Rev. 1

THE REVELATION

OF ST JOHN THE DIVINE

CHAPTER 1

Christ chooses some as kings and priests unto God—Christ shall come again—John sees the Risen Lord.

[ Now why would John write things so cryptically as they are hard to understand? May I suggest a few reasons 1) something that is written cryptically stand a greater chance of being translated word for word as the translator does not comprehend the subject and therefore will try to stay truer to the original text keeping the plain and precious truth. 2) What he is describing is so out there that people would think he was nuts without the spirit to help them understand. 3) These are like parables, such that those whom they are intended for will understand them if they will put forth the effort. John’s masterwork, however, tells the rest of the story. It reassured the Saints of his day that, no matter how bad conditions looked, Jesus was still in charge, history was playing out according to God’s will, and the Christians would, in the end, triumph. something to remember Jesus made a comment in Matt. 24. Where he gives numerous signs of the times and says, “Take heed that no man deceive you. For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.... For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if [it were] possible, they shall deceive the very elect” (Matt. 24:4-24).
Another way to look at what Jesus was saying is that he gives the signs to tell the people when the Second advent is not occurring, not to reveal to them when it will occur - not to be used to predict the future and put a timeline to it as we often try to do. As he states plainly, “that day and hour knoweth no [man], no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only” (Matt. 24:36).
so what then is the real purpose? to protect the believers from those who would deceive them, not to establish a clear chronology which can only discerned by an elect few. When commentators on Revelation attempt to establish a clear chronology leading up to the end, they are misusing the signs of the last days. John's Revelation is considered one of the more, if not the most, difficult books of the NT. However, Joseph Smith said of it, "The book of Revelation is one of the plainest books God ever caused to be written" {TPJS, p. 290]. John uses two methods of obscuring his message. First, he chronologically mixes up the text, so that one must very carefully determine when the events he describes have or will occur. Clues are provided, but oftentimes difficult to discern. Second, he uses symbols derived from OT prophets. The reader of this text must already know what these symbols mean from the preceding OT prophets, otherwise their meaning cannot be discerned. Thus, John's Revelation requires the reader, or commentator, to be intimately familiar with the rhetoric and style of the OT Prophets, which is no small things. If one is familiar with the OT Prophets, and they can unravel the chronological spaghetti, then John's Revelation becomes quite transparent. Comments, by Clark Goble ________________________________________________________________________ REVELATION INTRODUCTION ======================= Authorship ---------- Arguments about Johnine authorship 1. John is affirmed as the author of Revelation by Justin Martyr, Clement of Alexandria, Hippolytus, Origin, Cyprian and Irenaeus. However all of these people lived after the writing of the text and thus can only report the traditions handed to them or their own suppositions. Several others denied this authorship, including Denis of Alexandria, Eusebius, Cyril of Jerusalem, Gregory Nazianzen, and John Chrsostum. 2. Historically the text refers to events from John's life. John is identified as being exiled in Patmos and the text talks about the writer being in exile on Patmos (1:9). Revelation 2-3 indicates that the author was in a leadership over the seven churches and there are strong traditions placing John in this position. Unfortunately both traditions may have come from the text and not from other sources. 3. The style of the text does not compare at all to John's other writings, however the text, if it is Johanine, was one of John's earliest works and may have been written while John was still learning Greek. Also most of the book consistes of hundreds of quotes from the Old Testament. Thus it is not surprising that it reads like Hebrew clumsily transferred into poor Greek. It is also possible that John had help in his works, perhaps from a secretary, and this accounts for some of the language distinctiosn. Finally the type of text is highly apocalyptic and simply is different from John's other works. It also was written while John was in exile, which may have contributed to the style. 4. The author calls himself John, and if the text is inspired, then it is highly likely that the author really was John, or at least a secretary writing for John. (1:4; 9; 22:8) The author also speaks with a type of authority that would only have made sense for a leader in the early church. some would argue that if it is a forgery that this would still be true. 5. There are many parallels of imagery between the other Johanine writings and the book of Revelation. For instance both use the concept and term "logo" (Jn 1:1; Rev 19:13). Both use the imagery of the lamb, the waters of life, "he that overcomes," a strong emphasis on keeping the commandments, and frequent use of the adjective "true." Both texts talk about invitations to those who are thirsty (Jn 7:37, Rev 22:17) and draw a sharp contrast between good and evil. 6. The strongest piece of evidence for a Johnine authorship is the testimony of the Book of Mormon. (1 Ne 14:19-27, Ether 4:16) Date ---- The date of Revelation is fairly controversial and all of the arguments for a specific date make numerous assumptions and are basically little more than speculation. If John was the author then his rudementary Greek seems to indicate that it was written before his other writings. Most people date the text from the end of the reign of Domitian (81AD- 96AD). The reason for this is that the seven