“John to the seven congregations in Asia: grace be to you and peace, from Him who is, and who was, and who is to be; and from the seven Spirits, that are before his throne; and from Jesus Christ, the faithful Witness, and the First-born of the dead, and the Ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests to God even his father: to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye will see him, and those, who pierced him: and all the tribes of the earth will wail because of him. Yea, so be it! I am the Alpha and the Omega, saith the Lord God, who is, and who was, and who is to be, the Almighty.” Rev 1:4-8.

The seven churches to which John sends salutation, were those of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea, 1:11. The Asia, in which they were situated, was a province in Asia Minor, distinct from Pontus, Gallatia, and Bithynia; which also were in Asia Minor, 1 Pet 1:1, and Acts 2:9. Of the province of Asia, Ephesus was the capital, and was the principal place of John’s residence. The seven cities which contained those churches, were situated in a kind of amphitheatre, surrounded by mountains. Smyrna was 46 miles north of Ephesus, and Pergamos 64 miles; Thyatira was 48 miles to the east, and Sardis 33 miles; Philadelphia 27 miles to the south, and Laodicea 42 miles. These churches had all been under the general supervision of John’s ministry; and for this reason, doubtless, they are especially designated, instead of those with which he had not been so intimately connected.

John writes to the seven churches, in obedience to the command, “What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia,” 1:11. He seems to have written what he saw, at the time of its exhibition, and not at the close of the entire presentation; for when he was about to write the discordant utterances of “the seven thunders,” he was told to “write them not,” 10:4.

John observes the oriental custom of placing his name at the commencement, instead of the close of his communication. Few persons now deny that this was John the Evangelist. Irenaeus, who was born only about 30 years after the death of John, speaks of the writer of the Apocalypse, as “the disciple of Christ, that same John that leaned on his breast at the last supper.”

Most beautiful reference is here made to the attributes of DEITY: “Him who is, and who was, and who is to be,” can be no other than the great Preexistent, who said to Moses, “I AM THAT I AM,” Ex 13:14.

The seven Spirits, would seem to be irrelevantly placed between the Father and the Son, the place always occupied by the Holy Spirit, when spoken of in connection with them, if they were merely seven angels. Grace would also seem to be irreverently invoked from such, its presence being implied where it is invoked, unless they are expressive of the Holy Spirit, in which grace is inherent, and from whom it may be communicated; as it may not be from angels. Seven is a full and perfect number, and it may be here used because in another place “seven lamps of fire burning before the throne” are symbolic of “the seven Spirits of God,” (4:5); which, if angels, would be expressly named, as in other inspired explanations, as they are in that of the stars, 1:20. A burning flame is often used as a symbol of the Holy Spirit. Thus, when God would make a covenant with Abraham, and the victims between which the covenanting parties were to pass, were divided, the presence of God was symbolized by “a burning lamp that passed between those pieces,” Gen 15:17. And the descent of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, was manifested by “cloven tongues, like as of fire,” which “sat upon each of them,” Acts 2:3. In Zechariah 3:9, we read of the symbol of a stone laid before Joshua, that on it were engraved “seven eyes,” which “are the eyes of the Lord which run to and fro, through the whole earth,” (Zech 4:10); an expressive figure of God’s Omniscience. The same is symbolized in Rev 5:6, by the “seven eyes” of the LAMB.

Jesus Christ is the faithful Witness. He “was faithful to him that appointed him,” (Heb 3:2); and he was given as a Witness to the people, a Leader and Commander to the people, Isa 55:4. He is the “first-begotten of the dead,” having “risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept,” 1 Cor 15:20: he is “declared to be the Son of God, with power according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead,” Rom 1:4. He is “the Prince of the kings of the earth,” the “King of kings and Lord of lords,” 19:16; “all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him,” Psa 72:11. He hath shown how he “loved us,” by giving himself for us, (Gal 2:20); and hath cleansed his people from all sin, not “by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood, he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us,” Heb 9:12. He has redeemed us to God “out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation,” Rev 5:9. He is the one who is to come in the clouds of heaven, in resplendent majesty, to reward his saints, and to destroy those who destroy the earth, 11:18. The announcement that he “cometh with clouds” is as if John had said that what he was commanded to write, was a revelation of the events which were to precede and usher in that coming.