Revelation 1 – The Apostle John Seeing Christ’s Greatness
Feature 1 – February 2025 – Grace & Truth Magazine
Revelation 1 – The Apostle John Seeing Christ’s Greatness
“Revelation” means “unveiling.” For many, the book of Revelation remains “sealed” in the sense that the future events of the soon coming judgment upon this earth are too much for them to understand. Some people think that humans are basically good, even if they do not believe God exists. They believe the world is getting better and mankind can solve any problem it faces. Unbelievers have rejected the Holy Scriptures and the testimony given regarding the Lord Jesus Christ, God’s Eternal Son, who came from heaven to be the Savior for all who trust in Him and His saving work of redemption on Calvary’s cross. These people do not want to acknowledge that He will come again to judge all the earth in righteousness.
Unfortunately, this book remains sealed – not understood – today, even for many true believers. God does not want this book to be sealed! The Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, instructed John to write in a book what he was shown while on the island of Patmos (Rev. 1:9). He then was to send the book to seven assemblies, or churches (v.11), near Patmos to let them know what would shortly take place.
These churches represent the church at large during this time of grace, and the passing of the book to each of the seven churches showed that God’s Church is one body. What God has said to one local church is true for all other churches, even those gathered elsewhere and in later days. Each assembly is connected with the other assemblies.
Revelation focuses on the Lord’s appearing when He comes in judgment on the earth. Let us not confuse this event with the Lord’s coming for true believers who are part of the Church. Before the Lord appears in judgment, He will snatch away, or rapture, all true believers – His bride (see 1 Th. 4:13-18). This gives us comfort. This is Christ coming for His saints.
A time of judgment on this earth, as described in Revelation, will follow, lasting at least seven years, called the tribulation period. At its end, Christ will appear with us, His saints, and establish His kingdom on earth. He will conquer all His enemies and reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords for 1,000 years (Rev. 19–20).
The beginning of the unveiling in Revelation starts with the Lord Jesus (1:1). He is the focus throughout the book. The Lord’s power and might will be displayed in the judgments. His righteousness will be on display as He recompenses, or addresses, evil. To reveal these things, God raised up His servant, the apostle John. He “bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ” (v.2 NKJV). May we all exalt the Lord Jesus and cling to God’s Word.
There is a promise of blessing to all who read this book. Revelation 1:3 states, “Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.” How wonderful to know that before God announced the judgments, He offered blessing. This blessing is repeated at the end of the book (see Rev. 22:7). May we read this book and keep it! By keeping it, we acknowledge that it is true. We should be motivated to proclaim these truths and to warn sinners of the coming judgment upon the earth. The spread of the gospel is what is needed, as 2 Corinthians 5:11 says, “Knowing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade men.”
The Seven Churches
After we read the book’s introduction (Rev. 1:1-3), we hear the apostle John’s greeting and explanation for it. He explained the circumstances in which he found himself when he received this divine revelation. Here the triune Godhead is seen: God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, with an emphasis on God the Father. We learn about the greatness of Him who is the giver of peace, the One “who is and who was and who is to come” (v.4), the Lord Jesus Christ in the character of Jehovah, the great “I AM WHO I AM” (see Ex. 3:14).
What follows is a mention of the Spirit of God with the expression “from the seven Spirits who are before His throne” (v.4). We know the Spirit of God is one (see Eph. 4:4; 1 Cor. 12:13), yet the Spirit is seen here in His own complete fullness and diverse activities. We read in Isaiah 11:2 seven expressions of the Spirit; namely “the Spirit of the Lord,” of “wisdom,” of “understanding,” of “counsel,” of “might,” of “knowledge” and of “the fear of the LORD.” The number seven in Scripture signifies perfection and completeness.
Jesus Christ is mentioned next in our passage: He is “the faithful witness” (v.5). This describes His holy and perfect life here on earth. He was always faithful in doing the Father’s will in perfection. The expression “the firstborn from the dead” (v.5) reminds us that Christ died a shameful death on the cross for our sins. He finished the work that God the Father gave Him to do (Jn. 17:4). He conquered death and rose from among the dead in victory. He is the firstborn as well as the first fruits (1 Cor. 15). Jesus Christ is “the ruler over the kings of the earth” (Rev. 1:5). This will be manifest in His coming glory when He reigns in His kingdom over the whole earth. What greatness is seen in Him!
A Burst Of Praise!
As is common in Scripture when meditating on the Lord, there follows a doxology – a short expression of praise. In Revelation 1:5-6 John overflowed with expressions of praise to Him who loves us. This worship is fitting and should be normal for every believer. The Lord has not only “washed us from our sins in His own blood,” but He has made the believers “priests” in order to offer up worship. Hebrews 13:15 tells us, “Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.” May we be worshipers and verbally express our praises to God and His dear Son!
The Holy Spirit led John to write about the love of Christ to us (Rev. 1:5). What a theme! His greatness is shown in the extent of His love. It caused Him to leave heaven and come to earth. Love is what led Him on, even to the cross. His love is so great that we cannot fully understand it. He demonstrated His love in the past, and He continues to show His love every moment of every day for every believer. He loves and cares for us so much that He continues to make intercession for us in heaven as our great High Priest (see Heb. 4:14, 7:25). He loves us so much that He has promised to return again and take us to be with Himself in heaven above someday (Jn. 14:2-3). Oh what a day that will be when we see Jesus and join the singing of that eternal song of praise!