churches in Asia already have a fair bit of history at the time of the writing (2:4; 3:1). Domitian persecuted the Christian very heavily at this time, far more so that Nero who some associate with some of the images in the text. The worship of the "beast" parallels Emperor worship which became an official policy during the reign of Domitian. However Emperor worship had transpired earlier to this and had even caused riots among the Jews in Alexandria during the time of Claudius. Irenaeus puts the date of Revelation during the time of Domitian. Background ---------- The Revelation was written at Patmos, a penal colony off the coast of Asia Minor near Ephesus. John had been exiled there because of his Christian beliefs. Presumably he was placed there because he was a leader of the Christians, with Peter already crucified. The text may have originally been several separate revelations that were later connected into one whole. It is also possible that many parts of the text have been lost. Certainly Joseph Smith switch a few large sections around. Ether 4:16-17 can be read to indicate that the fulness of John's record will be revealed just prior to the events being fulfilled. These verses are somewhat ambiguous on this point though. The text belongs to a genre of literature called Apocalyptic literature. Examples of this are found in Ezekiel, Zechariah, and Daniel. John quotes all of these authors quite extensively and uses imagery from a wide variety of places. Other apocalyptic texts are found outside of the canon like 1 Enoch or the Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs. John quotes from these texts as well. In fact John quotes the OT extensively throughout the text, frequently using the language and imagery of the OT to express new ideas. Structure --------- The text is broken into roughly seven sections Prologue (1:1 - 1:8) Letters to the Seven Churches / Heavenly Ascent (1:9 - 3:22) Entry into Heaven (4:1 - 5:14) Kingdom / Seven Seals, Trumpets and Plagues (6:1 - 16:21) Punishment of Babylon and Pagan Nations (17:1 - 20:15) New Creation (21:1 - 22:5) Epilogue (22:6 - 22:21) Structurally we also have a breakdown following the pattern of Persecution, Judgment and Triumph. This pattern is repeated in several places in the text. Important Symbol ---------------- Seven: The number seven is very important in the text. We have seven main divisions to the text but also the following: Seven years for the tribulations to last - 42 months for the beast to rule (13:4-5; 19:20) and 1260 days for the 2 witnesses to hold Jerusalem (11:3) Seven Churches (2-3) Seven Spirits/Leaders (1:4;3:1;4:5;5:6) Seven attributes of God paralleling the seven attributes of Isaiah 11:2 and the seven eyes of the Lord in Zech 4:10 Seven candlesticks (1:12,13,20; 2:1) (see Zech 4 as well) Seven stars (1:16,20;2:1;3:1) Seven lamps (4:5) Seven seals (5:1;5:5) Seven horns (5:6) Seven eyes (5:6) Seven angels (8:2,6; 15:1,6-8;16:1;17:1;21:9) Seven trumpets (8:2,6) Seven thunders (10:3-4) Seven thousand (11:13) Seven visions (12:1 - 15:4) Seven heads (12:3;13:1;17:3,7,9) Seven crowns (12:3) Seven plagues (15:1,6,8;21:9) Seven vials (15:7;17:1;21:9) Seven mountains (17:9) Seven kings (17:10-11) Seven divisions to each letter Seven "I ams" (1:8,11,17,18;21:6;22:13,16) Seven doxologies in heaven (4:9-11;5:8-13;7:9-12;11:16-18;14:2-3; 15:2-4; 19:1-6) Seven beatitudes (blessed is...) (1:3;14:13;16:15;19:9;20:6;22:7; 22:14) I'm not sure what the significance of seven is, but John certainly seems taken with it. He may be utilizing the image of the seven days of creation. I've already mentioned his use of the seven attributes of diety. According to Joseph Smith there were seven thousand years of the earth's temporal existence as well (D&C 77). Finally in many heavenly ascents, seven was the number of heavens. In Hebrew symbolism seven as a symbol of completeness and wholeness. Why Did John Write Revelations? He was living when many of the Saints were discouraged, even frightened. They were in the midst of the greatest crisis yet faced by the early Church. The ordeal through which they were passing had terrifying prospects. Rome, the seemingly omnipotent master of their world, had determined that holding to the Christian faith constituted a crime worthy of death. At the time John wrote Revelation, a power struggle raged within the Christian community. John wrote his work for those who yet clung to the truth. He warned against false prophets and their source of inspiration and emphasized that God would not allow them to continue without consequence. Thus the focus of Revelation—the core around which everything revolves—is the issue of authority. Who really controls the world? Is it the political institutions, the powers of evil, or God? To the faithful few, struggling against external pressure and growing persecutions and being buffeted by the alternate voices of the apostates, the message of Revelation, with its omnipotent and avenging, yet caring, God, must have brought comfort and hope with its promise of final victory. “Are we expected to understand the book of Revelation?” Elder Bruce R. McConkie stated: Certainly. Why else did the Lord reveal it? The common notion that it deals with beasts and plagues and mysterious symbolisms that cannot be understood is just not true. It is so far overstated that it gives an entirely erroneous feeling about this portion of revealed truth. Most of the book—and it is no problem to count the verses so included—is clear and plain and should be understood by the Lord’s people. Certain parts are not clear and are not understood by us—which, however, does not mean that we could not understand them if we would grow in faith as we should. The Lord expects us to seek wisdom, to ponder his revealed truths, and to gain a knowledge of them by the power of his Spirit. Modern day revelation teaches us that Joseph Smith knew John personally.Joseph inquired about John in 1829 using the Urim and Thummim, and was taught that John was still alive and was leading the main body of the Lost Ten Tribes (HC 1:176). ]

