Revelation 1:1Revelation 1:4 John to the seven churches which are in Asia: 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; The meaning of the Scripture is the Scripture. Be saturated with the Word of God.... daily. Meditate the Scripture Meditate the Word of God Daily Study Daily Reading Daily Devotion Daily Verse Daily Scripture Daily Bread Daily Guide Commentary Bible Commentary Bible Verse Commentary "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works."

1. Revelation 1:4
1 wanderean ©2024
Revelation 1:4
John to the seven churches which are in Asia: 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;
Revelation 1:4
To the seven churches which are in Asia (tais hepta
ekklesiais tais en tei Asiai). Dative case as in a letter (Gal 1:1).
John is writing, but the revelation is from God and Christ
through an angel. It is the Roman province of Asia which
included the western part of Phrygia. There were churches also
at Troas (Act 20:5.) and at Colossal and Hierapolis (Col 1:1; Col
2:1; Col 4:13) and possibly at Magnesia and Tralles. But these
seven were the best points of communication with seven
districts (Ramsay) and, besides, seven is a favorite number of
completion (like the full week) in the book (Rev 1:4, Rev 1:12,
Rev 1:16; Rev 4:5; Rev 5:1, Rev 5:6; Rev 8:2; Rev 10:3; Rev
11:13; Rev 12:3; Rev 13:1; Rev 14:6.).
From him which is (apo ho on). This use of the articular
nominative participle of eimi after apo instead of the ablative is
not due to ignorance or a mere slip (lapsus pennae), for in the
next line we have the regular idiom with apo ton hepta
pneumaton. It is evidently on purpose to call attention to the
eternity and unchangeableness of God. Used of God in Exo
3:14.
And which was (kai ho en). Here again there is a deliberate
change from the articular participle to the relative use of ho
(used in place of hos to preserve identity of form in the three
instances like Ionic relative and since no aorist participle of eimi
existed). The oracle in Pausanias X. 12 has it: Zeus en, Zeus
esti, Zeus essetai (Zeus was, Zeus is, Zeus will be).
Which is to come (ho erchomenos). ―The Coming One,‖
futuristic use of the present participle instead of ho esomenos.
See the same idiom in Rev 1:8; Rev 4:8 and (without ho

2. Revelation 1:4
2 wanderean ©2024
erchomenos) in Rev 11:17; Rev 16:5.
From the seven spirits (apo ton hepta pneumaton). A difficult
symbolic representation of the Holy Spirit here on a par with
God and Christ, a conclusion borne out by the symbolic use of
the seven spirits in Rev 3:1; Rev 4:5; Rev 5:6 (from Zec 4:2-
10). There is the one Holy Spirit with seven manifestations here
to the seven churches (Swete, The Holy Spirit in the N.T., p.
374), unity in diversity (1Co 12:4).
Which are (ton article Aleph A, ha relative P).
Before his throne (enopion tou thronou autou). As in Rev 4:5.
Revelation 1:4
Revelation 1:4
A reason why the Holy Ghost is called "the seven spirits" is
found in that remarkable sevenfold action by which He works
upon the soul of a man, for though the influences of the Holy
Ghost are indeed very many, and the enumeration of them
might be extended very far, they do range themselves, with a
very singular exactness, under seven heads.
I. To open the heart like Lydia‘s; to show us what we are; to
make us feel sin, and specially sins done against Christ—that is
the Spirit‘s first work.
II. The Spirit shows us Christ. Every day‘s experience proves
that we can only know Christ by the Holy Spirit. There is no
other power that ever can or will reveal Christ to the sinner‘s
soul.
III. The Spirit comforts. I place this office here, for all the
Spirit‘s comfortings have to do with Jesus Christ. I believe the
Holy Ghost never comforts a man but through Christ. He never
uses the commonplaces of men‘s consolation; He never deals in
generalities: He shows you that Jesus loves you; He shows you
that Jesus died for you, that God has forgiven you. So He makes

3. Revelation 1:4
3 wanderean ©2024
Christ fill an empty place. He exhibits the exceeding loveliness
and sufficiency of Christ‘s person.
IV. After this the Spirit proceeds to teach the man, who is now
become a child of God. He fits the heart to the subject, and the
subject to the heart. Hence the marvellous power and the
singular sweetness there is when you sit under the Holy Spirit‘s
teaching.
V. For where He teaches, there He sanctifies. There is never a
good desire but it was He who prompted it, and never a right
thought but it was He who imparted it. It is He who gives the
higher motive, and makes the heart begin to point to the glory
of God.
VI. He is the Intercessor who "maketh intercession for us with
groanings which cannot be uttered."
VII. He seals the soul which He has made His temple. As some
proprietor when he goes away puts his mark upon his jewels, so
the Holy Ghost fastens you to Christ, that nothing may ever
divide you. He gives you a comforting assurance that you are a
child of God; He makes in the soul a little sanctuary of peace
and love.1
Revelation 1:4
I take the words simply as they lie here, asking you to consider,
first, how grace and peace come to us "from the faithful
Witness"; how, secondly, they come "from the First-begotten
from the dead"; and how, lastly, they come "from the Prince of
the kings of the earth."
I. Now as to the first of these, "the faithful Witness." All of you
who have any familiarity with the language of Scripture will
know that a characteristic of all the writings which are ascribed
to the Apostle John—viz., his Gospel, his Epistles, and the book
1
J. Vaughan, Fifty Sermons, 8th series, p. 156.

4. Revelation 1:4
4 wanderean ©2024
of the Revelation—is their free and remarkable use of the word
"witness." But where did John get this word? According to his
own teaching, he got it from the lips of the Master, who began
His career with these words: "We speak that we do know, and
bear witness to that we have seen," and who all but ended it
with these royal words: "Thou sayest that I am a King. For this
cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the
truth." Christ Himself, then, claimed to be, in an eminent and
special sense, the Witness to the world. He witnesses by His
words; by all His deeds of grace, and truth, and gentleness, and
pity; by all His yearnings over wickedness, and sorrow, and
sinfulness; by all His drawings of the profligate, and the outcast,
and the guilty to Himself; His life of loneliness, His death of
shame.
II. We have grace and peace from the Conqueror of death. The
"First-begotten from the dead" does not precisely convey the
idea of the original, which would be more accurately
represented by "the Firstborn from the dead," the Resurrection
being looked upon as a kind of birth into a higher order of life.
(1) The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the confirmation of His
testimony. (2) Faith in the Resurrection gives us a living Lord to
confide in. (3) In Him and in His resurrection life we are armed
for victory over that foe whom He has conquered.
III. We have grace and peace from the King of kings. He is the
"Prince of the kings of the earth," (1) because He is "the faithful
Witness"; (2) because in that witness He dies; (3) because,
witnessing and slain, He has risen again.2
Revelation 1:4
The Catholic Church.
Let us recall what would be the general aspect of the Church of
Christ, born into actual life on the day of Pentecost, as it passed
away from under the dying eyes and hands of this very last
Apostle left on the earth, who had seen the Lord. What would
any one have found who had looked in upon it at the close of
2
A. Maclaren, A Year’s Ministry, 2nd series, p. 3.

5. Revelation 1:4
5 wanderean ©2024
the century? What picture would he have painted? What would
have been his primary impression? A good deal of detail may be
hidden from us, but we can be fairly sure of the broad features
that strike the eye, and we can be quite certain of the character
of its inner secret.
I. And, first, it would show itself to him as a corporate society, a
social brotherhood, a family of God. This family, this
brotherhood, he would have discovered, had widely over-spread
the empire, and in doing so distinctly followed the line of the
Roman imperial system. That system, we know, was a network
of municipalities gathered together into metropolitan centres.
And the Christian society repeated in its own way, on its own
methods, the general feature of this imperial organisation. Its
life lay in towns; its ideal was civic; each city in which it
established itself was a little centre for the suburban and
surrounding districts. It was becoming clear its note was to be
catholic. That was the outward society.
II. And inside what did the believer find? He found, first, a
fellowship of holy and gracious living. To understand what this
meant, try to recall the epistles of St. Paul, for you can feel still
throbbing, as we know, in those epistles the unutterable ecstacy
of the believers‘ escape out of what had before been their
proverbial and familiar existence. St. Paul bids them keep ever
in mind the old days from which they have fled—fled as men fly
from a wild and savage beast whose breath has been hot upon
them, whose fangs and claws have been, and are still, too
terribly near. We may read and enjoy the noble classical
literature in which the old pagan world expressed, through the
lips of its prophets and philosophers, its higher aspirations and
its cleaner graces; but here in St. Paul we can still touch, and
feel, and handle the ghastly history of the common pagan life,
such as it was really known in provincial cities. The ideal of holy
living, which before had been a weak dream, a dream that
became daily more confused and despairing, was now a
restored possibility. It had become possible that a whole
society, a whole community of men and women, should live

6. Revelation 1:4
6 wanderean ©2024
together for the purpose of high and clean life, with a positive
hope of attaining it. That was the new attraction; that was the
great change that had come over the situation—a change from
losing to winning. To pass from one state of things to the other
was to pass from death into life; It was to them an undying and
an unutterable joy.
III. It was a society of holiness, and a society of help, and then
a society of help and holiness for all alike, out of every race, and
at all social levels. Here, again, we know, was the secret of its
power. A career of moral and spiritual holiness opened out to all
women and to slaves. And how was it held together? Not by
being a society of holiness, or a society of help; but its one
indomitable and unswerving article of creed was that all this
outward and visible organism was the outcome of a life
essentially supernatural, invisible, not of this world, unearthly,
spiritual, with which life believers stood in unbroken
communion; for in their very midst, moving through the golden
candlesticks, was an energising presence, loved as a friend is
loved, known and clung to as a Redeemer, worshipped as God
Himself is worshipped—One who was as verily near, present,
and alive with them as He was in the days of His flesh among
the friends whom He had chosen. From His spiritual life they
drank their life, united to it as limbs of one body to the head—
by inseparable union. Of this unalterable union every good word
spoken, every good act done, by each and all, was the true and
the natural fruit. This union was sustained by the constant
intercourse of worship, and, above all, by that central act in
which all worship concentrated itself and round which all
services of prayer and praise grouped their office: that act in
which the Church on earth ate of the living bread—"the bread of
eternal life, of which whosoever eateth shall never die."3
Revelation 1:4
John
Note the absence of all official titles, such as are found in Paul;
showing that John writes as one whose position is recognized.
3
H. Scott Holland, Christian World Pulpit, vol. xliii., p. 360.

