John addresses this to the seven churches in Asia, which were located in modern-day western Turkey. These were actual assemblies that existed at the time, but they also are symbolic for the conditions which may be found in churches today. A third way to look at these seven churches is to see them as the prophetic history of the church down through time.

Together, grace and peace also underline the oneness that God sees in the church today. This oneness is seen in these seven churches: even though they are seven distinct individual assemblies, they are seen connected together in Christ.

This grace and peace flows “from Him who is and who was and who is to come.” This is God, the source of every blessing (Jas. 1:17; Eph. 1:3). He is the ever-existing One who is always the same and never changes (Mal. 3:6). These blessings of grace and peace also flow “from the seven Spirits.” We must never get the idea that there are seven different spirits. Seven is the number of perfection, so this expression emphasizes the fullness of the Holy Spirit (cf. Isa. 11:2). He is the Spirit of grace (Heb. 10:29) who produces peace in the lives of believers (Gal. 5:22).

Lastly, we see that this grace and peace flows from the Lord Jesus Christ. It would seem that He is mentioned last because John is about to launch into the exaltation of the Lord Jesus and will carry that theme throughout this book! He goes on to speak of Him as the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. May our hearts learn to magnify the Lord Jesus Christ as we are taught here at the beginning of the Revelation of Jesus Christ.