Page 553 - Demo

I. PROLOGUE*
11The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to him, to show his servants what must happen soon. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John,a 2who gives witness to the word of God and
to the testimony of Jesus Christ by reporting what he saw. 3Blessed is the one* who reads aloud and blessed are those who listen to this prophetic message and heed what is written in it, for the appointed time is near.b
II. LETTERS TO THE CHURCHES OF ASIA
Greeting.* 4John, to the seven churches in Asia:* grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne,c 5and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the rstborn of the dead and ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us* from our sins by his blood,d 6who has made us into a kingdom, priests for his God and Father, to him be glory and power forever [and ever]. Amen.e
7Behold, he is coming amid the clouds, and every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him.
All the peoples of the earth will lament him. Yes. Amen.f
8“I am the Alpha and the Omega,”* says the Lord God, “the one who is and who was and who is to come, the almighty.”g
The First Vision.* 9I, John, your brother, who share with you the distress, the kingdom, and the endurance we have in Jesus, found myself on the island called Patmos* because I proclaimed God’s word and gave testimony
REVELATION 
1:3
Revelation begins with a blessing of the reader and the listener.
1:4
Seven is a symbolic number. Creation was completed in seven days, and thus in Jewish tradition, the number seven represents completeness, fullness, perfection. The churches named here were real Christian communities in Asia Minor, but the number seven hints at a broader meaning. Revelation is addressed to the entire Church.
1:6
God has made us priests. “Though they di er from one another in essence and not only in degree, the common priesthood of the faithful and the ministerial or hierarchical priesthood are nonetheless interrelated: each of them in its own special way is a participation in the one priesthood of Christ.... The faithful, in virtue of their royal priesthood, join in the o ering of the Eucharist. They likewise exercise that priesthood in receiving the sacraments, in prayer and thanksgiving, in the witness of a holy life, and by self- denial and active charity” (Lumen Gentium, 10).
1:7
Jesus’ rst coming was quiet: he was seen only by a few shepherds and some travelers from afar. But his second coming will be di erent: his power and authority will be witnessed by “every eye,” by those who believe and those who do not.
a. [1:1] 22:6–8, 20; Dn 2:28 / Rev 19:10.
b. [1:3] 22:7 / Lk 11:28.
c. [1:4] 8; 4:8; 11:17; 16:5; Ex 3:14.
d. [1:5] 3:14; 1 Cor 15:20; Col 1:18 / Heb
9:14; 1 Pt 1:19; 1 Jn 1:7.
e. [1:6] Ex 19:6; 1 Pt 2:9.
f. [1:7] Dn 7:13 / Zec 12:10; Mt 24:30; Jn
19:37.
g. [1:8] 17; 21:6; 22:13; Is 41:4; 44:6; 48:12.
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* [1:1–3] This prologue describes the source, contents, and audience of the book and forms an inclusion with the epilogue (Rev 22:6–21), with its similar themes and expressions.
* [1:3] Blessed is the one: this is the rst of seven beatitudes in this book; the others are in Rev 14:13; 16:15; 19:9; 20:6; 22:7, 14. This prophetic message: literally, “the words of the prophecy”; so Rev 22:7, 10, 18, 19 by inclusion. The appointed time: when Jesus will return in glory; cf. Rev 1:7; 3:11; 22:7, 10, 12, 20.
* [1:4–8] Although Revelation begins and ends (Rev 22:21) with Christian epistolary formulae, there is nothing between Rev 4; 22 resembling a letter. The author here employs the standard word order for greetings in Greek letter writing: “N. to N., greetings. . .”; see note on Rom 1:1.
* [1:4] Seven churches in Asia: Asia refers to the Roman province of that name in western Asia Minor (modern Turkey); these representative churches are mentioned by name in Rev 1:11, and each is the recipient of a message (Rev 2:1–3:22). Seven is the biblical number suggesting fullness and completeness; thus the seer is writing for the whole church.
* [1:5] Freed us: the majority of Greek manuscripts and several early versions read “washed us”; but “freed us” is supported by the best manuscripts and ts well with Old Testament imagery, e.g., Is 40:2.
* [1:8] The Alpha and the Omega: the rst and last letters of the Greek alphabet. In Rev 22:13 the same words occur together with the expressions “the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End”; cf. Rev 1:17; 2:8; 21:6; Is 41:4; 44:6.
* [1:9–20] In this rst vision, the seer is commanded to write what he sees to the seven churches (Rev 1:9–11). He sees Christ in glory, whom he depicts in stock apocalyptic imagery (Rev 1:12– 16), and hears him describe himself in terms meant to encourage Christians by emphasizing his victory over death (Rev 1:17–20).
* [1:9] Island called Patmos: one of the Sporades islands in the Aegean Sea, some fty miles south of Ephesus, used by the Romans as a penal colony. Because I proclaimed God’s word: literally, “on account of God’s word.”