Text and Commentary on Revelation
Revelation 1:1â3
THE REVELATION OF Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2who testifies to everything he sawâthat is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. 3Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.
Original Meaning
THESE OPENING VERSES declare the ultimate authors of the revelation (God the Father and Jesus), its subject matter (âwhat must soon take placeâ), its intended audience (âhis servant[s]â) and its messengers (the angel of Christ and John). Because the introduction sets the stage for the rest of the book, we, like many other commentators, treat Revelation 1 (and to some extent the letters to the seven churches) in greater detail than much of the rest of the book.
The Revelation of Jesus Christ (1:1a)
THE TITLE AND subject of this book is âthe revelation of Jesus Christ.â Ancient writers often included titles on the outside of their scrolls, but by the middle of the second century some scribes began transcribing earlier writings into codexes, which are essentially the kind of books we use today.1 Consequently, titles that often originally appeared on the outside of documents now appear in our works as the opening line of the document;2 this is presumably the case with the Revelation.
A more difficult question, however, is how the word ârevelationâ relates to the name âJesus Christâ: Does the entire phrase mean âthe revelation about Jesus Christâ (a Greek construction called an âobjective genitiveâ) or âthe revelation from Jesus Christâ (a âsubjective genitiveâ), or both?3 If it means the former, Jesus will be the subject of the book of Revelation from start to finish; if the latter, then other issues may be central in the book. On the one hand, the former position is accurate theologicallyâJesus is certainly the central figure in the book. The bookâs judgments reflect his Lordship (e.g., 6:1, 16; 8:4â6); resemblances to the plagues in Egypt remind us that Jesus is greater than Moses and greater than the original Passover lamb. The book opens with a direct revelation of Jesus to John (1:13â20) and from the start promises that its climax will be the revelation of Jesus from heaven (1:7; 19:11â16).
On the other hand, the context and the structure of the book, as well as the customary function of both apocalypses and titles, appear to offer stronger support to the latter proposal. The revelation addresses âwhat must soon take placeâ (1:1) and is conveyed from the Father to Jesus to an angel to John to the churches; hence, it comes from Jesus. Likewise, the seals, trumpets, and bowls, which fill much of the book, detail impending judgments on the world. This is typical subject matter for apocalyptic writings, although John clearly emphasizes Jesus much more than other apocalypses emphasized any character who might be vaguely compared with him. A ârevelationâ could focus on the Lord himself (2 Cor. 12:1) or, as we think here, on his message (Rom. 16:25). Finally, book titles often listed the purported author, as in âthe book of the words of Tobitâ (lit. trans. of Tobit 1:1); or âthe word of the LORD that came to Hoseaâ (Hos. 1:1). Jesus Christ is the author, not merely the subject; he revealed his message through his angel to John.
In the final analysis, however, the original, Greek-speaking audience of the book may not have worked as hard as we do to differentiate the two concepts (the grammar itself does not clarify any difference). The message is from Jesus Christ, but ultimately Jesus is the focus of everything in the New Testament, whether directly or indirectly. His purposes in history also reveal his character and invite us to worship him.
The Agents of Revelation (1:1bâ2)
JOHN AND THE angel. Authors of most traditional Jewish apocalypses used pseudonyms borrowed from famous ancient servants of God, perhaps because many of their contemporaries believed that prophecy was no longer as active in their own day. By contrast, John seeks no famous name from earlier centuries, instead openly stating his identity.4 That he does not need to qualify which John he is may suggest that he is the most obvious John among the early Christians, namely, John the apostle, son of Zebedee, who had personally known Jesus in the flesh (cf. John 21:22).5 Until the mid-third-century writer Dionysius, the external evidence for Revelation among orthodox Christians is unanimous, and even detractors admit that this evidence is some of the best available for any New Testament work.6
Though he is an apostle, however, he does not identify himself in terms of his authority over the churches; rather he identifies himself as a âservant of God,â a title often applied to the Old Testament prophets (cf. Jer. 29:19; 35:15). This title can reflect honor as well as submission: In the ancient world the servant of a powerful master like Caesar might hold more prestige than even a Roman aristocrat.7 But John does not exalt himself; as a servant of the Lord Christ, he writes to his fellow servants (1:1), his companions in suffering for Jesus (1:9). Likewise, in contrast to a few apocalyptic seers like one who identifies himself as âEzraâ (4 Ezra 10:38â39; 13:53â56), John does not attribute his revelation to any special merit of his own.
