Revelation 1

1. 1:1

   The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John,

   The next time Jesus has a revelation, let’s hope he skips the angel and John and just tells us directly the exact date and time of the rapture, adjusted for daylight savings.

   The text describes a complex chain of communication: God gives the revelation to Jesus, who gives it to an angel, who gives it to John, who gives it to the servants. What does this multi-layered delivery system suggest about the nature of apocalyptic prophecy and how it is meant to be mediated to humanity?

2. 1:2

   who testified to everything he saw—that is, to the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.

   We have no choice but to trust that John got everything right—Nero destroyed the videotape.

   John emphasizes that he is testifying strictly to "everything he saw." Given that Revelation is filled with highly symbolic, bizarre, and visual imagery, how should a modern reader distinguish between an eyewitness account of literal events and an eyewitness account of symbolic visions?

3. 1:3

   Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, for the time is near.

   “The time is near” could refer to the apocalypse, or maybe John’s brownies are almost ready.

   The verse concludes with the warning that "the time is near," but it remains highly ambiguous because it never defines what "the time" refers to. What is the rhetorical or spiritual effect of keeping the subject of this warning completely open-ended for the reader?

4. 1:4

   John, to the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace to you and peace from the one who is, who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne,

   Scholars debate the reference to the seven spirits. But most agree they were the ones who invented Halloween.

   John introduces a major mystery right at the beginning of his greeting by mentioning "the seven spirits before his throne." Who or what do you think these seven spirits represent, and why are they are left unidentified?

5. 1:5

   and 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 freed us from our sins by his blood,

   If Jesus is the firstborn from the dead, then the tomb was like a womb, the stone was the cervix, and the doorway was—uh. . .

   Describing the resurrection with the title "the firstborn from the dead" introduces distinct birth and maternal metaphors. What is the significance of using this kind of feminine imagery to describe Jesus coming out of the grave, and how does it reshape our understanding of the resurrection?

Rest of the chapter coming soon.