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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Rev_1:4-7
4John 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, 5and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood— 6and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father— to Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. 7Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. So it is to be. Amen.
Rev_1:4 "to the seven churches" Exactly why only seven churches were addressed is uncertain. There are several theories:
1. some have asserted that these were the churches that John had a special ministering relationship with
2. others have asserted that they form a postal route in the Roman Province of Asia
3. the number seven had great significance to the Jews, especially in inter-biblical apocalyptic literature
It was the number of perfection from its use of the days in Genesis 1. Therefore, it was probably used in both a literal sense—John did write to several churches which formed a Roman postal route in Asia Minor—and symbolically as a way of referring to all churches of all days. See Special Topics below.
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▣ "in Asia" This refers to the western end of the modern country of Turkey, which was, in large part, the old country of Phrygia, which became the Roman province of "Asia Minor."
▣ "Grace to you and peace" This was a traditional form of greeting which is seen so often in Paul's writings. Many assert that the Christians changed the traditional Greek literary greeting from "charein" (cf. Jas_1:1) to the similar sounding Christian greeting of charis, which meant "grace." "Peace" may have referred to the Hebrew term "shalom," thereby combining the Greek and Hebrew greetings so as to relate to both groups in the churches. However, this is simply speculation.
▣ "from Him who is and who was and who is to come" This is obviously a title for the unchanging Covenant God (cf. Psa_102:7; Mal_3:6; Jas_1:17). Its grammatical form is awkward in Greek but may reflect an Aramaic background. The literal phrase is "from the One who is, from the One who was, and the One coming" (cf. Rev_4:8). This phrase reflects the OT covenant title "I Am" (YHWH, cf. Exo_3:14, see hyperlink at Rev_1:8). This phrase is used for God the Father in Rev_1:4; Rev_1:8, and of Jesus Christ in Rev_1:17-18 (cf. Heb_13:8). The purposeful transfer of titles from YHWH to Jesus was one way the NT authors asserted the Deity of Jesus.
This threefold phrase of God as past, present, and future is modified in Rev_11:17; Rev_16:5, which is the Second Coming at the end of the trumpets, to just the present and past because the future (end-time) has dawned.
▣ "and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne" See Special Topic below.
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Rev_1:5 "and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness" This is the first of three phrases which describe Jesus the Messiah. These opening verses are paralleled in Rev_20:6-15. "Faithful" had an OT connotation of one who is loyal, true, and dependable (cf. Isa_55:3-5). As God's written Word (the Bible) is trustworthy, so is His ultimate revelation, the Living Word, Jesus (cf. Rev_3:14). The gospel is a message to be believed, a person to be received, and a life emulating that person to be lived.
The Greek phrase, "the faithful witness," can mean
1. "My witness, My faithful One" – as two phrases, see Rev_2:13 (with the addition of the personal pronoun)
2. "the faithful and true Witness," see Rev_3:14 (with the addition of "and true")
▣ "the firstborn of the dead" See Special Topic below.
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▣ "and the ruler of the kings of the earth" This phrase, like the previous one, is an allusion to Psa_89:27 (cf. Psa_72:11; Isa. 48:23), which speaks of Jesus as the promised Messiah. It also reflects John's reaction to
1. the emperor worship of the eastern provinces of the Roman Empire
2. the use of the royal Mesopotamian phrase "King of kings" (cf. Rev_11:15; Rev_17:14; Rev_19:16)
▣ "To Him who loves us" This is a present active participle, meaning "Jesus continues to love us." This affirmation is very important in light of the weaknesses and failures of five of the seven churches (cf. chapters 2-3).
▣ "and released us from our sins" This is an aorist active participle. The Vulgate and Coptic versions, as well as some minuscule Greek manuscripts, and the King James Version have the verb "washed" (louô) which was pronounced exactly like the word "released" (luô). The ancient scribes produced texts of the NT by one person reading the text aloud while others wrote it down.
The term "released" (with additions) appears in the ancient Greek manuscripts P18, à * (with preposition), à cf8 i2, A, and C while "washed" is found only in later uncial manuscripts, P (sixth century) and 046, as well as in several later minuscule (running Greek script) manuscripts. Hence, "released" or "freed" is the preferred reading. The UBS4 gives "released" a "certain" rating. See Special Topic: Textual Criticism.
▣ "by His blood" This is an obvious allusion to the sacrificial (cf. Leviticus 1-7), vicarious atonement of Jesus Christ (cf. Rev_5:9; Rev_7:14; Rev_12:11; Mar_10:45; 2Co_5:21; Isa_52:13 to Isa_53:12). "By His blood" is a recurrent gospel truth (cf. Rom_3:25; Eph_1:7; Eph_2:13; Col_1:20; 1Pe_1:18-19. Somehow in the mystery of God, His justice and mercy for all fallen humans met in the substitutionary death of Jesus (cf. Heb_9:11-28). See Special Topic below.
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Rev_1:6 "He has made us" This is an aorist active indicative. As Jesus has released us from our sins (Rev_1:5), He has also made us a kingdom of priests to represent Him!
