Revelation 1 Footnotes

1:1,3 The idea that what is recorded in Revelation “must soon take place” and that “the time is near” has been used to try to prove these are false prophecies, given that it has been more than nineteen hundred years since the book was written. However, while it is true that Christ’s coming is potentially near at hand, the wording in vv. 1 and 3 means something different. John said that when the events of the body of the book begin to take place, the prophecies will be fulfilled quickly.

1:4 The presence of the name of an author (“John”), an audience (“the seven churches”), and a characteristic greeting (“Grace and peace”) indicates that Revelation has much in common with the other letters in the NT and is not an exotic or other-worldly work that cannot be understood. “The one who is, who was, and who is to come” (v. 8) indicates that God not only exists now but always has and always will. The term translated “seven spirits” may refer to the angels of the seven churches (chaps. 2–3), other angels (8:2), or possibly the fullness of the Holy Spirit described in Is 11:2.

1:5 Jesus being “firstborn from the dead” looks back to his resurrection, the guarantee of the future resurrection of all believers and unbelievers (20:4-5; 1Co 15:20,23). The idea that he “set us free from our sins by his blood” does not mean a person is automatically saved by Christ’s death on the cross. Revelation clearly recognizes the need for proper response to the gospel (14:6-7) and repentance (9:20-21) by unbelievers.

1:9 Historical tradition indicates the apostle John was exiled by the Roman Emperor Domitian to the isle of Patmos about AD 95, then released after Domitian’s death in AD 96.

1:11 The seven local churches listed were not the only churches in Asia Minor at that time (see Col 1:2; 4:13). These churches were chosen as examples of what was happening in their midst at the time and because they were located on the connecting roads of a circular postal route.

1:12-18 John had seen Jesus Christ in a similar glorified state at his transfiguration (Mt 17:2), and he had seen his resurrection body after he was raised, until the ascension (Jn 20; Ac 1:2-11). In this vision, the veil was lifted and John saw the one he had known in the flesh. Even though John had been as close as any of the disciples to Jesus, John had not begun to comprehend the majesty of the one with whom he had walked with during Jesus’s three years of ministry. The impact of Jesus’s appearance was overwhelming.

1:20; 2:1,8,12,18; 3:1,7,14 It is possible that the “angels” of the churches were human messengers, since the Greek aggeloi was occasionally used that way (e.g., Jms 2:25). However, the overwhelming usage of aggeloi in the book of Revelation is in reference to spirit beings (e.g., 1:1; 5:2). Perhaps these angels functioned like so-called guardian angels (Heb 1:14).