Revelation 1:1 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:
Revelation 1:1 mentions four persons involved in the giving of the revelation: 1) God 2) Jesus Christ 3) John 4) an angel.
"The Revelation of Jesus Christ" -- The revelation, meaning the uncovering, is given to John from Jesus Christ.
The word "Christ", meaning "anointed", or "anointed one", signifies that Jehovah, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, anointed and sent Jesus. -- Deuteronomy 18:15-19; Psalm 2:26; 45:7; Isaiah 61:1; Ezekiel 34:23,24; John 10:29; 17:1,3; Acts 2:23,36; 3:13-26; 4:27; 10:38; Hebrews 1:1,2,9.
"Which God gave unto him" -- God is here depicted as one persoh, and Jesus is not depicted as being "God" here, but is distinguished from "God". "God" here (as well as throughout the book of Revelation) is only one person. The revelation is from God to "him", that is Jesus Christ.
"To shew unto his servants" -- The revelation is not given to the world in general, but only to the servants of Jesus Christ.
"Things which shortly must come to pass" -- Events beginning in the first century and coverning the last two millenia, as well as the 1,000 years of Christ's reign and the final outcome after that thousand years. All of then future events, from God's standpoint, are things that take place shortly after He gave the revelation to Jesus to give to John.
"Signified it" -- provided signs and symbols.
Revelation 1:2 Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.
John, in the book Revelation, provides a record of the word of God (this is not Jesus, but the God and Father of Jesus -- "God" refers to only one person, not three persons) and he also provides a record of the testimony of Jesus Christ, as well as all that he saw in the visions given to him from God through Jesus. Jesus is again distinguished from "God" and this verse, like verse 1, shows that the revelation is related, not just to Jesus, but also to the God and Father of Jesus. -- Ephesians 1:3.
Revelation 1:3 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.
"Of this prophecy" -- This designates what John wrote as being "prophecy". In harmony with other scriptures, however, the prophet is Jesus, and Jesus is the prophet of Jehovah, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. (Deuteronomy 18:15-16; Acts 3:13-26; Hebrews 1:1,2) God is the source; Jesus is the instrument (1 Corinthians 8:6), and John is the servant of Jesus who writes the words and delivers them to other servants of Jesus.
"The time is at hand." -- This is evidently speaking of the time for the beginning of the fulfillment of things foretold in the revelation. It could be that this is speaking of specific prophetic "time"; if so, it would signify a certain period of 360 years.
Revelation 1:4 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;
Revelation 1:5 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,
"John to the seven churches which are in Asia" -- John begins by writing messages to seven churches in Asia; in the salutation, he says that the messages are from two persons and also from the "seven spirits". John makes no mention, however, of all these as being one God, or as being three persons of one God. The first source is "him which is, and which was, and which to come". This is not Jesus, since Jesus, in verse 5, is distinguished from "him which is, and which was, and which is to come" of verse 4.
"From him which is, and which was, and which is to come" -- Some translations place the word "God" after "from" in verse 4 instead of "him", evidently borrowing "God" from the verses before, and with the thought of making it more clear as to who is this is referring to.
Many -- if not most -- trinitarians claim that Revelation 1:4,5 speaks of the three persons of their triune God, despite that fact that nothing in any these verses say anything about such a triune "God". These usually claim that "him which is, and which was, and which is to come", is, in effect, not speaking of Jesus, but rather that this refers to their alleged first person of the trinity, that is, the Father of Jesus. If one accepts this, this would mean that "is to come" in verse 4 is not speaking of Jesus' second coming. This is important, since many trinitarian apologists claim that the same phrase -- "is to come" -- in Revelation 1:8 is speaking of Jesus' second coming, or of his coming the clouds as Jesus spoke of in Revelation 1:7. Actually, "is to come" simply refers to God's continued existence in the future.
from the seven Spirits -- many trinitarians like to depict "the seven Spirits" as being their alleged third person of their alleged triune God, although there are several differing interpretations regarding the application of these "seven spirits".
As yet, we have not found any actually explanation regarding the seven spirits from those who claim that these verses are all about Jesus.
"Before his throne" -- "his" in this phrase refers to "him which is, and which was, and which is to come". This is not Jesus, for Jesus is the introduced in verse 5. Throughout the Revelation, "him which is, and which was, and which is to come" is depicted as He who is sitting on the throne, and Jesus, being depicted as the Lamb that was slain, is differentiated from the One who is sitting on the throne. -- see: Revelation 5:6,7.
"And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness" -- Here John designates the letters to these seven churches to also be from Jesus Christ. Jesus is the faithful witness, for he faithfully delivered to his followers the truths concerning the only true God whom he had been with before he became flesh. -- Matthew 11:27; Luke 10:22; John 1:1,18; 17:1,3,6; Hebrews 3:2; 1 John 5:20.
"The first begotten of the dead" -- Jesus is the first and last of the first begotten (or, firstborn) of the dead; there will never be another "first begotten of the dead." -- Colossians 1:18
"The prince of the kings of the earth." -- The only true God, Jehovah, has given to Jesus all this authority and dominion.
"Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood" -- Jesus remained obedient to God until death, thus by his sacrifice he provided the offseting price -- the ransom needed -- to offset the sin of Adam, the application of which to his disciples is figuratively presented as washing their sins in his own blood.
