Revelation 1

1 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants what must soon take place; and he made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. 3Blessed is he who reads aloud the words of the prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written therein; for the time is near.

In the first three verses, St. John tells us the purpose of writing his vision. He tells us its origin: From God, through Jesus Christ. He tells us the recipient of the message, namely, himself. He identifies himself as John, and further says that he has borne witness of God's Word and of Jesus Christ to everyone he met. In saying so, he identifies himself as a missionary, at least. While modern scholars debate exactly which "John" this is, the earliest testimony of the Church has always identified him as St. John, the Beloved Apostle, who wrote the Gospel according to John as well as the three letters bearing his name. Finally, John tells us his purpose in writing. It is a warning and an encouragement to the Church, about things that are soon to take place. This document was intended to be read during the Liturgy, and the Liturgy is the proper setting for Revelation: "Blessed is he who reads aloud...and blessed are those who hear."

The phrase in verse 1, "What must soon take place," is an allusion to Daniel 2:28. In this passage in Daniel, the prophet Daniel tells the king of Babylon that the visions that the King has seen are of things "that must soon take place." He goes on to relate Nebuchadnezzar's dream, and to interpret it for him. The dream contrasts the kingdoms of the world, vs. a Heavenly Kingdom "which will never be destroyed" (Daniel 2:44). This Kingdom will triumph over all the kingdoms of the world. This allusion to Daniel is the first of over 300 in the book of Revelation. These allusions go a long way in revealing its meaning. More often than not, it is the context that the allusion is from that gives the meaning, rather than simply the words used. Here, we recognise that the Heavenly Kingdom from Daniel's prophecy is the Church, and that it is the subject of that vision, namely the Church's struggle with, and eventual triumph over, the kingdoms of the world, that is the subject of Revelation.

4John to the seven churches that 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, 5and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the first-born 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 6and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. 7Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, every one who pierced him; and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. 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.

Again, there is a Liturgical reference, in the addressing of the Letter to "the seven churches that are in Asia." These seven churches (according to v.11: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea), were real churches in the Roman province of Asia. Before St. John's exile to the island of Patmos (Rev. 1:9), he was the Bishop of what could be called "The Diocese of Ephesus." St. Timothy, to whom St. Paul addresses two letters, was John's auxiliary. As Bishop of Ephesus, John would have been the Overseer to all these parishes. After his exile, Timothy replaced him, but until his death, John still cared for and ministered to his flock any way that he could.

John greets the churches with Grace from the eternal God, and from the seven spirits who minister before His throne. These seven spirits, mentioned elsewhere in Revelation, are the same as those mentioned in Tobit 12:15. John also sends Grace from Jesus Christ, and strings quotations and allusions together to describe Our Lord. They are from Psalm 89:37 (faithful witness), 89:27 (first-born...ruler of kings); Isaiah 55:4 (witness again); Exodus 19:6 (a kingdom, priests to his God); Daniel 7:13 (coming with the clouds); Zechariah 12:10 (every eye will see him, every one who pierced him; and all the tribes of the earth will wail on account of him), and all point to the glorious Messiah.

Verse 5, "has freed us from our sins by his blood," is rendered in other translations more graphically as "has washed away our sins with his blood." This is not only a reference to Jesus' Crucifixion, but also to our baptism into Him. That Jesus is the Alpha and Omega, the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet that John was writing in, tells us that He is the totality and perfection. He was in the beginning, and will be in the end, unchanging. All things are under His control--even the crazy and disturbing images that we will see in this Book.

9I John, your brother, who share with you in Jesus the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet 11saying, "Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea." 12Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, 13and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden girdle round his breast; 14his head and his hair were white as white wool, white as snow; his eyes were like a flame of fire, 15his feet were like burnished bronze, refined as in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of many waters; 16in his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth issued a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.

John tells us that he has been exiled because of his proclamation of the Gospel, and shares therefore in the hardships being undergone by the Church. Depending on the dating of the Book of Revelation, this could refer to various seemingly devastating persecutions by the Roman Empire. If the writing is from before AD 70, then the persecution is that of Nero. If later, c. AD 90-95, then it was the persecution of either Vespasian or Domitian. According to Tradition, St. John endured and survived all three, as the only one of the Apostles to not be martyred. There is some debate as to when Revelation was written, based on internal content and the testimony of others. I personally hold that it was written just after AD 70 and the destruction of Jerusalem, as a prophetic retrospective of why Jerusalem fell, and how that foreshadows the ultimate judgement of the world by God. Others suggest that it was written before AD 70 and actually prophesies the destruction of Jerusalem with a telescopic view to the end. Either way, the Book of Revelation ultimately is about the sack of Jerusalem, and the replacing of Temple-worship with the New Covenant of the Eucharist, and the ultimate consummation of the New Jerusalem, the Church.

John received this vision while "in the Spirit on the Lord's day." That is, while worshipping on a Sunday. Because Jesus' resurrection was on a Sunday, this day became the new Lord's Day for the Christians.

The description of Jesus here is a composite of allusions primarily from Daniel chapters 7 and 10, as well as Ezekiel 43:2. Daniel chapter 7 relates the judging of the nations by the Messiah. Chapter 10 relates a vision of the Messiah. Ezekiel 43:2 describes the glory of God. Together they again demonstrate the true glory of Jesus, who is Himself God. The Jesus we see here seems drastically different than He who walked the earth in the first century. But the same Jesus who died for us, is the same Jesus who appears to John--now, however, His glory is unveiled. This is the Jesus that we serve, the Jesus who is coming again!

17When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand upon me, saying, "Fear not, I am the first and the last, 18and the living one; I died, and behold I am alive for evermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. 19Now write what you see, what is and what is to take place hereafter. 20As for 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 are the seven churches."

John is so overwhelmed in the presence of the glorified Christ that he falls down as though dead—an experience referred to in Charismatic circles as being "slain in the Spirit." Jesus announces Himself, the First and the Last, who lives even though He died, and not only that, but in rising again, now has the victory and authority over death itself. Chapter 1 comes full circle with a second allusion to Daniel 2:28 in verse 19, and then Jesus explains the relevance of the seven lampstands and seven stars. These seven stars are the angels of the seven churches listed earlier. Whether these seven angels refer spiritually to angelic beings in charge of each church, or humanly to the priests of each church (since "angel" literally means "messenger") is not certain, nor incredibly important.

The lampstands, however, are more significant. In the ancient Temple, before the Ark of the Covenant, there was a golden seven-armed lampstand, called the Mennorah. This Lampstand was kept lit to signify the presence of God (similar to how the Candle above the Tabernacle in a church is always lit when there is a consecrated host within the Tabernacle). When Jerusalem was sacked, and the Temple was destroyed, the Mennorah was carried away to Rome, and later melted down for the gold. Its departure from Jerusalem was a symbolic statement that God was no longer present. Here, Jesus says that as He dwelt in the Temple when the Mennorah was there, now He dwells in the Church, which is the New Mennorah. As indicated, through the Eucharist, this is literally the case as Jesus comes to us Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity to be with us.

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