Revelation 1:5 - Printer Friendly

ESV: and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood

NIV: and from Jesus Christ, who is 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,

NASB: and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood—

CSB: 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 set us free from our sins by his blood,

NLT: and from Jesus Christ. He is the faithful witness to these things, the first to rise from the dead, and the ruler of all the kings of the world. All glory to him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by shedding his blood for us.

KJV: 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,

NKJV: and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood,

In this verse John describes Jesus Christ as "the faithful witness," because He is the truthful, reliable source of what is recorded in this revelation.

Jesus conquered death and arose from the grave. He was the first to rise from the dead in a glorified, everlasting body. As such, He is referred to as "the firstborn of the dead." His resurrection guarantees the resurrection of believers of the church age (1 Corinthians 15:12–28; Philippians 3:11; 1 Thessalonians 4:16), the resurrection of tribulation martyrs (Revelation 20:4–6), the resurrection of Old Testament believers (Daniel 12:2), and the resurrection of the wicked dead of all periods of history (Revelation 20:12–13). Someday He will return to earth and reign over the nations. At that time every king will submit to His rule.

John points out that the ruler of kings is the believers' redeemer. In His deep love for us He shed His blood on the cross to end sin's tyranny over us.

Revelation 1:4–8 identifies John's audience as the seven churches in Asia. John addresses these churches with a greeting from the triune God, and he ascribes praise to Jesus. Jesus is coming in glory, John declares, and His coming will be visible to everyone. At that time, the tribes of Israel will express remorse because of His crucifixion. John concludes this passage by quoting Jesus as saying He is the beginning, the eternal Almighty One.

The Roman government had banished John to the island of Patmos in the Aegean Sea, off the coast of Asia Minor, modern-day Turkey. While John was at Patmos, the risen, glorified Son of God appeared to him and commanded him to write ''the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this'' (Revelation 1:19). John pronounces blessings to those who read and obey Revelation, and then he greets his readers warmly and describes Jesus' appearance.

The apostle John begins this chapter by stating that he received the revelation of Jesus Christ by divine activity. God sent this vision to John while he was on the island of Patmos, likely as a punishment from the Roman government. This book follows John's four prior messages contained in the New Testament: the Gospel of John and the letters 1, 2, and 3 John. Chapters 2 and 3 tell what Jesus dictated to seven churches in Asia Minor, while the rest of John's message concerns future events.

The word ''revelation'' means ''an unveiling or disclosure.'' This writing unveils future events such as the rapture, three series of judgments that will fall on the earth during the tribulation, the emergence of the Antichrist, the persecution of Israel and her amazing revival, as well as Jesus' second coming with His saints to the earth, the judgment of Satan and his followers, and finally, the eternal state. This content, combined with the original Greek term apokalypsis, is why we now refer to an end-of-the-world scenario as ''an apocalypse.''