Bible Strands
Revelation 1:2
who testifies to everything he saw. This is the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The verse continues the opening declaration of Revelation, identifying the human witness behind the book. It sits between the chain of transmission (God → Jesus → angel → John, v. 1) and the call to obedience (v. 3), functioning as a credibility statement.
The words — μαρτυρία (martyria, "testimony") is the root of the English word "martyr" and carries the sense of a witness who stands firm under pressure. ἐμαρτυρήσεν (emarturēsen, "testified") is aorist active — a completed, decisive act of bearing witness.
The thread — John 19:35 and John 21:24 both assert that a human witness's testimony is true, mirroring this verse's claim. 1 Corinthians 1:6 adds that the testimony about Christ was confirmed in the listeners, extending the idea from declaration to verification.
Why it lands — The verse frames the entire book as a witness statement, not a myth or a vision report. It asks the reader to evaluate the claim on its own terms: a human saw, a human reported, and the text stands or falls on that chain.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.
Cross-references
- John 19:35 The one who saw it has testified to this, and his testimony is true. He knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe.
- 1 Corinthians 1:6 because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you.
- John 21:24 This is the disciple who testifies to these things and who has written them down. And we know that his testimony is true.
- 1 John 1:1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our own eyes, which we have gazed upon and touched with our own hands—this is the Word of life.
- Revelation 1:19 Therefore write down the things you have seen, the things that are, and the things that will happen after this.
- Revelation 12:17 And the dragon was enraged at the woman and went to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus. And the dragon stood on the shore of the sea.
- Acts 26:16 ‘But get up and stand on your feet. For I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen from Me and what I will show you.
- Revelation 1:9 I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance that are in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and my testimony about Jesus.
- Revelation 6:9 And when the Lamb opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony they had upheld.
- John 12:17 Meanwhile, many people who had been with Jesus when He called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to testify.