In Revelation, John continued by saying that He “has made us kings and priests to His God and Father” (1:6). This is what Christ has in mind for us in a coming day, when He reigns over the earth. He will have us reigning with Him. What is meant in this expression of “kings and priests to His God” is the union of kingly dignity with priestly grace, which will enable us to reign with Christ in a priestly character. There is coming a day when the whole earth will experience a righteous and gracious government for 1,000 years, under Christ’s kingship and our subordinate role with Him. What a blessed time that will be! It is something the world has never experienced before and cannot perceive.
The doxology concludes with “to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen” (v.6). Christ’s greatness and glory are not only to be acknowledged today but also for all eternity. The future years when He shall reign in dominion are not the end of His greatness. We can look at all the ages of time that have definite measures and see that His glory is not limited to any of those periods. No, His greatness and glory extend beyond time as we know it, even beyond the millennial 1,000-year reign of Christ in His kingdom, and into the new creation of the new heaven and new earth. Yes, forever and ever Christ will be seen with power. He will receive never-ending glory, adoration, honor, praise, blessing and worship for all eternity, as He alone deserves. The “Amen” (v.6) is included as a solemn assertion of the truth stated, not that there is any uncertainty that it would be so, but a clear statement that it will be so! We are overwhelmed by these thoughts!
Christ’s Appearing
John, in Revelation 1, then described the appearing of the Lord. “Behold, He is coming” (v.7). This is not His coming for the saints to meet us in the air, but His coming to the earth to bring judgment. It would be helpful to compare this verse with Acts 1:9-11, Matthew 24:30, Daniel 7:13 and Zechariah 12:9-14. As we stated earlier in this article, the rapture is Christ coming for us (see Jn. 14:3; Phil. 3:20; 1 Th. 4:13-18; 1 Cor. 15:23). Christ’s appearing is Christ coming us (see Jude 14; Zech. 14:5; Col. 3:4; Rev. 19:11-14). Furthermore, the very next phrase in Revelation 1:7 indicates He is “coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him.” This would explain that John is clearly speaking about Christ’s appearing, since “every eye will see” Jesus Christ.
After this we read: “even they who pierced Him” (v.7). What could this mean? Are not the actual individuals involved with Christ’s death now dead? How can such people see Him at His appearing centuries later? In this context, the expression “who pierced Him” includes the whole unbelieving human race – unbelieving Jews and unbelieving Gentiles. Their evil hearts, which were on display when Christ gave His life for us, will be judged by the very One they rejected and have continued to reject over the many years of Christ’s physical absence from this earth. All unbelievers at the time of Christ’s appearing are included in this expression “even they who pierced Him.” The Lord Jesus is no longer dead, but He is alive and will return to judge those who have rejected Him.
This will lead to mourning. When Christ was crucified, other than a few very fearful disciples, the people did not mourn His death. He was treated as a common criminal by the authorities and the nation of Israel. There was no funeral service given for Him. Two disciples risked their lives to bury the Lord, with tender love and affection for Him, but no great gathering was held to grieve His death. No one came to His burial. No speeches were given. Those who had the Lord crucified did not mourn. But now, in Revelation 1:7, all unbelievers will mourn. For them, this is not because they are suddenly saddened that He died (compare Zech. 12:10-14), but because they now recognize He is coming to judge them. “All the tribes of the earth” are included. Woe to those who reject the Lord Jesus Christ!
And yet, the Lord gave true believers a special way of remembrance even before He died on the cross and was buried (see Lk. 22:14-20). Although the Lord was not given a funeral, now all over the world true believers pause to remember Him and show forth His death in the breaking of bread, (symbolizing of His holy body) and the drinking of the cup (a picture of His precious blood). This remembrance is to take place every week, on “the first day of the week” (Acts 20:7), which is the resurrection day (Mt. 28:1-6), also called “the Lord’s Day” (Rev. 1:10). He receives this remembrance and worship because of His sacrificial death for those who have trusted in Him. We remember and mourn His death, but we also joy in the knowledge that His suffering is over. We thank Him for dying in our place. He has conquered sin, death, the world and the Devil. He is the Victor, and we worship Him as our Creator and our Redeemer. He is so great and so worthy of all homage and praise. Let all the redeemed praise Him!
The Great I AM
In Revelation 1:8 we see John quoting the Lord: “I am the Alpha and the Omega.” These words are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. This is repeated later in verse 11 with the added statement “the First and the Last.” “I am the Alpha and the Omega” is repeated again near the end of Revelation (21:6, 22:13). The second of these verses adds, “The Beginning and the End, the First and the Last.” So we see that Christ is “the Alpha and the Omega” at the beginning of Revelation and at the end of the book. We understand these expressions to show the greatness of Christ’s deity and eternal existence. This twice, twofold expression also shows that He never changes. He is the same at the beginning and at the end. Jesus Christ always was, and is, and will be forever the same! These are but a few more reasons to admire His greatness and praise His name!
Sometimes we are asked, “Where does it show in the Bible that Jesus says He is God?” Revelation 1:8,11, 21:6 and 22:13 are four good examples. There are many other passages one could refer to, but these are sufficient. How important it is to acknowledge the greatness of God’s Eternal Son, the Lord Jesus Christ!
Revelation 1:8 ends with the Lord still speaking about Himself, “Who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” Oh, how great is the Lord Jesus Christ! There is no one like Him. He is Eternal. He remains the same. We can trust in Him not only for our salvation but also for everything in life. And when we, true believers, depart this world, we know that His greatness will be on display for us and toward us for all eternity. We will worship Him with all the redeemed forever and ever!
There are many other verses that follow in this first chapter of Revelation. It gets better and better as we meditate on the verses that come after the eight we considered. May we be encouraged to read, hear and keep these words; pass them along to others; and appreciate God’s grace in allowing us to know somewhat of the future. Let us worship the Lord for His greatness! Amen!
By Bill Kulkens