Who Is, Who Was, and Is to Come

Revelation 1:4-8

Rev 1:4 (NKJV) John, to the seven churches which 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,

The book of Revelation is the capstone of the Bible. With this letter from John to the seven churches, the Bible is complete. The Bible contains 66 books, so coming to this last book, the assumption is that one is familiar with the contents of the preceding 65 books.

As for the human author, John does not say much about himself. In verse 1, he says that he received the Revelation from an angel. And then, in verse 4, he states his name as the author of the letter. In his culture, the person writing a letter said who they were at the beginning of the letter. We see this pattern in all Paul’s letters. Verses 4 through 7 are John’s personal greetings.

John assumes we know who he is; he wrote the Gospel of John, and he was the pastor of the church in Ephesus for a time. Ephesus is the first church addressed in the letters to the churches, which is fitting because of John’s relationship with that church.

The book is addressed to the seven churches which are in Asia. However, there were more than seven churches in Asia. For example, there was the church at Colossi, the church at Galatia, and the church at Philippi.

Starting at Ephesus and going north, then making an upside-down “U,” one could visit each of the seven churches in the order that they appear in Revelation. 

However, the reason that seven churches are addressed is that seven is the number of completion. The number seven is significant throughout the Bible. You have heard it said that seven is the number of perfection, but perfection, in this case, means completion or maturity. There are seven churches, seven seals, seven bowls, and seven trumpets in the book of Revelation. The creation week was seven days, the golden lamp in the holy place had seven branches, and Revelation 1:4 mentions the “seven” Spirits of God that are before the throne. All of these sevens represent “completeness” or “fullness.”

The book of Revelation is a book of completion. In it, we see the consumption of the ages, the culmination of God’s plan for creation, and the completion of the written word of God. Seven churches are addressed because the church throughout the ages is pictured in them, and the pattern of the relationship between Jesus Christ, the Head of the Church, and the various local bodies throughout the earth can be discerned. Any church can look and find itself represented in the seven. In addition, the Church in these last days most resembles the church of Laodicea. But, we must be careful to make sure we realize that not every church fits into this generalization. We will cover this more when we get to the letters to the churches.

After naming himself and the recipients, John says, “Grace to you and peace….” Many New Testament letters begin this way, but we should not pass over the meaning of the blessing pronounced. Grace comes through our Lord Jesus Christ, and it is through Him we have peace with God and peace in our hearts. We need to understand that grace saves us, and then peace fills us due to that grace. The grace and peace of God are given without measure to the one who trusts in Him. 

Notice that grace and peace come from the Trinity. 

The One who is, who was, and is to come, is God the Father. 

The “seven Spirits who are before the throne” refers to the Holy Spirit. The number seven, being the number of completion, represents the fulness of the Holy Spirit. Another example of this is found in Revelation 5:6.

Rev 5:6 (NKJV)  And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth.

In this verse, which we will study more fully later, the reference to the seven Spirits points to the Spirit of God in His fulness going throughout the earth in judgment. 

In the salutation of the Revelation, the Spirit, in all His fullness, is granting grace and peace. 

Revelation 1:5-6 gives greetings of grace and peace from Jesus Christ, the third person of the Trinity. However, the description of Jesus is fuller than the description of the Father and the Spirit.

Rev 1:5-6 (NKJV) ⁵and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, ⁶and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him [be] glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 

Grace and peace from Him who was is, and is to come, the seven Spirits before the throne and Jesus Christ.

Grace and peace are ours because God gave His only begotten Son. Begotten does not mean created. When a man begets a child, the child is the same “kind” as the father, i.e., human. In much the same way, when God begets a Son, the Son is God. However, the Son has no beginning and no end. Another way of translating “begotten” in this case would be to say, “God’s one and only Son,” which refers to the unique nature of the Son. We are all sons and daughters of God, but we are adopted, not begotten. Some say that Jesus never claimed to be God, but this is not true. In several places, Jesus claims to be God, and none is more straightforward than the statement of Revelation 1:8. In verse 8, Jesus says He is the beginning and the end, the Almighty. We will look at this some more, but I point it out at this time to help us understand who Jesus Christ is.

Jesus is the Greek version of the Hebrew name “Joshua.” At the time Jesus lived and walked here on earth, you could have thrown a rock into a crowd of Jews and had a good chance of hitting a “Joshua.” To distinguish Him from all other Joshuas, we say, “Jesus Christ.” Christ is not His name; it is His office. 

