This is the revelation of Jesus ChristThe term "revelation" comes from the Greek word "apokalypsis," meaning an unveiling or disclosure. This book reveals the divine mysteries concerning the end times and the ultimate victory of Christ. It is not merely a revelation about Jesus Christ but also from Him, as He is both the subject and the source. This aligns with the broader biblical narrative where Jesus is central to God's redemptive plan (
John 1:1-14,
Colossians 1:15-20).
which God gave Him
This phrase emphasizes the divine origin of the revelation. God the Father is the source, and He gives it to Jesus Christ, highlighting the unity and distinct roles within the Trinity. This reflects the biblical theme of divine authority and the transmission of God's will through Jesus (John 5:19-23).
to show His servants
The term "servants" refers to believers, those who are committed to following Christ. This revelation is intended for the church, providing guidance, encouragement, and warning. The concept of servanthood is a recurring theme in Scripture, where believers are called to serve God and others (Romans 1:1,Philippians 1:1).
what must soon come to pass
This phrase indicates the imminence of the events described, though "soon" can be understood in the context of God's eternal timeline. The prophetic nature of Revelation is consistent with other biblical prophecies that often have both immediate and future fulfillments (Daniel 2:28-29,Matthew 24:34).
He made it known by sending His angel
Angels are frequently used as messengers in Scripture, serving as intermediaries between God and humans (Daniel 9:21-23,Luke 1:26-38). The use of an angel underscores the importance and divine authority of the message being conveyed.
to His servant John
John, the apostle and author of the Gospel of John and the Epistles, is traditionally understood to be the recipient of this revelation. His role as a servant and witness to Christ's ministry provides him with the authority to convey this message to the early church. John's exile on the island of Patmos (Revelation 1:9) is a testament to his faithfulness amidst persecution, reflecting the broader theme of suffering and perseverance found throughout Revelation.
Persons / Places / Events
1.
Jesus ChristCentral figure of the revelation, the Son of God, who is revealing the future to His followers.
2.
GodThe Father, who gives the revelation to Jesus Christ, indicating divine authority and origin.
3.
ServantsRefers to the believers, the followers of Christ, who are intended recipients of the revelation.
4.
AngelA messenger sent by Jesus to communicate the revelation to John.
5.
JohnThe apostle and servant of Christ, who receives the revelation and records it for the church.
Teaching Points
Divine RevelationUnderstand that the book of Revelation is a divine message from God, given through Jesus Christ, emphasizing its authority and importance.
Role of JesusRecognize Jesus as the mediator of God's revelation, highlighting His unique position in the Godhead and His relationship with the church.
Purpose of ProphecyThe revelation is meant to prepare and encourage believers by revealing what must soon take place, fostering hope and perseverance.
Angel as MessengerAcknowledge the role of angels as God's messengers, serving as a bridge between the divine and human realms.
Faithful ServanthoodEmulate John's example of faithful servanthood, being open and obedient to God's revelations in our lives.
Bible Study Questions and Answers
1.What is the meaning of Revelation 1:1?
2.How does Revelation 1:1 emphasize the divine source of the prophecy?
3.What role does Jesus play in delivering the message in Revelation 1:1?
4.How can Revelation 1:1 inspire us to trust in God's revealed plans?
5.How does Revelation 1:1 connect with other prophetic scriptures in the Bible?
6.What practical steps can we take to heed the message in Revelation 1:1?
7.What does Revelation 1:1 reveal about the nature of prophecy and divine revelation?
8.How does Revelation 1:1 establish the authority of the message conveyed in the book?
9.Why is the chain of communication in Revelation 1:1 significant for understanding its message?
10.What are the top 10 Lessons from Revelation 1?
11.Revelation 1:1 – How can John claim these events would happen “soon” when nearly two millennia have passed?
12.What messages are given to the seven churches in Revelation?
13.What does the Bible say about the apocalypse?
14.What is the identity of the 144,000?What Does Revelation 1:1 Mean
This is the revelation of Jesus Christ• “Revelation” means an unveiling. What is being unveiled is Jesus Himself—His character, His authority, and His future actions.
