Revelation 1:4-8
The author is clearly identified as the disciple John.
 “To the seven  churches in the province of Asia”
These churches were in Roman provinces of Asia Minor today’s West Turkey.
They are not symbols but actual churches existing during the time of John.
Dr. Richison says that these seven churches were probably established by Paul during his three years of ministry there.
“Grace and Peace to you” was a typical salutation found in New Testament mostly used by Apostle Paul in his letters.
We observee three sources of 'Grace and Peace.'
From God the Father, from God the Holy Spirit, and from God the Son
Dr. Richison says that Grace always precedes peace and unless we receive grace we can never have peace.
SOURCE ONE
“From HIM who is, and who was, and who is to come,” is God the Father.
Describing the eternal nature of God the Father because HE exists all times.
SOURCE TWO
“And from the seven spirits before HIS throne,”
Based on Isaiah 11:2 this is also a symbolic reference to the seven folds ministries of the Holy Spirit
Dr. Richison says, “God’s sovereignty operates in sight of the fullness of the Spirit.”
SOURCE THREE
Verse 5 “And from Jesus Christ”
The third Person of Trinity for the source of Grace and Peace.
Apostle John cites three credentials of Lord Jesus Christ.
“The faithful witness” A trustworthy witness, a truthful witness, incapable of falsehood
“The firstborn from the dead” One scholar said, this refers to HIS Position and Prominence.
HE is the only one who was raised from the dead is still living today.
“The ruler of the kings of the earth.”
John is saying that Lord Jesus rules over every authority on earth past present and future.
“To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by HIS blood, 
6 and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve HIS God and Father—to HIM be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.”
We believers in the Lord Jesus give glory equally to the Father and to Lord Jesus Christ.
Lord Jesus has a unique position and place in human history that no man can ever have.
He loved us so much that He died for us.
He washed us in HIS precious blood and made us righteous before Heavenly Father.
Bible says that there is no redemption without the shedding of blood. 
No religion, good works, pilgrimage and upright living can take away our sin.
Only through the blood of Lord Jesus we have redemption and forgiveness of sin.
He made us to be a kingdom people designated to serve God the Father.
He made us also to be priests to serve The Almighty God.
7 “Look, HE is coming with the clouds,” and “every eye will see HIM, even those who pierced HIM”; and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of HIM.” So shall it be! Amen.
John says Lord Jesus is coming with clouds and everyone will see Him coming.
“The present tense with future meaning”
We have to understand that Lord Jesus will be coming twice in future.
One time for the church what we understand is RAPTURE. A secret coming
The second time HE will come with the church and touch the planet earth.
The second coming will be seen by all who are alive at that time.
“All peoples on earth “will mourn because of HIM.”
Suddenly Jews and Gentiles will be impacted severely with the knowledge how they have rejected Lord Jesus in their life time.
“The instantaneous realization that Jesus Christ is exactly whom the Bible declares HIM to be, the Son of God, the Messiah, and God eternal, will bring mourning”. 
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”
Dr. Richison says this is God’s autograph.
Both God and Lord Jesus Christ use this signature declaring that they are same.
“Almighty is a key name for God in Revelations.”
CONCLUSION
Grace always precedes peace – If we receive grace we have  peace
They come from three sources God, Holy Spirit, and Lord Jesus
Lord Jesus loved us so much that He washed us in His blood and made us whole again
He also made us to be His kingdom people serving Him as Priests.
He is coming first for the Church and later comes with the Church.
His second coming is seen by the whole world.
Both God and Lord Jesus Christ use this signature declaring that they are same.
Everyone is reminded that the Lord Jesus is coming soon.
The question is how are we preparing for HIS coming?


 