In Genesis, when Adam and Eve sinned, God promised a Savior who was called the seed of the woman. As time passed, God revealed more about the woman's promised seed. Moses mentioned that God would raise a prophet like Him. The Psalms speak of a coming Savior, and the Prophets spend a lot of time announcing the coming Messiah. Messiah means “anointed one.” Psalm 2 says:

Psalm 2:6-8, 12 (NKJV) ⁶"Yet I have set My King on My holy hill of Zion." ⁷"I will declare the decree: The LORD has said to Me, 'You [are] My Son, Today I have begotten You. ⁸Ask of Me, and I will give [You] the nations [for] Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth [for] Your possession. ... ¹²Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish [in] the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed [are] all those who put their trust in Him.

The King is the Anointed One, the Messiah. And, as the Messiah, God promises to give Him the ends of the earth for His possession. In the Gospels, we see Jesus rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, but we need to remember that Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords. The earth is His to rule. Revelation 1:5 says that He is “…ruler over the kings of the earth.” When we attach “Christ” to Jesus, we refer to His position as King of all the nations on earth.

Revelation 1:5 also calls Jesus the faithful witness. Later in the book of Revelation, we will see the souls of martyrs under the altar of God asking for recompense. “Martyr” is a word that means “witness.” Jesus is the faithful witness; not only did He give His life a ransom for many, but He testified to the truth. He never lied and is always reliable. When He stood before Pilate, Jesus said:

John 18:37 (NKJV) Pilate said to Him, "Are You a king then?" Jesus answered, "You say [rightly] that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”

According to His words, Jesus came to bear witness to the truth. Even deeper than this is that He is the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). Faithful means we can trust or rely upon His witness.

In addition to being the faithful witness, He is also said to be “the firstborn from the dead.” Others in the Bible were raised from the dead; Jesus raised several from the dead, including Lazarus. However, Jesus is the first to be raised from the dead, never to die again. We all will be raised from the dead. At the end of Revelation, we see that the unsaved dead will be raised last, only to be judged and thrown into the lake of fire. But, believers who have trusted in Jesus will be raised to life eternal.

After describing Jesus and the salvation He gives, John gives a doxology, a song of praise.

Revelation 1:5-6 (NKJV) To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, ⁶and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him [be] glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 

We love Him because He first loved us, and we see this love displayed in the praise that comes out in this doxology. Most modern translations say, “To Him who loves us….” Jesus loves us and keeps on loving us, and his love never changes. [1 John 3:1 NKJV]  “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!” How can we even express or comprehend the all-encompassing love that Jesus showed when He “…washed us from our sins in His own blood.”

Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins. Every drop of Jesus’ blood is priceless, and there is no way to measure its worth.

He has made us kings and priests or “a kingdom of priests” to His God and Father. Before the tribulation, the Church will be raptured. From chapter 4 of Revelation through chapter 19, the Church is not mentioned, and when the Church reappears, it is as the Bride of Christ. When He returns to reign as king, we will reign with Him.

After the song of praise, verse seven begins with “Behold.” This is a call for us to pay attention, and we need to stop and consider. So, pay close attention to what follows in verse seven.

Revelation 1:7 (NKJV) Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.

The Lord’s people wait for His return. In 1 Thessalonians 4, believers are caught up to meet Him in the air, and after the tribulation, Jesus comes back in glory to slay the beast and imprison the devil. At that time, all the tribes of the earth will mourn because they will see the Lord whom they rejected. The nation of Israel will look on Him whom they have pierced and recognize Him as the promised Messiah whom they crucified.

The words of greeting from John, which started at verse 4, end with “Even so, Amen.” And then, Jesus gives His own greeting.

Revelation 1:8 (NKJV) “I am the Alpha and the Omega, [the] Beginning and [the] End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”

Jesus is the eternal Almighty. John 1:1 tells us that He was with God in the beginning and is God. Now, in Revelation 1:8, Jesus says He will continue to be with God forever. 

Jesus gave the Revelation to John to give us grace and peace. This greeting is not just a formality to open a letter; it is a declaration, once again, that God’s purpose in giving us this book and all 65 books that preceded it is to provide us with a blessing (grace and peace). 

If we read and do the things in this book, we will be filled with grace and peace. 

This then is your assignment for this year; dig into this book and study it, asking the Lord to give you understanding.

Listen to this book. If you have not been washed from your sins in His blood, you will go through the terrible events described in this book. Disasters are coming that will cut the world's population nearly in half. You will want to take part in the rapture of the Church rather than go through those years. Since no one knows the day nor the hour, now is the time to be washed from your sins in the blood of Jesus.