Useful Bible Studies > Revelation Commentary > chapter 1
God is great and powerful, but he is also very kind. Especially, he is very kind to those people who have invited him into their lives. They only deserved punishment from him because of their evil deeds, but God sent his Son, Jesus, to save them.
John wrote especially to the Christians in 7 churches in the region called Asia (now western Turkey). He used these 7 churches as a word picture for all Christians, everywhere. So John’s words are really for everyone who has trusted Christ to save them.
John urges them to remember, firstly, how great God is. He is always God; his power has no limit. The same Jesus, who taught them the truth about God, will rule the whole world. He died once so that God could forgive the evil deeds of his people. Then God made him alive again. He was the first to become alive again, because God will cause all his people to live again (1 Corinthians 15:20-23).
These things show us how great God’s love is. It is wonderful that he sent his Son, Jesus Christ, into this world for the first time (John 3:16). It astonishes us that he, the ruler of the kings of the world, lived humbly among us (John 1:10-11). As an act of love, he even died for us so that God can forgive us (Romans 5:8). However, many people do not accept his love (John 1:11-12).
After God made Jesus alive again, he gave Jesus the most important place in heaven (Hebrews 1:3). Of course, God’s love to his people did not finish then. In the future age, God will adopt them wholly as his sons (Romans 8:23). Then, they will no longer know pain or death (21:4). They will serve God always in his holy place (22:3-4). They will even rule with him (22:5). That is how much God loves his people.
Next part: Jesus will return in public (Revelation 1:7)
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© 2016, Keith Simons.