The passage
      v9. Following his greetings to the churches of Asia and his praise to God, John relates his vision of the Lord Jesus. John, like his readers, is a partaker of the kingdom of God and one who bears the trials and sufferings that go along with those who share in Christ's reign. John, like his readers, faced suffering when he was imprisoned on Patmos, an imprisonment that was a consequence of his Christian witness.
      v10. It was on this island, on the "Lord's Day" (Sunday), while John was at prayer, that he heard the Lord Jesus speak and saw his glory.
      v11. Jesus instructed him to write down his experience. For John, his book is not just his own reflections, but a prophetic revelation.
      v12. John's vision of Christ is a vision of glory; it is a vision to uplift the soul of a people oppressed by the power of the State. The church may be small and insignificant and under the thumb of a powerful advisory, but the Lord Jesus stands head and shoulders over the ravings of political intrigue. The setting for the vision is temple-like.
      v13. Amid the lampstands stands the Son of Man. He is the glorious Son of Man from Daniel, Daniel 7:13. His dress too is glorious; it could be priestly garb or royal garb, but whatever, it is impressive.
      v14. His hair is white like the Ancient of Days - dignified and wise. Yet, he is not aged and devoid of power, for his eyes flash with energy.
      v15. His feet are metallic and strong and his voice, the voice of God himself, Ezk.43:2. This king will stand forever.
      v16. In his hands he holds seven stars representing the seven churches. He holds them, protecting them, uplifting them. Out of his mouth comes a sword, a word of judgment, a word critical of his people, but also a word of devastating power against those that would harm his church. His face shines in radiance, the radiance of the presence of God.
      v17-18. The vision is so powerful it drives John to the ground. But, then comes the gentle touch of the master to lift him up. Who then has John witnessed? He is the "First and Last", the Alpha and Omega, he is the Lord almighty. He is the resurrected one, the living one. He is the one who has authority over death and over the place of the dead (Hades). He is the life-giver. He is Jesus our Lord.
      v19. John is commanded by the Lord to write down the visions, visions that speak of now and of days to come.
      v20. The secret meaning behind John's vision of the stars and lampstands is revealed by the Lord. These visionary symbols represent the assembled people of God and from them we learn that power and authority resides with Christ and his people.

One like a Son of Man
      It is very difficult for us to identify with the book of Revelation. The Christian church in the West is far too privileged to appreciate the strength of the book. It is a book for a martyr church; it is not a book for a flabby secularized church. Our privileged position is particularly enhanced by market based Christianity. The secular city is clearly breaking down, the urban sprawl is dehumanizing us and so people are hurting, people are afraid, people are lonely. It is easy therefore for churches to tap into those community needs and thus manipulate people into the life of the church. Yet, to what degree has there been any real change in the life of those socialized into the faith?
      A believer is someone journeying on the narrow way that leads to life. Salvation depends on orientation rather than outward form, actions, intent or words. How easy it is to travel the broad way, the way well trod, the way that leads to death? We must face the possibility that popularized Christianity has little affinity with the Lord's remnant people. Christ's followers are likely to be few. Has it not always been so? In Israel, during the time of Elijah, only 7000 refused to bow the knee to Baal.
      It is usually the small group into discipleship, or community which finds itself under pressure, sometimes even pressure from the mainline denominations themselves. It is the struggling church that can appreciate the vision of the Living One, the First and the Last, who stands in the heavenly realms holding in his hand the eternal lives of his little flock.
      If the denominational churches in Western society can move through this final stage of nominalism toward a genuine "last-days" "remnant" community of believers, then we may expect that our situation will begin to align with the seven churches in the book of Revelation. It is then we become a danger to the program of the Evil One and so attract his attention. His "beast", the "Antichrist", the secular city, organized secular society, will be unleashed on us. We then inevitably become a martyr church, and it is then we need to see the big picture. We serve under the one whose eyes are "blazing fire", his feet like bronze glowing in a furnace, who holds in his hands his gathered people. He is the one who is the first and the last. His mouth often chastises us, but also powerfully judges those who stand against him and his people. No trouble can ultimately harm us, no power break us.
      This then is the path of a servant people under the "Living One".

v10
      egenomhn en pneumati "I was in the Spirit" - Although a literal translation of the Gk., the meaning of this phrase is unclear in English. At the extreme it could be argued that John is saying he was in a transe-like state, a state of ecstasy. He is probably saying something like "I was overcome by the Spirit of the Lord", much like the Old Testament ecstatic prophets were overcome.
      th/ kuriakh/ hJmera/ "the Lord's day" - "Lord" here is an adjective meaning "the day that is the Lord's", a day in honour of the Lord.
      hkousa (akouw) "heard" - The voice of Jesus.
      wJV salpiggoV "like a trumpet" - as a trumpet. Loud and clear as the sound of a trumpet blast.

v11
      grayon (grafw) aor. "write [on a scroll what you see]" - [what you see] write [in a book]. John is to write down an account of all that he is about to see.
      taiV epta ekklhsiaiV "to the seven churches" - The identification of seven churches is obviously symbolic, but the significance of the churches themselves is somewhat elusive. The most likely suggestion is that Asia Minor had, by this time, become the dominant Christian province in the Empire. The different churches, with Ephesus at their center, serve as a representative expression of organized Christianity. If John had been writing in the nineteenth century, the focus would have been on England. Today it would be on America.

