The Revelation Revealed, Chapter 1 · Verse 11 – Verse 12-13
Verſ. 11. 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, unto Pergamus, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.
After John was ſet by a ſpiritual rapture in a fit frame and poſture to receive thoſe divine and excellent Revelations, he in this verſe makes an entrance into his firſt viſion, which was the effect of that great and mighty voice that he heard, as of a Trumpet, ſaying, I am Alpha, and Omega, &c. This was Chriſt, as is manifeſted in verſe 8. compared to the 9. who is the beginning and laſt of all things, and who is the giver out, and author of this Revelation unto John, and gives him this viſion concerning the ſeven Churches, by way of an admonitory Epiſtle unto them; and what he ſees, and ſhall be repreſented unto him in thoſe viſions: he is commanded to write them down, and ſend them to the ſeven famous Churches, which then were in Aſia minor, at Epheſus, Smyrna, &e. Hence Note.
Obſerv. That the true Miniſters of the Goſpel muſt deal very faithfully with their churches in their doctrines and propheſies; they muſt come with real viſions of God, not feigned ones. Paul did profeſs unto thoſe he wrote, that he kept nothing back for their good, but diſcovered the whole mind of God unto them: They are to obſerve God's motions and directions; when he moves, they muſt move; when he ſtands ſtill, ſo muſt they. If God commands them to come with the doctrines of peace and conſolation, they are not to come with the doctrines of judgements, and if God proceeds in anger, wrath, and judgments againſt a people for their ſins; the Miniſters ought not, like the falſe Prophets in Jeremiah, preach peace, peace, and ſew pillows under their elbows, to build them up in ſecurity, and ſo make them ripe for deſtruction; neither are they only in a perfunctory way to preach the mind of God unto their churches, but they muſt follow John's example here, whatſoever viſion or burden is made known unto them from the Lord, they muſt for the more certainty, and better obſervation thereof, write it down, and ſend it, and commit it to their churches keeping: this rule the Apoſtles kept, in committing their doctrines unto writing, a ſure way of preſerving it for the churches of Chriſt, to the end of all.
Verſ. 12. And I turned to ſee the voice that ſpake with me, and being turned, I ſaw ſeven golden Candleſticks.
Verſe 13. And in the midſt of the ſeven Candleſticks, one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the feet, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.
John having heard this great and terrible voice, he turned to ſee the voice that ſpake unto him: Either this is to be taken metonimocally, where ſeeing is put for underſtanding; that is, he turned rightly and diſtinctly to underſtand the voice he heard: or elſe to be taken per Synecdochen, part for the whole; that is, he turned to ſee the voice, that is, the perſon that uttered the voice. From hence note.
Obſerv. That God's faithful ones are very intent to know the mind of God in all the diſcoveries of his Will. They are not thoſe that deſire to know their maſter's will darkly, and in part, they are willing to know it fully, that they may fully obey it: It is but a fruitleſs hearing, to hear the voice only in the miniſtery of the Word of God, and not be intent upon the intendment and ſubſtance of it. The word of God (though it be the power of life unto all that believe) yet without this, is but as a meer voice, and a dead letter. Thoſe with Paul, Acts 9. when he was ſtrucken down when he was going to Damaſco, heard the voice, but ſaw not him that ſpake unto him; ſo many in our days, do hear the ſame voice of God, that ſtrikes thorow other ſouls unto converſion, whiles they neither ſee nor underſtand the meaning of God in the voice, either to their comfort or converſion.
No ſooner was John turned, to comprehend more diſtinctly this voice that ſpoke unto him, but preſently he had a viſion preſented him, of the ſeven golden Candleſticks, and one like unto the Son of man in the mids of them; what is meant by the ſeven golden Candleſticks, I refer to the laſt verſe of this chapter, where the Spirit it ſelf is Interpreter: But by the way this Note ariſeth.
Obſerv. That God reſerveth his choiſeſt diſcoveries for the moſt diligent and enquiring ſouls. John when he turned to ſee the voice, and being turned, he ſaw ſeven golden Candleſticks, &c. When ſouls turn to God, and enquire carefully after his will, God will be found of them, they are the Treaſurers of his mind; The ſecrets of the Lord are with thoſe that fear him: They ſhall know the intendment of God in all the revolutions and providential percuſſions of the Nations of the world. If the Statiſts of the world would know what would be the event of things, their beſt counſellors would be ſuch as are the wiſe and diligent obſervers (not of Stars, flying of Birds, the bowels of Beaſts, and ſuch Ethnick fopperies) but of the voice of God in his holy Word.
