Revelation 1:4-6 (NKJV) John, to the seven churches which are in Asia:
Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth.
To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, 6 and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
V4 “John, to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne…” John is the Apostle John. These 7 churches would know that. The 7 churches were literal thriving churches in the late 1st century. Asia is western Turkey. True lasting grace and peace come only from the Father. I understand the 7 spirits to be the seven-fold Spirit, that is, the sevenfold ministries. Dr Wilbur Pickering writes in his NT translation: “Although the evidence is badly divided, I take it that the original reading is “the seven spirits which is”. A plural subject with a singular verb is anomalous, unless we understand “seven-fold Spirit which is”. If the Deity is three in one, why might not the Holy Spirit be seven in one? See Isaiah 11:2.” He also adds: “The sequence “from…, and from…, and from…” suggests three persons. The third, Jesus Christ, has to be the Son. The seven-fold Spirit would be the Holy Spirit. So “Him who is, was and is coming” must be the Father. Just over half of the Greek MSS add “God” after the first “from” to make the connection overt (but the best line of transmission does not).”
Revelation 1:4 (Holman Commentary) “The Holy Spirit is also the source of grace and peace. This unique phrase— the seven spirits before his throne—occurs only in Revelation and probably refers to the Holy Spirit, though others would see seven major angels meant here and thus deny the Trinitarian nature of this passage.“
V5 “…and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood…” Jesus is described as the faithful witness for all that God the Father wanted Jesus to do and said—Jesus did. He is the firstborn from the dead, meaning that He has the preeminence in the family of God (the church, that is, believers). See Colossians 1:15-18. Jesus is the ultimate ruler, for there is none greater except the Father.
V6 “…and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” I take this to be the correct reading for believers’ reign with Christ, and if we reign, we must be kings under the authority of the King of kings—Jesus Christ. See 2 Timothy 2:12, Revelation 5:8-10, Revelation 20:4-6, and Revelation 22:5. The rest of the verse is one of praise and thanksgiving for God’s good mercy and blessings.
From some of my old notes: [Many translations have kingdom instead of kings. Yet compare Revelation 5:10 (βασιλεις και ιερεις Majority text), 1 Corinthians 6:2-3 (judges), 2 Timothy 2:11-13 (reign with Him). It is possible that the word is kings (βασιλεις ) and not kingdom (βασιλειαν). Manuscript P18 (3-4 century) has [βα]σ[ιλ]ειαν ἱερεῖς (kingdom priests). TR has βασιλεις και ιερεις (kings and priests). Some translate the Greek words βασιλειαν ιερεις as a kingdom of priests or a kingdom, priests for/to God. The Bible does speak of believers reigning. See 2 Timothy 2:12, Revelation 5:10, Revelation 20:6, Revelation 22:5, and possibly Romans 5:17. Let the reader be a Berean and study it for themselves. The Millennial kingdom will have Jesus as the King of the Universe, King David (resurrected) as king of Israel (Ezekiel 34:23-24 and Ezekiel 37:25), and the church age and Tribulation believers reigning over the Gentile kingdoms].
We learn:
- The greatness of God
- The greatness of the Trinity—God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit
- A few of the great spiritual blessings God gives those who believe in Jesus