Greetings to the Seven Churches

Greetings to the Seven Churches

Excerpt

As with the prologue in 1:1–3, the greeting was written after John had experienced the visions of the book. It presents the major themes of the book: seven churches, the eternality of God, Jesus the faithful witness, and God’s eternal glory and dominion. These themes will be illustrated throughout the book. John gave a standard blessing: “grace and peace.” Revelation is addressed to the seven churches of Asia. The churches were in cities Paul had visited on his second and third missionary journeys. As elder, or bishop, of Ephesus, the apostle John was responsible for these churches. Note the structure of 1:4–8. It starts and ends with the eternality of God (cf. Exod. 3:14–15). The middle part describes the person and work of Jesus, which results in believers being “priests” (1:6). The servants of God do their priestly ministry in Christ surrounded by the eternal power and nature of the Father. More

Hughes, Robert B., and J. Carl Laney. Tyndale Concise Bible Commentary. Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2001. Print. The Tyndale Reference Library.

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