Obſerv. 2. The things contained in this book of Propheſies are moſt certain. John ſaith not he heard only a voice, but he ſaw ſeven golden Candleſticks, &c. The ſenſe of ſight is the moſt certain, moſt evidential of all the ſenſes, 1 Iohn 1.3. And indeed this whole book is a book of viſions, preſented unto Iohn, and which he ſaw in Patmos: Now in all viſions there are ſome repreſentations made either to the eye of the body externally, or to the eye of the minde internally.
Secondly, In every viſion there is ſomthing that is Future, and therefore it is ſomtimes called propheſie, or prediction, Iſa. 1.1.
Thirdly, The party to whom it is made, hath a ſtrong irradiation of Spirit, and mighty light over-powering him, to make him obedient unto that heavenly viſion, and ſo is put out of all doubt of the truth of it.
Fourthly, It is in great evidence when the party is awake. Dreams are but obſcurer viſions when men are aſleep; and therefore viſions are the more evident and excellent diſcoveries of the truth.
In this firſt viſion, Iohn ſaw ſeven golden Candleſticks, and in the mids of them, one like the Son of man, &c. Some may conceive that this perſon here repreſented in the likeneſs of the Son of man, to be ſome Angel, and not Chriſt; becauſe he is ſaid to be like the Son of man, and not the Son of man, but an Angel which Chriſt deputized, as v. 1. to give theſe viſions unto Iohn. But to refel this opinion, I offer theſe reaſons. Firſt, He is called the Α and Ω in verſe 8. and in chap. 2. verſ. 18. where the ſame perſon is deſcribed, he is called the Son of God; Now ſure God would never give theſe Titles, and his peculiar Attributes, unto creature-Angels, but unto his Son, who is not only foreign, but foreign, not only conſimiliar, but conſubſtantial with the Father; and who counts it no robbery to be equal with God: For, unto which of the Angels hath he ſaid, ye are the Α and Ω, the firſt, and the laſt? Or, ye are the Sons of God? Or, unto which of the Angels hath he ſaid, as in verſe 18. ye are alive, but ye were dead; or, ye have the keys of hell, and of death? Surely no creature in heaven or in earth will take theſe high Titles and Prerogatives unto themſelves, but Chriſt himſelf; and therefore this likeneſs of the Son of man in this viſion, muſt needs be Chriſt: And by the way, I would have the obſervant reaſon take notice, that it is not very difficult to diſcern what viſions in this book are given forth by Chriſt, and what by Angels, by obſerving the deſcriptions of the parties that gives them; for the principal and moſt remarkable viſions, Chriſt gives out himſelf, but the leſs principal, he diſcovers by his miniſters, the Angels. But to leave nothing in the dark: Some may ſay, Why may not this be the Father who appeared unto Daniel? chap. 7. 9. who is there called the Ancient of days, whoſe garment was white as ſnow, and the hair of his head as pure wool, his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels were as burning fire? The deſcription of this perſon here in Daniel, is almoſt the ſame with this in the Revelation, comparing the 11. 14, and 15 verſes together. I anſwer, firſt, The Learned do obſerve, That neither the Father, nor the holy Spirit, have ever appeared in the likeneſs or the ſhape of man.
Secondly, The Anthropomorphites have abuſed this place, to maintain their groſs opinion, of the corporiety and circumſcription of the infinite Deity; and therefore the all-wiſe Spirit of God, to prevent the miſtakes of man about the inviſible and incomprehenſible nature of God, deſcribes this viſion of Daniel in the likeneſs and appearance of things; not that they were materially ſo: It is the likeneſs of a Throne, and like a fiery flame, &c. And in the 13 verſe, like the Son of man; no true ſubſtantial body, nor material viſions.
Thirdly, I anſwer, This muſt be the perſon of the Son in the likeneſs of man, for the reaſons immediately foregoing, who was dead, but is alive; and he that ſhould attribute this to the Father, or the Spirit, ſhould want ſome Hellebore.