1 THE Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; [ Reference to the second coming of Christ. ] and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:

2 Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.

3 Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

4 JOHN to the seven churches [ Similar phraseology to various Old testament prophets like Isaiah, Ezekiel, Amos... where the author identifies himself and then his target audience. See JST Rev 1. ] which are in Asia: [ "Asia" or the region surrounding Pergamos [1] or Pergamum ,which was a rich and powerful ancient Greek city in Aeolis. It is located 26 kilometres (16 mi) from the modern coastline of the Aegean Sea on a promontory on the north side of the river Caicus (modern-day Bakırçay) and northwest of the modern city of Bergama, Turkey. Other asia cities include Troas, Epheaus, and Miletus - the area primarily known as Western Turkey today. ] Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;

5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, [ Or the first resurrected from the dead. Col. 1:18. ] and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,

6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God [ Rev 2:26-27,Rev 3:5, Rev 3:22, Rev 21:7, Eph 2:4-6, 1 Pet. 2:5-9. ] and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

7 Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, [ Declaration or testimony of John that Christ is still alive, that he does live, and that as such he will return. ] and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen.

8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, [ John’s intent is to show the Lord is still alive and still active in his work, so John provides a new quote form the Savior to prove it, one which has just come directly from the Lord himself. Use of the statement “Alpha and Omega” means he is the beginning and the end. Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet and omega is the last. So the idea or "merism" is that there is nothing before the first and nothing after that last so they are all inclusive. A “merism”is a statement of complete inclusivity, such as “heavens and earth”. There isn't anything that isn't either heavens or earth in the Creation, so the statement “heavens and earth” is all inclusive. The Lord exists independent of what we think or how we feel about him, and he has always existed and will continue to exist in this manner. Being killed in the flesh does not extinguish the Lord’s spirit or diminish His capacity. ] saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. [ This is the new statement that John is making sure that we know that he received from the Lord himself. The statement suggests that the Lord does exist and will continue to exist independant of what we think or feel about it. He has always existed and will continue to exist, just because he has been killed in the flesh does not extinguish the Lord’s spirit or diminish His capacity. ]

9 I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, [ One of the Sporades islands in the Aegean Sea, west of Greece. The island is small, only some 30 miles in circumference, and barren. John was apparently banished here by the Romans, probably under Nero, for his missionary zeal. ] for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.

10 I was in the Spirit [ Receiving revelation see Ezek. 37:1. ] on the Lord’s day, [ Sunday - the Christian sabbath. He was keeping the sabbath holy, communing with God. ] and heard behind me a great voice, [ We are not sure as to why the voice came from behind, but we might interject that if the voice was coming from behind, John would have first heard the voice and paid attention to it rather than seeing the Lord first and being overwhelmed. ] as of a trumpet, [ Using the same reference for the voice as Moses used in Exodus 19:16. ]

11 Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.

12 And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; [ These are defined in verse 20 as the seven churches. The symbolism is probably derived from Matt. 5:15, and possibly Exod. 25:31-32 as well. Or the menorah, which was a stylized version of the tree of life. ]

