verse one tells us, which "God gave unto Him". The Him is the Lord Jesus and then the Lord passed it on to "His servant John".
v2 - John states he bore witness to the Word of God - the Lord Jesus Christ, the Living Word. This harkens back to his Gospel where he opens with; "in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God". He also bore witness to the testimony of Jesus Christ and of all the things that he saw and witness, walking alongside Jesus, observing His miracles, His teaching, His death and resurrection, and His ascension.
v3 - We are promised a special blessing upon reading, hearing, and guarding the words in this book, a promise found nowhere else in Scripture. No matter if we do not get our eschatology perfect, our timelines and charts. We strive, study, pray, and press into rightly dividing the Word of truth" and study to find ourselves approved unto every good work. Regardless, we are promised a blessing by virtue of studying this book and concentrating our gaze on the Great Blessed Hope, the return of our King and Priest, Brother and Friend, the glorified Jesus Christ. Notice the pronoun shift from "he that reads" to "they that keep". There is both a personal, individual element and a corporate element, a congregational or individual church-level accountability and blessing!
v4 - John tells us he is writing to the seven churches in Asia, literal churches (or group of churches) and greets them warmly. John restates the grandeur of Jesus with "what is, which was, and is to come" and "from the seven spirits which are before His throne. Scholars debate who/what these seven spirits area - The Holy Spirit or seven ruling spirits over the Church. These seven spirits come up elsewhere in Revelation 3:1, 4:5, and in 5:6. I believe it refers to seven ruling spirits which we do not know much else about since it seems unlikely that the Holy Spirit is referred to so unusually four times in Revelation but, is certainly possible seeing the number seven is a special number in Scripture and prophecy.
v5 - John extends his greeting from the Lord Jesus Himself to the seven churches. How interesting is that? He refers to Jesus as the "faithful witness" of the Father's will and plans, and now it will be revealed to John, and to us as His sheep. Jesus is the "first begotten from the dead". As Jesus was raised bodily and in glory, so shall we be raised in new bodies like His. He is the "first fruits" of His own obedient death and glory and for those of us positioned "In-Christ" we have died in Christ and shall be raised and glorified in Christ. John, the one whom Jesus loved, reminds us that Jesus loved us and washed us from ALL our sins, with His own BLOOD.
6- Jesus is our High Priest (Hebrews 4;14) and King (1 Timothy 6:15) . John states that Jesus has made us "kings and priests unto God and His Father". If we suffer with Him we will reign with Him (2 Tim 2:12). We will judge even angels (1 Cor 6:3) and are all priests We are a royal priesthood in Christ (1 Peter 2:).
7- John tells us Jesus comes with the clouds, just as the onlookers were told in Acts upon His ascension (Acts 1:9-11). Every eye on the earth, at the same time, will see Him at His parousia, his return. How? That's another conversation, however, every eye means every eye! Including, those that are now blinded and we Gentiles which are grafted in (Romans 11:11-31). Israel, the Jews, shall look upon Jesus whom they pierced, whom they crucified at His first coming and realized they missed it entirely and repent, they will then recognize and embrace Him as their Messiah and "All Israel shall be saved" (Romans 11:26). All you say? All means all, just like every eye means literally every eye! The tribes (kindreds) of the earth will wail. Wait, wail? Yes, they will be aware that time is up, the culmination of the judgment that's been reigning down on earth during the latter part of the Seventieth Week of Daniel ( 7 year Tribulation). Even so John says, Amen? So be it.
8- Jesus spectacularly speaks in verse 8 and declares Himself: "I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty." This is straight from Jesus Himself, to John, to US His people. Have you caught the emphasis on His sovereignty? V5 calls Jesus the "prince of kings", the ruler over all kings. We just had an election in the US with all the pomp and circumstance and yet, Jesus sits over all kings, turning their heart in His absolute sovereignty like water His hands Proverbs 21:1 tells us. Verse 8 ends with ascribing "the Almighty" to Jesus. Almighty translated means all powerful, all dominion, ruler of all. We can see what is coming, absolute dominion of the Lord Jesus over His Kingdom, all rulers will bend a knee to Him, all will either enter His Kingdom as faithful servants or face the wrath and vengeance of the Lamb of God, the Lion of Judah that returns with eyes of fire, of love and warm for His people and wrath for the wicked. This is the start of the absolute role of Christ. The time of the Gentiles expired, now the time of man has ended and his rule will be replaced by the Second Adam, with all dominion. First, with the 1,000-year Millennial Kingdom reign with us His servants and then on into the Eternal State, where we will live in a New Jersusalem.
Revelation 1:1-8
1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:
2 Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.
3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.
4 John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;
5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
7 Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.
8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
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