This section continues to set the scene for the rest of the book. We have just been told that Jesus is the one who has set us free from sin by His blood and is the one who has all power.
John does not write as someone with a superior attitude, but as their brother and companion, ie someone who stands alongside them. We should all bear this in mind as we serve. We are never to Lord it over others, but to serve them as fellow disciples of Christ. John joins them in suffering and endurance. So understanding the times, and living in the times, will require patience and endurance. Indeed it says this explicitly on a couple of occasions in Revelation (Rev 13:10; 14:12).
John's fellowship with them is emphasised by the fact that he was suffering for Christ on Patmos, a small island.
"On the Lord's day". This is the first reference to Sunday in this way, though Acts speaks of them meeting on Sunday. He was in the Spirit, so the revelation was a vision, not a dream.
John is ordered to write down what he was about to see, and it was to be sent to the seven churches. The churches are then listed, and these are the ones who will receive individual letters in chapters 2 and 3.
Again, we need to realise that Revelation is earthed. It is not a weird book given by some other worldly mystic.
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