7. Revelation 1:4
7 wanderean ©2024
Seven
Among every ancient people, especially in the East, a religious
significance attaches to numbers. This grows out of the
instinctive appreciation that number and proportion are
necessary attributes of the created universe. This sentiment
passes over from heathenism into the Old Testament. The
number seven was regarded by the Hebrews as a sacred
number, and it is throughout Scripture the covenant number,
the sign of God's covenant relation to mankind, and especially
to the Church. The evidences of this are met in the hallowing of
the seventh day; in the accomplishment of circumcision, which
is the sign of a covenant, after seven days; in the part played
by the number in marriage covenants and treaties of peace. It is
the number of purification and consecration (Lev 4:6, Lev 4:17;
Lev 8:11, Lev 8:33; Num 19:12). ―Seven is the number of every
grace and benefit bestowed upon Israel; which is thus marked
as flowing out of the covenant, and a consequence of it. The
priests compass Jericho seven days, and on the seventh day
seven times, that all Israel may know that the city is given into
their hands by God, and that its conquest is a direct and
immediate result of their covenant relation to Him. Naaman is to
dip in Jordan seven times, that he may acknowledge the God of
Israel as the author of his cure. It is the number of reward to
those who are faithful in the covenant (Deu 28:7; 1Sa 2:5); of
punishment to those who are froward in the covenant (Lev
26:21, Lev 26:24, Lev 26:28; Deu 28:25), or to those who
injure the people in it (Gen 4:15, Gen 4:24; Exo 7:25; Psa
79:12). All the feasts are ordered by seven, or else by seven
multiplied into seven, and thus made intenser still. Thus it is
with the Sabbath, the Passover, the Feast of Weeks, of
Tabernacles, the Sabbath-year, and the Jubilee.‖
Similarly the number appears in God's dealing with nations
outside the covenant, showing that He is working for Israel's
sake and with respect to His covenant. It is the number of the
years of plenty and of famine, in sign that these are for Israel's
sake rather than for Egypt's. Seven times pass over

8. Revelation 1:4
8 wanderean ©2024
Nebuchadnezzar, that he may learn that the God of his Jewish
captives is king over all the earth (partly quoted and partly
condensed from Trench's ―Epistles to the Seven Churches‖).
Seven also occurs as a sacred number in the New Testament.
There are seven beatitudes, seven petitions in the Lord's Prayer;
seven parables in Matthew 13; seven loaves, seven words from
the cross, seven deacons, seven graces (Rom 12:6-8), seven
characteristics of wisdom (Jas 3:17). In Revelation the
prominence of the number is marked. To a remarkable extent
the structure of that book is molded by the use of numbers,
especially of the numbers seven, four, and three. There are
seven spirits before the throne; seven churches; seven golden
candlesticks; seven stars in the right hand of Him who is like
unto a son of man; seven lamps of fire burning before the
throne; seven horns and seven eyes of the Lamb; seven seals of
the book; and the thunders, the heads of the great dragon and
of the beast from the sea, the angels with the trumpets, the
plagues, and the mountains which are the seat of the mystic
Babylon, - are all seven in number.
So there are four living creatures round about the throne, four
angels at the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds;
the New Jerusalem is foursquare. Authority is given to Death to
kill over the fourth part of the earth, and he employs four
agents.
Again the use of the number three is, as Professor Milligan
remarks, ―so remarkable and continuous that it would require
an analysis of the whole book for its perfect illustration.‖ There
are three woes, three unclean spirits like frogs, three divisions
of Babylon, and three gates on each side of the heavenly city.
The Trisagion, or ―thrice holy,‖ is sung to God the Almighty, to
whom are ascribed three attributes of glory.
Seven Churches
Not all the churches in Asia are meant, since the list of those
addressed in Revelation does not include Colossae, Miletus,

9. Revelation 1:4
9 wanderean ©2024
Hierapolis, or Magnesia. The seven named are chosen to
symbolize the whole Church. Compare Rev 2:7. Seven being the
number of the covenant, we have in these seven a
representation of the Church universal.
In Asia
See on Act 2:9.
Grace - peace
For grace (τ ρις), see on Luk 1:30. Both words are used by Paul
in the salutations of all his Epistles, except the three Pastorals.
From Him which is, and which was, and which is to come
(α τ υ ων α ην α ε μεν ς)
The whole salutation is given in the name of the Holy Trinity:
the Father (Him which is, and was, and is to come), the Spirit
(the seven spirits), the Son (Jesus Christ). See further below.
This portion of the salutation has no parallel in Paul, and is
distinctively characteristic of the author of Revelation. It is one
of the solecisms in grammatical construction which distinguishes
this book from the other writings of John. The Greek student will
note that the pronoun which (ο) is not construed with the
preposition from (α ), which would require the genitive case,
but stands in the nominative case.
Each of these three appellations is treated as a proper name.
The Father is Him which is, and which was, and which is to
come. This is a paraphrase of the unspeakable name of God
(Exo 3:14), the absolute and unchangeable. Ο φν, the One who
is, is the Septuagint translation of Exo 3:14, ―I am the ο φν (I
am):‖ ―ο φν (I am), hath sent me unto you.‖ The One who was
(ο ην). The Greek has no imperfect participle, so that the finite
verb is used. Which is and which was form one clause, to be
balanced against which is to come. Compare Rev 11:17; Rev
16:5; and ―was (ην) in the beginning with God‖ (Joh 1:2).
Which is to come (ο ερτ μενος). Lit., the One who is coming.
This is not equivalent to who shall be; i.e., the author is not
intending to describe the abstract existence of God as covering

10. Revelation 1:4
10 wanderean ©2024
the future no less than the past and the present. If this had
been his meaning, he would have written ο ε μενος, which
shall be. The phrase which is to come would not express the
future eternity of the Divine Being. The dominant conception in
the title is rather that of immutability. Further, the name does
not emphasize so much God's abstract existence, as it does His
permanent covenant relation to His people. Hence the phrase
which is to come, is to be explained in accordance with the key-
note of the book, which is the second coming of the Son (Rev
1:7; Rev 22:20).
The phrase which is to come, is often applied to the Son (see on
1Jn 3:5), and so throughout this book. Here it is predicated of
the Father, apart from whom the Son does nothing. ―The Son is
never alone, even as Redeemer‖ (Milligan). Compare ―We will
come unto him,‖ Joh 14:23. Origen quotes our passage with the
words: ―But that you may perceive that the omnipotence of the
Father and of the Son is one and the same, hear John speaking
after this manner in Revelation, 'Who is, etc.'‖ Dean Plumptre
cornpares the inscription over the temple of Isis at Sais in
Egypt: ―I am all that has come into being, and that which is,
and that which shall be, and no man hath lifted my veil.‖
The Spirit is designated by
The seven Spirits (των ε τα νευμ των)
Paul nowhere joins the Spirit with the Father and the Son in his
opening salutations. The nearest approach is 2Co 13:13. The
reference is not to the seven principal angels (Rev 8:2). These
could not be properly spoken of as the source of grace and
peace; nor be associated with the Father and the Son; nor take
precedence of the Son, as is the case here. Besides, angels are
never called spirits in this book. With the expression compare
Rev 4:5, the seven lamps of fire, ―which are the seven Spirits of
God:‖ Rev 3:1, where Jesus is said to have ―the seven Spirits of
God.‖ Thus the seven Spirits belong to the Son as well as to the
Father (see Joh 15:26). The prototype of John's expression is
found in the vision of Zechariah, where the Messiah is
prefigured as a stone with seven eyes, ―the eyes of the Lord,

11. Revelation 1:4
11 wanderean ©2024
which run to and fro through the whole earth‖ (Zec 3:9; Zec
4:10). Compare also the same prophet's vision of the seven-
branched candlestick (Zec 4:2).
Hence the Holy Spirit is called the Seven Spirits; the perfect,
mystical number seven indicating unity through diversity (1Co
12:4). Not the sevenfold gifts of the Spirit are meant, but the
divine Personality who imparts them; the one Spirit under the
diverse manifestations. Richard of St. Victor (cited by Trench,
―Seven Churches‖) says: ―And from the seven Spirits, that is,
from the sevenfold Spirit, which indeed is simple in nature,
sevenfold in grace.‖
Revelation 1:4
John - The dedication of this book is contained in Rev 1:4-6; but
the whole Revelation is a kind of letter. To the seven churches
which are in Asia - That part of the Lesser Asia which was then a
Roman province. There had been several other churches planted
here; but it seems these were now the most eminent; and it
was among these that St. John had laboured most during his
abode in Asia. In these cities there were many Jews. Such of
them as believed in each were joined with the gentile believers
in one church. Grace be unto you, and peace - The favour of
God, with all temporal and eternal blessings. From him who is,
and who was, and who cometh, or, who is to come - A
wonderful translation of the great name JEHOVAH: he was of
old, he is now, he cometh; that is, will be for ever. And from the
seven spirits which are before his throne - Christ is he who
"hath the seven spirits of God." "The seven lamps which burn
before the throne are the seven spirits of God." " The lamb hath
seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of
God." Seven was a sacred number in the Jewish church: but it
did not always imply a precise number. It sometimes is to be
taken figuratively, to denote completeness or perfection. By
these seven spirits, not seven created angels, but the Holy
Ghost is to be understood. The angels are never termed spirits
in this book; and when all the angels stand up, while the four
living creatures and the four and twenty elders worship him that

12. Revelation 1:4
12 wanderean ©2024
sitteth on the throne, and the Lamb, the seven spirits neither
stand up nor worship. To these "seven spirits of God," the seven
churches, to whom the Spirit speaks so many things, are
subordinate; as are also their angels, yea, and "the seven
angels which stand before God." He is called the seven spirits,
not with regard to his essence, which is one, but with regard to
his manifold operations.
Revelation 1:4
John to the seven churches which are in Asia,.... In lesser
Asia; their names are mentioned in Rev 1:11,
grace be unto you, and peace; which is the common
salutation of the apostles in all their epistles, and includes all
blessings of grace, and all prosperity, inward and outward: See
Gill on Rom 1:7. The persons from whom they are wished are
very particularly described,
from him which is, and which was, and which is to come;
which some understand of the whole Trinity; the Father by him
"which is", being the I am that I am; the Son by him "which
was", which was with God the Father, and was God; and the
Spirit by him "which is to come", who was promised to come
from the Father and the Son, as a Comforter, and the Spirit of
truth: others think Christ is here only intended, as he is in Rev
1:8 by the same expressions; and is he "which is", since before
Abraham he was the "I am"; and he "which was", the eternal
Logos or Word; and "is to come", as the Judge of quick and
dead. But rather this is to be understood of the first Person, of
God the Father; and the phrases are expressive both of his
eternity, he being God from everlasting to everlasting; and of
his immutability, he being now what he always was, and will be
what he now is, and ever was, without any variableness, or
shadow of turning: they are a periphrasis, and an explanation of
the word "Jehovah", which includes all tenses, past, present,
and to come. So the Jews explain this name in Exo 3:14,
"Says R. Isaac (k), the holy blessed God said to Moses, Say

