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, but the precise identity of the author is a point of academic debate. This chapter contains the prologue of the book, followed by the vision and commission of John.
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: Papyrus 98 (2nd century; extant verses 13–20) Papyrus 18 (3rd/4th century; extant verses 4–7)Arthur S. Hunt. The Oxyrhynchus Papyri Part VIII. London: Egypt Exploration Fund, 1911, pp. 5 and 13. Codex Sinaiticus (330-360) Codex Alexandrinus (400-440) Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus (c. 450; extant verses 3-20)
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, as partially listed in the following table:See also David Guzik. Study Guide for Daniel 10 Circumstances of the Final Vision Revelation 1:13-16 Daniel 10:5-6 one like a son of man, wearing an ankle-length robe, with a gold sash around his chest a man dressed in linen with a belt of fine gold around his waist his eyes were like a fiery flame his eyes were like fiery torches His feet were like polished brass refined in a furnace 10:6 his arms and feet looked like burnished bronze 1:15 his voice was like the sound of rushing water 10:6 the sound of his voice was like the roar of a multitude his face shone like the sun at its brightest 10:6 his face shone like lightning
Others Revelation 1:4: Revelation 1:7: ; Zechariah 12:10 Revelation 1:13: Revelation 1:18: ; ;
Prologue () The prologue to this book, similar to that 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. This part shares some features and forms an inclusio with the epilogue (Revelation 22:6–21).
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, NKJV "Revelation" (): or "apocalypse" (cf. , ). This term is used by biblical scholars for a literary genre. The meaning of this Greek word is "to lay bare, make naked, to disclose a truth which before was unknown", or "a manifestation or an appearance of a person" (in this case, the appearance of Jesus Christ; cf. ). This opening verse states that God the Father sent his messenger (the involvement of holy angels as in the Torah; cf. ) to make known to John the apostle previously undisclosed truths about the person of the resurrected Christ, which is the main theme of the book. Angels are mentioned over 70 times in the Book of Revelation, and in every chapter except two (4, 13). "From Jesus Christ": the Greek form of "Jesus Christ" is subjective genitive, denoting Jesus as the author, not the subject, of the book, and he is shown as the revealer throughout the book. "Must soon take place": The anticipation is that these previously unknown events would materialize on the world stage imminently (), in line with the notion that "it is the last time" ().Meyer, Tom (2017). The Book of Revelation: A Verse by Verse Commentary. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform. For discussion of the identity of "John", see Authorship of the Johannine works.
Verse 2 Who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw. NKJV John, who had the last word in the canonical order of the gospels, also has the last word of the New Testament as he bears witness and testifies to that which he has seen and heard, two words which he frequently uses in all genres of his writings to describe a special function in his ministry: his firsthand accounts of the words and works of Christ (John 21:24, , ). "The testimony of Jesus Christ" in the book of Revelation is essentially the same testimony Jesus gave during his earthly ministry, which primarily concerned 'his coming Kingdom' and 'the future of the nation of Israel'.
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. NKJV This is the first of the so called 'seven beatitudes' in the book of Revelation (cf. , ; ; ; ,), which are pronounced on the readers, the hearers (to whom the book are read aloud, according to the custom in the antiquity) and those who heed the message (, ; cf. ). "For the time is near": may refer to b about the time when "the saints will take possession of the kingdom".
Verse 4
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. NKJV The number 7 occurs 58 times in The Revelation with its first appearance here in Rev 1:4. Evangelical Tom Meyer notes that, like Paul—who is traditionally said to have written to seven churches (in Thessalonica, Galatia, Corinth, Philippi, Rome, Colossae, Ephesus)—John also writes to seven churches: in Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea, which are in the province of Asia. "Grace": In this customary apostolic greeting John summarizes God's redemptive plan by extending grace and peace to the seven churches, giving the completeness (Shalom, translated "peace") which is in Christ.
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, ESV "Faithful witness": as Jesus testifies the truth (), to be the model for Christians who died as "witnesses" (; ; ). This is the first of many titles given to the risen Christ in the Book of Revelation, which would remind any reader intimate with the Hebrew Bible of the same title given to YHWH: "the LORD be a true and faithful witness between us" (); thus, John equates the divinity and unity of the Father and the Son who came “to bear witness unto the truth” (). The blessing in verses is believed to be Trinitarian with a complex background by Beasley-Murray. The first element reflects the name of God as revealed to Moses () with the interpretation of contemporary Jews which expands 'I am who I am' to 'I am he who is, and who was, and I am he who will be' (Jerusalem Targum on Deuteronomy 32:20). The second element in the form of the seven spirits before his throne denotes the Holy Spirit (cf. ; ). The third element, Jesus, is given with an apt description for the believers, that is, as 'the supreme witness for God, and he died on account of his witness' (cf. ; ), whereas the Greek term 'witness' has become the English word 'martyr'. "The firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth": are the second and third titles used in this book to describe the risen Christ, originating from the Psalms, such as , which emphasizes the eternality of God's Covenant with the House of David: "Also I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth." The last stanza of this verse may be quoted from Jacob's last message in from the section relating to Judah (the tribe of the Christ): "he washed his garments in wine, and his clothes in the blood of grapes" (), as the Targum's of Jonathan and Jerusalem as well as the Babylon Talmud (Berakoth 57a) interpret this statement from Genesis 49 to be of the Messiah.
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. NKJV "Kingdom and priests": are 'the vocation promised to Israel' (; ), which is extended to the church (1 Peter 2:9).
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. NKJV This verse is an appendix to the salutation, in which John summarizes the Second Coming of Christ as a divine warrior king by drawing upon a well-known Jewish motif of the Messiah coming on the clouds found in the Hebrew Bible () and in the New Testament () as well as related to his departure in a cloud: "and a cloud received him out of their sight" () that he will return in like manner. As in his gospel (), John quotes Zechariah 12:10: "they shall look upon me whom they have pierced" in this verse.
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. KJV Cross reference: Isaiah 44:6 Scrivener's Textus Receptus: ; . Westcott and Hort: .Revelation 1:8 Greek Text Analysis, accessed 3 October 2018 Modern translations report the opening words of this verse as "I am the Alpha and the Omega", but the word "the" did not appear in older versions such as the Geneva Bible and the King James Version.BibleGateway.com, Revelation 1:8, accessed 3 October 2018 God speaks here for the first time regarding his eternal nature, quoting : "Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel, and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: I am the first, and I am the last; besides me there is no god." John's three-fold statement of "who is, who was, and who is to come" is paralleled by a rabbinical pronouncement: “The seal of God is emet,” (Yomba 69b; Emet, meaning “truth” contains the first, the middle, and the last letters of the [Hebrew] alphabet, as Jews draw on Yomba 69b to say God is the beginning, the middle, and the end of all things.). Josephus also described God as "the beginning, middle, and end of all things” (Against Apion 2.190). The title "the Almighty" means having dominion over all, and is translated in the LXX as "the Lord of Hosts."
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.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.
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,” G.R. Beasley-Murray, “The Revelation,” 1170.
John's Vision and Commission ()
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. 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.
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. NKJV