Revelation 1

[a] 2. the testimony of Jesus] The testimony of Jesus is the gospel, as it was preached and testified by him, the μάρτυς πιστὸς, most creditable authentic witness, ver. 5; and accordingly it is called, 1 Cor. i. 6, the testimony of Christ, and, 2 Tim. i. 8, the testimony of our Lord, and the testimony of God, 1 Cor. ii. 1. For as there is the μαρτυρία, record or testimony that God testified of his Son, John viii. 18, both the voice from heaven, and the miracles which he did, &c.; and as the apostles’ office (and the Baptist’s, John v. 30.) was peculiarly that they should testify of Jesus, John xix. 35 and xxi. 24, Acts i. 22, so it was the great prophetic office of Christ that he should testify of the truth, declare the will of God, and demonstrate (by prophecies, by miracles, by laying down his life, and by his resurrection, and descent of the Holy Ghost)

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In this revelation other prophecies there are, and predictions of things future, (after this of the Jews’ destruction,) and therein, mixed, the admirable ways of God’s providence in permitting and punishing his enemies, exercising and rewarding the patience of his servants, the constant Christians. And so the prophecies here set down of the destructions of the enemies of Christ are matter of comfort to all them that are now under persecution, and are such as concern every one that now lives to read and observe, and to perform what herein he is admonished to perform. For the time is close at hand, wherein, one after another, all these prophecies, tending all to set forth God’s wonderful providence in punishing his enemies and protecting his servants, shall be successively fulfilled.

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These revelations, which I John thus received, I send in an epistle to the seven churches of Asia, which I salute myself, and am commanded to send them greeting from the eternal God, whose name is Jehovah, which signifies, He that is, and was, and shall be, and from the angels which attend and wait upon God, ch. iv. 5; and are, as in the sanhedrim, the officers waiting on the head of the sanhedrim, to go on all their messages; or, as in the church, the deacons, to attend the commands of the governor of the church and to perform them: (see note [a] Matt. xviii.)

[b] Asia] That Asia here signifies not that fourth part in the division of the world, but (in another notion of the word known to geographers) the Lydian or Proconsular Asia, is largely demonstrated by the most reverend archbishop of Armagh, in his discourse on that subject. Thus the word is used Acts xix. 26, where Paul is said to have persuaded much people, not only at Ephesus, but almost through all Asia; where Asia must needs be that province of which Ephesus was the chief metropolis: and so Acts xx. 18, all the bishops of Asia are (by letters sent to Ephesus) summoned to meet Paul at Miletus; where as he foretells them, ver. 29, that soon after his departure cruel ravenous wolves will enter in, not sparing the flock; and that among themselves will arise false teachers; and accordingly Timothy was then left metropolitan of Ephesus, that he might charge such, μὴ ἑτεροδιδασκαλεῖν, not to disseminate these false doctrines, 1 Tim. i. 3; so it appears it soon fell out: for St. Paul tells Timothy, 2 Tim. i. 15, as a thing known by him, that πάντες οἱ ἐν τῇ Ἀσίᾳ, all they that were in Asia rejected him, which in all reason is to be understood of the generality of the bishops near, if not under this metropolitan, of whom two are there named by him, Phygellus and Hermogenes. That it was the heresy of the Gnostics that thus infested these churches, may appear by the Epistles to Timothy, where they are distinctly named by the ψευδώνυμαι γνῶσις, science falsely so called, 1 Tim. vi. 20, and by the μῦθοι and γενειλογίαι, fabulous, poetical theology, consisting of strange genealogies, imitated from the heathen poets, which the Valentinians had from the Gnostics, and are described at large by Irenæus in his description of that heresy. And accordingly here is Christ’s message sent to these bishops of Asia, to reprehend and warn them against this heresy. Now in this Asia, as there were many cities, so there were some metropoles, chief, or mother cities, to each of which the lesser adjacent cities were subordinate. Of this sort the first was Ephesus, saith Ulpian, τῶν μητροπόλεων Ἔφεσος πρώτη, in l. Observ. D. de Off. Procons. Such again was Thyatira, saith Ptolemy, Θυάτειρα μητρόπολις, Georg. l. 1. c. 2. Such Philadelphia, in the council of Constantinople sub Mena; Ἐπίσκοπος τῆς Φιλαδελφίων μητροπόλεως τῶν Δυδῶν ἐπαρχίας, “The bishop of the metropolis of Philadelphia of the province of the Lydians.” Of the same rank are Laodicea, Sardis, and Smyrna, affirmed to be by Pliny, (Nat. Hist. l. 6. c. 29,) as cities wherein the Roman proconsuls residing, kept courts for all the adjoining cities to resort to; and the same he affirms of Pergamos, c. 30. By which it appears that all the seven

