Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Revelation 1:4

"John to the seven churches that 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 that are before his throne;" — Revelation 1:4 (ASV)

The epistolary form of address immediately distinguishes this book from all other Jewish apocalyptic works. John writes to actual, historical churches, addressing them in the same way the NT letters are addressed. These churches actually existed in the Roman province of Asia (the western part of present-day Turkey). But why did John address these churches and only these seven churches? There were other churches in Asia at the close of the first century. The NT itself refers to congregations at Troas (Acts 20:5–12), Colosse (Colossians 1:2), and Hierapolis (Colossians 4:13).

At present it is difficult to say why the Lord selected just these seven churches. Some have suggested that these churches were prophetic of the church ages throughout history. Yet there is no reason from the text itself to hold this view. The churches are simply representative churches found in every age. Seven churches were chosen and were placed in this order because seven was simply the number of completeness, and here it rounds out the literary pattern of the other sevens in the book. These seven churches contained typical or representative qualities of both obedience and disobedience that are a constant reminder throughout every age to all churches (cf. 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22; esp. 2:23). As for the order of their mention (1:11), it is the natural ancient travel circuit beginning at Ephesus and arriving finally at Laodicea (consult a map of the area).

“Grace and peace” are the usual greetings in NT letters: “grace” (GK 3921) represents a traditional Greek greeting, and “peace” (GK 1645; cf. 8934) represents a traditional Hebrew greeting. The source of blessing is described by employing an elaborate triadic formula for the Trinity: “From him who is, and who was, and who is to come,” i.e., the Father; “From the seven spirits before his throne,” i.e., the Holy Spirit; “From Jesus Christ,” i.e., the Son (v.5). Similarly there follows a threefold reference to the identity and function of Christ: “the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth”; and three indications of his saving work: “who loves us and has freed us from our sins... and has made us to be a kingdom and priests.” The descriptive name of the Father occurs nowhere else except in Revelation (4:8; cf. 11:17; 16:5). It is generally understood as a paraphrase for the divine name represented throughout the OT by the Hebrew tetragrammaton YHWH (see comment on Ex 3:14; cf. also Isa 41:4, where the Lord is described as the one “who is to come”). The complete combination of these three tenses occurs in a Palestinian Targum on Dt 32:39. The force of the name has been widely discussed. In 1:8 and 4:8 it is parallel with the divine name “Lord God, the Almighty.” The tenses indicate that the same God is eternally present with his covenant people to sustain and encourage them through all the experiences of their lives.

“And from the seven spirits before his throne” seems clearly to focus on the Holy Spirit. But why “seven spirits”? Some understand John to mean the “sevenfold spirit” in his fullness (see NIV note). Borrowing from the imagery of Zec 4, where the ancient prophet sees a lampstand with seven bowls supplied with oil from two nearby olive trees, John seems to connect the church (“lampstands” [v.20]) to the ministry of the Holy Spirit (3:1; 4:5; 5:6). The “seven spirits” represent the activity of the risen Christ through the Holy Spirit in and to the seven churches. This figure brings great encouragement to the churches, for it is “ ‘not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says the LORD Almighty” (Zechariah 4:6), that the churches serve God. Yet the figure is also a sobering one because the history of each church (chs. 2–3) is an unfolding of that church’s response to the Holy Spirit—“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (2:7, 11, et al.).