Laſtly, This muſt be Chriſt, becauſe we find in Scripture, that Chriſt hath often appeared in viſions like unto man, Dan. 7.13. I ſaw in the night Viſions, and behold one like the Son of man; Ezek. 1.26. and Rev. 14.14. I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon the cloud, one ſate like unto the Son of man: and that this was the perſon of the Son, and not the Father, or the holy Spirit, is moſt evident from verſe 18. of chap. 2. where one and the ſame perſon that is in the 13, 14, and 15, verſes, here deſcribed in the mids of the ſeven Churches, or the ſeven golden Candleſticks, who had his eyes like a flame of fire, and his feet like unto fine braſs; in the 18. verſe of chap. 2. he commands John to write to Thyatira, one of the ſeven Churches. Theſe things ſaith the Son of God, which hath his eyes like unto a flame of fire, and his feet like unto fine braſs. Therefore to be brief, that perſon that is here called the Son of God, is neither the Father, nor the Spirit, but Chriſt, the eternal Son of God.
Quere. But was not this appearance then in the likeneſs of the Son of man, truly man, or Chriſt the Son of man? Seeing you hold it was the perſon of Chriſt, was it Chriſt according to his manhood?
I anſwer, It was Chriſt, but not Chriſt as the Son of man; for it is a maxime, that nullum ſimile eſt idem; and here he is called, like the Son of man, therefore not the true and proper Son of man. The heavens was to contain his manhood until the reſtauration of all things; though his Divinity is ubiquitary, omnipreſent, and omnipotent, yet his manhood is circumſcribed, and terminated unto one place at once; if it be in heaven, it cannot be on earth; it aſcended there, Acts 1.10, 11. and Stephen ſaw him there, even the Son of man, at the right hand of his Father, in glory, Act 7.56. not by a viſional repreſentation, but truly and really: As God gave Stephen this glorified ſight of the Son of man in heaven, ſo God doubtleſs fitted and qualified his organical inſtruments of ſight above their common pitch, to reach an object at ſo high a diſtance; when God will work wonderfully, he can turn Nature out of its proper frame, either in elevating it beyond its own power of production, or to hinder it in its own peculiar operations: He can make the Sun to ſtand ſtill, as in the days of Joſhua: He can make the eye to ſee a thouſand miles diſtance, as unto Stephen; he can bind up the fiery flames, that they ſhall not hurt or burn, as unto the three children in the fiery Furnace, walking therein without ſcortching a hair. But to return, If Chriſt, as the Son of man, be in heaven, then he is not on the earth; he is not tranſubſtantiated, or conſubſtantiated into, or with the Bread in the Sacrament, as the Papiſts and ſome Lutherans dream of.
But ſecondly I anſwer, Chriſt here appears to John, as he did to the Prophets of old before his Incarnation; that is to ſay, by his Deity and Godhead, being transfigured into the likeneſs of man, and taking up the form of man, as being moſt ſutable to the capacity and nature of man, and ſo manifeſts himſelf in the ſhape or form of man, otherwiſe the Divine Nature in it ſelf is inviſible, as in Dan. 7.13. and 10.5. Ezek. 1.26. Rev. 14.14. Before Chriſt's Incarnation, he appears in the likeneſs of man; to ſhow, that in time he would become the true and real Son of man, by aſſuming fleſh into union with his Godhead: and ſince his Aſcenſion, he appears in the likeneſs of man; to teach us, that one day he will in the true humane nature, come again to judge the ſons of men: He was from his firſt undertaking for fallen man, even from the beginning, the great Adminiſtrator and Agent for his Father, and ſo will be, until the end of all, under ſeveral appearances, to wit, either in Spirit and Power, as now in the days of the Goſpel; or ſecondly, in viſional repreſentations, as here in the likeneſs of man, and to the Prophets of old: Or thirdly and laſtly, in his real humane nature, as the Son of man, as in his firſt and ſecond coming.
Object. But ſome may here unadviſedly ſay, If this be the Deity of Chriſt that appeared here to Iohn in the likeneſs of man, and his manhood in heaven, why then there may be a ſeparation between the Deity and the Manhood of Chriſt.
But this objection ſavours of much ignorance of the nature of the Deity: Though the Deity, I grant, is moſt eminently conjunct with the manhood in heaven, for that is the moſt ſpecial and magnificent habitation of his glory, yet this doth not at all hinder, but that that infinite Deity, which is one with the humanity in heaven, doth from thence flow, and extend it ſelf moſt infinitely over the whole Univerſe; and therefore is not only moſt glorious in heaven, but all other ſublunary places alſo are filled with his glorious preſence, according to that of the Pſalmiſt, 119.8. If I aſcend up unto heaven, why, thou art there, that is the habitation of thy glory: If I go down unto the deeps, thou art there alſo, thy power, and wonderful providential workings, are ſeen there alſo. This is made good by that old verſe,
Enter, praeſenter, Deus hic, & ubi que potenter.
