1:5
It has been said that Revelation is deeply trinitarian, and verses 4 and 5 are an example of this, assuming that the seven spirits in 1:4 are a way of referring to the Holy Spirit. The grace and peace comes from God, the Spirit and the Son. Jesus Christ here is described as the faithful witness, the first born from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. All this attributes are so relevant within the context that Revelation was written in. They lived in a world full of lies, full of people making claims about themselves, in particular the Roman Empire. Today we live in a world of lies and falsehoods. Jesus Christ is the faithful witness. He is the truth, and He is the One we should listen to. The powerful ones had the power to kill Christians, and sometimes did so. The state can inflict harm upon us. But Christ is the firstborn from the dead. He overcame death. The state did its worst, and it did not defeat Him. Sometimes God rescues by stopping things happening to us, but at other times He rescues by letting us go through things, and suffering in the process, but despite the enemy being allowed to do his worst, we are not defeated. Most importantly, Christ is the ruler of the kings of the earth. All the politically powerful were subject to Christ. Now this does not always work out in a way that we might like (i.e for all the bad guys to just disappear!). God allows evil to have power, but this does not mean that evil is allowed to triumph. Jesus Christ is Lord, no one else. And the one who is all powerful loves us. We are loved by the Lord. And we have been freed from our sins by His blood. Jesus has every reason to be against us, for we are guilty, but He has forgiven us and cleansed us by His blood.
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