John then elaborates upon Jesus Christ, telling the churches that He is: [Verse 5]
5…the faithful witness, and the first begotten from the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth…
He is ‘the faithful witness.’ The Greek wording suggests exactly what the English translation says. Any ‘faithful witness’ is someone whose testimony can be fully trusted. In stating this about Jesus of Nazareth, John is declaring that all that Jesus did and said during His first advent was a binding affirmation of the Truth, God’s Truth. To fully embrace Him in faith as He is going to be further revealed in this book, it is going to be necessary to review and accept as the Truth, all that He has previously said and done. The man that said and did all that is recorded of Jesus of Nazareth in the scriptures is the same glorified Lamb revealed here in The Revelation.
Jesus is further identified as being ‘the first begotten from the dead.’ The primary difference between the resurrection of Jesus and that of all recorded resurrections in scripture is permanence. Lazarus rose, only to die again. So also with Jairus’ daughter, and all others.[1] But, Jesus rose never to die again. Thus, He is the first begotten from the dead. Those that He calls into ‘the resurrection of life’[2] shall never again taste of death. This is very significant in terms of The Revelation of Jesus Christ because of what He specifically says of Himself in Revelation 1:18:
I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
John also speaks of Jesus as being ‘the prince of the kings of the earth.’ This is an interesting phrase because we are accustomed to thinking of princes and being subservient to kings and queens.[3] In the Greek, the word for prince is ἄρχων (archon). Once again, we encounter the usage of a Greek present participle.[4] It is a verbal form used as a noun, essentially meaning ‘ruling one,’ or ‘a present-tense ruler.’
It is used in this exact form of the noun 8X in the TR.[5] In every usage it refers to one that is currently ruling.[6] In this usage it clearly suggests that Jesus is the Ruler of the kings of the earth. Later in The Revelation we encounter this statement:
The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.[7]
There we are being told of the ultimate triumph of Christ over the kingdoms of this world. But here, in Revelation 1:5, He is spoken of as the ‘present-tense’ ruler of the kings of the earth. He is ruling now, as He was when John wrote this!
John speaks of Jesus Christ as being:
…him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood…
Having identified several staggering truths about Christ,[8] John now connects what he has been saying to God’s eternal redemptive purposes in Christ. Every aspect of God’s revelation of His Son in scripture is redemptive.[9] This helps us to hold to a strong Christ-centered redemptive emphasis all throughout scripture, and especially here in The Revelation of Jesus Christ.
[1] 1 Kings 17:17-24, 2 Kings 4, 2 Kings 13:20-21, John 11, Matthew 5:21-43, and Luke 7:11-15. [2] John 5:29, where the ‘resurrection of life’ is contrasted with the ‘resurrection of damnation’ by the Lord Jesus Christ. [3] For example: Queen Elizabeth and Prince Charles, etc. [4] Please see our discussion of Revelation 1:3, page 9. [5] The textus receptus, the Greek that underlies the KJV New Testament. [6] Here, and: Matthew 9:18, Luke 8:41 and 18:18, John 3:1, 12:31, 14:30 and 16:11. [7] Revelation 11:15. [8] Reread what we have just been seeing in these first five verses! This is the Jesus Christ that has redeemed us by His blood! [9] My beloved Bible teacher, Frank Sells used to say that any sermon that could have been preached even if Christ had never died for our sins was unbiblical. It is all redemptive.