Revelation 1:4-8

“I am the Alpha and the Omega… who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” (Revelation 1:8)

The prologue (1:1–8) continues with a greeting and doxology (1:4–6) followed by a prophetic confession (1:7–8). John’s greeting of grace and peace to the seven churches compares to the kind of greeting we find in Paul’s letters, but John includes a fuller description of the source of the greeting: the Triune God. One reason this section packs such rhetorical punch is the repetition of threes throughout (e.g., threefold description of both the Father and the Son). The number three, which represents sufficiency and completeness, reinforces the importance of what is being communicated. In the prophetic confession, John highlights the return of Christ and the sovereignty of God, two realities that would both comfort suffering Christians and challenge complacent Christians. Outline b. Greeting and doxology (1:4–6) i. Greeting (1:4–5a) ii. Doxology (1:5b–6) c. Prophetic confession (1:7–8) i. Exclamation of Jesus’s return (1:7) ii.

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