13 And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the son of man, [ Remember that John knew, walked and talked with Jesus and here he says that this visitor is "like unto the son of man". This glorified being superficially looked like the Jesus whom John knew in mortality, but was altogether transformed, hence John’s reaction and subsequent collapse in v. 17. Does this suggest that John see's that Christ is the tree of life because he’s standing in the midst of the tree. ] clothed with [ So this could be better translated as "endowed] with a garment". The word endowed appears only once in the New Testament as the word endued in Luk 24:49. However, the greek word used is "endyō" which is translated as; put on, or had not on (18x), clothed with (2x), clothed in (2x), have on (2x), clothe with (1x), be endued (1x), arrayed in (1x), be clothed (1x), and is used with the nuance of 'being enveloped by' which is very much like "being encircled by" in the context of robes of righteousness. If you retranslate the word "endyo" to "endowed" gain some interesting perspectives as to how we might better understand our own temple experience where we put on, are clothed with, and endowed, or encircled by the robes of righteousness. ] a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps [ Chest. ] with a golden girdle. [ Robes of the Holy Priesthood. Ex.28:2,4,31. Josephus, who was an important Roman Jewish historian and lived from 37 to 100 AD, and wrote “Jewish antiquities”. In Jewish activities vol 3 154 to 156, Josephus speaks of the vestments that were worn by the high priest in the Israelite tabernacle, and the later temple. And this is what Josephus says: “This robe is a tunic descending to the ankles, enveloping the body and with long sleeves, tightly laced around the arms. They girded at the breast, winding to a little above the armpits, the sash, which is of the breadth of about four fingers and has an open texture, giving it the appearance of a serpent’s skin. Wound it first time at the breast, After passing around it once again, it is tied, and then hangs at length, seeping to the ankles.” This is like the sash that is worn by the high priest in the temple has the appearance of serpent’s skin. Josephus provides this detail, and he says this: “The High Priest wears a vanquished leviathon(sea snake/monster). The sash hanging at his side evokes the image of a limp and defeated serpent in the hands of its conqueror.” So here when we see that the risen Christ is depicted wearing a golden sash which hangs down to his ankles. He is the great high priest. He is the one who conquers and vanquishes Satan, the sea serpent and his followers, to the depths of the lifeless primordial ocean. He’s the one who stands victorious as the conqueror of evil. And it’s by slaying the Leviathan, the evil-doer, that greater life and light comes into the world. So, every time you see a depiction of Christ, the King of Kings, vested in a golden sash, you can think of how he vanquished the sea serpent. One more symbolism that He(Christ) shall have power to crush the serpants head.(Gen 3:15) ]

14 His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; [ Symbols for heavenly beings or those in a sanctified condition. - see like in Ezek.1:4-7; 43:2. ]

15 And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters. [ Strong symbolic references to symbols used by OT prophets to describe heavenly beings Ezek. 1:4-7, Ezek.43:2. ]

16 And he [ The messenger upon whom the Lord has placed his name and authorized him to speak as him. Doctrinal New Testament Commentary Vol 3 pg 443. See also Rev 19:9-10. ] had in his right hand seven stars: [ In v. 20 these stars are identified as the seven angels assigned to each of the churches, and the IV/JST on v. 20 changes “angles” to “servants”, so the seven stars are the seven servants overseeing their respective churches. ] and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword: [ Two edged because it can protect/defend the righteous and at the same time destroy the wicked. Symbolic of the truth or authoritative word of God which can cut both ways, judgement; cp. 2:16, Isa. 49:2, Eph. 6:17, Hebr. 4:12. ] and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.

17 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. [ Being overpowered by spiritual things is seen in this dispensation as well, cf. Smith’s being exhausted by the interview with Moroni (JS-H 1:48), and Sidney Rigdon’s exhaustion from the vision of D&C 76 (Juvenile Instructor, May 1892, p. 304). Also one can recognize that symbolically man is weak when contrast with the power of God. ] And he laid his right hand upon me, [ Symbolic of support and revelation, the right hand is the good hand the hand with power of God. Ezek. 1:3, Ezek. 3:14] saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:

18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death. [ Power of physical and spiritual death, cp. 6:8, 20:13-14, also cp. 2 Ne. 9:10-12, 2 Ne.28:23, D&C 138:23. ]

19 Write the things [ John is going to be shown a great vision and the symbols that make it up (how to interrupt the visions) and he is given the assignment to record what he will be shown. Nephi saw the exact same vision but was tol he could not write about everything that he saw that was reserved for John. ] which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter;

20 The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: [ The IV/JST on v. 20 changes “angels” to “servants”, so the seven stars are the seven servants overseeing their respective churches. The Greek term “angelos” literally translates to the English “messenger” and is applied to mortals as well as immortals. Joseph's intention here is probably to clarify between mortal messengers and the heavenly angels which are prominent in the subsequent chapters. The mortal servants here would be the servant “Bishops” referred to in v. 4-5 of the IV/JST. ] and the seven candlesticks [ Note that is not the candles but the candlesticks, the candles sticks are not the ones creating the light, but rather they are the ones that are carrying the light - so we can imply that since he is speaking to the seven churches the implication is that they are to bring the light of the gospel to all the world. ] which thou sawest are the seven churches.