Revelation 1:4: John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne.

The apostle John identified himself to the seven churches by first name only. His self-introduction in the Revelation is considerably more direct than the introduction he gave himself in his gospel. There, John identified himself only in the third person as the other disciple whom Jesus loved.¹ Since John used his first name only to identify himself in the Revelation, this suggests that his apostolic position was well known to his audience² in the seven churches of Asia Minor.³ The seven churches of Asia were seven congregations in the Roman province of Proconsular Asia located in the western part of Asia Minor (modern Turkey) near the Mediterranean Sea.⁴ Ephesus was the capital city in Asia Minor,⁵ where the apostle Paul lived many years earlier. From there he founded the seven churches during his third missionary journey.⁶

The seven churches at Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea⁷ were not the only Christian congregations that existed⁸ at the time of John's vision in 96 AD.⁹ However, John may have known these seven most intimately among all others then in existence.¹⁰ The seven churches represent the universal¹¹ spiritual spectrum of the ancient church from bad to good,¹² and they represent the latter-day church by symbolic extension.¹³ In other words, we see in the membership of the church today the same spiritual strengths and struggles that existed among the ancient saints in 96 AD. John wrote the Book of Revelation primarily for the benefit of saints in the latter days.¹⁴ This must necessarily be true because the church in John's day was short-lived and largely corrupted by the time of the Revelation.¹⁵ Joseph Fielding Smith has said that these seven churches "were all that were considered worthy of a standing in the church at that time, indicating that the apostasy had at that day become extensive."¹⁶

John's introductory greeting to the seven churches was highly customary,¹⁷ saying: Grace be unto you,¹⁸ and peace.¹⁹ Jesus Christ is the source of both grace and peace²⁰ and it is the grace and peace of Jesus Christ that John offered and continues to offer in his salutation. This is made sure in the next phrase of this verse where John identified Christ as him which is, and which was, and which is to come.²¹

This name-title²² appears several times in the Revelation and in other scriptures.²³ The phrase is grammatically incorrect because the pronoun which in this verse is used in a non-pronoun context. In English, the word which is typically used as a pronoun to refer to a preceding clause in the same sentence or to introduce a succeeding clause that answers a question. Here, by contrast, the word which in the phrase him which is, and which was, and which is to come functions as a noun to identify the person of Jesus Christ. The phrase is grammatically incorrect to intentionally focus on the eternal nature of Jesus Christ.²⁴ He is the premortal Jehovah,²⁵ who similarly identified himself to Moses as the self-existent one²⁶ when he said: I AM THAT I AM.²⁷ A better title for Christ from a grammatical and more harmonious standpoint would be: he which is, which was, and which will be.²⁸ However, John's phrase (which is to come) expresses the apocalyptic theme that the eternal one‒Jesus Christ‒will come again.²⁹ Christ's earthly antithesis is the evolving First Beast and Second Beast in the Book of Revelation, whose correlative and opposite title is "the beast that was and is not and yet is" found in Revelation 3 and 13:1.³⁰

Some scholars interpret the seven Spirits in Revelation 1:4 as seven heavenly angels³¹ or the Holy Ghost.³² The Joseph Smith Translation³³ clarifies their true identity, which many scholars fail to understand.³⁴ In the Joseph Smith Translation of Revelation 1:4, Christ "sent forth his angel from before his throne,³⁵ to testify unto those who are the seven servants [leaders] over the seven churches."³⁶ The designation of these seven leaders as seven Spirits may suggest that their calling and election had been made sure because of their faithful oversight in the seven churches of Asia.³⁷

Revelation 1:5. And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood.

