Revelation 1:2

Forty-four times in this book John wrote "I saw" (Revelation 1:12-13; Revelation 4:1; Revelation 4:4; Revelation 5:1-2; Revelation 5:6; Revelation 5:11; Revelation 6:1-2; Revelation 6:4-5; Revelation 6:8-9; Revelation 6:12; Revelation 7:1-2; Revelation 7:9; Revelation 8:2; Revelation 8:13; Revelation 9:1; Revelation 9:17; Revelation 10:1; Revelation 13:1; Revelation 13:3; Revelation 13:11; Revelation 14:1; Revelation 14:6; Revelation 14:14; Revelation 15:1-2; Revelation 15:5; Revelation 16:13; Revelation 17:3; Revelation 18:1; Revelation 19:11; Revelation 19:17; Revelation 19:19; Revelation 20:1; Revelation 20:4; Revelation 20:11-12; Revelation 21:1-2; Revelation 21:8). He saw many things and passed this revelation ("all that he saw") on to the church. By the time the original recipients of this book had read it, the visions that he had seen, which the book describes, were in the past. John regarded the book as an inspired word from God, specifically from Jesus Christ (cf. Revelation 1:1).

"No other book in the Bible is so strongly supported as to its divine inspiration." [Note: J. B. Smith, A Revelation of Jesus Christ, p. 9.]

The "word of God" may refer to God the Father’s word to Jesus Christ. "The testimony of Jesus" probably refers to the Lord Jesus’ faithful communication of God’s word to John (mainly through angels, messengers) who passed it on to his readers.

Revelation 1:1-2 summarize the contents of the Book of Revelation and present them as testimony that Jesus Christ bore.