I AM the ONE Who Is...

Revelation 1

As the first century A.D. drew to a close, the churches of Asia Minor were endangered by two foes, persecution and heresy, with heresy being by far the greater danger. The ascended Christ directed John, the aging apostle, to address this urgent situation. These churches needed a renewed vision of God and a revelation of his glorious plans for their future.

“When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. 19 Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this.” Revelation 1:17–19 (ESV)

One day “there shall be no more death” because Jesus has conquered death. When you know Him as Savior and Lord, you need not fear the future; He has the keys in His hand.
The book of Revelation is first of all the revelation of Jesus Christ, not the revelation of future events. Before John describes end-time events, he describes the Lord Jesus and reminds you of who He is and what He has done.

“The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2 who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. 3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near 4 John 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, 5 and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood 6 and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 7 Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen. 8 I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” Revelation 1:1-8 (ESV)

Dr. Tony Evans writes, “Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, signifying that God is the beginning and the end. He’s the Creator of all things, and he’ll bring history to its conclusion. He is the one who is, who was, and who is to come. God is yesterday, today, and tomorrow because he exists eternally. But later in the letter, it’s Jesus who calls himself “the Alpha and the Omega,” and clearly he is the coming One. This is not surprising, though, because Jesus is the Second Person of the Trinity and coequal with the Father.”

According to verse 5, Warren Wiersbe writes, “He is the faithful witness (the Prophet), the firstborn from the dead (the Priest), and the ruler over the kings of the earth (the King). He is also the Savior who has made His people a kingdom of priests. Never forget that Jesus shed His blood for you, and that His blood cleanses, redeems, and overcomes the world.”

When John was in the Upper Room, he leaned on Jesus’ bosom; but when he saw the glorified Christ, he fell at His feet as a dead man.

“From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Corinthians 5:16–21 (ESV)

Like John, we must begin with worship if God’s revelations in this book are to have any meaning to us.

“I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet 11 saying, “Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.” 12 Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. 14 The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, 15 his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.” Revelation 1:9-14 (ESV)

In the Old Testament tabernacle, there was one lampstand with seven branches; but here John saw seven lampstands, symbolizing the seven churches addressed in chapters 2–3. Each local assembly of believers should shine for the Lord by holding fast the Word of life and proclaiming it in a dark world.

“In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16 (ESV)

“Do all things without grumbling or disputing, 15 that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, 16 holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.” Philippians 2:14–16 (ESV)

Dr. Evans writes, “The seven churches are represented by seven golden lampstands to signify the expression of divine life that should radiate through all churches. Indeed, churches are to illuminate their communities. Jesus is situated among the lampstands to signify his visible rulership of the church as Judge and King, even before his second coming to personally and directly rule the entire world. The church, then, cannot view Jesus merely as a gentle figure with long hair and a loving gaze. Christians must view him as a Ruler, for there is a judgment side of Jesus along with the blessing side we love to talk about.”
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Today know that, this image assures us that when Christ returns, the rulership he has always possessed by virtue of his position as God’s Son will be realized in practice.

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