Why we need to study the Book of Revelation?
Because of rapidly changing world in 21st century requires a second look at the Book.
Chaos, confusion, calamity and corruption grip the people of our times on a daily basis.
Unheard of things or impossible things are happening before our eyes.
The social fabric of human society is changing its color daily thus weakening its moral fiber.
Diminishing traditional family values, glorifying homosexual behavior and the institution of marriage being dismantled brick by brick.
Senseless killing of children in Newtown, Connecticut, USA and gang rape of a medical student in New Delhi, leads to one conclusion that we are living in terribly wicked and evil days.
We are hearing earthquakes, devastating storms, extreme weather patterns, threatening drought conditions reminding us that we are running out of our time.
The cellphone marvel of our times makes one wonder what is next.
The attack on Christianity by progressive thinkers, Media, political systems and persecution of the believers in Lord Jesus are similar to the days of 1st century readers of the Book of Revelation.
Serious students of the Bible feel in their hearts that we are living in the end times. 
So this is my humble attempt to study the Book of Revelation with my Church.
My sources are mostly Evangelical and Conservative Scholars and the Word of God.
All statements or phrases in parenthesis are borrowed from their work.
INTRODUCTION
So we begin a journey thru the Book of Revelation in 2013.
Every week we will study verse by verse and grasp the literal meaning along with the symbols used to explain the future.
First three chapters were specifically written to the Church in the 1st century.
From 4th chapter onwards the future end times are described to the present reader.
I approach this book from a literal point of view as many conservative scholars do.
The writer Apostle John was the same author who wrote ‘The Gospel of John’ and the three ‘Epistles John’.
The same disciple who witnessed crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ
Apostle John was imprisoned on Patmos a Greek Island (34.6 sq. miles) close to present day Turkey.
He was imprisoned because of his refusal to worship or call ‘Lord’ the Emperor of Rome.
The Church was quickly settling into second and third generation Christians as most of the Apostles and eye witnesses of Lord Jesus were dead.
It always happens that the initial fervor and enthusiasm tend to fade away and expectation of the Lord’s return goes to the back burner. 
Calling Roman Emperor as 'Lord' challenged their faith.
False teachers and false doctrines tempted the church to compromise its moral integrity and to serve both Roman and God.
Apostle John was primarily writing to encourage the Asia Minor churches to stand firm in their faith.
Many scholars agree that Apostle John wrote this book around 95 AD during the reign of Roman Emperor Titus Flavius Domitian.
We have one more prophetic book in the Old Testament which is Daniel.
In Dan 12:4 & 9, he was instructed to seal the book of his prophetic recordings.
In Revelation we see the breaking of the seals by Lord Jesus to reveal what is hidden.
Revelation means simply ‘to uncover’, to reveal’ or ‘to unveil’.
 It is like lifting the curtain to present the show on the world stage.
Pastor Wiersbe says, “The Holy Spirit pulls back the curtain and gives us the privilege of seeing the glorified Christ in heaven and fulfillment of HIS sovereign purposes in the world”.
Satan and his representatives cannot stop what God has planned and purposed from the creation of this world and to the end of times.
Today some people are responding to the grace of God and accepting the gift of salvation through the cross of Lord Jesus.
Some are rejecting the Gospel message and some opine that all roads lead to one God.
To study the Book of Revelation in our present makes it more essential and relevant.
“Revelation comes from the Greek word APOKALUPSIS”.
From which we have the English word ‘apocalypse’.
The whole book of Revelation is a message of sovereignty of God who holds the future of the world’s ongoing history in HIS hands.
Throughout the book we observe the ‘Trinitarian concept’of God Almighty.
One scholar puts it beautifully, “Our focus in studying this book should not be symbolism as much as the Savior. It’s not about the signs and wonders; it’s about the second coming. It’s not the mystery of ‘666’;it is the marvel of ‘holy, holy, holy.”
Rev 1:1-3
1 The revelation from 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, 
Here John is writing this prophecy 60 years after the death and resurrection of Lord Jesus.
Apostle John is making an exclusive claim of the risen Lord Jesus Christ in glorified body.
Lord Jesus Christ revealing the things that were to happen in the future.
“Soon must take place” has no human time attached to it.
This can happen at any time of human history.
One thing is very clear that once it happens, they happen in ‘rapid succession’.
The prophetic writings had an immediate meaning to the original readers to encourage them to persevere in the midst of impending persecution.
 2 who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. 
Apostle John is saying to the 21st century believers what he told to the 1st century Christians.
3 Blessed is the one who reads aloudthe 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.
Nowhere in the Scripture it is written that one will be blessed by reading the Bible except in the Book of Revelation.
God promised special blessings on those who read it aloud, who hear it and obey it.
If this book is too difficult to understand, why God did add special blessings for reading it?
So it is important that we study this last book of the Bible.
Not just reading it but to draw closer to the Lord and be ready for HIS coming that can take place any time now.
That is the blessing we will receive to obey and prepare for HIS coming.

Ephesians 5:15-17
15 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise,
16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.
17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.
Let us thank the Lord for all HIS blessings and mercies in the year 2012.
We are grateful to the Lord for ushering us into the New Year 2013.
When we reflect upon 2012, I am sure we all have some sweet memories, some bitter, some good experiences and some bad.
In this passage the Apostle Paul presents some important lessons for us to consider in 2013
He was talking mostly to Christians who believe in the Lord Jesus.
15 Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise,
Paul writes that we are to live wisely.
The wisdom God gives to us is not the wisdom of this world.
True wisdom is based on the knowledge of the Holy One..
Proverbs 9:10 says:
“Fear of the LORD is the foundation of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in good judgment.”
This reverential fear is the foundation for wisdom.
Paul writes be careful how you live, don’t live like fools. 
We have to live with wisdom that comes out of our fear of the Almighty.
16 making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.
17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.
We should make the most of every opportunity because life is
very short and we only have not many opportunities.
Psalm 39:4
"Show me, O Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting is my life"
King David talks about the brevity of our life.
We have to remember that we are just one short breath from eternity.
So in God’s given time, we have to grab all opportunities to serve HIM.
As we live in this wicked world we have to use whatever opportunities we get.
Paul says that don’t be foolish but understand God’s will for us.
God speaks to us through His living Word.
God speaks to us through praise and worship, through music, lyrics, and sermons in the Church.
The Holy Spirit who resides in us enables us to hear HIS voice.
In our quiet and alone with Him God begins to speak to us.
But we need to tune out all the noises of the world to listen HIS voice.
Apostle Paul is warning us not to take chance with our Christian walk.
Our Christian walk would shape our secular walk in 2013.
For a Christian the spiritual life determines the social life.
We cannot separate them at any given time. They go together.
Let us be wise and grab all given opportunities to serve HIM faithfully.
Let us be heaven minded as we deal with every day of 2013.