The apostle John identifies several congregations of believers in southwestern Asia Minor (Turkey), in a clockwise path from the southwest, to whom he sent this book. The first one mentioned in his letter is Ephesus, where he apparently lived, and the remainder on a Roman circuit, which are  Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea (Rev 1:11 lists each of these).¹

John greets his readers similar to the apostle Paul, with the Greek and Hebrew words grace (charis, a Greek greeting) and peace (shalom, a Hebrew greeting), from the eternal God (Heb 13:8) and (most likely) the seven spirits before the throne.² The apostle Paul greets in a similar manner to churches to whom he wrote. This grace and peace comes from the eternal God and the seven Spirits who are before His throne. 

These seven Spirits may refer to the seven angels of the seven churches in chapters 2-3, to the seven angels mentioned in Rev 8:2, or to the fullness of the Spirit of God referred to in Isaiah 11:2.³ At times numbers in the book of Revelation, and other places in the Bible, have meaning beyond the literal meaning of the text.⁴

When John wrote his work to the seven churches, what is today known as Turkey was known as Asia Minor. The Revelation of John was specifically addressed to churches in seven communities within an area with fifty miles on each side. The letters are addressed clockwise from the church at Ephesus to Laodicea. John's method of address begins with a common greeting that includes the Greek word for grace (charis) and the Hebrew greeting for peace (shalom). The origin of this grace and peace comes from the eternal God and the seven spirits of God (most likely a reference to Isaiah 11:2). Some have argued that the seven spirits speak of the angels (chs 2 and 3) or pastors of the seven churches. More likely, the text speaks of the Old Testament passage of Isaiah 11:2.

1:4  John now communicates God’s greetings to the seven churches, which were the original recipients of this Revelation. Their location is identified as “Asia,” the designation given to the region by the Romans. Today, it is often referred to as Asia Minor in light of our knowledge of the existence of East Asia. We are also introduced to the first trinitarian formula in Revelation. The order of the members of the Godhead differs from other parts of the New Testament, identifying God the Father, the Holy Spirit, and then the Son. However, it reminds us that the members of the Godhead are co-equal.

     God the Father is identified as the eternal One, “who is and who was and who is to come.” The grammatical construction of this title emphasizes the eternality of God, present, past, and future. It involves a solecism, which means that it uses Hebrew grammar with Greek words. Here, the title is in the nominative case, which is normally used for the subject of a sentence. However, it is the place of a direct object and so should, in normal Greek grammar, be in the accusative case. In Hebrew, God’s names and titles are always in the nominative case even when not the subject of the sentence. This is a sign of respect for God and recognizes that He is the subject of the universe. 

     The Holy Spirit is referred to as “the seven Spirits” before God’s throne. Later, in chapter 4 the Holy Spirit will be symbolized by a menorah with seven lamps.