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Revelation 1:6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
John continues and speaks of Jesus as the one who has made his disciples to be kings and priests to God, who is the Father of Jesus. Again, God is presented as one person and Jesus is distinguished from being "God". Nevertheless, not only Jesus, but also the God of Jesus is spoken of. Robertson states that the Greek word transliterated as "autou" -- his, that is, Christ's -- apples to both theoi (God) and patri (Father), thus it should be "his God and Father", as in Ephesians 1:3.
http://www.studylight.org/commentaries/rwp/view.cgi?bk=re&ch=1&vs=6#6
Jesus' God and Father is the one who has given to Jesus the glory and dominion. His power and authority is given to him by his God [ELOHIM], Jehovah. (Micah 5:4) Jesus is not Jehovah who gives him this dominion, all authority and power; indeed the glory of being the Most High is excluded -- 1 Corinthians 15:27), yet Jesus' exercise of the given power and authority that has been given to him is all to the praise of Jehovah, the God and Father of the Lord Jesus. The Bible writers never claimed that Jesus is the ultimate "source" of his own power. -- Deuteronomy 18:15-19; Psalm 2:6-8; 45:7; 110:1,2; Isaiah 9:6,7; 11:2; 42:1; 61:1-3; Jeremiah 23:5; Ezekiel 34:23,24; 37:24; Daniel 7:13,14; Micah 5:4; Matthew 12:28; 28:18; Luke 1:32; 4:14,18; 5:17; John 3:34; 5:19,27,30; 10:18,36-38; Acts 2:22,36; 3:13-26; 10:38; Romans 1:1-4; 1 Corinthians 15:27; 2 Corinthians 13:4; Colossians 1:15,16; 2:10; Ephesians 1:3,17-23; Philippians 2:9-11; Hebrews 1:2,4,6,9; 1 Peter 3:22.
Revelation 1:7 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.
John continues to refer to Jesus, stating that he comes with clouds (clouds can signify several things in the Bible; here it evidently signifies glory). Jesus does not come on literal clouds, but clouds is used as a symbol. As we have shown, the glory that Jesus possesses has been given to him from his God.
Please note, however, that from Revelation 1:4-7, John has not quoted either God or Jesus. Revelation 1:7 is not a quote from Jesus, as some have mistakenly presented it to be, but it is still John who speaking, and who writing to the seven churches.
Revelation 1:8 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.
In this verse, John abruptly stops addressing the churches as himself, but for the first time quotes someone else. The extant Greek has the phrase transliterated as "kurios ho theos"; the KJV simply says the "the Lord", whereas, in harmony with the way it reads in the extant Greek manuscipts, most translations have here "the Lord God". Robertson notes that this phrase is borrowed from the Old Testament from such verses as Ezekiel 6:3,11; 7:2, etc. In those verses in the Hebrew we do not find, however, a form of the Hebrew word often transliterated as "ADON" (meaning, Lord), but rather we find the Holy Name, often represented in English as "Jehovah". The the phrase in Revelation 1:8 really should be recognized as corresponding to "Jehovah God", as well as in Revelation 4:8; 18:8; 21:22; 22:5. Thus, John identifies the one whom he is quoting as being "Jehovah God". This corresponds to the first person mentioned in Revelation 1:4 from whom these letters are from, that is, the God and Father of Jesus of Revelation 1:6. This person is distinguished from Jesus in Revelation 1:5.
Revelation 1:9 I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.
John here is no longer quoting anyone, but is again speaking as himself. He again, however, does not just write about Jesus, but also of the God of Jesus. He thus distinguihes Jesus from being "God".
Revelation 1:10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,
The Greek phrase here rendered "the Lord's day" is only found in this verse. It is apparently referring to the "last day", the day of judgment, which the day that the Lord Jesus comes to judge the world with his saints. This would mean that John is seeing things from the vantage point as though they had happened in the past from the future point in time.
John relates that he hears a great voice of someone speaking. So far, however, John has not quoted this person whom he hears speaking.
Revelaton 1:11 Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.
Here John quotes the person whom he heard as spoken of in verse 10. As we learn in the following verses, John is not quoting "him which is, and which was, and which is to come" of Revelation 1:4, but rather he is now quoting Jesus of Revelation 1:5.
The phrase "I am Alpha and Omea, the first and last:", is not found in many of the ancient manuscripts, and most scholars consider these words to have been added at some point later. Nevertheless, Jesus, being the first and the last, the alpha and omega, of the firstborn of the dead (Revelation 1:5; Colossians 1:18), could certainly have used the terms of himself. Jesus is also the first and the last of those directly created by Jehovah. He is also the first and the last of those whom God exalted to the highest position of glory in the universe. Such usage, however, would not have the same application as when Jehovah God speaks of Himself as alpha and omega, first and last, since Jehovah God, who has never died, is not the first and the last first begotten of the dead.
Revelation 1:12 And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;
John is again speaking as himself; he is no longer quoting anyone.
Revelation 1:13 And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.
The expression "the Son of man" in this verse could be misleading in the way it is translated, since the Greek here is anarthous (indefinite, without the definite article), and thus should better rendered as "son of a man". The expression here is not the same as that usually used of Jesus in the Gospels, which is actually a title "Son of the Man" (with the definite article), designating Jesus as the son of a particular man, which is evidently referring to David. In Revelation 1:13, John does not, however say that the one he saw was a son of man, but rather that he had the likeness of a son of a man.
Revelation 1:14 His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;
Revelation 1:15 And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.
Revelation 1:16 And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.
In these verses, John himself is speaking of what he saw.
Revelation 1:17 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:
Revelation 1:18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
Here John continues to speak in the beginning of the verse. He tells of how he fell down at the feet of Jesus, evidently in a faint-like condition due to fear of what he was seeing. John then records Jesus as speaking. Jesus here does speak of himself here as "the first and the last". He again used that term in Revelation 2:8.
By speaking of himself as the first and last, Jesus was obviously not using that phrase to mean that he is God Almighty, not unless one believes that God Almighty "was dead". See our Studies related to Revelation 1:18,19 and also our Studies related to Revelation 2:8 .
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