NASB "a kingdom, priests to His God"
NKJV "kings and priests to His God"
NRSV "a kingdom, priests serving His God"
TEV, NJB "a kingdom of priests to serve His God"
This is an allusion to the OT terms used of Israel in Exo_19:6 and Isa_61:6, where the nation was considered to be a kingdom of priests. God chose Abraham to choose Israel to choose a lost world (cf. Gen_3:15; Gen_12:3). Israel was meant to be a nation of witnesses (i.e., priests) but they failed in this assigned evangelistic task (cf. Eze_36:22-38). Therefore, God chose the Church to reach the world (cf. Mat_28:19-20; Luk_24:47; Act_1:8). The very same phrases which were used for Israel are now used for the Church (cf. Gal_3:29; Gal_6:16; Php_3:3; 1Pe_2:5; 1Pe_2:9; Rev_1:6; Rev_5:10; Rev_20:6).
It is important to notice the corporate, biblical emphasis of "the priesthood of believers." Western Christianity has over- emphasized the place and role of the individual and under-emphasized biblical corporality. The NT metaphor of the body of Christ (cf. 1 Corinthians 12) is a similar metaphor. The OT title was never meant as an excuse for believers to assert their individual freedoms. This emphasis developed from the historical struggle between Martin Luther and the Catholic Church of his day. The focus of this context is evangelism (cf. Rev_1:7), involving every believer, attempting to reach every lost and needy human made in God's image for whom Christ died (cf. Joh_3:16; 1Ti_2:4; 2Pe_3:9; 1Jn_2:2; 1Jn_4:14). See Special Topic below.
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▣ "to His God and Father" This phrase may seem to depreciate the full deity of the Son (see hyperlink at Rev_22:17), but it is really a way of asserting Jesus' subordination while incarnated. The same phrase is used by Paul in Rom_15:6. The sense of equality can be seen in Rev_3:21; Rev_14:1.
▣ "to Him be the glory and the dominion" The term "glory" is an OT commercial term (using scales for purchases) that meant "to be heavy"; that which was heavy (e.g., gold) was valuable. The term came to be used of God's brightness, majesty, holiness, from the Shekinah Cloud of Glory in Exodus. Glory was often ascribed to God the Father in the NT (cf. Rom_11:36; Rom_16:27; Eph_3:21; Php_4:20; 1Ti_1:17; 2Ti_4:18; 1Pe_4:11; 1Pe_5:11; 2Pe_3:18; Jud_1:25; Rev_1:6; Rev_5:13; Rev_7:12). See Special Topic: Glory at Rev_15:8.
The term "dominion" addressed to God the Father, is similar theologically to the subordination of the Son (cf. John 17). Jesus is the Father's agent in all things, but the goal is the ultimate glorification of the Father (cf. 1Co_15:27-28).
▣ "forever and ever" This is literally "into the ages of the ages." This double use of aiônos, singular then plural, is common in Revelation (cf. Rev_1:18; Rev_4:9-10; Rev_5:13; Rev_7:12; Rev_10:6; Rev_11:15; Rev_15:7; Rev_19:3; Rev_20:10; Rev_22:5). It is surprising that early Greek witnesses omitted the second one (MSS P18, A, P). UBS4 cannot decide which reading is original. See Special Topics below.
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▣ "Amen" This is a form of the OT Hebrew term for "faith" (cf. Hab_2:4). Its original etymology was "to be firm or sure." However, the connotation changed to that which is to be affirmed (cf. 2Co_1:20). It was used metaphorically of someone who was faithful, loyal, steadfast, trustworthy (a title for Jesus in Rev_3:14, cf. 2Co_1:20). See Special Topic below.
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Rev_1:7 "Behold, He is coming with the clouds" This verse may have been an exclamation by the angel of Rev_1:1. It is an obvious reference to the Second Coming of Christ. See Special Topic below.
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▣ "and every eye will see Him" This seems to imply the bodily, physical, visible, universal return of Christ, not a secret rapture of believers. In my opinion the Bible never teaches a secret rapture or coming. Those verses in the Gospels (cf. Mat_24:37-44; Luk_17:22-37) that are often used to support a secret rapture, contextually relate to a comparison with the days of Noah. These texts denote the unexpected suddenness of His coming. In Noah's day the one taken was destroyed! Be careful of proof-texting small passages of Scripture out of the inspired original setting and using them to back up your presuppositional theological eschatological system!
▣ "even those who pierced Him, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him" This is an allusion to Zec_12:10; Zec_12:12 (cf. Joh_19:37). This is a good example of how John reworks OT texts to fit his Roman situation (a Jewish type of reinterpretation called pesher). The text of Zechariah is a spring-board to John's new application. In Zechariah the text refers to the inhabitants of Jerusalem who grieve over "one pierced," but here John used it of the Romans and Jewish leaders who crucified Christ (cf. Joh_19:37). The pronoun "they" in the Masoretic Hebrew text is changed to "all the tribes of the earth" (cf. Mat_24:30, this phrase is not from the Septuagint). Also, "mourn," in the context of the Zechariah passage is often interpreted as relating to Romans 11, where the Jews repent and trust Jesus as Messiah. However, in Rev_1:7 the mourning is not for repentance, but because the judgment of God has fallen on unbelievers from all tribes (cf. Mat_24:30). The Zechariah context alludes to the end-time judgment of the nations by mentioning "the plain of Megiddo," in Hebrew it is called Armageddon (cf. Zec_12:11; 2Ch_35:22 and Psalms 2; Rev_16:16), the site of an end-time battle between God and His people and Satan and his people, the unbelieving nations. See Special Topic below.
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▣ "So it is to be. Amen." This is the Greek word for affirmation (nai) and the Hebrew word for affirmation (amen) placed side by side for emphasis (cf. Rev_22:20).