A Practical and Devotional Study of the Book of Revelation
Part 1 – Things Seen and Things Said
Week 2 – The Vision of Christ – Revelation 1:4-20
Series Key Truth – In Christ We Win!

Revelation 1:4-20
John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia:
Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from
the seven spirits before his throne, 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, and has made us to
be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for
ever and ever! Amen.
“Look, he is coming with the clouds,” and “every eye will see him, even those who pierced him”; and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.”
So shall it be! Amen.
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is
to come, the Almighty.”

John’s Vision of Christ

I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient
endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of
God and the testimony of Jesus. On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind
me a loud voice like a trumpet, which said: “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to
the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and
Laodicea.” I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man,
dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. The
hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire.
His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of
rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a
sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.
When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me
and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead,
and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.
“Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. The
mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden
lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angelse of the seven churches, and the seven
lampstands are the seven churches.

Observation #1 – The Power of Seven

Observation #2 – The Back and Forth Between the Literal and Symbolic

Revelation 1:7-8
“Look, he is coming with the clouds,” and “every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him”; and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.”
So shall it be! Amen.
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is
to come, the Almighty.”

Key Truth – The symbolic has a literal meaning.

Observation #3 – Jesus is Eternal

John 1:1-3
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He
was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing
was made that has been made.

Observation #4 – Jesus is the Slain and Risen Lamb

Revelation 1:17-18
When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me
and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead,
and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.