Revelation 1:9: I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.

The Revelation begins formally¹ as the apostle John identifies himself as its author.² Several of Daniel's similar apocalyptic visions begin the same way.³ Despite John's high calling as the only surviving apostle,⁴ he humbly identifies himself to the seven churches⁵ as your brother, and companion in tribulation.⁶

The tribulation in 96 AD was extreme.⁷ Apostasy was increasing within the ancient church ⁸ and deadly persecution was increasing from without.⁹ John shared and endured the tribulations of other Christians in his day,¹⁰ and he foresaw similar tribulations for Christians in the future.¹¹ He paradoxically¹² identifies his audience of suffering saints¹³ as members of the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ.¹⁴ Members of this kingdom are called to suffer tribulations in patience,¹⁵ which requires active perseverance rather than passive endurance.¹⁶

John's personal tribulation included his banishment to the obscure island of Patmos.¹⁷ He labored in the mines of Patmos after efforts to kill him had failed.¹⁸ He was banished for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.¹⁹ The word of God is Jesus Christ,²⁰ and John was a faithful witness of Christ in all his suffering circumstances.²¹ The solitary conditions of exile on Patmos brought John closer to Christ²² and spiritually prepared him to receive the remarkable visions that have become the Book of Revelation.²³ The Prophet Joseph Smith experienced a similar season of spiritual magnification during his months of incarceration in Liberty, Missouri.²⁴

Revelation 1:10: I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet.

John was in the Spirit when he received the Revelation.²⁵ In other words, he was filled with the spirit²⁶ and under the influence of the Holy Ghost.²⁷ The Holy Ghost may have come upon John and enveloped him while John was praying.²⁸

According to Revelation 1:10, John had his vision on the Lord's day, but scholars disagree about how to interpret the Lord's day.²⁹ It means Sunday,³⁰ the first day of the week.³¹ After Christ's resurrection, and in recognition of that transcendent event,³² Sunday was set apart to worship God³³ instead of the traditional Jewish Sabbath celebrated on Saturday.³⁴ This transition from Saturday to Sunday worship occurred during the apostolic period.³⁵ The transition took time and was not easy to accomplish among the early Christians, especially for those with a Jewish heritage and belief system rooted in the Law of Moses.³⁶

On the designated day of Sunday worship,³⁷ John was lifted up spiritually.³⁸ He may have been carried away in the spirit,³⁹ such that his physical body was literally removed from the island of Patmos.⁴⁰ Since the Savior promised that John should not taste death,⁴¹ John's translated body⁴² was empowered to move in the spirit.⁴³ Some scholars have suggested that the spirit transported John forward in time to see the Second Coming as though it was then in progress before his eyes.⁴⁴ Based on this supposition, they conclude that John was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day of the Second Coming.⁴⁵ The interpretation seems unlikely, but plausible since others before John have been taken by the Spirit to different times and places under similar circumstances.⁴⁶

John's vision began when he heard from behind him a great voice, as of a trumpet.⁴⁷ The trumpet alludes to a ram's horn or shophar from the Old Testament.⁴⁸ The shophar was used to sound an alarm or herald a king.⁴⁹ Trumpets sound in John's visions⁵⁰ to announce new and divine manifestations.⁵¹ Here, the Savior's voice was a new manifestation as a trumpet blast that came from behind John.⁵² Symbolically, this means the Savior's full presence was veiled⁵³ from John.⁵⁴ He could hear the Savior's voice, but could not see Christ's glory from behind.⁵⁵

Revelation 1:11: Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.

The voice of Jesus Christ announced his identity to John, saying: I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last.⁵⁶ After this introduction the Savior told John: What thou seest, write in a book.⁵⁷ This explicit directive required John to act swiftly.⁵⁸ The message of the Revelation was urgent, and John wrote the vision while still in the spirit.⁵⁹ The book refers to a roll or scroll⁶⁰ made of parchment (animal skin).⁶¹ John was also commanded⁶² to send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia.⁶³ Each church probably received the entire scroll written by John as it was circulated among them in their turn.⁶⁴

John identified the seven churches by name in the apparent order for distribution of the scroll.⁶⁵ Thus, John begins with Ephesus as the closest and most important city in Asia.⁶⁶ From thence, the scroll went in a circuitous and clockwise route in the order given unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea. John actually refers to the seven churches using the definite article, which sets them apart as a symbol or representative sample of the church as a whole.⁶⁷