From Jesus Christ

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,

And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him [be] glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

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.

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. Rev 1:4-8

Before this post I was going to jump right into what Jesus was saying to the 7 churches, because my boyfriend reminded me not to get bogged down in details, which is my tendency to do. But I felt it was important to look at what was being said about Jesus in these verses.

Just as when we receive a letter from someone, especially one that is directing us to do something or admonishing us, for the letter to ‘carry weight’ we have to know who it is coming from so that we understand by whose authority we are being directed.

John is establishing very clearly for us that the letters to the churches (or Ekklesia: a gathering of citizens called out from their homes into some public place, an assembly) are from Jesus the Christ, the First and the Last.

(Additionaly we are called to worship and give glory to God. For us to worship him, we must know who he is.)

While John is relating who has given the message that is to follow he mentions The Father, The Son , and The Holy Spirit. He allots approximately one verse to The Father and The Holy Spirit, but take notice that he has allotted at least 3 to The Son.

Let’s look at the names given to Christ in these verses:

Jesus Christ
1. [who is] the faithful witness

trusty, faithful –one who can or does aver (avow) what he has seen or heard or knows.

2. the first begotten of the dead

the firstborn of the deceased, departed, one whose soul is in heaven or hell)

3. the prince of the kings of the earth

a ruler, (commander, chief, leader ) of the leader of the people of the inhabited earth, (the abode of men and animals)

4. that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,

self explanatory

5. hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father;

He has made us leaders of the people, princes, commanders, lords of the land and sacred, consecrated to God unto the Godhead, trinity and unto the originator and transmitter of anything

6. Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending

The first and the Last, the first person or thing in a series, and the limit at which a thing ceases to be

7. which is, and which was, and which is to come

Eternal

8. the Almighty

he who holds sway over all things

These names show his authority and shows us who Christ is. It is important to remember He the one who holds sway over all things is the one who is addressing his church in the following verses.