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; today this territory corresponds closely to Turkey, but symbolically "Asia" here represents the whole world throughout the 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 = receive and experience
• you = Believers who read (study) and hear (understand) "The Revelation of Jesus Christ"
• and = This word in this context may be understood as "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 is expressing his prayer for all Christians (who read this book) to 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 particular in this case, but also includes God the Son)
• which is = eternal, self-existent, the great I AM
• which was = the God of your fathers; the God that you learned about in history from the holy Scriptures
• which is ​to come = will return, will unite and dwell with us; refers to a future event (the Second Coming of Jesus Christ), this phrase does not refer to God's continuing existence for all eternity into the future

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 (pleural indicates a variety of roles at different times in different places through a variety of divine attributes (Psalm xx:x-x)
• 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 a king reigns

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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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