The Apostle John wrote these opening verses to introduce to his readers the main subject dealt with in this book and his purpose for writing it.
1:1 "The revelation of Jesus Christ"is the subject of this book. "Revelation"means unveiling or disclosure and is a translation of the Greek word apokalypsisthe transliteration of which is an alternative title for the book (i.e., the Apocalypse). Jesus Christ was the giver of this revelation (cf. Matt. 11:27; John 1:18; 5:19-23; 12:49; 17:8), and He is its main subject.9
"It will be vain to become occupied with sevens,' hundred-forty-four-thousands,' six-sixty-sixes,' the restoration of the Roman Empire, the person of the antichrist, the two wild beasts, the millennium,' or even the new Jerusalem; unless, along with God the Father, who has subjected all things unto Him, Christis ever before our eyes!"10
God wanted the bond-servants of Jesus Christ (cf. Acts 2:18; 22:6) to have this revelation of things that will happen soon.
"If we are having difficulty with this blessed closing book of God's holy Word, let us surrender ourselves to Jesus Christ as His servants. The book was written to bondservants."11
The idea behind the Greek words translated "shortly"(en tachei) is probably that the events to be revealed will appear soon rather than speedily.
". . . the view that sees en tacheimeaning soon' and thereby focuses on the imminence of the predicted events is impressive. A major thrust of Revelation is its emphasis upon the shortness of time before the fulfillment. In the midst of persecution God's people do not have long to wait for relief to come. To say that the relief will come suddenly' offers no encouragement, but to say that it will come soon' does. . . .
"The presence of en tacheiin 1:1 shows that for the first time the events predicted by Daniel and foreseen by Christ stood in readiness to be fulfilled. Therefore, John could speak of them as imminent, but earlier prophets could not."12
There are many similarities between how John wrote Revelation and how Daniel wrote the book that bears his name. Both prophecies deal with God's sovereign rule over the world.
Jesus Christ communicated this revelation to an angel (Gabriel? cf. Dan. 8:16; 9:21-22; Luke 1:26-31) who passed it on to the Apostle John.13John used the traditional title of bond-servant (slave) to describe his relationship to Jesus Christ as did all the other apostles (cf. Rom. 1:1; Phil. 1:1; Titus 1:1; James 1:1; 2 Peter 1:1; Jude 1).
1:2 Forty-four times in this book John wrote "I saw"(1:12-13; 4:1, 4; 5:1, 2, 6, 11; 6:1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 9, 12; 7:1, 2, 9; 8:2, 13; 9:1, 17; 10:1; 13:1, 3, 11; 14:1, 6, 14; 15:1, 2, 5; 16:13; 17:3; 18:1; 19:11, 17, 19; 20:1, 4, 11, 12; 21:1, 2, 8). He saw many things and passed this revelation ("all that he saw") on to the church. By the time the original recipients of this book had read it, the visions that he had seen, which the book describes, were in the past. John regarded the book as an inspired word from God, specifically from Jesus Christ (cf. v. 1).
"No other book in the Bible is so strongly supported as to its divine inspiration."14
The "word of God"may refer to God the Father's word to Jesus Christ. "The testimony of Jesus"probably refers to the Lord Jesus' faithful communication of God's word to John who passed it on to his readers.
Verses 1 and 2 summarize the contents of the Book of Revelation and present them as testimony that Jesus Christ bore.
1:3 Those who read, hear, and obey this prophecy will receive a special blessing from God. John put himself on a par with the Old Testament prophets (cf. 10:8-11) and distinguished this book from Jewish apocalyptic literature.15This is the first of seven blessings that John mentioned in Revelation (14:13; 16:15; 19:9; 20:6; 22:7, 14; cf. Luke 11:28).16The Greek word translated "time"(kairos) describes a period of time rather than a point in time. The time when God will fulfill these prophecies was "near"when John wrote this book. "Near"is the translation of the Greek word eggusmeaning at hand. It means relatively near in God's timetable in which a thousand years are as a day (2 Pet. 3:8).
"A revelation' of the end of history is given not for the satisfaction of curiosity, but to inspire living in accordance with the reality unveiled."17