13. Revelation 1:4
13 wanderean ©2024
unto them, I am he that was, and I am he that now is, and I am
he that is to come, wherefore ‫אהיה‬ is written three times.
And such a periphrasis of God is frequent in their writings (l),
And from the seven spirits which are before his throne;
either before the throne of God the Father; or, as the Ethiopic
version reads, "before the throne of the Lord Jesus Christ"; by
whom are meant not angels, though these are spirits, and stand
before the throne of God, and are ready to do his will: this is the
sense of some interpreters, who think such a number of them is
mentioned with reference to the seven angels of the churches;
or to the seven last "Sephirot", or numbers in the Cabalistic tree
of the Jews; the three first they suppose design the three
Persons in the Godhead, expressed in the preceding clause, and
the seven last the whole company of angels: or to the seven
principal angels the Jews speak of. Indeed, in the Apocrypha,
"I am Raphael, one of the seven holy angels, which present the
prayers of the saints, and which go in and out before the glory
of the Holy One.'' (Tobit 12:15)
Raphael is said to be one of the seven angels; but it does not
appear to be a generally received notion of theirs that there
were seven principal angels. The Chaldee paraphrase on Gen
11:7 is misunderstood by Mr. Mede, for not "seven", but
"seventy angels" are there addressed. It was usual with the
Jews only to speak of four principal angels, who stand round
about the throne of God; and their names are Michael, Uriel,
Gabriel, and Raphael; according to them, Michael stands at his
right hand, Uriel at his left, Gabriel before him, and Raphael
behind him (m). However, it does not seem likely that angels
should be placed in such a situation between the divine Persons,
the Father and the Son; and still less that grace and peace
should be wished for from them, as from God the Father, and
the Lord Jesus Christ; and that any countenance should be
given to angel worship, in a book in which angels are so often
represented as worshippers, and in which worship is more than

14. Revelation 1:4
14 wanderean ©2024
once forbidden them, and that by themselves: but by these
seven spirits are intended the Holy Spirit of God, who is one in
his person, but his gifts and graces are various; and therefore
he is signified by this number, because of the fulness and
perfection of them, and with respect to the seven churches,
over whom he presided, whom he influenced, and sanctified,
and filled, and enriched with his gifts and graces,4
Revelation 1:4
John — the apostle. For none but he (supposing the writer an
honest man) would thus sign himself nakedly without addition.
As sole survivor and representative of the apostles and eye-
witnesses of the Lord, he needed no designation save his name,
to be recognized by his readers.
seven churches — not that there were not more churches in
that region, but the number seven is fixed on as representing
totality. These seven represent the universal Church of all times
and places. See Trench‘s [Commentary on the Epistles to the
Seven Churches in Asia] interesting note, Rev 1:20, on the
number seven. It is the covenant number, the sign of God‘s
covenant relation to mankind, and especially to the Church.
Thus, the seventh day, sabbath (Gen 2:3; Eze 20:12).
Circumcision, the sign of the covenant, after seven days (Gen
17:12). Sacrifices (Num 23:1; Num 14:29; 2Ch 29:21).
Compare also God‘s acts typical of His covenant (Jos 6:4, Jos
6:15, Jos 6:16; 2Ki 5:10). The feasts ordered by sevens of time
(Deu 15:1; Deu 16:9, Deu 16:13, Deu 16:15). It is a
combination of three, the divine number (thus the Trinity: the
thrice Holy, Isa 6:3; the blessing, Num 6:24-26), and four the
number of the organized world in its extension (thus the four
elements, the four seasons, the four winds, the four corners or
quarters of the earth, the four living creatures, emblems of
redeemed creaturely life, Rev 4:6; Eze 1:5, Eze 1:6, with four
faces and four wings each; the four beasts and four metals,
4
(k) Shemot Rabba, sect. 3. fol. 73. 2. (l) Targum. Jon. in Deut. xxxii. 39. Zohar in Exod. fol.
59. 3. & in Numb. fol. 97. 4. & 106. 2. Seder Tephillot, fol. 205. 1. Ed. Basil. fol. 2. 2. Ed.
Amsterd. (m) Bemidbar Rabba, sect. 2. fol. 179. 1.

15. Revelation 1:4
15 wanderean ©2024
representing the four world empires, Dan 2:32, Dan 2:33; Dan
7:3; the four-sided Gospel designed for all quarters of the
world; the sheet tied at four corners, Act 10:11; the four horns,
the sum of the world‘s forces against the Church, Zec 1:18). In
the Apocalypse, where God‘s covenant with His Church comes to
its consummation, appropriately the number seven recurs still
more frequently than elsewhere in Scripture.
Asia — Proconsular, governed by a Roman proconsul:
consisting of Phrygia, Mysia, Caria, and Lydia: the kingdom
which Attalus III had bequeathed to Rome.
Grace ... peace — Paul‘s apostolical greeting. In his Pastoral
Epistles he inserts ―mercy‖ in addition: so 2Jn 1:3.
him which is ... was ... is to come — a periphrasis for the
incommunicable name Jehovah, the self-existing One,
unchangeable. In Greek the indeclinability of the designation
here implies His unchangeableness. Perhaps the reason why ―He
which is to come‖ is used, instead of ―He that shall be,‖ is
because the grand theme of Revelation is the Lord‘s coming
(Rev 1:7). Still it is THE FATHER as distinguished from ―Jesus
Christ‖ (Rev 1:5) who is here meant. But so one are the Father
and Son that the designation, ―which is to come,‖ more
immediately applicable to Christ, is used here of the Father.
the seven Spirits which are before his throne — The oldest
manuscripts omit ―are.‖
before — literally, ―in the presence of.‖ The Holy Spirit in His
sevenfold (that is, perfect, complete, and universal) energy.
Corresponding to ―the seven churches.‖ One in His own essence,
manifold in His gracious influences. The seven eyes resting on
the stone laid by Jehovah (Rev 5:6). Four is the number of the
creature world (compare the fourfold cherubim); seven the
number of God‘s revelation in the world.
Revelation 1:4

16. Revelation 1:4
16 wanderean ©2024
John to the seven churches which are in Asia - The word
―Asia‖ is used in quite different senses by different writers. It is
used:
(1) As referring to the whole eastern continent now known by
that name;
(2) Either Asia or Asia Minor;
(3) That part of Asia which Attalus III, king of Pergamos,
gave to the Romans, namely, Mysia, Phrygia, Lycaonia,
Lydia, Carla, Pisidia, and the southern coast - that is, all in
the western, southwestern, and southern parts of Asia Minor;
and,
(4) In the New Testament, usually the southwestern part of
Asia Minor, of which Ephesus was the capital. See the notes
at Act 2:9.
The word ―Asia‖ is not found in the Hebrew Scriptures, but it
occurs often in the Books of Maccabees, and in the New
Testament. In the New Testament it is not used in the large
sense in which it is now, as applied to the whole continent, but
in its largest signification it would include only Asia Minor. It is
also used, especially by Luke, as denoting the country that was
called ―Ionia,‖ or what embraced the provinces of Caria and
Lydia. Of this region Ephesus was the principal city, and it was
in this region that the ―seven churches‖ were situated. Whether
there were more than seven churches in this region is not
intimated by the writer of this book, and on that point we have
no certain knowledge. it is evident that these seven were the
principal churches, even if there were more, and that there was
some reason why they should be particularly addressed.
There is mention of some other churches in the neighborhood of
these. Colosse was near to Laodicea; and from Col 4:13, it
would seem not improbable that there was a church also at
Hierapolis. But there may have been nothing in their
circumstances that demanded particular instruction or

17. Revelation 1:4
17 wanderean ©2024
admonition, and they may have been on that account omitted.
There is also some reason to suppose that, though there had
been other churches in that vicinity besides the seven
mentioned by John, they had become extinct at the time when
he wrote the Book of Revelation. It appears from Tacitus
(History, xiv, 27; compare also Pliny, N. H., v. 29), that in the
time of Nero, 61 a.d., the city of Laodicea was destroyed by an
earthquake, in which earthquake, according to Eusebius, the
adjacent cities of Colosse and Hierapolis were involved. Laodicea
was, indeed, immediately rebuilt, but there is no evidence of the
re-establishment of the church there before the time when John
wrote this book.
The earliest mention we have of a church there, after the one
referred to in the New Testament by Paul Col 2:1; Col 4:13, Col
4:15-16, is in the time of Trajan, when Papias was bishop there,
sometime between 98 a.d. and 117 a.d. It would appear, then,
to be not improbable that at the time when the Apocalypse was
written, there were in fact but seven churches in the vicinity.
Prof. Stuart (i., 219) supposes that ―seven, and only so many,
may have been named, because the sevenfold divisions and
groups of various objects constitute a conspicuous feature in the
Apocalypse throughout.‖ But this reason seems too artificial;
and it can hardly be supposed that it would influence the mind
of John, in the specification by name of the churches to which
the book was sent. If no names had been mentioned, and if the
statement had occurred in glowing poetic description, it is not
inconceivable that the number seven might have been selected
for some such purpose.
Grace be unto you, and peace - The usual form of salutation
in addressing a church. See the notes on Rom 1:7.
From him which is, and which was, and which is to come
- From him who is everlasting - embracing all duration, past,
present, and to come. No expression could more strikingly
denote eternity than this. He now exists; he has existed in the
past; he will exist in the future. There is an evident allusion here

