Revelation 1:5

6 and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood,

A. From Jesus Christ - This book is called “The Revelation of Jesus Christ”. Many Bibles title this book “The Revelation of Saint John”. The latter is incorrect. John is not seeking the gain, fame or glory for this work. It is from Jesus Christ.

B. Faithful witness - Jesus was faithful in teaching the will of His Father. He was faithful to the law of God. He was faithful to His mission. He willingly died for the sins of the world.

C. First begotten from the dead - While not the first to be raised from the dead, Jesus is the first to be raised from the dead to immortality. There were several raised from the dead in the Old Testament. Jesus and his apostles raised many. But all of these resurrections were temporary. They later faced physical death again. Jesus is the first to overcome death.

D. Ruler of the kings of the earth - Jesus is King over all kings, Lord over all lords. In our day, we think of the king as supreme. Not so in the Roman Empire. Judea had a king who was subject to the emperor and all his princes. A Roman prince was over a Judean king.

E. Unto him that loved us - Jesus loved us and died for us. (Romans 5:6-8)

F. Washed us from our sins - Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of sins. (Hebrews 9:22) Jesus shed his blood for the remission of sins. (Matthew 26:28)

G. In his own blood - The blood of an animal sacrifice could not take away sin. (Hebrews 10:4) The forgiveness of sins required a perfect sacrifice, the sinless Son of God.