• The same Jesus who once veiled His glory to walk among us (John 1:14) now pulls back the curtain. The Gospels reveal His first coming; Revelation unveils His return in triumph (Matthew 24:30).
• Every vision, trumpet blast, and seal broken in this book centers on Him, not on speculation. AsRevelation 19:10 reminds, “For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy”.
which God gave Him• The Father is the source. Just as Jesus said during His earthly ministry, “The words I say to you I do not speak on My own” (John 14:10), here the risen Christ receives the prophetic plan from the Father.
• This underscores perfect unity: Father, Son, and Spirit work together to reveal truth (John 16:13-15).
• It also reassures us that Revelation carries the same divine weight as Genesis or the Gospels; its origin is God Himself (2 Timothy 3:16).
to show His servants what must soon come to pass• Audience: “His servants”—faithful believers who, like Daniel in Babylon, serve God amid a hostile world (Daniel 2:28).
• Purpose: to “show,” not hide. Prophecy is meant for clarity, comfort, and readiness (Amos 3:7;1 Thessalonians 5:4-6).
• Timing: “must soon come to pass.”
◦ “Must” signals divine necessity; nothing can thwart God’s timetable (Acts 2:23).
◦ “Soon” conveys expectancy. From God’s eternal vantage, “with the Lord a day is like a thousand years” (2 Peter 3:8), yet for us it keeps watchfulness alive (Hebrews 10:37;Revelation 22:6-7).
He made it known by sending His angel• Angels often serve as messengers of pivotal revelation (Luke 1:26-38;Hebrews 1:14).
• In Revelation, an angel repeatedly guides John through visions (Revelation 22:6, 16), underscoring angelic involvement in end-time events.
• “Made it known” highlights the reliability of what John sees; these are not human guesses but heavenly disclosures.
to His servant John• John is the beloved disciple, eyewitness of Christ’s first coming (John 21:24) and now chosen recorder of His return.
• Calling John “servant” places him alongside every believer who heeds the prophecy (Revelation 22:9).
• John’s faithful recording, even while exiled on Patmos (Revelation 1:9), models obedience despite hardship.
summaryRevelation 1:1 roots the entire book in God’s authority, Christ’s centrality, and the believer’s need for readiness. The Father entrusts a glorious unveiling to the Son, who graciously passes it through an angel to John for the benefit of every servant. Because these events “must soon come to pass,” we read with expectation and live with unwavering hope.
(1)
The Revelation of Jesus Christ.--The book is a revelation of the things which are and the things which shall be. "John is the writer, but Jesus Christ is the author," says Grotius; and consistently with this the action of Christ is seen throughout. It is Christ who bids John write to the seven churches; it is Christ who opens the seven seals (
Revelation 6:1), who reveals the sufferings of the Church (
Revelation 6:9), who offers the prayers of the saints (
Revelation 8:3), and delivers the little book to John (
Revelation 10:1-11). Thus it is seen that though the rise and fall of earth's history is included in the revelation, it is a revelation also of a living person; it is not the dull, dead onward flow of circumstances, but the lives of men and nations seen in the light of Him who is the light of every man and the life of all history; and thus we learn that "only a living person can be the Alpha and Omega, the starting-point of creation and its final rest." The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of this prophecy, as of all others. The Father gives this to the Son whom He loves, and shows Him all things that Himself doeth.
Shortly.--On this word much controversy has turned. Its force, "speedily," affords a groundwork, and, it must be admitted, a plausible one, to the praeterist school of interpreters, who hold that the whole range of Apocalyptic predictions was fulfilled within a comparatively short time after the Apostle wrote. The truth, however, seems to be that the words of God are of perpetual fulfilment: they are not only to be fulfilled; they have not only been fulfilled; but they have been and they are being fulfilled; and they yet will be fulfilled; and the principles which are enunciated by the Prophet, though "shortly" fulfilled, are not exhausted in the immediate fulfilment, but carry still lessons for the succeeding generations of mankind.