18. Revelation 1:4
18 wanderean ©2024
to the name Yahweh, the name by which the true God is
appropriately designated in the Scriptures. That name ‫יהוה‬
Yahweh, from ‫היה‬ haayah, to be, to exist, seems to have been
adopted because it denotes existence, or being, and as denoting
simply one who exists; and has reference merely to the fact of
existence. The word has no variation of form, and has no
reference to time, and would embrace all time: that is, it is as
true at one time as another that he exists. Such a word would
not be inappropriately paraphrased by the phrase ―who is, and
who was, and who is to come,‖ or who is to be; and there can
be no doubt that John referred to him here as being himself the
eternal and uncreated existence, and as the great and original
fountain of all being.
They who desire to find a full discussion in regard to the origin
of the name Yahweh, may consult an article by Prof. Tholuck, in
the ―Biblical Repository,‖ vol. iv., pp. 89-108. It is remarkable
that there are some passages in pagan inscriptions and writings
which bear a very strong resemblance to the language used
here by John respecting God. Thus, Plutarch (De Isa. et Osir., p.
354.), speaking of a temple of Isis, at Sais, in Egypt, says, ―It
bore this inscription - ‗I am all that was, and is, and shall be,
and my vail no mortal can remove‘― - Ε ειμι αν ο ε ον ς,
αι ον, αι ε μενον αι ον εμον λον οσ ε ς φ νη ος
ανε λσυεν Ego eimi pan to gegonos, kai hon, kai esomenon
kai ton emon peplon oudeis to thnetos anekalupsen. So Orpheus
(in Auctor. Lib. de Mundo), ―Jupiter is the head, Jupiter is the
middle, and all things are made by Jupiter.‖ So in Pausanias
(Phocic. 12), ―Jupiter was; Jupiter is; Jupiter shall be.‖ The
reference in the phrase before us is to God as such, or to God
considered as the Father.
And from the seven Spirits which are before his throne -
After all that has been written on this very difficult expression, it
is still impossible to determine with certainty its meaning. The
principal opinions which have been held in regard to it are the
following:

19. Revelation 1:4
19 wanderean ©2024
I. That it refers to God, as such. This opinion is held by
Eichhorn, and is favored by Ewald. No arguments derived from
any parallel passages are urged for this opinion, nor can any
such be found, where God is himself spoken of under the
representation of a sevenfold Spirit. But the objections to this
view are so obvious as to be insuperable:
(1) If it refers to God as such, then it would be mere
tautology, for the writer had just referred to him in the
phrase ―from him who was,‖ etc.
(2) It is difficult to perceive in what sense ―seven spirits‖
could be ascribed to God, or how he could be described as a
being of ―Seven Spirits.‖ At least, if he could be spoken of as
such, there would be no objection to applying the phrase to
the Holy Spirit.
(3) How could it be said of God himself that he was ―before
the throne?‖ He is everywhere represented as sitting on the
throne, not as before it. It is easy to conceive of angels as
standing before the throne; and of the Holy Spirit it is more
easy to conceive as being represented thus as ready to go
forth and convey a heavenly influence from that throne, but
it is impossible to conceive in what sense this could be
applied to God as such.
II. The opinion held by Grotius, and by John Henry Heinrichs,
that it refers to ―the multiform providence of God,‖ or to God
considered as operating in seven or many different ways. In
support of this Grotius appeals to Rev 5:12; Rev 7:12. But this
opinion is so far-fetched, and it is so destitute of support, as to
have found, it is believed, no other advocates, and to need no
further notice. It cannot be supposed that John meant to
personify the attributes of the Deity, and then to unite them
with God himself, and with the Lord Jesus Christ, and to
represent them as real subsistences from which important
blessings descend to people. It is clear that as by the phrase,
―who is, and who was, and who is to come,‖ and by ―Jesus

20. Revelation 1:4
20 wanderean ©2024
Christ, the faithful and true witness,‖ he refers to real
subsistences, so he must here. Besides, if the attributes of God,
or the modes of divine operation, are denoted why is the
number seven chosen? And why are they represented as
standing before the throne?
III. A third opinion is, that the reference is to seven attending
and ministering presence-angels - angels represented as
standing before the throne of God, or in his presence. This
opinion was adopted among the ancients by Clemens of
Alexandria Andreas of Cesarea, and others; among the moderns
by Beza, Drusius, Hammond, Wetstein, Rosenmuller, Clarke,
Prof. Stuart, and others. This opinion, however, has been held in
somewhat different forms; some maintaining that the seven
angels are referred to because it was a received opinion among
the Hebrews that there were seven angels standing in the
presence of God as seven princes stood in the Persian court
before the king; others, that the angels of the seven churches
are particularly referred to, represented now as standing in the
presence of God; others, that seven angels, represented as the
principal angels employed in the government of the world, are
referred to; and others, that seven archangels are particularly
designated. Compare Poole, Synoptists in loco. The arguments
which are relied on by those who suppose that seven angels are
here referred to are briefly these:
(1) The nature of the expression used here. The expression, it is
said, is such as would naturally denote beings who were before
his throne - beings who were different from him who was on the
throne - and beings more than one in number. That it could not
refer to one on the throne, but must mean those distinct and
separate from one on the throne, is argued from the use of the
phrases ―before the throne,‖ and ―before God,‖ in Rev 4:5; Rev
7:9, Rev 7:15; Rev 8:2; Rev 11:4, Rev 11:16; Rev 12:10; Rev
14:3; Rev 20:12; in all which places the representation denotes
those who were in the presence of God, and standing before
him.

21. Revelation 1:4
21 wanderean ©2024
(2) It is argued from other passages in the Book of Revelation
which, it is said (Prof. Stuart), go directly to confirm this
opinion. Thus, in Rev 8:2; ―And I saw the seven angels which
stood before God.‖ So Rev 4:5; the seven lamps of fire burning
before the throne, are said to be ―the seven Spirits of God.‖ In
these passages, it is alleged that the article ―the‖ designates the
well-known angels; or those which had been before specified,
and that this is the first mention of any such angels after the
designation in the passage before us.
(3) It is said that this is in accordance with what was usual
among the Hebrews, who were accustomed to speak of seven
presence-angels, or angels standing in the presence of Yahweh.
Thus, in the Book of Tobit (12:15), Raphael is introduced as
using this language: ―I am Raphael, one of the seven holy
angels, which present the prayers of the saints, and which go in
and out before the glory of the Holy One.‖ The apocryphal Book
of Enoch (chapter 20) gives the names of the seven angels who
watch; that is, of the watchers (compare the notes on Dan 4:13,
Dan 4:17) who stand in the presence of God waiting for the
divine commands, or who watch over the affairs of people. So in
the Zendavesta of Zoroaster, seven amshaspends, or
archangels, are mentioned. See Prof. Stuart, in loco.
To these views, however, there are objections of great weight, if
they are not in fact quite insuperable. They are such as the
following:
(1) That the same rank should be given to them as to God, as
the source of blessings. According to the view which represents
this expression as referring to angels, they are placed on the
same level, so far as the matter before us is concerned, with
―him who was, and is, and is to come,‖ and with the Lord Jesus
Christ - a doctrine which does not elsewhere occur in the
Scriptures, and which we cannot suppose the writer designed to
teach.
(2) That blessings should be invoked from angels - as if they

22. Revelation 1:4
22 wanderean ©2024
could impart ―grace and peace.‖ It is evident that, whoever is
referred to here by the phrase ―the seven Spirits,‖ he is placed
on the same level with the others mentioned as the source of
―grace and peace.‖ But it cannot be supposed that an inspired
writer would invoke that grace and peace from any but a divine
being.
(3) That as two persons of the Trinity are mentioned here, it is
to be presumed that the third would not be omitted; or to put
this argument in a stronger form, it cannot be supposed that an
inspired writer would mention two of the persons of the Trinity
in this connection, and then not only not mention the third, but
refer to angels - to creatures - as bestowing what would be
appropriately sought from the Holy Spirit. The incongruity would
be not merely in omitting all reference to the Spirit - which
might indeed occur, as it often does in the Scriptures - but in
putting in the place which that Spirit would naturally occupy an
allusion to angels as conferring blessings.
(4) If this refer to angels, it is impossible to avoid the inference
that angel-worship, or invocation of angels, is proper. To all
intents and purposes, this is an act of worship; for it is an act of
solemn invocation. It is an acknowledgment of the ―seven
Spirits,‖ as the source of ―grace and peace.‖ It would be
impossible to resist this impression on the popular mind; it
would not be possible to meet it if urged as an argument in
favor of the propriety of angel-invocation, or angel-worship. And
yet, if there is anything clear in the Scriptures, it is that God
alone is to he worshipped. For these reasons, it seems to me
that this interpretation cannot be well founded.
IV. There remains a fourth opinion, that it refers to the Holy
Spirit, and in favor of that opinion it may be urged:
(1) That it is most natural to suppose that the Holy Spirit would
be invoked on such an occasion, in connection with him ―who
was, and is, and is to come,‖ and with ―Jesus Christ.‖ If two of
the persons of the Trinity were addressed on such an occasion,

23. Revelation 1:4
23 wanderean ©2024
it would be properly supposed that the Holy Spirit would not be
omitted, as one of the persons from whom the blessing was to
descend. Compare 2Co 13:14; ―The grace of the Lord Jesus
Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy
Spirit, be with you all.‖
(2) It would be unnatural and improper, in such an invocation,
to unite angels with God as imparting blessings, or as
participating with God and with Christ in communicating
blessings to man. An invocation to God to send his angels, or to
impart grace and favor through angelic help, would be in entire
accordance with the usage in Scripture, but it is not in
accordance with such usage to invoke such blessings from
angels.
(3) It cannot be denied that an invocation of grace from ―him
who is, and was, and is to come,‖ is of the nature of worship.
The address to him is as God, and the attitude of the mind in
such an address is that of one who is engaged in an act of
devotion. The effect of uniting any other being with him in such
a case, would be to lead to the worship of one thus associated
with him. In regard to the Lord Jesus, ―the faithful and true
witness,‖ it is from such expressions as these that we are led to
the belief that he is divine, and that it is proper to worship him
as such. The same effect must be produced in reference to what
is here called ―the seven Spirits before the throne.‖ We cannot
well resist the impression that someone with divine attributes is
intended; or, if it refer to angels, we cannot easily show that it
is not proper to render divine worship to them. If they were thus
invoked by an apostle, can it be improper to worship them now?
(4) The word used here is not ―angels,‖ but ―spirits‖; and
though it is true that angels are spirits, and that the word
―spirit‖ is applied to them Heb 1:7, yet it is also true that that is
not a word which would be understood to refer to them without
designating that angels were meant. If angels had been
intended here, that word would naturally have been used, as is
the case elsewhere in this book.

