1 The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2 who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. 3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.
Greetings and Doxology
4 John,
To the seven churches in the province of Asia:
Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits [That is, the sevenfold Spirit] before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, 6 and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.
7 “Look, he is coming with the clouds,”[Daniel 7:13]
and “every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him”;
and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.”[Zech. 12:10 ]
So shall it be! Amen.
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”
John’s Vision of Christ
9 I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10 On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, 11 which said: “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.”
12 I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man,[See Daniel 7:13. ] dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. 14 The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. 15 His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.
17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18 I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.
19 “Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. 20 The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels[Or messengers ] of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
NOTES:
1:1–3 This prologue describes the source, contents, and audience of the book and forms an inclusion with the epilogue (Rev 22:6–21), with its similar themes and expressions.
1:3 Blessed is the one: this is the first of seven
beatitudes in this book; the others are in Rev 14:13; 16:15; 19:9; 20:6; 22:7,
14. This prophetic message: literally, “the words of the prophecy”; so Rev 22:7,
10, 18, 19 by inclusion. The appointed time: when Jesus will return in glory;
cf. Rev 1:7; 3:11; 22:7, 10, 12, 20.
1:4–8 Although Revelation begins and ends (Rev 22:21) with
Christian epistolary formulae, there is nothing between Rev 4; 22 resembling a letter.
The author here employs the standard word order for greetings in Greek letter
writing: “N. to N., greetings…”; see note on Rom 1:1.
1:4 Seven churches in Asia: Asia refers to the Roman
province of that name in western Asia Minor (modern Turkey); these
representative churches are mentioned by name in Rev 1:11, and each is the
recipient of a message (Rev 2:1–3:22). Seven is the biblical number suggesting
fullness and completeness; thus the seer is writing for the whole church.
1:5 Freed us: the majority of Greek manuscripts and several
early versions read “washed us”; but “freed us” is supported by the best
manuscripts and fits well with Old Testament imagery, e.g., Is 40:2.
1:8 The Alpha and the Omega: the first and last letters of
the Greek alphabet. In Rev 22:13 the same words occur together with the
expressions “the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End”; cf. Rev 1:17;
2:8; 21:6; Is 41:4; 44:6.
1:9–20 In this first vision, the seer is commanded to write
what he sees to the seven churches (Rev 1:9–11). He sees Christ in glory, whom
he depicts in stock apocalyptic imagery (Rev 1:12–16), and hears him describe
himself in terms meant to encourage Christians by emphasizing his victory over
death (Rev 1:17–20).
1:9 Island called Patmos: one of the Sporades islands in the
Aegean Sea, some fifty miles south of Ephesus, used by the Romans as a penal
colony. Because I proclaimed God’s word: literally, “on account of God’s word.”
1:10 The Lord’s day: Sunday. As loud as a trumpet: the
imagery is derived from the theophany at Sinai (Ex 19:16, 19; cf. Hb 12:19 and
the trumpet in other eschatological settings in Is 27:13; Jl 2:1; Mt 24:31; 1
Cor 15:52; 1 Thes 4:16).
1:11 Scroll: a papyrus roll.
1:12–16 A symbolic description of Christ in glory. The
metaphorical language is not to be understood literally; cf. Introduction.
1:13 Son of man: see note on Mk 8:31. Ankle-length robe:
Christ is priest; cf. Ex 28:4; 29:5; Wis 18:24; Zec 3:4. Gold sash: Christ is
king; cf. Ex 28:4; 1 Mc 10:89; 11:58; Dn 10:5.
1:14 Hair…as white as white wool or as snow: Christ is
eternal, clothed with the dignity that belonged to the “Ancient of Days”; cf.
Rev 1:18; Dn 7:9. His eyes were like a fiery flame: Christ is portrayed as
all-knowing; cf. Rev 2:23; Ps 7:10; Jer 17:10; and similar expressions in Rev
2:18; 19:12; cf. Dn 10:6.
1:15 His feet…furnace: Christ is depicted as unchangeable;
cf. Ez 1:27; Dn 10:6. The Greek word translated “refined” is unconnected
grammatically with any other word in the sentence. His voice…water: Christ
speaks with divine authority; cf. Ez 1:24.
1:16 Seven stars: in the pagan world, Mithras and the
Caesars were represented with seven stars in their right hand, symbolizing
their universal dominion. A sharp two-edged sword: this refers to the word of
God (cf. Eph 6:17; Hb 4:12) that will destroy unrepentant sinners; cf. Rev
2:16; 19:15; Wis 18:15; Is 11:4; 49:2. His face…brightest: this symbolizes the
divine majesty of Christ; cf. Rev 10:1; 21:23; Jgs 5:31; Is 60:19; Mt 17:2.
1:17 It was an Old Testament belief that for sinful human
beings to see God was to die; cf. Ex 19:21; 33:20; Jgs 6:22–23; Is 6:5.
1:18 Netherworld: Greek Hades, Hebrew Sheol, the abode of
the dead; cf. Rev 20:13–14; Nm 16:33.
1:19 What you have seen, and what is happening, and what
will happen afterwards: the three parts of the Book of Revelation, the vision
(Rev 1:10–20), the situation in the seven churches (Rev 2–3), and the events of
Rev 6–22.
1:20 Secret meaning: literally, “mystery.” Angels: these are
the presiding spirits of the seven churches. Angels were thought to be in
charge of the physical world (cf. Rev 7:1; 14:18; 16:5) and of nations (Dn
10:13; 12:1), communities (the seven churches), and individuals (Mt 18:10; Acts
12:15). Some have seen in the “angel” of each of the seven churches its pastor
or a personification of the spirit of the congregation.
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