Who Is Jesus?

Revelation 1:1-8

If asked to give a description of Jesus, what would you say?  There are many words and characteristics we could come up with to describe Him.  In our Scripture passage today from the Book of Revelation, the Apostle John gives us a few unique descriptions of Jesus, ones that would not apply to anyone else. Tradition says that the Apostle John was the only one of the twelve Apostles who did not suffer a martyr’s death. However, he did suffer much for the Lord. John was exiled on the island of Patmos, in the Aegean Sea, when he had several apocalyptic visions which are recorded in the Book of Revelation.

Our passage comes from the introduction of this book of recorded visions which was sent to the early churches throughout Asia Minor. These visions came to him from the Lord God, and it is here in the introduction that John gives us some descriptions of Jesus. Let us take a look at them and see what new aspects of Jesus’s character we can learn.

John first describes Jesus as “the One who is, who was, and who is to come” (vs. 4).  Jesus is everlasting, both from eternity past and forever into the future. He is the Second Person of the Trinity, always existing with the Father.  Jesus was with the Father and partook in creation (Colossians 1:17). He is coming again to judge the living and the dead, and to establish His kingdom here on earth, which is described later in this book.

John further describes Jesus as the “faithful witness” (vs 5).  Jesus came to earth to be the sacrifice for our sins, and also to show us the Father (John 14:7-11).  The words He spoke were from the Father, and were truth (John 8:40-47; John 18:37). We can trust every word that Jesus has said to be the truth.  He is a faithful witness.

The next description given of Jesus in our passage is “the firstborn from the dead” (vs 5).  There were a handful of people who had been raised from the dead mentioned in the Bible (Lazarus in John 11:1-44, and Dorcas in Acts 9:36-41 are two examples).  These people, though, all had to die again sometime later. Jesus was raised with an imperishable body, never to die again. He was the firstborn from the dead.  His resurrection from the dead gives us a living hope that we, too, will live with Him for eternity.

John tells us that Jesus is the “ruler over the kings of the earth” (vs. 5).  So many rulers, both in the past and today, are in opposition to God, oppress their people, and are corrupt.  Jesus is coming again, and at that time He will set up His rule over all the kingdoms of this earth. At this time every knee will bow to Him (Philippians 2:9-11), including the kings of the earth.

Next John describes Jesus as one who “loves us and washed us from our sins with His Blood”.  Jesus is the almighty God, living in heaven, with all of creation at His fingertips, yet He gave all of that up to come to earth to die for our sins, so that we could also enjoy heaven with Him.  If that doesn’t show that He loves us, then I don’t know what does! Love brought Jesus out of heaven, and love for us nailed Him to the cross.

We skip down to verse 8 where we read that John calls Jesus the “Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End”.  Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. He is the first, last, and everything in between. He is the whole dictionary, the whole encyclopedia. Jesus is the supreme sovereign. Nothing is outside of His knowledge.  His power is supreme over everything. Jesus is the eternal Lord and Ruler of past, present, and future. He is the beginning and the end of all existence, wisdom, and power.

One thing the Book of Revelation makes clear is that Jesus is coming back to earth again.  At His return He will be victorious, and visible to all (vs. 7).  All people will see it, including those who had been responsible for His death, and they will know that He is Jesus.  Are we ready for that day? Do you know Him as your Savior? If not, do not hesitate one more day. Do not be late and unprepared for the Day of His return.