verse 2 – John was an eyewitness to Jesus and His ministry

             – John had a clear record – we can believe what he wrote

verse 3 – a blessing comes along with the book of Revelation

blessed – means to be supremely happy, fortunate, and well off

prophecy – are words and predictions from the Lord

James 2:22-25 – practice the Word of God

***Near – right next door

verse 4 – 3 Items in most NT books

Author – John the Apostle

Written to: 7 churches in Asia

Greeting – Peace and Grace

7 is the # for God – the number of completion – the Lord’s complete plan for church history will be laid out in Revelation

               7 Characteristics of the Holy Spirit- Isaiah 11:2

-The Spirit of the Lord – being in the Lord to perform miracles

-The Spirit of wisdom  – to make wise choices in life

-The Spirit of understanding reveals why things have happened

-The Spirit of counsel – The Holy Spirit gives great counsel

-The Spirit of might – Holy Spirit energy

-The Spirit of knowledge – we get to know Jesus and His Word better

-The Spirit of the fear of the Lord – we gain an increase  of respect for the Lord

verse 5 – 3 Characteristics of the Lord

1. The Faithful Witness  – dependable…keeps His word

-witness – the word martyr comes from this word

2. The firstborn from the dead – Jesus was not created, but was raised from the dead

3. Prince or Ruler over the kings of the earth

-Jesus is the highest authority in the universe – Phil 2:5-11

              3 Things Jesus Does For Us

1. Loves us – unconditional love

-He loves us NOW

2. Washed us from our sins – with His blood

-washes us and keeps on washing us

3. verse 6 – Made us Kings and Priests

-this refers to our position in Jesus Christ

-our position in Christ is by our feelings or works – it is not DO, but DONE…

-we must see ourselves as the Lord sees us

-resist having your past consume and haunt you – 1 Cor 6:9-11

-John could not contain himself and begins to worship the Lord…

verse 7 – Behold – this is getting everyone’s attention because something is about to happen – it is the second coming of Jesus Christ

—it is a promise – John 14:1-3

—do not be a skeptic – 2 Peter 3:3-10

—with the clouds – speaks of the presence and glory of the Lord

            (Matthew 24:29-30)

verse 8 – I Am – reveals that Jesus Christ is God – John 8:58-59

Alpha and Omega – 1st and last letters of the Greek alphabet – it shows Jesus has always been and always will be

Almighty – means the all-ruling God/He can do anything

verse 9 – Tribulation – means pressure/affliction/anguish/burden/trouble

             What should we do when we face tribulation and trouble?

1. Change your thinking to agree with the Bible’s thinking  – Acts 14:22

2 Cor 11:23-29 & Job 1:1-3, 6-22

-John suffered greatly

2. Go to church – the Lord’s day is Sunday – Hebrews 10:25

-Some things happen at church that do not happen anywhere else

-This was a time of persecution and hatred of believers – stay in church, especially during hard times

3. Embrace the presence of the Lord – Being in the Spirit – vs12-13

-This produces strength and victory in our lives during rough times

-understand that God’s plan also included pain and difficult times