From the letters Jesus had given John for the seven churches, John had learned that Jesus himself saw deep problems in his churches. There was weakness, heresy, persecution, temptation from the world, and so much more assaulting the Lord’s people. We can well imagine that this was discouraging for the apostle. Furthermore, such analysis was discouraging for the churches themselves to hear. To encourage John and the churches, the Lord had taken John to heaven to see the glory and majesty of the Sovereign One (Revelation 4:1–11). He who sat on heaven’s throne was clearly the Almighty, the One who had “created all things” and by whose will “they existed” (Revelation 4:11). But the question still remains: if God is so mighty, why does he permit his churches on earth to be so vulnerable? What is he doing to preserve his churches and advance his kingdom in the world? How is he going to fulfill the promises contained at the end of each letter? In Revelation 5 the Lord begins to give his churches on earth (of all times and places) an answer to those questions.