[c] the seven spirits] There is some question what is here meant by the ἐπτά πνεύματα, seven spirits. Some interpret them to be the Holy Ghost, in respect of the seven graces of that Spirit; some the several operations of God’s providence, which they conceive to be mentioned chap. v. 12, and noted by the seven eyes, Zach. iv. 10, and Rev. v. 6, which are there called the seven spirits of God sent unto all the land: but δοκιμάτερον τοὺς ἀγγέλους ταῦτα νοεῖν, “it is more reasonable to understand the angels by them,” saith Andreas Cæsariensis. So Clemens Alexandrinus, Strom. 6, Ἐπτά μὲν εἰσιν οἱ τὴν μεγίστην δύναμιν ἔχοντες πρωτόγονοι ἀγγέλων ἔρχοντες, “There are seven which have the chiefest power, the first-begotten princes of the angels;” where the πρωτόγονοι ἔρχοντες, first-born princes, is sure taken from Dan. x. 13, where the Hebrew reads השרים הראשונים, the chief princes, of which Michael is there said to be one, or of the first. So Tobit xii. 15, Seven holy angels, which present the prayers of the saints. And there appears no reason why the seven eyes in Zachary, and here, chap. v. 6, interpreted the seven spirits of God, should not be the angels of God; the same that stood before God, chap. viii. 2, as here they are before his throne; it being ordinary for the officers employed by persons to be called eyes. These seven spirits we find again, chap. iv. 5, where, in reference to the number of the lamps on the candlestick in the sanctuary, they are called seven lamps. And they there seem to refer to the seven deacons in the church of Jerusalem, God being before likened to the bishop, and the saints to the twenty-four elders. And if it be thought strange that John should pray for grace and peace from the angels, which here he seems to do from the seven spirits, I answer, first, that these and the like words, Peace be to or with you, are but a form of greeting or salutation, which includes in it all good wishes of the things mentioned, but not a solemn prayer to those persons named in the form. This may appear by Christ’s taking leave of his disciples, John xiv. 27, where he tells them he leaves peace with them, and gives his peace to them, that is, he takes his leave of them, greets them at parting, (and bids them not be troubled at it, nor affrighted,) adding, that he gives it to them, not as the world gives it, that is, he greets them heartily and affectionately, and in doing so, doth more than in the world is wont to be done by such salutations. Men are wont to use these words, Peace be to you, &c., formally, and by way of civility, but oft do not wish it when they say it, and can never do any more than wish or pray for it; but Christ bestows it by wishing it. Where, first, Christ uses this greeting, and yet doth not pray to his Father in doing so, but actually

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And from Jesus Christ, him that testified and made known, being here on earth, the will of his Father with all fidelity, (see note [a], and note [c] ch. iii.) and that being crucified rose from the dead, (and so as our firstfruits, 1 Cor. xv. 20, ascertained our resurrection, wherein we, his brethren, shall be like him, our elder brother,) and hath all power given unto him in heaven and in earth, is superior to all the princes of this world, (Dan. iv. 17,) whose power or persecutions ye may fear: to him that hath made use of that power to express the reality of his love to us, in purging us from our sins, obtaining justification and sanctification for us by the satisfaction wrought by the

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And all this that he might purchase to himself a church of obedient servants (and accordingly he hath now set us apart as consecrated persons, (such as kings and priests were of old,) to perform daily service unto him, and delivered us from our persecutors that we may do so); to this Saviour and Redeemer of ours be ascribed, as to our eternal God, all glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. (Which acknowledgment of that disciple of his, attributing the same to Christ which Christ teaches us to attribute to our Father in heaven, Matt. vi, and which belongs only to God, is a sure testimony that Christ is God: (see note [c] Rom. ix.)

[d] kings and priests] This phrase βασιλεῖς καὶ ἱερεῖς τῷ Θεῷ, is taken out of the Jerusalem Targum, Exod. xix. 6. There the Hebrew reads מִמֶּלֶךְ כְּהִנִּים, a kingdom of priests, but that Targum reads מִלְּכִין יְכַהֲנִין, kings and priests, and the Septuagint, βασιλείον ἱεράνευμα, a royal priesthood. From the Septuagint, St. Peter, 1 Pet. ii. 9, reads βασιλείον ἱεράνευμα, a royal priesthood, writing to the Jews of that dispersion which had the Septuagint’s translation in their hands; and St. John here, and ch. v. 10, βασιλεῖς καὶ ἱερεῖς, kings and priests, in respect of those Jews again who had that Targum in their hands also. And the meaning of both the phrases is to be conceived the same, agreeing with the first notation of the Hebrew phrase, a kingdom of priests, that is, a nation not going on in the ways or customs of other people, but populus alius, “a several distinct people,” as the Targum reads it, ver. 5, consecrated, as it were, and set apart for the service of God, as the priest’s office is to wait upon God’s service continually.