24. Revelation 1:4
24 wanderean ©2024
(5) In Rev 4:5, where there is a reference to ―the seven lamps
before the throne,‖ it is said of them that they ―are,‖ that is,
they represent ―the seven Spirits of God.‖ This passage may be
understood as referring to the same thing as that before us, but
it cannot he well understood of angels; because:
(a) If it did, it would have been natural to use that language
for the reason above mentioned;
(b) The angels are nowhere called ―the spirits of God,‖ nor
would such language be proper.
The phrase, ―Spirit of God‖ naturally implies divinity, and could
not be applied to a creature. For these reasons it seems to me
that the interpretation which applies the phrase to the Holy
Spirit is to be preferred; and though that interpretation is not
free from difficulties, yet there are fewer difficulties in that than
in either of the others proposed. Though it may not be possible
wholly to remove the difficulties involved in that interpretation,
yet perhaps something may be done to diminish their force:
(1) First, as to the reason why the number seven should be
applied to the Holy Spirit:
(a) There would be as much propriety certainly in applying it to
the Holy Spirit as to God as such. And yet Grotius, Eichhorn,
Ewald, and others saw no difficulty in such an application
considered as representing a sevenfold mode of operation of
God, or a manifold divine agency.
(b) The word ―seven‖ often denotes a full or complete number,
and may be used to denote what is full, complete, or manifold;
and might thus be used in reference to an all-perfect Spirit, or
to a spirit which was manifold in its operations.
(c) The number seven is evidently a favorite number in the Book
of Revelation, and it might be used by the author in places, and

25. Revelation 1:4
25 wanderean ©2024
in a sense, such as it would not be likely to be used by another
writer. Thus, there are seven epistles to the seven churches;
there are seven seals, seven trumpets, seven vials of the wrath
of God, seven last plagues; there are seven lamps, and seven
Spirits of God; the Lamb has seven horns and seven eyes. In
Rev 1:16, seven stars are mentioned; in Rev 5:12, seven
attributes of God; Rev 12:3, the dragon has seven heads; Rev
13:1, the beast has seven heads.
(d) The number seven, therefore, may have been given to the
Holy Spirit with reference to the diversity or the fulness of his
operations on the souls of people, and to his manifold agency on
the affairs of the world, as further developed in this book.
(2) As to his being represented as ―before the throne,‖ this may
be intended to designate the fact that the Divine Spirit was, as it
were, prepared to go forth, or to be sent forth, in accordance
with a common representation in the Scriptures, to accomplish
important purposes on human affairs. The posture does not
necessarily imply inferiority of nature, anymore than the
language does respecting the Son of God, when he is
represented as being sent into the world to execute an
important commission from the Father.
Revelation 1:4
seven. See App-10and App-197.
churches. Greek. ekklesia. App-120and App-186.
in. App-104.
Asia. Not Europe, and consequently not Christendom.
Grace. App-184.
from. App-104.
Him. . . come. Greek paraphrase of "Jehovah". See App-4.
Which = Who, and so throughout Revelation.
Spirits. App-101.
Revelation 1:4
John] The Apostle, the son of Zebedee, who (probably
afterwards) wrote the Gospel: see Introduction.

26. Revelation 1:4
26 wanderean ©2024
seven churches] The number of course is symbolical or
representative: there were other churches in Asia, e.g. at
Colossae and Hierapolis (Col 4:13). But the Seven Churches
represent ―the Holy Church throughout all the world.‖ It was
very early observed, that St Paul also wrote to seven churches—
the Thessalonians, Corinthians, Galatians, Romans, Philippians,
Ephesians (?), and Colossians.
in Asia] The proconsular province of that name. In Act 16:6
―Asia‖ seems to be used in a still narrower sense, being
distinguished from the adjoining districts of Phrygia and Mysia,
as well as from the provinces of Galatia and Bithynia; so that it
would correspond approximately with the ancient kingdom of
Lydia. But as Pergamum was in Mysia, and Laodicea in Phrygia,
it seems that here the word is used to include the whole
province.
Grace … and peace] So St Paul in all his Epistles to the Seven
Churches, Rom 1:7; 1Co 1:3; 2Co 1:2; Gal 1:3; Eph 1:2; Php
1:2; Col 1:2; 1Th 1:1; 2Th 1:2; and so Phm 1:3. In his later
private letters the form varies—―Grace, mercy, and peace,‖ 1Ti
1:2; 2Ti 1:2; Tit 1:4—as in St John‘s second Epistle. St James
(Rev 1:1) uses the common secular salutation ―greeting‖ (cf.
Act 15:23): St Peter has ―grace and peace‖ as here, but in his
first Epistle does not say from Whom they are to come.
from him] The sacred Name is in the nominative, being treated
as indeclinable: as though we should say in English ―from He
Who is,‖ &c. For general remarks on the grammatical (or
ungrammatical) peculiarities of this book, see Introduction, p.
xxi. Here at least it is plain, that the anomaly is not due to
ignorance, but to the writer‘s mode of thought being so vigorous
That it must express itself in its own way, at whatever violence
to the laws of language.
which is, and which was, and which is to come] A paraphrase of
the ―Ineffable name‖ revealed to Moses (Exo 3:14 sq.), which

27. Revelation 1:4
27 wanderean ©2024
we, after Jewish usage, write ―Jehovah‖ and pronounce ―the
Lord.‖ Or, rather perhaps, a paraphrase of the explanation of
the Name given to him l. c., ―I am That I am‖—which is
rendered by the LXX. ―I am He Which Is;‖ by the Targum of
Palestine on Exod. ―I am He who is and who will be.‖ The same
Targum on Deu 32:39 has ―Behold now, I am He who Am and
Was, and Will Be.‖
which was] is again ungrammatical in Greek: the only word that
could be used grammatically, would mean ―which was made‖ or
―which began to be,‖ and is therefore avoided. Compare the
opposition of the ―being‖ of God or Christ, and the ―becoming‖
or ―being made‖ of creatures, in St John‘s Gospel, Joh 1:6; Joh
1:8-9, Joh 8:58.
is to come] Probably only used to express future time—not
referring to the ―Coming‖ of Christ; for thus far we have a
threefold name for the Father—the Son is separately mentioned
afterwards. Else, ―He that is to come‖ is often used as a familiar
and distinctive title of Christ: see Mat 11:3; Mat 21:9; Joh 6:14;
Joh 11:27; Heb 10:37; John Ep. Joh 11:7 : cf. 1Jn 2:18, where
the same word is pointedly used of Antichrist. But with this
more general sense we may compare ―the wrath to come,‖ 1Th
1:10, ―the world to come,‖ Mar 10:30, and ―things to come,‖
Joh 16:13; Joh 18:4.
seven Spirits] Son 3:1; Son 4:5; Son 5:6. In the second of
these passages it would be possible to understand the name of
seven chief Angels (see Rev 8:2): but here it would scarcely
seem possible that creatures should be, not merely coupled with
the Creator as sources of blessing, but actually thrust into the
midst of His being, between the two Divine Persons. ―The seven
Spirits‖ thus made coordinate with the Father and the Son can
scarcely be other than the Holy Ghost, Who is known to us in
His seven-fold operations and gifts, and Who perhaps has some
sevenfold character in Himself; which we cannot and need not
understand, but of which there seem to be intimations in the
passages of this book referred to, and in Zec 3:9; Zec 4:10, by

28. Revelation 1:4
28 wanderean ©2024
which these are certainly to be illustrated.
Revelation 1:4
John to the seven Churches - The apostle begins this much in
the manner of the Jewish prophets. They often name
themselves in the messages which they receive from God to
deliver to the people; e.g. ―The vision of Isaiah, the son of
Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.‖ ―The
words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah; to whom the word of the
Lord came.‖ ―The word of the Lord came expressly unto Ezekiel,
the priest.‖ ―The word of the Lord that came unto Hosea, the
son of Beeri.‖ ―The word of the Lord that came to Joel.‖ ―The
words of Amos, who was among the herdsmen of Tekoa.‖ ―The
vision of Obadiah; thus saith the Lord.‖ ―The word of the Lord
came unto Jonah.‖ So, ―The revelation of Jesus Christ, which he
sent and signified to his servant John.‖ ―John to the seven
Churches,‖ etc.
The Asia here mentioned was what is called Asia Minor, or the
Lydian or Proconsular Asia; the seven Churches were those of
Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and
Laodicea. Of these as they occur. We are not to suppose that
they were the only Christian Churches then in Asia Minor; there
were several others then in Phrygia, Pamphylia, Galatia, Pontus,
Cappadocia, etc., etc. But these seven were those which lay
nearest to the apostle, and were more particularly under his
care; though the message was sent to the Churches in general,
and perhaps it concerns the whole Christian world. But the
number seven may be used here as the number of perfection;
as the Hebrews use the seven names of the heavens, the seven
names of the earth, the seven patriarchs, seven suns, seven
kinds, seven years, seven months, seven days, etc., etc.; in
which the rabbins find a great variety of mysteries.
Grace be unto you - This form of apostolical benediction we
have often seen in the preceding epistles.
From him which is, and which was, and which is to come

29. Revelation 1:4
29 wanderean ©2024
- This phraseology is purely Jewish, and probably taken from
the Tetragrammaton, ‫יהוה‬ Yehovah; which is supposed to include
in itself all time, past, present, and future. But they often use
the phrase of which the ο φν, αι ο ην, αι ο ερτομενος, of the
apostle, is a literal translation. So, in Sohar Chadash, fol. 7, 1:
―Rabbi Jose said, By the name Tetragrammaton, (i.e. ‫יהוה‬,
Yehovah), the higher and lower regions, the heavens, the earth,
and all they contain, were perfected; and they are all before him
reputed as nothing; ‫והוא‬
‫היה‬
‫והוא‬
‫הוה‬
‫והוא‬
‫יהיה‬ vehu hayah, vehu
hoveh, vehu yihyeh; and He Was, and He Is, and He Will Be.
So, in Shemoth Rabba, sec. 3, fol. 105, 2: ―The holy blessed
God said to Moses, tell them: - ‫אני‬
‫שהייתי‬
‫ואני‬
‫הוא‬
‫עכשיו‬
‫ואני‬
‫הוא‬
‫לעתיד‬
‫לבוא‬ ani shehayithi, veani hu achshaiu, veani hu laathid labo; I
Was, I Now Am, and I Will Be in Future.‖ In Chasad Shimuel,
Rab. Samuel ben David asks: ―Why are we commanded to use
three hours of prayer? Answer: These hours point out the holy
blessed God; ‫שהוא‬
‫היה‬
‫הוה‬
‫ויהיה‬ shehu hayah, hoveh, veyihyeh; he
who Was, who Is, and who Shall Be. The Morning prayer points
out him who Was before the foundation of the world; the
Noonday prayer points out him who Is; and the Evening prayer
points out him who Is to Come.‖ This phraseology is exceedingly
appropriate, and strongly expresses the eternity of God; for we
have no other idea of time than as past, or now existing, or yet
to exist; nor have we any idea of eternity but as that duration
called by some aeternitas a parte ante, the eternity that was
before time, and aeternitas a parte post, the endless duration
that shall be when time is no more. That which Was, is the
eternity before time; that which Is, is time itself; and that which
Is to Come, is the eternity which shall be when time is no more.
The seven Spirits - before his throne - The ancient Jews,
who represented the throne of God as the throne of an eastern
monarch, supposed that there were seven ministering angels
before this throne, as there were seven ministers attendant on
the throne of a Persian monarch. We have an ample proof of
this, Tobit 12:15: I am Raphael, one of the Seven Holy Angels
which present the prayers of the saints, and which go in and out
before the glory of the Holy One. And in Jonathan ben Uzziel‘s