v12
      blepein (blepw) inf. "to see [the voice]" - Although a literal translation of the Gk., it actually makes no sense in English. John turned around to see the person who was speaking with him. The NRSV "to see whose voice it was who spoke to me" is messy to say the least. "I turned around to see who was speaking to me", NJB., smooth!
      epistreyaV (epistrefw) aor. part. "when I turned" - having turned. On turning, John saw...

v13
      oJmoion uiJon anqrwpou "someone like a son of man" - like son of man. This is a direct quote from Daniel 7:13, referring to the divine man who receives dominion. It is tempting to flesh this term out, eg. "what looked like a human being", TEV., or even "a divine figure that bore a human image", but it is really not wise to attempt a dynamic equivalent of such a significant Old Testament title.
      proV +dat. "around [his chest]" - at [the breast]. It is rare for pros to be followed by the dative. On such occasions the preposition takes a positional sense, "at", or here best rendered "around".

v14
      hJ de kefalh autou kai aiJ triceV leukai wJV erion leukon, wJV ciwn "his head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow" - and the head of him and the hairs white like white wool, like snow. A literal translation leaves us thinking that his scalp and hair are a white wool color and snow color. The sense is "his hair was like snow-white wool." cf. Dan.7:9f.
      flox (flox flogoV) "blazing [fire]" - flame [of fire]. Used adjectivally; "his eyes blazed, shone brightly", cf. Dan.10:6

v15
      pepurwmenhV (purow) pas. part. "glowing [in a furnace]" - [as in a furnace] having been made to glow. Possibly the sense is "highly refined"; "his feet were like highly refined polished bronze."
      pollwn (poluV) adj. "rushing [waters]" - [waters] many. Like a giant waterfall. cf. Ezk.43:2

v16
      asteraV eJpta "seven stars" - stars seven. As in v20 these stars are the angels representing the seven churches addressed by John. As to the identity of these angels, there are numerous suggestions, eg. guardian angels. It is likely that they are the believing congregations themselves who are assembled for worship, both here on earth and in heaven. See v20.
      ek +gen. "out of [his mouth came]" - out of [the mouth of him]. Protruding from his mouth. The imagery is most likely depicting the word of the risen Christ, a word of chastisement for those who believe, but a word of judgement for those who don't. It's a word that cuts both ways.

v17
      epesa (piptw) aor. "I fell" - Prostrated rather than fainted. Lying face down is the typical response of those confronted by the risen Christ, or in fact by any theophany. This response should prompt us to question the present "frivolity" favoured in Christian worship in the West, imposed, we are told, for the purpose of accessing the unchurched (why not go all the way and employ a striptease artist? I did hear of a clergyman who attempted a parachute jump from the church steeple, prior to morning prayer, in attempt to boost attendance. At least he did have a Biblical precedent, Lk.4:9!!). These days the one who is present with the gathered two or three, is often ignored. One comment made of Princess Diana's funeral in Westminster cathedral was that Jesus left by a side door, unnoticed, to the mellow sounds of "English Rose"!
      proV +acc. "at [his feet]" - He prostrated himself before/in front of him. dexian adj. "right" - The commissioning hand.
      mh fobou (fobew) pas. imp. "do not be afraid" - do not fear. John need not fear because of who Jesus is.
      oJ trwtoV kai oJ escatoV "the first and the last" - A restatement of v8, cf. Isa.44:6.

v18
      kai - and. The "ands" introduce epexegetical clauses expanding/explaining the meaning of Jesus' claim that he is "the first and the last", that is the living one, the one who was dead and is now alive.....
      oJ zwn (zaw) part. "I am the living one" - the living one. This may be read as a title, eg. "the eternally living one", a divine title popular with the rabbis, or as a descriptive, eg. "the one who has/gives life."
      egenomhn (ginomai) mid. "I was [dead]" - I became [dead]. Possibly "I died", but better, "I was dead." The epexegetical sense could be emphasized by "the one who was dead, but is now alive....", although this is not grammatically correct.
      idou interjection "behold" - look, pay attention. "I was dead, and see, I am alive ...." "Behold" is a bit archaic.
      eiV touV aiwnaV town aiwnwn "forever and ever" - into the ages of the ages. "Evermore", "eternally", carry the sense, but are not as poetic as the Gk. There is high mystery here that needs to be preserved (something greatly appreciated by generation X). "See, I live into the aeons and ages that exist beyond the stars."
      ecw taV kleiV tou qanatou kai tou aJdou "I hold the keys of death and Hades" - I have the keys of death and of hades. This final descriptive of the one who is the beginning and the end, uses popular Jewish imagery to make the point that Jesus has mastery over death; he can release us from its hold. It was understood that God possessed the keys to unlock the chains of death and the catacombs that hold the dead captive. It was popularly believed that Hades was the catacombs that housed the dead. Hades is distinct from Hell (Gehenna), the fiery place of punishment, so named after the ever-burning rubbish tip outside Jerusalem. It is not wise to take the imagery literally, in the sense that the dead are housed in such a place, eternally living in a place of bondage, an idea developed from a faulty interpretation of 1 Peter 3:18ff.

v19
      eideV (oJraw) aor. "you have seen" - you saw. John is to write concerning the visions. The following two clauses expand the subject matter, things happening now and things in the future. The book is often divided between these two: the letters to the churches, the now, and the prophecies, the then. This dichotomy is forced and damages a proper understanding of chapters 4-22.