John--i.e., the Apostle and Evangelist. The arguments in support of this identification are admitted even by the most captious critics to be conclusive. "The Apocalypse, if any book can be traced to him, must be ascribed to the Apostle John" (Supernatural Religion). (SeeExcursus A.) To many it will seem natural that John, the beloved disciple, should be the recipient of this revelation. Those who have been nearest to God learn most of His will. Such are friends, not servants, for the servant knoweth not what his Lord doeth; and thus, as in the Old Testament to Abraham, the friend of God, and to Daniel, a man greatly beloved, so in the New Testament to the disciple who leaned on Jesus' bosom, are shown the things which God was about to do. "Mysteries are revealed unto the meek. The pure in heart shall see God. A pure heart penetrateth heaven and hell" (Thomas a-Kempis).
"More bounteous aspects on me beam, . . .
Verse 1. -
The Revelation of Jesus Christ. This phrase occurs elsewhere in the New Testament only in
1 Peter 1:7, 13 (comp.
1 Peter 4:13;
1 Corinthians 1:7;
2 Thessalonians 1:7;
Galatians 1:12). It means the revelation which Jesus Christ makes, not that which reveals him. John is the
writer, Jesus Christ the
Author, of the book. Revelation (
απόκαλυψις) is a word reserved for the gospel; no Old Testament prophecy is called a revelation (contrast
1 Samuel 20:30). It means the
unveiling of Divine mysteries (
Ephesians 3:3), and from this it easily slips into meaning the mystery unveiled. Christ is both the Mystery and the Revealer of it. He comes to reveal himself, and in himself the Father, whose Image he is. Thus in its opening words the book takes us beyond itself. What is revealed is not secrets about the future, but a Person. And the Revealer is not man, but God; not John, but the Divine Son, commissioned by the Father. For even the unincarnate Word receives from the Father that which he reveals.
Which God gave unto him. This is remarkably in harmony with the Christology of the Fourth Gospel (
John 5:20;
John 7:16;
John 12:49;
John 14:10;
John 17:7, 8; comp.
Mark 13:32;
Acts 1:7). The simple infinitive to express a purpose after "give" is common to Gospel and Apocalypse (
Revelation 3:21;
Revelation 7:2;
Revelation 13:14;
John 4:7, 10;
John 6:52).
His servants. All Christians, not exclusively seers like St. John. "
Even the things which" (Revised Version) makes "things which" in apposition with "the Revelation," which is probably right.
Must (
δεῖ); because God has so decreed. This Divine "must" is frequent in the Gospel (
John 3:14, 30;
John 9:4;
John 10:16;
John 12:34;
John 20:9).
Shortly. The meaning of
ἐν τάχει is much disputed. But, like "firstborn" in the question about the brethren of the Lord, "shortly" ought not to be pressed in determining the scope of the Apocalypse. Calling Jesus the
firstborn Son of Mary tells us nothing as to her having other children. Saying that the Apocalypse shows things which must
shortly come to pass tells us nothing as to its referring to events near St. John's own day. Probably it refers to them
and to much else in the Christian dispensation. In the language of the seer, past, present, and future are interwoven together as seen by God, and more truth is contained than the seer himself knows. "The whole book ought to be received as a single word uttered in a single moment" (Bengel). It does not follow, because St. John had events near to his own day in his mind, that his words are limited to those events for us (comp.
Luke 18:7, 8;
Matthew 24:29:
2 Peter 3:4, 8;
Habakkuk 2:3; see Westcott, 'Historic Faith,' pp. 74, 75, and note on 1 John 2:18 in the 'Cambridge Bible for Schools').
Signified. Jesus Christ signified,
i.e. made known by symbol and figure, the things which must come to pass. "Signify" (
σημαίνειν) is characteristic of St. John, to whom wonders are "signs" (
σημεῖα) of Divine truths. "This he said,
signifying [by means of an allegory] by what manner of death he should die" (
John 12:33; comp. 18:32; 21:19).
By his angel; literally,
by means of his angel (
διὰ τοῦ ἀγγέλου). "Angel" here probably has its, common meaning of a spiritual messenger from the unseen world; but it is the fact of his being Christ's messenger, rather than his heavenly character, that is specially indicated. Whether one and the same angel is employed throughout the Revelation is not clear. He does not come into the foreground of the narrative until
Revelation 17:1, 7, 15 (comp.
