Revelation 1:4 > Grace & Peace

1:4 John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;

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John to the seven churches which are in Asia:

• ​John = The Apostle; the one who is writing this book
• seven = a symbolic number representing "complete" or "perfect"
• churches = groups of believing Christians; local Christian congregations
• Asia = "of the orient"; in biblical times generally referring to "Asia Minor" or the "Middle East"; today this territory corresponds closely to Turkey,

Seven = Complete, All, Perfect > Symbolically, "the seven churches which are in Asia" represent all the Christian churches throughout the whole world and throughout the whole Christian era.

Grace be unto you, and peace,

• ​> Grace and peace be unto you
• grace = good will, loving-kindness, favor; God's holy influence to turn us to Christ and to keep and increase our faith; knowledge, desire, and strength in exercising Christian virtues
• be unto = be received and experienced by
• you = True believers who read (study), hear (understand), and keep (experience) "The Revelation of Jesus Christ"
• and = "which is to say" or in this case: "which leads to"
• peace = a state of tranquility, harmony, security, prosperity; assurance of salvation, the condition of being right with God and content with our earthly lot in this life​

John's greeting here expresses his prayer for all Christians to study, understand, and live the message of Revelation, so that they can experience the divine grace that brings true peace.

from him which is, and which was, and which is to come;

• ​​him = God (God the Father in this case)
• which is = eternal, self-existent, the great I AM
• and (cumulative) = also, in addition
• which was = the God from our past; the God of our fathers; the God we learned about in history from the holy Scriptures
• and (cumulative) = also, in addition
• which is ​to come = will appear, will return, will unite and dwell with us​

The phrase "is to come" does not refer to God's eternal existence into the future. That was expressed by the fact that He "is" (I AM). The phrase "is to come" refers to a future event, specifically the Second Coming of Jesus Christ!

and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;

• the = indicates specificity
• ​seven = a symbolic number representing "complete" or "perfect"
• Spirits = the Holy Spirit​
  
• before = in the presence of; positioned in front of
• his = God's (particularly God the Father, but who shares His throne with God the Son)
• throne = the official place from which God (the King of the Universe) reigns

Spirits (pleural) refers to the Holy Spirit's "complete" range (variety) of roles at different times in different places (the "seven" churches) through His "seven" (perfect) divine attributes.

And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. -- Isaiah 11:2

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1:4 John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;

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