Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Revelation 1:5

"and from Jesus Christ, [who is] the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loveth us, and loosed us from our sins by his blood;" — Revelation 1:5 (ASV)

Finally, greetings come from the Son—“from Jesus Christ.” John immediately adds three descriptive epithets about Christ and a burst of doxology to him.

(1) He is the “faithful witness.” His credibility is proved by his earthly life of obedience in the past; it is proved in the present by his witness to the true condition of the churches; and it will be proved in the future by the consummation of all things in him. In the past he was loyal to the point of death (cf. Jn 7:7; 18:37; 1Ti 6: 13), as was his servant Antipas (2:13). That Christ was a reliable witness to God’s kingdom and salvation—even to the point of suffering death at the hands of the religious-political establishment of his day —is an encouragement to his servants who also are expected to be loyal to him, even to their death (2:10).

(2) The fact that he is “the firstborn from the dead” brings further encouragement. As Christ gave his life in faithfulness to the Father’s calling, so the Father has raised Christ from the dead, pledging him as the first of a great company who will follow (cf. 7:13–14). John nowhere else refers to Christ as the “firstborn” (GK 4758), though Paul uses it in Ro 8:29; Colossians 1:15, 18 (cf. also Heb 1:6). In Col 1:18, this same expression is associated with words of supreme authority or origin such as “head,” “beginning,” and “supremacy.” In Col 1:15 Paul refers to Christ as the “firstborn over all creation,” meaning that he is the source, ruler, or origin of all creation (see comment on that verse). So for Christ to be the “firstborn” of the dead signifies not merely that he was first in time to be raised from the dead but also that he was first in importance, having supreme authority over the dead (cf. 1:18).

(3) “The ruler of the kings of the earth” virtually connects John’s thought with Ps 89. Christ’s rulership of the world is a key theme of John (11:15; 17:15; 19:16). Who are the “kings of the earth”? John could mean emperors such as Nero and Domitian, territorial rulers such as Pilate and Herod, and their successors. In that case John was affirming that even though Jesus is not physically present and the earthly monarchs appear to rule, in reality it is he, not they, who rules over all (6:15; 17:2). Another approach holds that Jesus rules over the defeated foes of believers, e.g., Satan, the dragon, sin, and death (1:18). A third possibility sees believers as “the kings of the earth” (2:26–27; 3:21; cf. 11:6); in the immediate context John refers to Christ’s redeeming activity, and in v.6 he refers to believers as a “kingdom.” All three ideas are true; so it is difficult to decide which was uppermost in John’s mind. We should be careful, however, not to read into the term “king” our own power concepts but to allow the biblical images to predominate.

The mention of the person and offices of Christ leads John to a burst of praise to his Savior: “To him who loves us... be glory and power.” In the present, Christ is loving us. Through all the immediate distresses, persecutions, and even banishment, John is convinced that believers are experiencing Christ’s continual care. Moreover, in the past Christ’s love was unmistakably revealed in his atoning death, by which he purchased our release from the captivity of sin. Christ’s kingly power is chiefly revealed in his ability to transform individual lives through his “blood” (i.e., his death; cf. 5:9; 7:14). Through his death on the cross, he defeated the devil; those who follow Christ in the battle against the devil share his victory (12:11).