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Behold, this is his season, wherein he cometh to protect his servants, and to inflict vengeance on his enemies, (see note [b] Matt. xxiv,) as discernibly as when by the appearance of angels in white clouds, or with thunder and lightning &c. he exhibits himself, (see Dan. vii. 13,) and all men shall discern his particular hand in these judgments, and all that had to do in the crucifying of him, and all the nation of the Jews, whether at Jerusalem, or wheresoever scattered, (see the Premonition, and note [b] Matt. xxiv,) shall discern that these judgments are inflicted on them for their crucifying of Christ and persecuting Christians, and shall see what cause they have to lament for their cruel usage of them, which now lights so heavy upon themselves.

[e] cometh with clouds] That Christ’s coming denotes this middle coming of Christ in vengeance on his enemies, and for the rescue of his constant servants, this especially now approaching in the destruction of the Jews, hath been shewed, note [b] on Matt. xxiv. And that the addition of the clouds, with which he comes, is not an argument against this sense, may appear by the cloud in the wilderness, which signified God’s presence to defend the Israelites, and the cloud on the tabernacle, which noted God’s special presence there, and by the psalmist calling the clouds his chariot, the ordinary way wherein God exhibits himself present to men, to protect or to punish, (and not only at the day of the final doom,) and by Isa. iv. 5, where the cloud upon mount Sion is the defence in the end of the verse; and by the very same phrase, Dan. vii. 13, the Son of man coming with the clouds of heaven, when dominion, glory, and a kingdom are given unto him, ver. 14, (which is not by any pretended to belong to the day of doom, but to Christ’s kingdom, here in, though not of this world;) and by the same phrase repeated, Matt. xxiv. 30, the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, (which yet was to be within the compass of that generation, ver. 34;) and so Luke xxi. 27. And so among the heathen we have the like phrase; as when God is said by Homer to come to Diomedes, Iliad. l. 5, v. 186,

—— νεφίλη ελλόμενος ὤμους,

“having his shoulders wrapped in a cloud,” and that there on purpose to defend him. And in Virgil, when Jupiter came to assist Æneas, Æn. 7, v. 142, it is said of him, that

—— radiis ardentem lucis et auro Ipse manu quatiens ostendit ab æthere nubem,

“he shewed a cloud from heaven burning with rays of light and gold.” By all which appears how properly is signified by this phrase Christ’s protecting his constant servants, as well as punishing his enemies, which are two special acts of his regal power, to which he is installed by his resurrection.

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The first and last letter of the Greek alphabet is a description of me, saith Christ, who am before and after all things, (and so he whose kingdom hath no beginning nor end,) and am able to secure all faithful servants of mine, and to subdue and destroy mine enemies, and now mean to evidence some of my royal power in punishing my enemies or ill subjects.

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I John, who write this epistle to you, and who with other the faithful Christian Jews have suffered persecution, and do still hold out constant and patient,

⁶ his God and Father, τῷ Θεῷ καὶ πατρὶ αὐτοῦ. ⁷ and all they which, καὶ ὄϊτινες. ⁸ tribes of the land, αἱ φυλαὶ τῆς γῆς: see note [a] ch. vii. ⁹ mourn over him, κόφονται ἐπ’ αὐτόν. ¹⁰ the That is, ὁ ἐν: ver. 4. ¹¹ ruler of all things, παττοκράτειρ.

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And being there excluded from the society of men, I was vouchsafed by God to receive revelations from him; and accordingly I fell into an ecstasy or transportation on the *day of Christ’s resurrection, the first day of the week, either the annual or the weekly festivity, set apart to commemorate his resurrection; and as upon a festivity, I heard the sound of a trumpet, psalm xlvii. 5, or a voice as loud as the sound of the trumpet, and that voice behind me, Isa. xxx. 21, calling to me unexpectedly.

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And that which was said was, that he that spake to me was the eternal God, and that I was commanded by him to write down what was or should be (at this or at any other time) shewed me, and to send all together in an epistle to the seven churches of Christ in Asia, of which Ephesus was the chief metropolis: which accordingly now I do.

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And hearing the voice behind me, I turned to see who it was, from whence this voice came to me. And upon this occasion of turning, there appeared unto me in the vision the representation (in symbols or visible hieroglyphics) of what that voice, ver. 11, said unto me: to signify the seven churches, appeared seven golden candlesticks.