God's Being, Power, and Preſence, is moſt clear
On high, and here beneath, and every where.
Therefore it is not ſtrange that Chriſt ſhould here appear unto Iohn in his Deity, as the Son of God, and not as the Son of man, but in the form or likeneſs of the Son of man: For if Chriſt had appeared to Iohn in his humanity, as he did unto Stephen, he had then called him the Son of man; but taking only the likeneſs of the Son of man, he is called cap. 2. 18. the Son of God, and not the Son of man, being under a figure like to his humanity: his humane body being in heaven ſince his Aſcenſion, and is there to abide, until the latter day. Acts 2.34, 35.
From this figure of Chriſt's appearance in the likeneſs of man, obſerve: That the Divine nature of Chriſt, is too glorious for the eyes of man to behold; therefore is here repreſented to Iohn under the form of man: the more excellent glory is here ſhaddowed under that is leſs glorious. If Chriſt had opened his divine nature and glory unto Iohn, in the fulneſs of it, as it is in it ſelf, other then in ſome darker repreſentations of it, it would have overwhelmed Iohn, and ſlain him: No man can ſee me, and live, ſaith God to Moſes, Exod. 33.18. when he deſired God to ſhew him his glory: This repreſentation unto Iohn was ſo glorious, though in the likeneſs of man, that Iohn profeſſeth in verſe 17. when he ſaw it, he fell at his feet as dead. If we cannot behold (without prejudice) the Sun in its glory, how can we behold the exceeding glory of the Creator, whoſe glory exceeds infinitely the glory of all the creatures, as far as infinity exceeds all finite Beings: the ſight of the glory of that Majeſty, would turn us into nothing: If the Lord ſhould not condeſcend to our weakneſs, and ſhrine up his Majeſty under the form of man, there could be no communion between him and us: Oh the goodneſs of God, that condeſcends to our capacities!
From Chriſt's appearing in the mids of the ſeven golden Candleſticks; Note, That Chriſt ſits as King and ſupream Moderator and Governour in his Churches. And this is couched in theſe words, In the mids of them: for a King, ſupream Captain, or Governour, ſits in his throne, in the mids of his Nobles and ſervants, being environed about with attendants, for his greater Majeſty.
This perſon here in the likeneſs of the Son of man, in the mids of the ſeven Candleſticks, which denotes Chriſt's Kingly Office, being farther deſcribed by his garments, being clothed with a garment down to the feet, betokening gravity and wiſdom; this ſort of garment was worn of the Prieſts of old, and alſo of the Roman Senators, the Scribes and Phariſees, and Doctors of the Law, in Chriſt's time, Matth. 12.38. uſed alſo this kind of garment, and Chriſt here appears in this garb, which doth typically repreſent both his Prieſtly office, and his Prophetical office alſo; for the Prieſts and Prophets under the Law, were to be arrayed in ſuch long garments, Exod. 28.42, 43. Lev. 6.10. and Samuel the Prophet miniſtred in ſuch a garment, 1 Sam. 2.18. Hence obſerve.
That when Chriſt makes diſcovery of himſelf to his Churches, he deſires to manifeſt himſelf in all his Offices. When he appears here among theſe Aſian Churches in a Kingly way and Power, to chaſtiſe them for their backſlidings, yet he appears too in a Sacerdotal garment, under his Prieſtly office, interceding for his poor backſliding people; and withal, exerciſes his Prophetical Office, in admoniſhing them to return to their firſt love, whom they had forſaken. Chriſt will not be wanting in any of his offices, for the good and benefit of his Churches; and therefore he is ſaid here, to be girt about the Paps with a golden Girdle, which denotes Chriſt's readineſs in all his offices for their good: conſult Luke 12.35. and 17.8. When the Romans of old did undertake any matter of action, they did uſe to truſs up their long garments, for the better expedition in their actions; ſo Chriſt here is ſaid to be girt with a precious and golden girdle, to manifeſt his readineſs for his Churches ſervice, either as King, to rule and chaſtiſe them, as a Prieſt, to intercede for them, and as a Prophet, to inform them.