Miracles, Signs, Symbols and Judgment God's Plan for the End Times

Chapter 1
Revelation 1:1(NIV)
The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John,
The first thing one need to understand is the order of how this revelation was made known to John. Jesus Christ received this revelation from God, Christ then made this revelation available to the angel, the angel in turn showed John this information. God is the original foundation of all truth. Every perfect word of wisdom, inspiration and knowledge emanates from God.
What does God mean by soon?
The phase "must soon take place" would on the face imply that these events were to begin shortly, or possibly immediately. Time has shown that this interpretation is not correct. To quote Barnes "The true idea seems to be that the writer contemplated a series of events that were to occur, and that this series was about to commence. How far into the future it was to extend, is to be learned by the proper interpretation of all the parts of the series." So one could conclude by the use of the word "soon" is not to imply that all the events of the book of Revelation were to take place shortly. Rather it is better to understand that the beginning of the process in all likelihood would begin in the near future.
Revelation 1:2(NIV)
who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.
The "who" in this verse is John. When John says that he will faithfully bear witness to all that he is about to see, he is saying that nothing is to be left out unless God has instructed. These events are being revealed in a systematic way from God and Jesus Christ through the angel to John. It is important at the beginning of this revelation that one understands the chain of authority that is being presented to John.
Can you feel confident John has presented all of this revelation?
John certainly was in a unique position in that he already was a witness to the testimony of Jesus Christ while Jesus walked on this earth. John's faithfulness in the past is a testament to him being exact in revealing the word of God as it relates to the testimony of Jesus during His second coming. God trusted John to be the herald of the impending doom that waits the future of all mankind. If God trusted John we can be certain that all of what God meant for us to know about the end times is revealed through John.
Revelation 1:3(NIV)
Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.
First, it is important to realize that this is a prophecy given to John by special revelation. Jesus is sending His message to John by means of an angel is very similar to how God's message came to Abraham.
Have you read and shared the message of Revelation?
The second thing that strikes me about this verse is that it is both to be read and heard. In the time of John not everyone would have had a copy to literally read. Therefore, it seems that John is making a point here that this prophecy is to be read to the Christian brethren. In today's church it seems almost ironic that the book of Revelation is almost never read and probably represents one of the least studied books of the Bible. Reading and sharing this message is very important in the furtherance of God's mission to have as many as possible come to know Him. If we do not heed these words from Revelation and John they become worthless. What a shame, since God and Jesus is literally saying to us that we will be blessed by the reading and understanding of this book.
One should take notice of the fact that the hearer is not only to hear these words but take them to heart.
So what constitutes taking these words to heart?
Exactly what is it that we as Christians need to do in an effort to understand these words and take them to heart? As with most Scripture, I believe the key is not in just the reading of the words but applying them to our lives. What earthly good would it do to read these words from God and not be motivated in some way to do the will of God.
While this verse suggests that the time is near, in essence the time is near for all of us, in that if we have not accepted Christ as our Lord and Savior the doom that is described during the great tribulational period and the final judgment will be upon us. This verse is a call to evangelism because if we do not read these words, and share them with those who are outside of Christ, the words become meaningless and those who have not accepted Christ are lost.

Revelation 1:4(NIV)
John, To the seven churches in the province of Asia: Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne,
First, John directs his attention towards the seven churches of the province of Asia and more particularly we may refer to this area as Asia Minor. But we would be presumptuous to assume that there was only seven churches in Asia Minor. More likely John has some sort of direct connection to these seven particular churches.
There is another concept to the identification of these seven churches. Adams writes "these seven were those which lay nearest to the apostle, and were more particularly under his care; though the message was sent to the Churches in general, and perhaps it concerns the whole Christian world. But the number seven may be used here as the number of perfection; as the Hebrews use the seven names of the heavens, the seven names of the earth, the seven patriarchs, seven suns, seven kinds, seven years, seven months, seven days, etc., etc.; in which the rabbins find a great variety of mysteries". If his understanding is correct there is a universality to the message that Jesus has for these seven churches that would apply to all churches. Some have theorized that each of the seven churches represents in essence seven periods in history. Through my own personal study I have not been able to identify scripture as evidence that would substantiate these claims.
Second, you'll notice that John uses the terms grace and peace, the literal Greek introductive words for this type of greeting, representing gratitude for both Jews and Gentile believers. One could conclude that the makeup of the seven churches included both of these groups.
Third, we see the eternal nature of God and Jesus in that they "are", (the existence in the here and now), "was", (in control from the very creation of the universe), "is to come", (their eternal nature going forward).
Do you comprehend the seven spirits of God?
Fourth, while it is not certain as to whom the seven spirits refer, one speculation might be the seven angels that ultimately will speak to the seven churches. As we see in Revelation 1:20, "The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches." Another view that will be discussed later is that this is a reference to the sevenfold nature of the Holy Spirit.

Revelation 1:5(NIV)
and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood,
John begins in this verse to establish who is the only faithful witness, and from our point of view this is obviously Jesus Christ.