Thursday, February 20, 2014

"THE VISION OF THE EXALTED CHRIST" Notes on Rev 1:9-20

EXEGETICAL NOTES ON REVELATION 1:9-20
02/20/2014
Vs 9: I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance, which are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos, because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 
This verse indicates that John is the author of Revelation. By these words, “brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation,” John identifies himself as the member of God’s family and also fellow partaker in the tribulation. 

Osborne notes “John uses words such as “fellow sharers or partners” in order to emphasize the Koinonia concept which is found throughout NT literature. Everywhere the word group appears it connotes the idea of community, togetherness and mutual participation in the family of God and Christ.”[1]We are not certain on what exactly brought John to the Island of Patmos. Different views on how John got to Patmos: “Some have argued that John isolated himself there as part of his visionary quest, others contend that John was banished there. Eusebius said, John was banished to Patmos during the reign of Domitian (A.D 95)”[2] However by reading into the text we can draw to a conclusion, that he was there because of the preaching of the Word of God or as directed by God.

Vs 10-20: John’s first vision and its explanation:
Vs 10 “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day and I heard a loud voice behind me like a trumpet.” John had a vision of the exalted Lord on the Lord’s Day which is also known as ‘the first day of the week (Acts 20:7, 1Cor 16:2). Several arguments on the phrase (the Lord’s Day).

According to Beale, “some argue that ‘On the Lord’s Day refers to the eschatological Day of the Lord prophesied in the OT therefore they allude that (Chs 4-22) is an explanation of how this latter-day expectation will be fulfilled. However the Lord’s is never used as the Day of the Lord in the LXX, NT, or early church fathers. The phrase is clearly and consistently used of Sunday from the second half of the second century.”[3] Osborne notes, “The commission to “write” in Ch1:11 is the first of twelve such commands in the book, the normal tense for such a command, it has its basic simple force, ‘write this down.”[4]

The metaphor of the “trumpet” has great significance, for in almost every NT occurrence it has eschatological significance. Here are a few scriptures:   Matt 24:31“And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.” I Cor 15:52, “In a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.”  I Thess 4:16, “For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first.”

Vs 11 which said: “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.”  The order of the cities is significant, for they form the circular route of a letter carrier. Why these seven were chosen though there were other cities of prominence at that time? Firstly, these seven cities formed a natural center of communication for the rest of the province. Secondly, during Paul’s time they had become organizational and distributive centers. Thirdly, their relationship to the imperial cult. Fourthly, they also represented the problems of the other churches in the area.

Description of the Glorified Christ: (1:13b-16):
Vs 13 “and among the lamp stands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest.” When John says he saw Christ in the middle of the lamp stands, he wants to let us know that Christ is not an absentee land lord. On the contrary, he is in the midst of his churches supporting them during trials and persecutions. Osborn in his commentary notes eight images that are drawn from the OT, which describes a metaphorical image of Jesus Christ.

A.    Long Robe and Golden Sash: They refer to the robe and sash of the high priest (Ex 28:4, 39:29)
B.     White head and Hair: Referring to the ancient of days in the OT (Dan 7:9)
C.     Blazing Eyes:  This image comes from Dan 10:6 “his eyes like flaming torches”
D.    Bronze feet: This image is closely to Christ’s blazing eyes in both, Dan 10: 6 and Rev 2:18. This image of ‘polished bronze’ emphasized the glory and strength of Christ.
E.     Powerful Voice: John draws on OT descriptions of Yawheh to show Christ in his divine glory and power.( Ezek 1:24)
F.      Stars in His Right Hand: The right hand throughout Scripture symbolizes power and authority (PS 110:1; Matt 26:64)
G.    Sword from His mouth: Sword of judgment and the mouth of the messiah from which the sword comes forth portray the proclamation of the judgment with the act of Judgment.
H.    Radiant Face: It recalls Moses when he came down from Sinai and “his face was radiant because he had spoken with Yahewh”[5]

We will learn about the message to the first church Ephesus next week.



[1] Ibid.,79
[2] Ibid.,81.
[3] G.K. Beale, The Book of Revelation, (W.B.Eerdmans Publishing: Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1999), 203.
[4] Grant R. Osborne, Revelation (Baker Academic: Grand Rapids, 2002), 84.
[5] Ibid., 89-93.