The Father is the One who “is, was, comes” (Revelation 1:4), and that same phrase is a name for the “Lord God” in 1:8. What we see in the Father we see in the whole Trinity. John inverts that name a few times in Revelation. To the church church at Smyrna, Jesus speaks about . . . . Continue Reading »
Further reflections on Revelation 1:4. First, Eugene Boring emphasizes that the three participles in the name of the Father are not all from the same verb. Some Jewish texts expound on the “I am” in a similar triadic fashion, and some Hellenistic texts apply a similar temporal triad to . . . . Continue Reading »
Further reflections on the nominative in Revelation 1:4: “from he who is, was, comes.” As Michael Wilcock and others point out, John’s grammatical “error” makes a theological point: God is not subject to declension. He is always subject, never object. Remarkably, . . . . Continue Reading »
Revelation 1:7 quotes and/or alludes to Daniel 7 and Zechariah 12. The usual interpretive procedure is to move from Daniel and Zechariah, through Matthew 24:30, which quotes both passages, and on to Revelation. Many commentators note in passage that John 19:37 also quotes the same piercing passage . . . . Continue Reading »
A big title for a small post. Revelation 1:4 summarizes Jesus’ work with three phrases: faithful witness, firstborn out of dead, ruler of kings of the earth. That is, He was faithful to death, rose again, and was exalted over all. Now, in the context, Cur Deus Homo ? Assume John’s . . . . Continue Reading »
Commenting on the ungrammatical nominative in the phrase “from he who is and was and comes,” Caird says, “God is, so to speak, always in the nominative, always the subject; he always holds the initiative, and things happen because he chooses, not because men force his hand and so . . . . Continue Reading »
Beale points out that the description of Jesus in Revelation 1:5 is drawn from Psalm 89:27-28, 37. All three phrases - firstborn, ruler of the kings of the earth, faithful witness - are found in the Psalm. One important modification of Psalm 89 is that the Jesus is not just designated as firstborn, . . . . Continue Reading »
Like Paul, John begins his “letter” with a benedictory greeting: Grace and peace. The blessings does not end until verse 8, and it is chiastically structured: A. From Him who is, was, coming B. From seven Spirits C. From Jesus Christ D. Glory to Him C’. Behold, He comes (who? see . . . . Continue Reading »
Grace and peace come from the seven Spirits of God (Revelation 1:4). In 4:5, John identifies the seven Spirits with the seven lamps that are before the throne. Spirit is light. In 5:6, the seven Spirits are identified with the seven eyes of the Lamb. Spirit is not only a light source, but eyes. . . . . Continue Reading »
Hengstenberg claims in his massive commentary on Revelation that that “all antiquity agrees in the opinion of Domitian’s being the author of John’s banishment” (he’s quoting another scholar but approving the conclusion). What is the evidence? Irenaeus, of course. . . . . Continue Reading »
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