Lesson 1 of 6 · about 25 min
Getting our bearings
What kind of book this is, who it’s for, and why chapter 1 matters so much
Revelation 1:1–20
Watch together
“Revelation Chapter 1”, Watch! Do Not Be Deceived (8 min)
From the video
The blessing he almost missed
After years of teaching Revelation, the speaker realized he’d walked right past 1:3: there’s a blessing just for reading this book aloud and hearing it. So he decided to read one chapter a day for 22 days. That’s a great place for us to start too.
There’s one thing that sort of escaped me, and that is Revelation 1 verse 3.
Hold the timeline loosely
He doesn’t try to pin down dates. It’s been almost 2,000 years; things may seem to be “stacking up,” but fulfillment could still be centuries away. He reads as a pre-tribulation believer, expecting the church to be raptured before the later judgments, so he doesn’t dwell on those chapters.
We just don’t know.
Even the prophets didn’t get it all
John didn’t fully understand what he saw. Daniel didn’t either (Daniel 12:8–9), and the disciples were lost when Jesus taught Matthew 24–25. So our job isn’t to master every detail. It’s to know the book, stay alert, and keep learning.
Know it, be aware of it, be looking for it, ever vigilant, and trying to understand it.
John was really there
Here’s a lovely observation: John heard the voice behind him and turned around. You don’t usually get that sense of direction in a dream. John is giving us an eyewitness report of a real encounter, doing his best to put into words what he saw.
John is trying to tell you what he saw, and that’s the best he can do.
Let’s set the scene
Who wrote it? John, the apostle, “the disciple whom Jesus loved” — the traditional and widely held evangelical view. By now he’s an old man, probably the last living apostle, exiled on the island of Patmos around AD 95 under Emperor Domitian.
Who was it for? Seven real churches in the Roman province of Asia (western Turkey today). They were feeling the squeeze from three sides: pressure to honor Caesar and join the trade guilds’ pagan feasts, hostility from some in the local synagogues, and slow spiritual drift inside the church. Sound familiar?
What kind of book is it? Chapter 1 actually tells us. It’s an apocalypse (1:1, an “unveiling” using vivid symbols), a prophecy (1:3, God’s word calling for a response), and a letter (1:4, real mail to real people). Keep all three in mind and the book gets a lot less intimidating.
A word on the end times. We read Revelation as God’s inspired, trustworthy Word. Evangelicals stand together on the big things: Jesus will return personally and visibly, he will judge the living and the dead, and he will make all things new. We hold different views on the timing and order of events (the millennium, the rapture and the tribulation). Our video speaker holds a pre-tribulation view. In this study we’ll focus on the solid ground we share.
Read it aloud
Revelation promises a blessing to “the one who reads aloud” and to those who hear (1:3). If you’re in a group, let one person read while everyone listens.
Revelation 1:1–20 BSB
1This is the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants what must soon come to pass. He made it known by sending His angel to His servant John, 2who testifies to everything he saw. This is the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. 3Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear and obey what is written in it, because the time is near. 4John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from Him who is and was and is to come, and from the seven Spirits before His throne, 5and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has released us from our sins by His blood, 6who has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and power forever and ever! Amen. 7Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him—even those who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. So shall it be! Amen. 8“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is and was and is to come—the Almighty. 9I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance that are in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and my testimony about Jesus. 10On the Lord’s day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, 11saying, “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.” 12Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned, I saw seven golden lampstands, 13and among the lampstands was One like the Son of Man, dressed in a long robe, with a golden sash around His chest. 14The hair of His head was white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes were like a blazing fire. 15His feet were like polished bronze refined in a furnace, and His voice was like the roar of many waters. 16He held in His right hand seven stars, and a sharp double-edged sword came from His mouth. His face was like the sun shining at its brightest. 17When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. But He placed His right hand on me and said, “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last, 18the Living One. I was dead, and behold, now I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of Death and of Hades. 19Therefore write down the things you have seen, and the things that are, and the things that will happen after this. 20This is the mystery of the seven stars you saw in My right hand and of the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
Read in NKJVWalking through the text
Now let’s walk through it together, a few verses at a time.
What this book is
- The title, the chain of delivery (God → Jesus → angel → John → the churches), and the first of seven blessings in the book.
Nugget: The blessing is for hearers and doers, not just experts.
Greeting and praise
- Grace and peace from Father, Spirit and Son, then a burst of praise for what Jesus has done, and two big announcements: he’s coming, and God is the Alpha and Omega.
Nugget: Before any instruction, we get worship.
John’s assignment
- John, exiled for his faith, is told on the Lord’s Day to write down what he sees and send it to seven churches. Notice he hears the voice behind him and turns: the eyewitness detail our speaker points out.
Nugget: God speaks to his people right in the middle of hardship.
Seeing the risen Jesus
- Jesus stands among seven lampstands, described with imagery from Daniel, Ezekiel and Isaiah.
Nugget: Jesus isn’t far from his churches; he walks among them.
“Don’t be afraid”
- Jesus lifts John up, claims victory over death, and explains the stars and lampstands.
Nugget: The one who holds the keys of death is the one who says “Don’t be afraid.”
Word nuggets from the Greek
- Revelationapokalypsis
- an unveiling, pulling back a coverRevelation isn’t meant to hide things from us; it’s meant to show us what’s really going on behind the scenes.
- Churchekklēsia
- assembly, those called out and gatheredUsed 19 times in chapters 1–3, and only once more in the whole book (22:16). These opening chapters are all about the gathered church.
Where this comes from
- Daniel 7 & 10Where much of John’s picture of Jesus comes from.
- Ezekiel 1–3Same pattern as Revelation 1: the prophet sees God’s glory, falls down, is lifted up, and is sent to speak.
- Revelation 22:6–21The ending mirrors the opening: blessing, “soon,” Alpha and Omega. The book is a carefully built whole.
Watch for it in the seven letters
“Holds the seven stars… walks among the seven golden lampstands” (1:13, 16)
“The First and the Last, who died and came to life” (1:17–18)
“Has the sharp two-edged sword” (1:16)
“Eyes like a flame of fire… feet like burnished bronze” (1:14–15)
“Has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars” (1:4, 16)
“Has the key… opens and no one shuts” (1:18)
“The faithful and true witness” (1:5)
Nuggets to keep
- Revelation is about Jesus first and events second
- There’s a real blessing in simply reading it aloud and taking it to heart (1:3)
- We can be humble about the details and still confident about the big picture: Jesus wins, and he’s coming back
- Each church in chapters 2–3 gets exactly the picture of Jesus it needs, so chapter 1 is not an intro to skip
Let’s talk about it
Your notes save on this device only, so they stay private to you.
- Go back to your opening answer. Has anything in this session shifted how you feel about Revelation?
- The speaker says he overlooked 1:3 for years. Why do you think reading Scripture aloud has faded from our routines?
- How can we be humble about end-time details without becoming vague or uninterested in Christ’s return?
- Look at the seven-church table. Which description of Jesus does your church most need to hear right now? Why?
Live it out this week
Let’s pray
Lord Jesus, thank you for pulling back the curtain and showing us who you are. Give us ears to hear and hearts to obey. Where we feel confused or afraid, help us fix our eyes on you. Amen.