Rev 1: 1-3

1 The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:

² Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.

³ Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

Rev 1 4-6

⁴ John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;

⁵ 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,

⁶ And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

John opens his letter to the 7 churches

Rev 1: 7-8

⁷ Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

⁸ I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.

Acts 1:11 ¹¹ Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

Jesus is the Cloud Rider! Here is another example of Jesus riding in the Clouds.

Numbers 9:15-17 ¹⁵ And on the day that the tabernacle was reared up the cloud covered the tabernacle, namely, the tent of the testimony: and at even there was upon the tabernacle as it were the appearance of fire, until the morning.¹⁶ So it was alway: the cloud covered it by day, and the appearance of fire by night. ¹⁷ And when the cloud was taken up from the tabernacle, then after that the children of Israel journeyed: and in the place where the cloud abode, there the children of Israel pitched their tents.

Rev 1:9-20

⁹ I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.

John was sent to Patmos as a punishment for preaching the word and for his testimony of Jesus Christ. Fact: Your testimony of Jesus Christ is the MOST valuable thing you have, more valuable than your life. John was holding on to his testimony and was punished for it by being exiled to Patmos…and God used this to show John all the things written in Revelation. The word stresses over and over that we need to hold on to the words of our testimony, even unto death. John held on to his testimony and Jesus showed him all of these things….and if we hold on to our testimony we shall receive eternal life.

¹⁰ I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,

¹¹ Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.

These 7 churches were actual churches that were functioning at the time John was exiled to Patmos. The admonishments to these churches are included in the book of Revelation because the problems and corrections addressed with them are present in the end time church.

¹² And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;

¹³ And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.

¹⁴ His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;

¹⁵ And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.

¹⁶ And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.

¹⁷ And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:

Jesus comforts John by telling him not to be afraid because Jesus is the first and the Last. I think this must be like saying to John, “Nothing bad is going to happen to you because I’m in control of this, I have the plan and the final say.” It’s true too… Jesus has the plan and the final say… so no matter what comes your way, Jesus has you if you believe in him.

¹⁸ I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

¹⁹ Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter;

²⁰ The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.

When reading Revelation, be childlike… meaning, listen the way a child listens to a story being told. Don’t try to figure anything out, just listen to the word and let the text unfold. Children do not come up with these huge theories, thereby missing the actual story and writing their own. Children listen from a place of knowing they don’t know and are about to learn by hearing what is said. Here is an example of symbols being used…the 7 candlestick and 7 stars… and it would be easy when these are first mentioned to begin to try and figure out what they mean… and while you do that, you‘re not listening anymore, and you‘re now writing your own story based on speculations… but, if you continue to listen and read… the symbols are explained by Jesus. Let the word say what it says… and when it doesn’t say, let it be unsaid. More harm is done by trying to fill in the blanks. An analogy: You are walking along and see a huge crack in the road… you can easily skip over the crack and continue on your way. Now if you decide that you must cover the crack with something, so you place a piece of paper over it. Eventually you will step through the paper, into the crack and break your ankle. It’s better to leave it alone until you have the material you need to properly fill it up.