In the King James Version of this verse, Jesus Christ is speaking³⁸ and he states that he is the faithful witness of himself.³⁹ The Joseph Smith Translation changes the wording to make John the witness who suffers for Jesus Christ,⁴⁰ saying: "I, John, the faithful witness, bear record of the things which were delivered me of the angel, and from Jesus Christ."⁴¹ The JST version overcomes any perceived legal challenge to Christ acting as his own witness.⁴² The JST change is also consistent with Revelation 1:1-2, where Christ is identified separate from the angel that signifies the Revelation.⁴³ John thus becomes a second witness of the Revelation,⁴⁴ which conforms to the ancient Law of Witnesses.⁴⁵ Since the Book of Revelation conforms to the Law of Witnesses, all those that receive the book are accountable to accept and live according to its truthful content.⁴⁶

The Joseph Smith Translation and King James Version both identify Christ as the first begotten of the dead,⁴⁷ which means he was the firstborn from the dead.⁴⁸ He rose from death first in time and first in rank.⁴⁹ At his resurrection, Christ entered his third estate of glory and exaltation⁵⁰ where he took his rightful position as the Prince or head⁵¹ over the kings of the earth.⁵² These names and titles declare Christ's unmatched sovereignty⁵³ over all earthly kings and potentates.⁵⁴

The JST also adds an additional doxology of glory⁵⁵ unto him that loved us.⁵⁶ The doxology is universally applicable today and would be more precise if expressed in the present tense as glory unto him that loveth us.⁵⁷ Those that reciprocate Christ's love in word and in deed⁵⁸ are washed clean⁵⁹ through the power of his atonement.⁶⁰ Those that love Christ and keep his commandments will be washed clean from their sins in his own blood.⁶¹

Some Bible manuscripts indicate that people are loosed from their sins rather than washed from their sins.⁶² This symbolic alternative means that people are loosed from their sins in the image of a chain,⁶³ rather than washed from their sins in the image of a stain.⁶⁴ To be loosed implies both the removal of the sin and deliverance from the bondage of sin.⁶⁵ In both images, repentant sinners are cleansed and therefore redeemed⁶⁶ from the fall of Adam.⁶⁷ They are freed unconditionally from physical death⁶⁸ and freed conditionally from spiritual death if they conform their lives to the teachings and commandments of Jesus Christ.⁶⁹

Revelation 1:6: And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Faithful saints⁷⁰ that overcome tribulation⁷¹ in this life shall be made kings and priests⁷² of Jesus Christ in the next life.⁷³ The righteous kings and priests are mirror opposites of the worldly and wicked kings of the earth mentioned in Revelation 1:5 and elsewhere.⁷⁴ The righteous kings and priests are an entire kingdom⁷⁵ of exalted men and women⁷⁶ that shall rule and reign with Christ forever in the celestial kingdom.⁷⁷ These words express Christ's complete power to give eternal life to these faithful kings and queens.⁷⁸

God and his Father in this verse refers to God the Father and his exalted Father.⁷⁹ This verse teaches the plurality of Gods⁸⁰ throughout multiple generations of existence.⁸¹ Before the spirits of men and women were born as the premortal offspring of a Heavenly Father and Mother in Heaven,⁸² the same Heavenly Parents were previously born to their exalted Heavenly Parents in like manner.⁸³ Jesus Christ was the firstborn son of the Father and Mother in this generation of spirits.⁸⁴ All the spirit children born after Christ from the same parentage are part of the same royal generation.⁸⁵ Through the exalting ordinances of the temple, they become kings and priests (queens and priestesses) unto the most high God and his Father.⁸⁶ The existence of multiple Gods in multiple generations is not a polytheistic belief or precept. Paul taught the same doctrine in 1 Corinthians 8:5-6, saying: "For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him."

The remarkable vision in Revelation 1:5-6 caused John to express a further doxology⁸⁷ of praise for Christ,⁸⁸ saying, to him be glory and dominion⁸⁹ for ever and ever.⁹⁰ Similar doxologies are repeated with increasing acclamation until a great multitude of exaltation-worthy saints proclaim a final seven-fold praise of Jesus Christ in Revelation 7:12.⁹¹