30. Revelation 1:4
30 wanderean ©2024
Targum, on Gen 11:7 : God said to the Seven Angels which
stand before him, Come now, etc.
In Pirkey Eliezer, iv. and vii: ―The angels which were first
created minister before him without the veil.‖ Sometimes they
represent them as seven cohorts or troops of angels, under
whom are thirty inferior orders.
That seven Angels are here meant, and not the Holy Spirit, is
most evident from the place, the number, and the tradition.
Those who imagine the Holy Ghost to be intended suppose the
number seven is used to denote his manifold gifts and graces.
That these seven spirits are angels, see Rev 3:1; Rev 4:5; and
particularly Rev 5:6, where they are called the seven spirits of
God Sent Forth into All the Earth.
Revelation 1:4
(2) John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace [be]
unto you, and peace, (3) from him (c) which is, and which was,
and which is to come; and from (4) the (d) seven Spirits which
are before his throne;
(2) This is the particular or singular inscription, in which
salutation is written to certain churches by name, who represent
the catholic church: and the certainty and truth of this is
declared, from the author of it, in (Rev 1:8).
(3) That is, from God the Father, eternal, immortal, immutable:
wholly unchangeable, John declares in a form of speech which is
undeclined. For there is no incongruity in this place, where, of
necessity the words must be adapted to the mystery, not the
mystery corrupted or impaired by the words.
(c) These three, Is, Was, and Shall be, signify the word
Jehovah, which is the proper name for God.
(4) That is, from the Holy Spirit who proceeds from the Father

31. Revelation 1:4
31 wanderean ©2024
and the Son. This Spirit is one in person according to his
subsistence: but in communication of his power, and in
demonstration of his divine works in those seven churches,
perfectly manifests himself as if there were many spirits, every
one perfectly working in his own church. Which is why in (Rev
5:6) they are called the seven horns and seven eyes of the
Lamb, as if to say, as his most absolute power and wisdom. In
(Rev 3:1) Christ is said to have those seven spirits of God, and
in (Rev 4:5) it is said that seven lamps burn before his throne,
which also are those seven spirits of God. That this place ought
to be so understood, it is thus proved. For first, grace and peace
is asked by prayer from this Spirit, which is a divine work, and
an action incommunicable in respect to God. Secondly, he is
placed between the Father and the Son, as set in the same
degree of dignity and operation with them, besides, he is before
the throne, as of the same substance with the Father and the
Son: as the seven eyes and seven horns of the Lamb. Moreover,
these spirits are never said to adore God, as all other things are.
Finally, this is the power by which the Lamb opened the book,
and loosed the seven seals of it, when no one could be found
among all creatures by whom the book might be opened (Rev
5:1-10); Of these things long ago Master John Luide of Oxford
wrote to me. Now the Holy Spirit is named before Christ
because a long speech about Christ follows.
(d) These are the seven spirits, which are later called the horns
and eyes of the Lamb in (Rev 5:6) and are now acting as a
guard waiting on God.
Revelation 1:4
John—the apostle. For none but he (supposing the writer an
honest man) would thus sign himself nakedly without addition.
As sole survivor and representative of the apostles and eye-
witnesses of the Lord, he needed no designation save his name,
to be recognized by his readers.
seven churches—not that there were not more churches in
that region, but the number seven is fixed on as representing

32. Revelation 1:4
32 wanderean ©2024
totality. These seven represent the universal Church of all times
and places. See TRENCH‘S [Commentary on the Epistles to the
Seven Churches in Asia] interesting note, Rev 1:20, on the
number seven. It is the covenant number, the sign of God‘s
covenant relation to mankind, and especially to the Church.
Thus, the seventh day, sabbath (Ge 2:3; Ez 20:12).
Circumcision, the sign of the covenant, after seven days (Ge
17:12). Sacrifices (Nu 23:1, 14:29; 2Ch 29:21). Compare also
God‘s acts typical of His covenant (Jos 6:4, 15, 16; 2Ki 5:10).
The feasts ordered by sevens of time (De 15:1). It is a
combination of three, the divine number (thus the Trinity: the
thrice Holy, Is 6:3; the blessing, Nu 6:24–26), and four the
number of the organized world in its extension (thus the four
elements, the four seasons, the four winds, the four corners or
quarters of the earth, the four living creatures, emblems of
redeemed creaturely life, Rev 4:6; Ez 1:5, 6, with four faces and
four wings each; the four beasts and four metals, representing
the four world empires, Da 2:32, 33; 7:3; the four-sided Gospel
designed for all quarters of the world; the sheet tied at four
corners, Ac 10:11; the four horns, the sum of the world‘s forces
against the Church, Zec 1:18). In the Apocalypse, where God‘s
covenant with His Church comes to its consummation,
appropriately the number seven recurs still more frequently
than elsewhere in Scripture.
Asia—Proconsular, governed by a Roman proconsul:
consisting of Phrygia, Mysia, Caria, and Lydia: the kingdom
which Attalus III had bequeathed to Rome.
Grace … peace—Paul‘s apostolical greeting. In his Pastoral
Epistles he inserts ―mercy‖ in addition: so 2Jn 1:3.
him which is … was … is to come—a periphrasis for the
incommunicable name JEHOVAH, the self-existing One,
unchangeable. In Greek the indeclinability of the designation
here implies His unchangeableness. Perhaps the reason why ―He
which is to come‖ is used, instead of ―He that shall be,‖ is
because the grand theme of Revelation is the Lord‘s coming

33. Revelation 1:4
33 wanderean ©2024
(Rev 1:7). Still it is THE FATHER as distinguished from ―Jesus
Christ‖ (Rev 1:5) who is here meant. But so one are the Father
and Son that the designation, ―which is to come,‖ more
immediately applicable to Christ, is used here of the Father.
the seven Spirits which are before his throne—The oldest
manuscripts omit ―are.‖
before—literally, ―in the presence of.‖ The Holy Spirit in His
sevenfold (that is, perfect, complete, and universal) energy.
Corresponding to ―the seven churches.‖ One in His own essence,
manifold in His gracious influences. The seven eyes resting on
the stone laid by Jehovah (Rev 5:6). Four is the number of the
creature world (compare the fourfold cherubim); seven the
number of God‘s revelation in the world.5
Revelation 1:4
SENDER (1:4a)
John,
The author identifies himself simply as ―John.‖ The Early
Church Fathers provide significant evidence—but not conclusive
evidence—that the author is John the son of Zebedee, one of
the original Twelve Apostles of Jesus. For a more detailed
discussion of authorship, see Parts IV.A.1 and IV.B.1 of the
Introduction.
RECIPIENTS (1:4b)
To the seven churches in the province of Asia:
In verse 4 John addresses the Apocalypse ―to the seven
churches in the province of Asia.‖ The Roman province of Asia
made up the western third of Asia Minor (modern Turkey). In
verse 11, John locates the seven churches in the cities of
―Ephesus [the provincial capital], Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira,
Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.‖ The Revelation may be
intended for these seven congregations alone. However, since
5
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset, A. R. Fausset et al., A Commentary, Critical and Explanatory, on the Old and New
Testaments, On Spine: Critical and Explanatory Commentary. (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997),
Re 1:4.

34. Revelation 1:4
34 wanderean ©2024
―seven‖ often symbolizes ―completeness‖ in apocalyptic
literature,4
the seven churches of Asia probably represent the
entire body of Christian believers in that part of the Roman
world. For further discussion of the recipients and their
circumstances, see Part IV of the Introduction, along with the
Commentary on Revelation 2–3.6
Revelation 1:4
Seven is the number of completion and perfection in the
Tanakh. God ended his work of creation on the seventh day
(Genesis 2:1–3). This is why the day of rest, Shabbat (the
Hebrew word means ―rest‖), is the seventh day of the week
(Exodus 20:8–10); the year of sh˒mittah (―remission‖), when
the land rests, is the seventh year (Leviticus 25:3–7); and the
year of yovel (―jubilee‖), in which both the land and possession
of it rest, comes after seven years of sh˒mittah (Leviticus 25:8–
17). Sevenfold vengeance was to be taken on anyone who
might kill Cain (Genesis 4:15). Noah took seven of each clean
animal on board the ark (Genesis 7:2). From Pharaoh‘s dream
of seven fat and seven lean cows Joseph predicted seven years
of plenty and seven of famine (Genesis 41). The number seven
appears over and over in connection with sacrifices and temple
ritual; here are two examples: the blood of a sin offering was
sprinkled seven times before Adonai (Leviticus 4:3–4); the leper
appeared before a cohen on the seventh day to be examined
and pronounced clean (Leviticus 13:5–6). The festivals of
Pesach and Sukkot each last seven days; and seven weeks
intervene between Pesach and Shavu˓ot, on which day seven
lambs were offered (Leviticus 23). If Israel is unrepentant she
will be punished sevenfold for her sins (Leviticus 26:18–28).
Jericho fell after Israel had marched around the city seven
times, and seven cohanim had blown seven shofars (Joshua
6:4–15). Chanah, celebrating her fertility at the birth of Samuel,
prayed, ―The barren has borne seven‖ (1 Samuel 2:5; contrast
Jeremiah 15:9). Solomon took seven years to build the first
4
See Introduction, Part III.B.1.d: “Symbolic Numbers.”
6
Christopher A. Davis, Revelation, The College Press NIV commentary (Joplin, Mo.: College Press Pub., 2000), 92.

