The Present Tense King Text: Revelation 1:4-8
Introduction: The Government Upon His Shoulder
We have a bad habit, cultivated over many years of sentimental and often fearful evangelicalism, of reading the book of Revelation as though it were a spyglass for peering into a distant and disconnected future. We treat it like a cryptic timetable for the end of the world, something to be decoded by matching headlines with beasts. But this is to fundamentally misunderstand what John is doing. The Apocalypse, the Unveiling, is not primarily about when Jesus is coming back, but about who He is, right now. It is a book about the present reign of Jesus Christ over the kings of the earth.
The first-century Christians to whom John wrote were not antiquarians interested in a far-off eschatology. They were under the boot of an all-encompassing pagan empire that demanded total allegiance. Caesar called himself "Lord and God." He was the Son of God, the savior of the world. His image was on every coin. His decrees were absolute. Into that world, a world of raw, brutal, and deified political power, John writes a letter. And this letter begins not with a whisper of hope for a future escape, but with a thunderous declaration of Christ's present, total, and absolute authority. This is not a tract for a quiet-time devotional. This is a royal communiqué from the true throne of the universe. It is a declaration of allegiance, and therefore an act of sedition against every tin-pot dictator who would claim a glory that belongs to another.
This passage, this salutation, is a Trinitarian broadside against the pretensions of Rome and every subsequent empire of man. It establishes the source of all authority, the identity of the true King, the nature of His kingdom, and the certainty of His coming judgment. To read this as anything less than a direct challenge to the political and spiritual claims of the world is to domesticate a lion. This is not a message about "pie in the sky when you die." It is about the government of the world resting on the shoulders of a crucified and risen King, right now.
The Text
John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace, from the One who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, 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, and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father, to Him be the glory and the might forever and ever. Amen. BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, and EVERY EYE WILL SEE HIM, EVEN THOSE WHO PIERCED HIM; and all the tribes of the earth will MOURN OVER HIM. Yes, amen. "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty."
(Revelation 1:4-8 LSB)
The Triune Source of All Government (v. 4-5a)
The greeting is from the entire Godhead, establishing that the authority of the church is grounded in the eternal reality of the Triune God.
"John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace, from the One who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, and from Jesus Christ..." (Revelation 1:4-5a)
John writes to seven specific, historical churches in Asia Minor. The number seven signifies completeness; this letter is for the whole church, in all times and places. The greeting is "grace and peace," the standard Christian salutation, but here it is a royal endowment. This is not a mere wish; it is a bestowal from the throne of heaven. True grace and true peace do not come from Caesar's Pax Romana, a peace enforced by swords and crucifixion. They come from God alone.
The source is threefold. First, "from the One who is and who was and who is to come." This is a direct echo of God's revelation of His covenant name to Moses at the burning bush: I AM THAT I AM (Exodus 3:14). It speaks of God the Father's eternal self-existence, His aseity. He is the ground of all being, the unchanging sovereign over all of history. He is not a creature of time; He is the author of it.
Second, the greeting comes "from the seven Spirits who are before His throne." This is not a reference to seven different angels or created spirits. This is a symbolic description of the Holy Spirit in His sevenfold perfection and fullness. The number seven points to completeness. This is the Spirit of God in the plenitude of His power, the one who anoints, empowers, and fills the church. The imagery is likely drawn from Isaiah 11:2, which describes the sevenfold nature of the Spirit who rests on the Messiah. The Spirit is not an impersonal force; He is a person, stationed before the throne, ready to be sent forth into all the earth.
Third, the greeting is "from Jesus Christ." And notice the three titles that immediately follow, which we will address next. The point here is that our salvation and our marching orders come from the fully Trinitarian God. The Father is the eternal ground, the Spirit is the perfect power, and the Son is the mediatorial King. This is the government of God, and it is from this government that all true grace and peace flow.
The Resume of the King (v. 5b-6)
John now provides a threefold title for Jesus, which functions as His royal resume, establishing His credentials as the true ruler of the world.
"...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, and He has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father, to Him be the glory and the might forever and ever. Amen." (Revelation 1:5b-6)
First, He is "the faithful witness." The Greek word is martus, from which we get our word "martyr." Jesus is the ultimate witness to the truth of God. He did not just speak the truth; He embodied it. His entire life was a testimony to the Father, a testimony He sealed with His own blood. In a world of imperial propaganda and deceit, Jesus is the one true and reliable word.
Second, He is "the firstborn of the dead." This does not mean He was the first person ever to be resurrected. It is a title of preeminence and inheritance. In the Old Testament, the firstborn received the double portion of the inheritance and held the place of authority. By being the firstborn from the dead, Jesus has conquered death and inherited all things. His resurrection is not just a personal victory; it is the inauguration of the new creation. He is the head of a new humanity, the firstfruits of the resurrection harvest.