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To signify Christ, that eternal God that spake to me, and said, I am Alpha and Omega, there appeared an angel in the midst of the candlesticks (like him described Dan. x. 5.) in a very solemn manner, habited like the high priest, Levit. vi. 12, and xvi. 4, (to signify Christ our merciful high priest, who hath compassion on our infirmities, and intercedes and prays for us, to be represented by this angel,) in an upper garment, long, such as he used to wear, (see note on Matt. v. 6,) and girt with a girdle, (as he was too,) and that of gold, (as Rev. xv. 6,) after the manner of the high priest, the curious girdle of whose ephod was of gold, blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen, Exod. xxxix. 5, and by that intermix-

• Κυριακή τῆς ἀναστάσεως Χριστοῦ μνημόσυνον φέρουσα. Andr. Cæsar. The Lord’s day is that which carries the memorial of Christ’s resurrection.

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[f] fine brass] That χαλκολίβανος should be rendered fine brass, will be liable to this exception, that it is against analogy that the former part of the word, χαλκο, should be set to denote the thing itself, which must rather denote some attribute of, or ingredient in, the thing spoken of; as, χαλκίντερος, sure is one that hath entrails of brass, not brass that hath entrails; and χαλκοχίτωνες, they that have coats of brass, (armour,) not brass that hath coats; so χαλκόμνια is not brass like a fly, but a kind of fly, whether in colour or something else, having a resemblance of brass. And so in all other the compounds, the latter part of

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And he held seven stars in his right hand, (signifying his approbation and care of the seven singular governors which were placed in those seven churches represented by the candlesticks;) and there came out of his mouth, instead of a tongue or words, a sword of such a kind as betokened sudden destructions, and the same was signified by his looks, which was the resemblance of the sun when it shineth in its greatest brightness.

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And when I saw Christ thus represented, the terribleness of the vision, and Christ’s appearance in it, was such, that it put me into a fainting fit, (see Dan. x. 8;) but he held me up, and encouraged me not to fear, but to trust in him as the eternal God, who would certainly do me no hurt, how terrible so ever he proved to his enemies, putting me in mind who he was, the God of heaven, though vilified and crucified upon the earth, (which crucifying of him, and proceeding in like manner with his servants, is the thing that he comes now to punish, and therefore there would be no matter of fear (but much rather of comfort and joy) to any faithful Christian.)

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Even that Christ which lived here on earth, and was put to death, (and so knows how to have compassion on all faithful Christians that suffer in like manner, Heb. ii. 17,) and rose again to life, and now lives never to die again, and hath all power over that invisible state and continuance in death, and over death itself, (see note on Matt. xi. 1,) being able to fetch any man out of that condition and restore him to life again, and so fit to relieve and reward any that suffers, though it be death itself, for his sake. To which purpose, saith he, for the evidencing the truth of what now I say, that is, of my faithful care of all

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[g] the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and—] The phrase καὶ ἄ εἰσι, καὶ ἃ μέλλει γίνεσθαι, may possibly be rendered and which are, and which shall come to pass: and if it be so, then it must denote these two other sorts of things, the one then present, and the other future, over and above what he had now seen, ver. 13, (which was only the laying of the scene, and the title as it were and breviate of the ensuing visions of the seven churches, his care of them, and his severity to all that provoke him to it.) But it is much more probable that the first καὶ should be rendered both, thus, Write the things which thou hast seen, viz., the seven lamps, ver. 13, and seven stars, &c., ver. 16, (of which it is here added, ver. 20, ὧν εἶδες, which thou hast seen, where the εἶδες, thou hast seen, belongs to this, not to any former visions,) both which are, and which shall come to pass after them, noting this vision (if it belong only to that) to describe both the present and future estate of those churches; but if it extend further to the rest of the prophecy, then noting the subsequent visions to contain these two heads of matter, the present and future dealings of

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[h] angels] Ἄγγελοι here are, no question, the governors of these seven churches, ἱπτά ἐκκλησίαις ἰσάριθμοι ἕφοροι ἄγγελοι, saith Andr. Cæsareens., “so many overseers for so many churches,” so many singular persons to rule, one in each of them; thus called, as the officers and ministers of Christ, (ascending, as it were, and descending on Jacob’s ladder between God and them,) in ruling them, delivering God’s messages to them, and also returning their messages or prayers to God. Thus in a Saxon MS. Βιγορὰς γίνεσθαι ᾿χοῦν ῥηλεῖν, bishops are God’s bydels, that is, messengers or officers. See sir Henry Spelman’s Glossary in the word bedellus. This title was given to the chief priest in the Old Testament, particularly in Malachi, For he is the angel or