Jesus Christ, the Alpha and the Omega, speaks to believers through the Apostle John concerning things past, the things which are and the things which shall be hereafter. Blessed are they who make this Book their meditation and regard those things which are written therein, for they shall shortly come to pass.
Revelation 1
1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:
2 Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.
3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.
4 John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;
5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
7 Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.
8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
9 I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.
10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,
11 Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.
12 And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;
13 And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.
14 His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;
15 And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.
16 And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.
17 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:
18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
19 Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter;
20 The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.
Revelation 1 Intro – J. Vernon McGee
Revelation 1:1 – J. Vernon McGee
Revelation 1:1-2 – J. Vernon McGee
Revelation 1:3 – J. Vernon McGee
Revelation 1:4 – J. Vernon McGee
Revelation 1:5-6 – J. Vernon McGee
Revelation 1:7-8 – J. Vernon McGee
Revelation 1:9 – J. Vernon McGee
Revelation 1:10-11 – J. Vernon McGee
Revelation 1:12-13 – J. Vernon McGee
Revelation 1:14-16 – J. Vernon McGee
Revelation 1:17-18 – J. Vernon McGee
Revelation 1:19-20 – J. Vernon McGee
Revelation 1:1-8 – The Revelation of Jesus Christ
In His capacity as mediator, our Lord receives from the Father and transmits to His servants, that they may in turn transmit to the world of men, the great panorama of the future, known to Him from before the foundation of the world. Let us not miss the special benediction which is attached to the patient reading and consideration of this wonderful book.
The seven churches represent the one Church under different phases and possibly in successive stages of its history; the letters addressed to them are therefore universally applicable. Notice the august reference to the Holy Trinity—the eternal Father, the sevenfold Spirit, and our Lord. Our Lord bore a faithful witness even to death; that death was a birth into the risen life, as ours may be; all kings are His vassals.
How wonderful it is to be told in the next verse that He loves us, and has not only washed, but loosed us, as though He had broken the terrible entail. “He breaks the power of canceled sin.” Jesus often comes with clouds. We cannot understand His dealings with us, yet those clouds are gold with His light. So He shall come at last. As Alpha He begins, but He never begins without carrying into full effect His purpose as our Omega. —Through the Bible Day by Day
Revelation 1:8 – What are the two characteristics of what is enclosed by Alpha and Omega? These: All-needed and all-sufficient. The Bible opens with a book of beginnings, and its last book is a book of endings; they enclose a revelation, all-needed and all-sufficient. We cannot do without a page of it, or it would not have been here. The practical thing is this: Do not put any-thing before Alpha, and do not put anything after Omega. I have a righteous indignation against prefaces to the Gospel of Christ, and an equally righteous indignation as to any supplement or appendix to that Gospel. Christ is the Alpha and Christ is the Omega, and I do not want to put anything before Him; and if I am to live the Christian life I dare not put anything after Him. All-needed and all-sufficient! (George Wilson)
Revelation 1:9-20 – From the Living Lord to the Churches
The tribulation and patience of Jesus are essential conditions of His Kingdom. We cannot exert the divine energies of the latter, unless we are willing to take our share of the former. There should be no Lord’s Day without our definite claim to be in the Spirit; and if we are in the Spirit, every day is a day of the Lord. The seven churches are distinct in their several characteristics, but one in their blended light.
Here is variety, but unity. Jesus was in the midst on the Cross; He is in the midst where two or three are gathered; He is the Lamb “in the midst of the throne” (Revelation 7:17) but He is, also in the midst of the collective life of the Church in her earthly ministry and warfare.
The manifestation of His glory may overwhelm our mortality, but the touch of His pierced hand encourages the soul. His favorite assurance is, Fear not. Here is life in its threefold aspect! In its original source, first and last. In its triumph over death–I became dead. In its eternal reign—I am alive for evermore. The things which John had seen are probably comprehended in this chapter; “the things which are” in Revelation 2-3; and the things which are to come to pass in the remainder of this book. —Through the Bible Day by Day
Revelation 1:10 – Never had John such a Sabbath, and never could he see such again, until the earnest and emblem were exchanged for the full vision and fruition of the eternal Sabbath above. What sights! what sounds! what forms! what scenery!—fit recompense surely for years of conflict and toil. The solitary place was made glad. What Christian Church was ever consecrated like this? Where the most magnificent Sanctuary made with hands that has ever witnessed such glory? The worshipper—one lonely exile. His temple—a rock in mid-ocean. The theme he listens to—the Church-militant,—its sufferings—its triumphs— its eternal rewards. The Preacher, no earthly ambassador —but his adorable Lord, arrayed in the lustre of His exalted humanity. Oh! never did the tones of the Sabbath-bell fall so joyfully on the ear, as when the expatriated Pilgrim was startled from his bended knees by the trumpet-voice exclaiming, “I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last.“ (MacDuff)
Revelation 1:11—I am the First and the Last.
It is true, O Son of God. Thou art! The First in order of Being, and last in the full completeness of thy glory.
First in respect of Time, for Thou art the everlasting Father—Father and Creator of the ages; and when time shall be no more, Thou wilt last for ever. From everlasting to everlasting Thou art God. Thy years shall not fail.
First in respect to Creation.—Thou wast before all things; thine was an age prior to the creation of matter; all things were made by Thee: and when the heavens and earth that are now have passed away for ever; when the elements shall have melted with fervent heat; when the sun shall be burnt out and the stars wane—Thou wilt still be the last, able to bring into being new heavens and a new earth.
First in the order of Redemption.—God first loved us. From before the foundation of the world, Thou wert the Lamb slain; before the foundation of the world we were chosen in Thee. First in the love that resolved to redeem; first in the mystery of thine incarnation, lowest in the depth of thy descent unto death, and in the resurrection through which Thou becamest the First-born among the dead; first to open the way within the vail, to bear our nature risen before the throne, and to inaugurate for man the life of resurrection-power.
First in respect to the experience of Thine elect.—None is to be compared with Thee, Thou Prince of the kings of the earth. Their Alpha, their Beginning, the Day-star of their Hope, the Dawn of their Life, the Origin of all that is good and blessed in their life; whom they take to be their Ideal, their Goal, their Aim, their Omega, their End. —Our Daily Homily
“IT IS I.”
On the water the disciples did not recognize the Master. In the synagogue, or the highway, or at the table, they would have known him instantly, but in the unusual scene on a stormy Gallilee, his presence brought alarm instead of solace. Christ may come to us when and where and how we least expect him. It will not be strange if amidst the storm, which modern science has engendered, and in which the brave gospel ship is rocking, Christ himself should come to the frightened student of His word and say, ” It is I, be not afraid.” If this be true, then, science will shed its dazzling light upon his own sacred person and we shall see him more nearly as he is.
Revelation 1:17-18