As in 1:1 and elsewhere (10:9; 17:1, 7; 21:9; 22:6, 8, 16), apocalyptic literature often reports Godâs sending revelations through angels;8 this is not surprising, since God had sent some revelations this way in the Bible (Dan. 9:21â22; Zech. 1:9, 14, 19; 2:3; 4:1, 4â5; 5:5, 10; 6:4â5). In ancient Jewish apocalypses, angels sometimes accompanied the person receiving the visions, providing oral explanations of the strange sights the person would receive in heaven.9
Johnâs testimony. John testifies âto everything he saw,â which was âthe word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christâ (1:2). These titles are not surprising; the Old Testament employed the phrase âGodâs wordâ not only for the written law but also for Godâs revelation through his prophets (1 Sam. 3:1, 7). That the message is also called Jesusâ âtestimonyâ means either Johnâs testimony about Jesus (19:10) or that Jesus himself (1:5; 22:20) testified of his message through his angel to John, who in turn testifies to others. âTestifyâ is often courtroom languageâappropriate for John and other early Christians, who would face law courts (cf. 1:9; John 16:2); Roman law always permitted the accused to speak in his defense, and Christians could use their hearings as an opportunity to proclaim Christ regardless of the consequences (Mark 13:9). The language could, however, refer more broadly to any kind of public attestation. In time the term for âtestifyâ (martyreo) even began to take on the meaning âmartyrâ; but while witness often invited martyrdom, it is unlikely that the term itself implied this as early as the book of Revelation.10
Those Who Read and Hear (1:3)
BEFORE PRINTING PRESSES were available, well-to-do people often âpublishedâ works especially in public readings, perhaps most often at banquets.11 But that the book of Revelation was read in churches alongside Old Testament Scripture suggests that the early Christians began treating it as Scripture then or soon afterward (cf. also 22:18â19).12 That one person would read the work (âblessed is the one who readsâ) and the whole congregation would hear it (âblessed are those who hear itâ) fits what we know of the time; even in urban areas, many people could not read much.
âBlessed areâ is the familiar ancient literary form âbeatitude,â which is especially prominent in the Hebrew Bible and Jewish texts (e.g., Ps. 1:1; Prov. 8:34).13 The âblessingâ form itself is general, but the context specifies the blessings of the end (Rev. 21â22) for which only the listener will be prepared (âthe time is near,â 1:3). In biblical idiom, âhearingâ also often meant âheeding,â i.e., obedience (e.g., the Hebrew of Gen. 26:5; 27:8), but John allows no ambiguity, adding âtake to heartâ (lit., âkeepâ); one used this language for observing commandments. Though Revelation is not a collection of laws, its message provides us demands no less serious (Rev. 12:17; 14:12; 22:7).
Bridging Contexts
HOW DOES ONE apply a statement of authorship like âhis servant John, who testifies to everything he sawâ (1:1â2)? Two ways are possible, though the second may yield more profit than the first.
Identification. One way some readers approach texts like 1:1 is to identify personally with Johnâs calling and to contemplate what God has called them to do. Other readers object to this approach. After all, they respond, God does not reveal himself today the way he revealed himself to John. This objection relies on a disputed premise; most Christians today believe that God continues to speak and guide his church by the Spirit, and many believe in dramatic, supernatural revelations.14 Nevertheless, the objection does have some force in a more general sense: The vast majority of Christians agree that the âcanonâ of Scriptureâthe measure by which we evaluate all other revelationâis closed. Most of us believe that God still speaks, but most doubt that this requires an additional revelation so forceful as the book of Revelation today!
There is a difference, however, between claiming that our situation is the same as Johnâs and drawing an analogy between his situation and our own. (If we could not apply biblical principles by drawing analogies, much of the Bible could no longer speak to our contemporary situation.) Identifying with Johnâs calling does not violate the spirit of the text; John receives exactly the same title as other believersâa âservantâ of Jesus Christ, which is precisely what this passage calls all other Christians (1:1). John himself recognizes that he is a sharer in the experiences of the rest of Jesusâ followers (1:9), and that all believers must share the same prophetic Spirit in proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ (19:10). In other words, Johnâs receptivity to the Spirit, humility as Godâs servant, and obedience in speaking a less-than-popular message do provide a model for us.
Grasping the whole. But while it is valid for us as Christâs servants to identify with John, another approach to the text also provides some necessary insight and balance. The first audience of Revelation, the seven churches of Asia Minor (1:4), would identify with the servants to whom God was sending his revelation of Jesus Christ more than they would identify with John himself. They would receive the mention of John first of all as a certification of the bookâs authority, hence an invitation to pay careful attention to the rest of the book that would follow.
This means that in order to hear these opening verses the way the seven churches would have heard them, we mu...