The Revelation of Jesus Christ
This is the Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things which must happen soon, which he sent and made known by his angel to his servant, John,
This opening verse tells us exactly what kind of book we're about to read. It isn't a puzzle to be solved for its own sake, nor a code hiding secret information for the clever. It is, first and foremost, a revelation of Jesus Christ—a book about him, given by God the Father to be shown to his servants.
Notice the chain of transmission described here: God gave it to Jesus, who sent his angel to make it known to his servant John. Nothing about this is vague or accidental. Every link in that chain points to a message meant to be received clearly and passed on faithfully. What John writes down isn't his own speculation about the future; it's something shown and made known to him for the sake of others.
There's also a note of urgency in this verse—these are things which must happen soon. Whatever else Revelation contains, it isn't meant to feel distant or theoretical. It carries a sense that what is coming matters now, that it presses in on the present moment and shapes how God's servants are meant to live in light of it.
And at the center of all of it stands Jesus Christ. The book is named for him, sourced in him, and ultimately about his glory and his unfolding purposes for the future. Any reading of Revelation that loses sight of that center has drifted from what this verse establishes as the book's very foundation.
If you'd like to go deeper into how this opening verse sets the tone for the rest of Revelation, John MacArthur's teaching "The History of the Future, Part 1 (Revelation 1:1–8)" on GTYtv is a great place to continue.
Read the source: Grace to You →