35. Revelation 1:4
35 wanderean ©2024
Temple (1 Kings 6:38). The Shunammite woman‘s child sneezed
seven times before opening his eyes when Elisha raised him
from the dead (2 Kings 4:35). After Israel‘s male population has
been decimated, ―seven women shall take hold of one man‖
(Isaiah 4:1). It will take seven days to consecrate the altar of
the End-Time temple (Ezekiel 43:25–26).
Seven is also the number of fullness and completion in the
book of Revelation, speaking of God‘s perfection and the finality
of his coming judgment on mankind. Yochanan writes about
seven Messianic communities and the sevenfold Spirit,
seven gold menorahs (v. 12), seven stars (v. 16), seven flaming
torches (4:5), seven seals (5:1), a Lamb with seven horns and
seven eyes (5:6), seven angels with seven shofars (8:2), seven
thunders (10:3), a dragon with seven crowns on his seven
heads (12:3)—which are also seven hills and seven kings (17:9–
10), and seven angels with the seven last plagues in seven gold
bowls (15:1, 7); moreover, he pronounces seven blessings
(above, v. 3&N). These references are only to the first mention
of each; altogether ―seven‖ and ―seventh‖ appear nearly sixty
times in this book.
There were more than seven Messianic communities in
the province of Asia (present-day Turkey), but those named
in v. 11 represent them all.
Grace and shalom to you—the same greeting as Sha‘ul
gives in nine of his letters.
The One who is, who was and who is coming. This is
based on God‘s self-identification in Exodus 3:14, ―I am who I
am,‖ or, ―I will be who I will be.‖ Compare MJ 13:8. In the
Siddur a line from the popular Jewish hymn, Adon-˓Olam, reads:
―V˒hu hayah v˒hu hoveh v˒hu yihyeh l˒tif˒arah‖ (―He was, and he
is, and he will be, into glorious eternity‖). The substitution of ―is
coming‖ for ―will be‖ seems to allude to Yeshua‘s return.

36. Revelation 1:4
36 wanderean ©2024
The sevenfold Spirit. Although I believe the reference is to
the Holy Spirit, for reasons given in the next paragraph, the
literal translation, ―the seven spirits‖ (here and at 3:1, 4:5,
5:6), has strong arguments in its favor. The spirits could be
seven angels attending God before his throne (Judaism
recognized seven archangels—Mikha‘el, Gavri‘el, Rafa‘el, Uri‘el,
Suri‘el, Fanu‘el and Yechi‘el; see 8:2). At MJ 1:14 angels are
called ―spirits who serve,‖ which is consistent with describing
the Lamb‘s seven eyes (5:6) as ―the seven spirits sent out into
all the earth.‖ Messianic Jews 1:7 quotes Psalm 104:4, ― … who
makes his angels winds [Hebrew ruchot, also translatable as
―spirits‖] and his servants fiery flames.‖ The rendering ―seven
spirits‖ would make 4:5 parallel to Psalm 104 (with the terms
reversed): ― … before the throne were seven flaming torches,
which are the seven spirits of God.‖
However, the above understanding presents a major difficulty
in that it means the author, who opposes angel-worship (19:10,
22:8–9), has sandwiched into his divine greeting, between God
and Yeshua, a reference to seven created beings. Moreover, two
passages from the Tanakh suggest a special relationship
between the Holy Spirit and the number seven—Isaiah 11:2,
which gives seven attributes of the Spirit, and Zechariah 4:2–
10, in which some of the ―seven‖-imagery of Revelation is
associated with the Spirit. 7
Revelation 1:4
4a ʼΙφ ννης αι ς ἑ ὰ ἐ λη αις αι ς ἐν ῃ ʼΑ ᾳ ―John to
the seven churches in Asia.‖ This superscriptio, which contains
the name of the sender, is striking for its brevity and lack of any
title or claim to authority (for an example of an elaborately
expanded epistolary superscriptio, see Rom 1:1–6). In the
phrase αι ς ἑ ὰ ἐ λη αις, ―to the seven churches,‖ the
definite article anticipates v 1, where the churches are
specifically named. αι ς ἐ λη αις is a dative of indirect object
7
David H. Stern, Jewish New Testament Commentary : A Companion Volume to the Jewish New Testament, electronic
ed. (Clarksville: Jewish New Testament Publications, 1996, c1992), Re 1:4.

37. Revelation 1:4
37 wanderean ©2024
in this elliptical epistolary formula, which omits a verb and
object (such as ἔ ραυε ασ α, ―wrote these things‖). This is
the adscriptio, or address of the letter, and is remarkable for the
fact that, like the superscriptio, it is unadorned and unexpanded
(for an example of an amplified adscriptio, see
Ign Eph. praef.; Rom. Praef.). In view of the prominence and
symbolic significance of the number seven in Revelation (it
occurs fifty-four times), the fact that seven churches are
addressed is significant. The number is not chosen to symbolize
the universal Church, a notion found in the Canon Muratori 171–
72, where the seven churches addressed by Paul are thought to
symbolize all the churches (since ―seven‖ does not symbolize
―completeness,‖ a view justly criticized by A. Yarbro
Collins, ―Numerical Symbolism,‖ 1276–78). Rather, the number
seven emphasizes the divine origin and authority of the
message of John, since seven is primarily a number with cosmic
significance and is therefore associated with heavenly realities.
In the phrase ἐν ῃ ʼΑ ᾳ, ―in Asia,‖ the definite article is used
anaphorically, i.e., ―referring back‖ to Asia as one of the two
parts of the world generally known (the other is ἡ Εὐρ η,
―Europe‖), both of which are normally used with the definite
article; this articular use of Asia occurs even when it refers to
the Roman province (see Acts 2:9). In Iliad 2.416, ―Asia‖ is
limited to a small part of Lydia on the Aegean coast of Asia
Minor, though the Greeks later (ca. 750–500 B.C.) understood
the term to apply to the land masses outside Europe now
designated as Africa and Asia. Cicero (Pro. Flacc. 27) observed
that Asia consists of the regions of Phrygia, Mysia, Caria, and
Lydia. Judaism had a strong presence in Asia Minor; there were
more that fifty Jewish communities here with perhaps a total
Jewish population of one million (P. W. van der Horst, ―Jews and
Eph. Ignatius, Letter to the Ephesians
Rom. Ignatius, Letter to the Romans
i.e. id est, that is
ca. circa, about

38. Revelation 1:4
38 wanderean ©2024
Christians in Aphrodisias in the Light of Their Relations in Other
Cities of Asia Minor,‖ NedTTs 143 [1989] 106–7).
4b τ ρις ὑμι ν αὶ εἰρήνη, ―Grace to you and peace.‖ This
distinctively Christian salutation is a combination of the Hebrew
and Aramaic peace wish, ‫לֹום‬ ָׁ
‫ש‬ šālîm, and the common Greek
epistolary salutation τα ρειν, though the use of τ ρις, ―grace,‖ is
a distinctively Christian term with an entirely different meaning
from τα ρειν, with which it is nevertheless etymologically
related. It is possible that the epistolary formula ―grace and
peace‖ was originated by Paul (O. Kuss, Der Römerbrief
[Regensburg, 1957] 12). Yet this appears doubtful since the
formula already appears in the superscription of Paul‘s first
letter (1 Thess 1:1), and it has parallels (if not verbally identical
parallels) in 2 Apoc. Bar. 78:2 and LXX Esth 9:30.
4c ἀ ὸ ὁ ὤν αὶ ὁ ἠ ν αὶ ὁ ἐρτ μενος, ―from the One who is
and who was and who is coming.‖ Following the Pauline style,
the source of grace and peace is emphasized, though Paul
usually mentions only ―God our/the Father‖ and ―our/the Lord
Jesus Christ‖ in his epistolary salutations. In Revelation, John
refers to God only as ―my/his [Jesus‘] Father‖
(1:6; 2:27; 3:5, 21; 14:1), but here, perhaps intentionally, he
omits the designation ―Father‖ from the greeting. In fact, he
transforms this part of the traditional Christian salutation by
referring to God using this very elaborate set of three clauses,
each of which functions as a divine rifle. Though unattested
elsewhere in early Christian literature, this distinctive phrase
occurs three times in Revelation (here; 1:8; 4:8). There is some
variation in word order. In 1:4; 1:8, the phrase is ὁ ὣν αὶ ὁ ἠ ν
αὶ ὁ ἐρτ μενος, while in 4:8, ὁ ἠ ν and ὁ ὣν are transposed. A
shorter, bipartite formula, perhaps a more traditional form that
John expanded, is ὁ ὣν αὶ ὁ ἠ ν, ―who is and who was,‖ which
NedTTs Nederlands theologisch tijdschrift
2 Apoc. Syriac Apocalypse of Baruch
LXX The Septuagint, Greek translation of the OT

39. Revelation 1:4
39 wanderean ©2024
occurs twice (11:17; 16:5). This bipartite formula is expanded
to a tripartite formula in 16:5 through the addition of the
predicate ὁ ὃ ιος, ―the holy one.‖ ὁ ὤν, ―the one who is‖ (a
substantival participle from the verb εἰμ , ―to be‖), was, among
Greek-speaking Jews, a popular name for God ultimately
derived from the phrase ἐ εἰμι ὁ ὤν, ―I am the one who is,‖ in
the LXX translation of the Hebrew phrase ‫אהיה‬ ‫אשר‬ ‫אהיה‬, ˒hyeh
˒ăšer ˒ehyeh, ―I am who I am,‖ in Exod 3:14. Josephus places
the phrase ὁ ὤν on the lips of Elijah in 1 Kgs 19:10 (Ant. 8.350)
but omits it from his version of Exod 3:14 (Ant. 2.276). Philo
often uses the phrase ὁ ὤν of God, sometimes in combination
with ε ς, ―God‖ (e.g., ὁ ὤν ε ς, ―the God who is‖; ὁ ὄν φς ὤν
ε ς, ―the God who truly is‖). The phrase ὁ ὤν is used at least
eight times as a divine name, with the asterisks marking
passages that allude to Exod 3:14 (*Mos. 1.75; *Som. 1.231;
*Mut. 11; *Det. 160; Quod Deus 110; Opif. 172; Leg. 3.181;
*Abr. 121); see J. Krämer, Der Ursprung der Geistmetaphysic
[Amsterdam, 1964] 83 n. 213). Presumably the popularity of ὁ
ὤν as the name for God among Greek-speaking Jews influenced
the later insertion of the phrase in the LXX text of Jeremiah,
where the phrase ὁ ὤν occurs four times, always in the context
of prayer (1:6; 4:10; 14:13; 39:17). The title was familiar to
Jews in Asia Minor as attested by an inscription on an altar from
Ant. Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews
e.g. exempli gratia, for example
Mos. Philo, De Vita Mosis
Som. Philo, De Somniis
Mut. Philo, De Mutatione Nominum
Det. Philo, De Quod Deterius Potiori insidiari soleat
Quod Quod Deus Sit Immutabilis (Philo)
Opif. Philo, De Opificio Mundi
Leg. De Legatione ad Gaium (Philo)
Abr. Philo, De Abrahamo
n. note

