Revelation

1:1-8

Prologue, 1:1-8

Greeting, doxology and prophetic sayings

Following a rather solemn introduction which serves as a kind of preface, v1-3, John relays a greeting from God [the Father], the Holy Spirit and Jesus to the reader, with particular reference to the seven churches in the province of Asia, v4-5a. Then, he gives an overview of Jesus' redemptive ministry through to the fulfilment of all things, v5b-7, and concludes with a divine declaration of sovereignty, v8.

toiV .. ekklhsiaiV dat. "to the [seven] churches" - Dative of indirect object, the object being unstated (an ellipsis); "John [writes (verb) these words (object)] to the seven churches (object complement / indirect object)". "John sends his greetings to the seven churches in Asia", Cassirer.

eJpta "seven" - Some argue that "seven" represents the universal church, but it probably just symbolizes the divine character of the message to the church, seven being a number of "cosmic significance", Aune.

en th/ Asia/ "of Asia" - in the Asia. The article defining the specific region of Asia, not the Roman province of Asia, the two known regions being Europe and Asia.

cariV uJmin kai eirhnh "grace and peace to you" - grace to you and peace. "Grace" the distinctive Christian greeting and "peace" the distinctive Hebrew greeting. The construction may be used to express a wish, "may grace and peace be given to you."

apo oJ wn "from him who is" - from the one being/is. The present participle of the verb to-be functions as a substantive. The Greek is emasculated here (a solecism) due to the Jewish desire not to mention the sacred name. John treats the divine name as indeclinable, since apo, "from", should be followed by a genitive rather than the nominative case. Note also, the "who was", which takes a similar grammatical construction; the past tense would certainly jolt a Jewish reader. cf. Ex.3:14-15.

oJ ercomenoV (ercomai) pres. part. "[and] the one who is to come" - The one coming. The participle functions as a substantive. There is nothing unusual in the descriptive title for God, "the one who is and ever was", but the third descriptor is somewhat unexpected. We would expect, "the one who will ever be / the eternal one", but it's not what John says. John seems to be describing God in the terms of the one who is about to bring all things to their end, "coming" in the sense of God's last days judgment, "of God's decisive intervention in history, namely the eschaton", Osborne. We have witnessed God's eternal power active in the past and the present, and will witness it in the future.

apo eJpta pneumatwn a} enwpion tou qronou autou "from the seven spirits before his throne" - The number seven is again being used of "cosmic significance", here with reference to the Holy Spirit. So, the greeting is from the eternal "one who ..." (Father??) and from the Holy Spirit. There are other possible meanings, eg. a reference to members of the glorious heavenly assembly of created beings who serve the Lamb.

The greeting is also from "Jesus Christ". Beasley-Murray notes that John has the same "was / is / will be (coming)" formula for Jesus as for the Father, v4. Jesus was the witness to God's promised grace (the gospel), is now the first fruits of the resurrection, and will come to reign. In all three titles there is a possible allusion to Psalm 89:27. John begins by telling us who Jesus is, v5a, and then proceeds to tell us what Jesus has done, v5a-6, and will do, v7.

oJmartuV oJ pistoV "the faithful witness" - the faithful the witness. It is possible that we have here two separate words, "the witness, the faithful one", but although "faithful" takes an article and is in the nominative case (rather than genitive) it is likely that it functions adjectivally, as NIV. The articles serve to specify the title; Jesus is "the faithful witness", "Jesus Christ, who declared the truth and whose words can be trusted", Barclay. The word "witness" moves toward the meaning "martyr" in Revelation; "witness unto death."

oJ prwtotokoV adj. "the firstborn [from the dead]" - the firstborn [of the dead]. Nominative in apposition to "the faithful witness." If John is alluding to Psalm 89:27, firstborn is being used in the sense of rule / authority / sovereignty, so "firstborn over death", but if the common NT sense is being used then Jesus is "the firstborn from death", the first of a resurrected community of believers. Both senses may be intended, ie. Christ "is sovereign over life and death", Osborne.

twn Basilewn (euV ewV) "of the kings [of the earth]" - Probably genitive of subordination, "ruler over the kings of the earth." Christ also reigns over the kings who are the enemies of Christ.

