Revelation 1

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Revelation 1
  Jude
chapter 2  
Papyrus 98 (Rev 1,13-2.1).JPG
Revelation 1:13-2:1 on the verso side of Papyrus 98 from the second century.
Book Book of Revelation
Category Apocalypse
Christian Bible part New Testament
Order in the Christian part27

Revelation 1 is the first chapter of the Book of Revelation or the Apocalypse of John in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The book is traditionally attributed to John the Apostle, [1] but the precise identity of the author is a point of academic debate. [2] This chapter contains the prologue of the book, followed by the vision and commission of John. [3]

Contents

Text

The original text was written in Koine Greek. This chapter is divided into 20 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are among others: [4] [lower-alpha 1]

Old Testament references

Among the Old Testament references in this chapter, about half of them in the verses 7–20 come from the Book of Daniel, especially Daniel 7 and 10. Beale, therefore, regards this part of the chapter as a "midrash." (A midrash is an ancient commentary on part of the Hebrew scriptures.) Those two chapters of Daniel describe the "Son of man," which is used by John as a model in the framework of his writing, [7] as partially listed in the following table: [8]

Revelation 1:13-16 Daniel 10:5-6
1:13 one like a son of man, wearing an ankle-length robe, with a gold sash around his chest10:5 a man dressed in linen with a belt of fine gold around his waist
1:14 his eyes were like a fiery flame10:6 his eyes were like fiery torches
1:15 His feet were like polished brass refined in a furnace10:6 his arms and feet looked like burnished bronze
1:15 his voice was like the sound of rushing water10:6 the sound of his voice was like the roar of a multitude
1:16 his face shone like the sun at its brightest10:6 his face shone like lightning
Others

Prologue (1:1–8)

The prologue to this book, similar to the one of the Gospel of John, is a kind of overture, announcing the main themes while providing the readers with a vantage point to interpret the visions that follow. [10] This part shares some features and forms an inclusio with the epilogue (Revelation 22:621). [11]

Verse 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, [12]

Verse 2

Who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw. [17]

Verse 3

Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near. [18]

Verse 4

Revelation 1:4-7 on Papyrus 18 (3rd/4th century) Papyrus 18 POxy1079.jpg
Revelation 1:4–7 on Papyrus 18 (3rd/4th century)
John, to the seven churches which are in Asia:
Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne. [20] The number 7 occurs 58 times in The Revelation with its first appearance here in Rev 1:4.

Verse 5

and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, [22]

Verse 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. [23]

Verse 7

Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen. [24]

Verse 8

I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending,
saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. [25]

Although Revelation 1:8 is sometimes used to assert Jesus Christ is God. nearly all scholarly authorities on the book of Revelation have interpreted the speaker in Rev 1.8 as God the Father, not Jesus Christ. [28]

G.R. Beasley-Murray says of Jesus therein, “Older expositors sometimes thought that Jesus is the speaker here also, but clearly the view is mistaken; it is spoken by the ‘Lord God’ (RV) … the Almighty,” [29]

John's Vision and Commission (1:9–20)

The Vision of the Seven Candlesticks, Revelation 1:12-20 in Ottheinrich-Bibel, by Matthias Gerung (1500-1570) Ottheinrich Folio284v Rev1.jpg
The Vision of the Seven Candlesticks, Revelation 1:12-20 in Ottheinrich-Bibel, by Matthias Gerung (1500–1570)

John received the vision as the occasion of his call to receive and write the book of Revelation while he had been banished to Patmos due to his preaching of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. [30] The manner he received his visions was similar to how Old Testament prophets Isaiah (Isaiah 6), Jeremiah (Jeremiah 1), Daniel (Daniel 10), and Ezekiel (Ezekiel 1) received theirs. [15]

Verse 9

I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. [31]

Verse 10

I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet, [32]

Verse 11

The map of West Anatolia (formerly the province of Asia) showing the island of Patmos and the location of the seven churches mentioned in the Book of Revelation. Seven churches of asia.svg
The map of West Anatolia (formerly the province of Asia) showing the island of Patmos and the location of the seven churches mentioned in the Book of Revelation.
saying, "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last," and, "What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea. [34]

Verse 12

Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, [35]

Verse 13

and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. [36]

Verse 14

His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; [37]

Verse 15

His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; [38]

Verse 16

He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. [39]

Verse 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." [40]

Verse 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. [43]

