In verse #5, John declares that Jesus is Prophet, Priest and King.
"First begotten of the dead" refers to His resurrection.
"ONLY Begotten" when used refers to His incarnation.
Micah 5:2 and Isaiah 9:6 both state that He (Christ)……………"is from of old, from everlasting to everlasting."
That validates John 1:1-3 which says that Jesus had no beginning. He is equal to the everlasting Father and His love for us is so deep that He gave His own blood for us to be saved.
The blood of Jesus is NOT symbolic but instead is a reality.
When Christ shed His bllod, I for one believe that every single drop came out of His body.
The book of the Revelation should not frighten us too much because of the fact that it is from the ONE who loves us. He did not love us only when He dided on the cross but He also loves us today, right this very minute.
Revelation 1:5-6
"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, 6And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen."
In these two verses we have the titles which are given to the Lord Jesus Christ and notice that there are SEVEN titles. SEVEN (7) is the Bible number for "complete".
1.
"Faithful Witness"------Jesus Christ is the only trustworthy witness to the facts of this book we call the Bible. The facts are about Him. He testifies of Himself.
2.
"First begotten of the dead"------"Firstborn" has to do with resurrection. He is the first to rise from the dead, never to die again. So then, death was a womb which bore Him. He came out of death into life. No one else has come that route yet. However, we who believe him are going to follow Him in resurrection power.
3.
"The Prince (Ruler) of the kings of the earth"----------This title refers to His position during His 1000 year rule that we call the Millennium.
Philippians 2:9-11 validate that fact...…..
"Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is LORD, to the glory of God the Father."
4.
"Unto Him that loved us"----------That is the PRESENT tense and tells us of His attitude toward us, His own. Jesus did not just love us when He died for us.
He loved us before the Creation was ever done.
5.
"Washed (Loosed) us from our sins in His own blood"------------The blood of Jesus is not a symbol in the book of the Revelation. There are many symbolism in the book, but this is NOT one of them. ALL of the Old Testament sacrifices of animals, and all of the blood they shed was a shadow of what was coming. They were NOT the real thing...……..But the blood of Jesus IS THE REAL THING. It is what the animal sacrifice were pointing to all the way back to Adam and Eve when Jesus killed animals to obtain a covering for the sin of Adam and Eve.
1 Peter 1:18-19...…
"Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; 19But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot".
6.
"And he hathe made us kings and priests unto God and His Father"...…………...Believers are never called KINGS. They are a kingdom of priests and in that sense will rule with Christ.
Jesus comes again as the BRIDEGROOM for His bride which is the company of born again believers. He comes as the lover of our spirits.
7.
"To Him the glory and the dominion for ever and ever. AMEN."-------------- "Forever and forever" can be translated literally as, "Ages of the Ages".
That emphasizes eternity. Christ is the AMEN. That is a title. Jesus Christ is both the subject and the object of the Revelation. HE is the mover of all events and because of that, THERE IS NO SUCH THIN AS A COINSIDENCE.
Jesus is the agent of creation. All things were made by Him, for Him and the universe exists for Him.
Colossians 1:16-17...…….
"For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: 17And he is before all things, and by him all things consist."