Revelation 19:9;
Revelation 21:9;
Revelation 22:1, 6, 9). The Revelation is begun (vers. 17-20) and ended (
Revelation 22:16) by Christ himself; but the main portion is conducted "by means of his angel." Thus St. Paul says of the Law that it was "administered by means of angels in the hand of a mediator,"
i.e. Moses (
Galatians 3:19). In this case the mediator is John, a "servant" specially selected for this work (
Isaiah 49:5;
Amos 3:7). Thus we have four gradations - the primary Agent, the Father; the secondary Agent, Jesus Christ; the instrument, his angel; the recipient, John.
Parallel Commentaries ...
Greek
[ This is the ] revelationἈποκάλυψις(Apokalypsis)Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular
Strong's 602:An unveiling, uncovering, revealing, revelation. From apokalupto; disclosure.of JesusἸησοῦ(Iēsou)Noun - Genitive Masculine Singular
Strong's 2424:Of Hebrew origin; Jesus, the name of our Lord and two other Israelites.Christ,Χριστοῦ(Christou)Noun - Genitive Masculine Singular
Strong's 5547:Anointed One; the Messiah, the Christ. From chrio; Anointed One, i.e. The Messiah, an epithet of Jesus.whichἣν(hēn)Personal / Relative Pronoun - Accusative Feminine Singular
Strong's 3739:Who, which, what, that.GodΘεός(Theos)Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 2316:A deity, especially the supreme Divinity; figuratively, a magistrate; by Hebraism, very.gaveἔδωκεν(edōken)Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 1325:To offer, give; I put, place. A prolonged form of a primary verb; to give.Himαὐτῷ(autō)Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Dative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 846:He, she, it, they, them, same. From the particle au; the reflexive pronoun self, used of the third person, and of the other persons.to showδεῖξαι(deixai)Verb - Aorist Infinitive Active
Strong's 1166:A prolonged form of an obsolete primary of the same meaning; to show.Hisαὐτοῦ(autou)Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 846:He, she, it, they, them, same. From the particle au; the reflexive pronoun self, used of the third person, and of the other persons.servantsδούλοις(doulois)Noun - Dative Masculine Plural
Strong's 1401:(a) (as adj.) enslaved, (b) (as noun) a (male) slave. From deo; a slave.whatἃ(ha)Personal / Relative Pronoun - Accusative Neuter Plural
Strong's 3739:Who, which, what, that.mustδεῖ(dei)Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 1163:Third person singular active present of deo; also deon deh-on'; neuter active participle of the same; both used impersonally; it is Necessary.soonτάχει(tachei)Noun - Dative Neuter Singular
Strong's 5034:Quickness, speed; hastily, immediately. From the same as tachus; a brief space, i.e. in haste.come to pass.γενέσθαι(genesthai)Verb - Aorist Infinitive Middle
Strong's 1096:A prolongation and middle voice form of a primary verb; to cause to be, i.e. to become, used with great latitude.He made it knownἐσήμανεν(esēmanen)Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 4591:To signify, indicate, give a sign, make known. From sema; to indicate.byδιὰ(dia)Preposition
Strong's 1223:A primary preposition denoting the channel of an act; through.sendingἀποστείλας(aposteilas)Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 649:From apo and stello; set apart, i.e. to send out literally or figuratively.Hisαὐτοῦ(autou)Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 846:He, she, it, they, them, same. From the particle au; the reflexive pronoun self, used of the third person, and of the other persons.angelἀγγέλου(angelou)Noun - Genitive Masculine Singular
Strong's 32:From aggello; a messenger; especially an 'angel'; by implication, a pastor.toτῷ(tō)Article - Dative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3588:The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.Hisαὐτοῦ(autou)Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 846:He, she, it, they, them, same. From the particle au; the reflexive pronoun self, used of the third person, and of the other persons.servantδούλῳ(doulō)Noun - Dative Masculine Singular
Strong's 1401:(a) (as adj.) enslaved, (b) (as noun) a (male) slave. From deo; a slave.John,Ἰωάννῃ(Iōannē)Noun - Dative Masculine Singular
Strong's 2491:Of Hebrew origin; Joannes, the name of four Israelites.
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NT Prophecy: Revelation 1:1 This is the Revelation of Jesus Christ (Rev. Re Apocalypse) 
