Commentary on Revelation 1:4-8

On the second Sunday of Easter, the opening epistolary greetings in the book of Revelation seem a strange place to start. What do these standard features of an ancient letter—naming the author, identifying the recipient, and extending greetings—have to do with resurrection? How do these four verses help us proclaim God’s good news in a broken world? I suggest several possibilities. 

First, it is important to note the genre—or genres—of Revelation. We have already observed that the text includes the standard features of a first-century letter. But Revelation is more than a letter; it is also an apocalypse and a prophecy. While these two genres are similar, there are important distinctions. Apocalypse comes from the Greek verb “to unveil.” It seeks to reveal the problems of the world and disclose God’s good will and purposes for the cosmos in its place. Prophecies aspire to proclaim God’s word to a specific situation. Like a letter, they speak to a particular circumstance; like an apocalypse, they speak truth to power. 

In addition to identifying author and audience, the standard greeting at the beginning of Revelation stresses the divine origins of John’s message to the seven churches. This isn’t an ordinary report. John’s message is heaven-sent. In addition to verses 4–6, the first two verses in Revelation similarly tout the sacred roots of John’s missive. This message is important enough to John that it bears repeating. In these dreadful days of political calamity, it is good news that God wants us to know that the world is not as God intends. God desires a better world. 

Second, God does not act alone. The opening verses of Revelation emphasize the communal nature of God’s good purposes for the world. Revelation is addressed to the seven churches in the province of Asia (verse 4). A series of plural pronouns follows and similarly stresses the universal and communal nature of God’s church. John first extends grace to the churches collectively—“grace to you [plural] and peace from him who is and was and who is to come” (verse 4). John then includes himself as a part of the group that God loves and calls as servants—“to him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father” (verses 5–6). While John goes on to address each church individually in chapters 2–3, it is worth noting that his message begins with community. 

While too much is often made of John’s use of numbers in the book of Revelation, it is worth noting the repetition of the number seven in verse 4. Following his address to the seven churches, John briefly mentions seven spirits before the throne. We cannot know with certainty what John intended to communicate through this image of seven spirits. But it is not beyond imagination that the seven spirits referred to the seven churches. After all, the seven lampstands John sees in his next vision are quickly identified as the seven churches (verse 20). Resurrection isn’t in the hands of individuals. It is a communal affair. 

Our participation in God’s good work continues through John’s calls to action in Revelation. John’s audience is continually called to do something. Revelation, therefore, is more than a message. It is a call to action. The first word that follows John’s greeting, for example, is the command “Look!” John repeats this command more than two dozen times in Revelation. In verse 3, John implores that the churches read, hear, and keep God’s word, and throughout Revelation, he encourages them to withdraw and resist the distorted ways of the world (Revelation 2–3; 9:20; 18:4). In sum, God’s church plays a crucial role in the ushering in of God’s intentions for creation. Unlike popular political demagogues who prefer dictatorship and monocracy, Easter’s good news requires community. We are called to join God in the good work, and we don’t have to do it alone.

Third, one final detail calls our attention. It is noteworthy that Jesus is described in the opening chapter as pierced. “Look!” John writes. “He is coming with the clouds; every eye will see him, even those who pierced him” (verse 7). John doesn’t begin with the typical qualities of a political leader—power, strength, might, wealth, et cetera. John points to Jesus’ wounds. John wants his audience to pay attention to the dangers of imperial powers. He wants them to see the scars of empire. But that is not all. 

The passage also models what serving God looks like. Serving God requires serving the one who notices the victims of empire, rather than serving the empires themselves. In other words, leaders should expose violence, not perpetuate it. John shows us that true leaders join God in unveiling the truth and exposing injustice. I am reminded here of Bishop Mariann Budde’s plea at the National Cathedral’s prayer service during the inaugural events of the 47th U.S. President. She heeded John’s call to look and speak truth to power. She saw victims of imperial violence and she didn’t turn away. She asked those with power for mercy. This Easter, how might we join Bishop Budde in identifying the scars of evil and its power, and lifting our voices in service to the victims of violence? 

This short passage from Revelation, as it turns out, is packed with the hope of Easter. It reminds God’s faithful that God is in control and that God does not act alone. It beckons us to pay attention and to look for the evil ways of empire in our own imperial context. And it encourages us to serve those who experience violence at the hands of power, rather than the powerful themselves. This is good news indeed.