Third, and this is the political dynamite, He is "the ruler of the kings of the earth." This is not a future hope; it is a present reality. The verb is in the present tense. At the very moment John is writing, while Caesar is preening in Rome, Jesus Christ, seated at the right hand of the Father, is the one truly in charge. All earthly rulers, whether they know it or not, are His vassals. They hold their power by His decree and for His purposes. This is the central political claim of the New Testament. The ascension was not a retirement; it was a coronation. And because He is the ruler, the church can engage in its mission with bold confidence, not cowering fear.
This statement of Christ's identity immediately erupts into a doxology. The indicative (who Christ is) leads to the imperative (what we do). "To Him who loves us and released us from our sins by His blood." His love is not a sentimental feeling; it is a fierce, redeeming, and costly love that paid the ultimate price. He "released us," setting us free from the bondage of sin and death. And what did He make us? "A kingdom, priests to His God and Father." This is our new identity. We are not just forgiven individuals; we are constituted as a new holy nation, a royal priesthood (Exodus 19:6; 1 Peter 2:9). We are a kingdom, a new society under our King. And we are priests, with direct access to God, commissioned to represent Him to the world and the world to Him. Our task is to exercise dominion under Him, to bring every thought captive to His obedience. And for this glorious reality, all glory and might belong to Him forever.
The Inevitable Judgment (v. 7)
John now turns from the present reality of Christ's reign to the future manifestation of that reign in judgment.
"BEHOLD, HE IS COMING WITH THE CLOUDS, and EVERY EYE WILL SEE HIM, EVEN THOSE WHO PIERCED HIM; and all the tribes of the earth will MOURN OVER HIM. Yes, amen." (Revelation 1:7)
This verse is a tapestry woven from Daniel 7 and Zechariah 12. "Coming with the clouds" is Old Testament language for divine judgment. When God came to judge Egypt, Isaiah says He came "on a swift cloud" (Isaiah 19:1). This is not primarily about meteorology; it is about theophany. It is God showing up to settle accounts. Jesus applied this very language from Daniel 7 to Himself before the Sanhedrin, promising them that they would see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven (Matthew 26:64). This was fulfilled in one sense in the catastrophic judgment on Jerusalem in A.D. 70, a vindication of Christ and a judgment on the generation that rejected Him.
But the scope here is wider. "Every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him." This refers to the Jewish leadership that instigated His crucifixion, but by extension, it includes all who reject Him. The phrase "all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him" is a direct quote from Zechariah 12:10. In Zechariah, the mourning is one of repentance, as Israel looks upon the one they pierced and grieves. Here, it is the mourning of terror and despair. When the King comes in judgment, there will be no place to hide. His authority will be made undeniably, visibly, and terrifyingly manifest to all who have opposed His rule. All the "tribes of the land" who rejected their Messiah would see His vindication in the destruction of their temple and city. And at the final judgment, all the tribes of the whole earth who have rejected Him will mourn in terror. The double affirmation, "Yes, amen," underscores the absolute certainty of this event.
The Sovereign Self-Attestation (v. 8)
The passage concludes with God Himself speaking, confirming everything that has just been said.
"'I am the Alpha and the Omega,' says the Lord God, 'who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.'" (Revelation 1:8)
Here, the Lord God, the Father, speaks. "Alpha and Omega" are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. It means He is the beginning and the end, the A and the Z of all reality. Nothing exists before Him, nothing exists outside of Him, and nothing will exist after Him. He encompasses all things. He is the author and the finisher of history.
He then repeats the title from verse 4, "who is and who was and who is to come," grounding His absolute authority in His eternal nature. And He adds one final, thunderous title: "the Almighty." The Greek word is Pantokrator, the all-ruler, the one who holds all things in His power. This is the ultimate answer to the apparent power of Rome, or any other human empire. Their power is derivative, temporary, and ultimately futile. God is the Almighty. He is the one with all the might. Later in Revelation, Jesus will also take these titles to Himself (Rev. 22:13), demonstrating His full deity.
Conclusion: Living Under the King
So what does this mean for us, living in the shadow of our own teetering, godless empires? It means everything. It means that our fundamental political reality is not determined by elections or court decisions, but by the fact that Jesus Christ is, right now, the ruler of the kings of the earth. Our primary citizenship is in His kingdom. Our primary vocation is to serve as His priests.
This is not a call to political quietism or retreat. It is the foundation for courageous, joyful, and defiant engagement. Because Christ is King, we can speak truth to power. Because He has released us from our sins, we are free from the fear of man. Because He is coming again in judgment, we know that every injustice will be righted and every knee will bow. The empires of this world are all on a leash, and our King holds that leash.
Therefore, we are not to be dismayed by the headlines. We are not to be intimidated by the threats of secular powers. We have received our grace and peace from the eternal Father, the sevenfold Spirit, and the reigning Son. We are a kingdom of priests, and we have a world to win for our King. To Him be the glory and the might, now and forever. Amen.