tw/ agapwnti (agapaw) pres. part. "to him who loves [us]" - to the one loving [us]. As with "having freed", the participle functions as a substantive. As in v4, Dative of indirect object, eg. "[I address these words] to the one who loves us ..."

lusanti (luw) aor. part. "freed" - having loosed. Note the variant "washed". Both participles, "having loved" and "having loosed" are coordinated with the verb "has made" in v6. "Who liberated us from our sins", Barclay.

en "by" - in. Here the preposition has an instrumental sense, by the agency of, by means of, .... Christ's sacrifice, Moule IB. "With reference to Christ's blood" is possible, ie. accompaniment, or manner. "By shedding his blood", Moffatt.

epoihsen (poiew) aor. "has made" - he made. Probably best in the sense of "appointed." The clause should properly begin with o{V, "who has made ...", but John is seeking "to place great emphasis on this statement", Aune.

hJmaV acc. "us" - A dative variant exists, "for/to us", implying that believers are not the kings and priests, but are given a kingdom where priests serve them. The accusative is accepted by most commentators, but it is an interesting idea.

basileian, iJreiV "a kingdom and priests" - The words are possibly in apposition conveying the sense that priestly service (mediation) is part of the business of reigning. Allusion to Ex.19:6, where Israel is both a kingly and priestly nation, "You will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation." The word "kingdom" here probably is not referring to place, but role, ie. the saints will participate with Christ in ruling his kingdom; we will reign with Christ, cf. 2:26, 3:21, 5:10, 20:4. In fact, "kingdom" is probably plural, so "kings and priests", the pl. nom. taking the same form as the acc. sing. "He lets us rule as kings and serve God his Father as priests", CEV.

autw/ "to him" - Dative, in agreement with the participles, "the one loving" and "the one having freed". The doxology is quite conventional and is obviously directed to Christ.

Beasley-Murray, quoting Boussett, suggests this verse sets the theme for the book. Note the OT allusions from Dan.7:13 and Zech.12:10.

idou "look" - behold. Demonstrative particle.

ercetai (ercomai) pres. "he is coming" - he comes. The present tense indicating ongoing action, but not necessarily future action, none-the-less, seeing it is coordinate with oyetai, which is future, it is possibly a futuristic present. The "now / not yet" time signature of this book must not be overlooked. It is important to note here that Christ's "coming" is to the Ancient of Days to take up his authoritative role as Lord of the universe, cf. Dan.7:13. It is possible to speak of an act of divine judgment as a "coming" of Christ, for example, the destruction of Jerusalem is such a "coming." The warnings in chapters 2 and 3 primarily concern Christ's coming in judgment, with a possible reference to Christ's second coming. None-the-less, here Christ's "coming" is not to the world, but to his heavenly throne.

meta twn nefelwn "with the clouds" - In the gospels Jesus is "on" or "in" the clouds. The cloud is no earthly cloud, but the mist associated with the shechinah glory that radiates when the divine is present. Again, alluding to Dan.7:13, and referring to Christ "coming" to the Ancient of Days.

oyetai auton paV ofqalmoV "every eye will see him" - Probably the purpose of this allusion from Zechariah is not to suggest that every human will see Jesus coming, particularly as the "coming" is to heaven, nor that all the participants in this cosmic event will see, but rather that the "every" implies "universal significance" (Aune) in the "coming" of the Son of Man to take up his eternal reign and to bring all things into subjection to himself.

koyontai (koptw) "will mourn" - will beat oneself with remorse. Possibly with the sense "weeping", even "repenting", over the hurt inflicted on Christ, but also of "weeping" over the destruction of the harlot of Babylon.

epi "because" - over, at. Probably causal, as NIV. "And all the nations of the earth will weep for what they did to him", Barclay.

nai, amhn "so shall it be! Amen" - yes, amen. "Yes" says John to the Lord's words, and "yes" ("Amen") says the reader.

to alfa kai to wJ "the Alpha and the Omega" - A merism: the statement of opposites serving to emphasize everything between. Here used to underline God's omnipotence; He is Lord over all time. Note the textual addition exegeting "alpha and omega" - "beginning and end." "I am the beginning and end of all history." Note also that omega is not spelled out since the word wmega did not exist until the seventh century.

kurioV (oV) "Lord" - lord, master. Often the divine title given to Jesus, but here of God. This title was used instead of the divine name, Yahweh.

Revelation Introduction

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