Verse 19

Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this. [44]

This verse contains a summary of the contents of the book of Revelation, that is to write what John had previously seen in the vision of the resurrected Christ (chapter 1), then the current explained condition of the apostolic churches (chapters 2-3), and finally the culmination of history yet to be narrated in the following chapters (chapters 4-20). [15]

Verse 20

The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches. [45]

See also

Notes

  1. The Book of Revelation is missing from Codex Vaticanus. [5]

Related Research Articles

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References

  1. Evans, Craig A (2005). Craig A Evans (ed.). Bible Knowledge Background Commentary: John, Hebrews-Revelation. Colorado Springs, Colo.: Victor. ISBN   0781442281.
  2. F. L. Cross, The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church (New York: Oxford University Press, 1997), 45
  3. Bauckham 2007, pp. 1288–1289.
  4. Elliott, J. K. "Revelations from the apparatus criticus of the Book of Revelation: How Textual Criticism Can Help Historians." Union Seminary Quarterly Review 63, no. 3-4 (2012): 1-23.
  5. Claremont Coptic Encyclopaedia, Codex Vaticanus, accessed 29 September 2018
  6. Arthur S. Hunt. The Oxyrhynchus Papyri Part VIII. London: Egypt Exploration Fund, 1911, pp. 5 and 13.
  7. Beale 1999, p. 220.
  8. See also David Guzik. Study Guide for Daniel 10 Circumstances of the Final Vision
  9. 1 2 "Biblical concordances of Revelation 1 in the 1611 King James Bible".
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Beasley-Murray 1994, p. 1425.
  11. Osborne 2002, p. 50.
  12. Revelation 1:1 NKJV
  13. 1 2 3 4 5 Coogan 2007, p. 422 New Testament.
  14. Bauckham 2007, p. 1289.
  15. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 Meyer, Tom (2017). The Book of Revelation: A Verse by Verse Commentary. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. ISBN   9781540688170
  16. Osborne 2002, p. 52.
  17. Revelation 1:2 NKJV
  18. Revelation 1:3 NKJV
  19. Beale 1999, p. 222.
  20. Revelation 1:4 NKJV
  21. Beasley-Murray 1994, pp. 1424–5.
  22. Revelation 1:5 ESV
  23. Revelation 1:6 NKJV
  24. Revelation 1:7 NKJV
  25. Revelation 1:8 KJV
  26. Revelation 1:8 Greek Text Analysis, accessed 3 October 2018
  27. BibleGateway.com, Revelation 1:8, accessed 3 October 2018
  28. E.g., R.H. Charles, The Revelation of St. John, With Introduction, Notes and Indices, 2 vols. (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1920), 1:20; George Eldon Ladd, A Commentary on the Revelation of John (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1972), 29; Robert H. Mounce, The Book of Revelation (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1977), 73; G.R. Beasley-Murray, “The Revelation,” in NBC (1970), 2nd ed., 1170; idem, The Book of Revelation, 59-60; Wilfrid J. Harrington, Revelation, in SPS (1993), 16:47; G.B. Caird, New Testament Theology, 193; P.R. Carrell, Jesus and the Angels, 116; R. Bauckham, The Theology of the Book of Revelation, 25, 50; C. Tuckett, Christology and the New Testament, 183; D.E. Aune, Revelation 1-5, 58.
  29. G.R. Beasley-Murray, “The Revelation,” 1170.
  30. 1 2 Beasley-Murray 1994, p. 1426.
  31. Revelation 1:9 NKJV
  32. Revelation 1:10 NKJV
  33. 1 2 Coogan 2007, p. 423 New Testament.
  34. Revelation 1:11 NKJV
  35. Revelation 1:12 NKJV
  36. Revelation 1:13 NKJV
  37. Revelation 1:14 NKJV
  38. Revelation 1:15 NKJV
  39. Revelation 1:16 NKJV
  40. Revelation 1:17 NKJV
  41. 1 2 Beasley-Murray 1994, p. 1427.
  42. 1 2 John Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible - Revelation 1:17
  43. Revelation 1:18 NKJV
  44. Revelation 1:19 NKJV
  45. Revelation 1:20 NKJV
  46. Garland 2007, p. 196.
  47. 1 2 3 Bullinger, Ethelbert (2007). Commentary on Revelation: Or, the Apocalypse. Cosimo, Inc. pp. 66–67. ISBN   9781602061125.

Sources