40. Revelation 1:4
40 wanderean ©2024
Pergamon that reads εὸς ύριος ὁ ὤν εἰς ἀε , ―God, the Lord
who exists forever.‖ Despite the objection of Delling (Worship,
78–79), this is very probably an allusion to the LXX version
of Exod 3:14 (Nilsson, Eranos 54 [1956] 169–70;
Bickerman, ―Altars of Gentiles,‖ 341–42), for even though the
expression εἰς ἀε , ―forever,‖ is not found in direct connection
with ὁ ὤν, Exod 3:15 does describe the name of God as a ὄνομα
αἰ νιον, ―an eternal name,‖ a feature emphasized by Philo
(Mut. 12; cf. Mos. 1.74f–75). Numenius, a second-century A.D.
Middle Platonic philosopher, refers to the supreme being as ὁ ὤν
(frag. 12, in É. des Places, Numenius:Fragments [Paris: Société
d‘ Édition ―Les Belles Lettres,‖ 1973] 55–56; see brief
commentary on p. 108). Normally, Numenius uses the term ὸ
ὄν, ―Being, Existence‖ (frags. 2.23; 3.1, 8, 9; 4a.7, 9, 12; 5.5,
6, 14, 18 [bis]; 6.7, 8, 15; 7.2, 13, 14; 8.2). The Greek magical
papyri, many of which exhibit clear Jewish influence
(ISBE, rev. ed., 3:219, s.v. ―magic‖), reflect the popularity of
divine names borrowed from Judaism and also use ὁ ὤν as a
divine name, often in connection with ʼΙ φ, ―Iao,‖ a divine name
with close associations with the Hebrew divine name YHWH
(often vocalized as Yahweh and shortened in ancient texts as
Yahu). PGM LXXI.3–4, for example, has several points of contact
with Rev 1:8 (the divine names ὁ ὤν, ύριος and αν ο ρ φρ):
and ―The God who is, Iao, Lord Almighty [ὁ εὸς ὤν ὁ ʼΙ φ,
ύριος αν ο ρ φρ].‖ For other magical texts containing the
divine predicate ὁ ὤν, see PGM XII.111; XIII.1020, 1048. The
title ὁ ὤν also occurs on several amulets. A bloodstone amulet in
cf. confer, compare
frag. fragments
bis twice
ISBE G. W. Bromiley (ed.), The International Standard Bible Enryclopedia, 4 vols. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1979-88)
rev. revised, reviser, revision, or reverse
ed. edited, edition(s), editor
s.v. sub verbo, under the word
PGM K. Preisendanz (ed.), Papyri graecae magicae

41. Revelation 1:4
41 wanderean ©2024
the British Museum depicts Helios and Selene, with the
inscription ―Iaô, Sabaôth, Abrasax, the Existent One [ὁ ὠ ν]‖ on
the reverse (Goodenough, Jewish Symbols 2:259; vol.
3 fig. 1116). One amulet, apparently of Jewish origin, has the
inscription ―One God in the heavens [ἐν οὐρανοι ς] who exists
[ὁ ὤν] and who existed before [ ρο ν], the one greater than
all, who dominates all beings in midheaven‖ (Delatte-
Derchain, Les intailles magiques,
266, no. 381; cf. Peterson, Εἱ ς Θε ς, 260–61); the plural form
οὐρανοι ς is either a Semitism or reflects an elevated hymnic
style, and ὁ ρο ν is a more literary grammatical choice than ὁ
ἠ ν in Rev 1:4. On another amulet (Bonner, Magical Amulets,
108–9, no. 151), the words ἐ and ὁ ὤν, ―I am the one who
is,‖ are found on either side of a mummy, an allusion
to LXX Exod 3:14. A Christian amulet (British Museum, 56473),
of uncertain date, has the divine names Ia6th Sabath Adônaei
on the obverse with ὁ ὤν on the reverse (Bonner, Magical
Amulets, 225). A Christian amulet of uncertain date has ὁ ὤν on
the reverse, with one crux potens at the top and another at the
bottom, while the obverse reads ―Iaoth Sabath Adonaei,‖ with
one crux potens above and three below (C. Bonner, ―Amulets
Chiefly in the British Museum,‖ Hesperia 120 [1951] 333–
34, no. 46).
John uses the phrase ὁ ὤν four times (1:4, 8; 11:17; 16:5),
twice in the context of prayer (11:17; 16:5), like
the LXX variants in Jeremiah. He is the first Christian author to
use this divine name; it rarely occurs among later Christian
authors (see LPGL, 418). Why does John use this divine name
twice in the opening sections of his book (vv 4, 8)? Just as
Moses was told by God to accredit his message by telling the
people that ὁ ὤν had sent him, so John appears to be
authenticating his prophetic book by claiming that its actual
source is none other than ὁ ὤν. ὁ ὤν. is understood by Philo as
fig. figure
no. number
LPGL G. W. H. Lampe, Patristic Greek Lexicon

42. Revelation 1:4
42 wanderean ©2024
the divine name that Moses, as a prophet, used to authenticate
his message (Mos. 1.75; Mut. 11).
A similar threefold temporal description of divinity is
widespread in Greco-Roman literature beginning with Homer (F.
Büchsel, TDNT 2:399). In a reference to a hymn to Zeus that
has perished, Menander Rhetor (1.342) mentions that ―Zeus
was before all things [Ζεὺς ρὸ ν φν ἐ νε ο]‖ but that this
statement contradicted other elements in the hymn.
Plato Timaeus 37E preserves the traditional formula λ ομεν
ὰρ ὴ ὡς ἠ ν ἔ ιν ε αὶ ἔ αι, ―For we say that it [Eternal
Being] was and is and will be‖ (see Plato Leges 4.715e).
Empedocles (frag. 14, line 9 in M. R. Wright, Empedocles: The
Extant Fragments [New Haven:Yale UP, 1981] 100–101 [text],
177–79 [translation and commentary]): ἐ φ ν ν ʼ ὅ α ʼ
ἠ ν ὅ α ʼ ἔ ι αὶ ἔ αι ὀ φ, ―From them [fire, air, water]
comes all that was and is and will be hereafter.‖ Here, however,
this time formula is used not of divinity but of aspects of the
material world. Plutarch preserves an inscription from the base
of a statue of Athena, whom the Egyptians identified with Isis:
―I am all that has been, and is, and shall be [ἐ εἰμι α ν ὸ
ε ονὸς αὶ ὂν αὶ ἐ μενον], and my robe no mortal has yet
uncovered‖ (De Iside et Osiride 354C [tr. LCL]; cf. 352a; 372f–
373ah). A similar passage is found in Pausanias 10.12.10: ―Zeus
was, Zeus is, Zeus shall be; O mighty Zeus [Ζεὺς ἠ ν, Ζεὺς
ἔ ιν, Ζεὺς ἔ ε αι· ὠ με λε Ζεσ ].‖ The setting of this
hexameter line is important, for Pausanias attributes it to the
Peliades (―Doves‖), the female priestesses of Zeus who were
cult officials at the oracle of Zeus at Dodona; the setting
therefore connects Zeus with prophecy since the tripartite
prophecy formula is also based on the three moments of past,
TDNT G. Kittel and G. Friedrich, eds., tr. G. W. Bromiley Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, 10 vols., ET
(Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1964–76)
UP University Press
tr. translation, translator(s), translated by, transpose(s)
LCL Loeb Classical Library

43. Revelation 1:4
43 wanderean ©2024
present, and future. In Asclepius 14.17–18 (Nock-
Festugière, Hermès Trismégiste 2:313): deus aeternus … hoc
est, hoc fuit, hoc erit semper, ―The eternal God … is the one
who is, the one who was, and the one who will always be.‖
In Asclepius 29.5–7 (NockFestugière, Hermès Trismégiste
2:337): si enim animal mundus uiuensque semper et fuit et est
et erit, nihil in mundo mortale est, ―if the world itself is a living
being and was and is and will be, nothing in the world is
mortal.‖ Finally in Asclepius 134.25–26 (Nock-
Festugière, Hermès Trismégiste 2:344): et sine hoc nec fuit
aliquid nec est nec erit, ―and without whom nothing was,
nothing is, nothing will be‖ (see John 1:3). The last two
passages from Asclepius, however, concern not divinity but the
world and material reality.
Instead of the phrase ὁ ἐρτ μενος, ―the one who will come,‖
one fully expects the temporal expression ὀ ἐ μενος, ―the one
who will be‖ (Kraft, 31). This expression is found in Clement of
Alexandria (Strom. 5.6), who claims that the name of God is
pronounced ʼΙαοσ , which he interprets as ―the one who is and
who will be [ὁ ὤν αὶ ὁ ἐ μενος].‖
Excursus 1A: The Tripartitate Divine Name in the Targumim8
According to McNamara (New Testament, 103), the tripartite
divine name in Rev 1:4, 8; 4:8 is a paraphrase of the divine
name Yahweh revealed to Moses in Exod 3:14. There Moses was
Strom. Stromateris (Clement of Alexandria)
8
Bibliography
Chester, A. Divine Revelation and Divine Titles in the Pentateuchal Targumim. Tübingen: Mohr-Siebeck, 1986.
Fitzmyer, J. A. A Wandering Aramean: Collected Aramaic Essays. Missoula, MT: Scholars, 1979. Grossreid, B. A
Bibliography of Targum Literature. 2 vols. Cincinnati: Hebrew Union College; New York: Ktav, 1972–77. Hayward, R.
Divine Name and Presence: The Memra. Totowa, NJ: Allanheld, Osmun, 1981. Kaufman, S. A. “On Methodology in
the Study of the Targums and Their Chronology.” JSNT 23 (1985) 117–24. McNamara, M. The New Testament and
the Palestinian Targum to the Pentateuch. Rome: Pontifical Biblical Institute, 1966. ———. Palestinian Judaism and
the New Testament. Wilmington, MD: Glazier, 1983. ———. Targum and Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans,
1972. Schütrer, E. The History of the Jewish People in the Age of Jesus Christ. Rev. and ed. G. Vermes and F. Millar.
Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1973. 1:99–114. Trudinger, P. “The Apocalypse and the Palestinian Targum.” BTB 16 (1986)
78–79. Unnik, W. C. van. “A Formula Describing Prophecy.” NTS 19 (1962–63) 86–94. York, A. D. “The Dating of
Targumic Literature.” JSJ 5 (1974) 49–62.

44. Revelation 1:4
44 wanderean ©2024
told to tell his people that ―‫אהיה‬ [˒ehyeh, ‗I will be‘] sent me to
you‖ (LXX: ὁ ὤν ἀ αλ ν μοι ρὸς ὑμα ς). Through the
influence of this passage, ὁ ὤν became a name for God in
Hellenistic Judaism. John, however, was not influenced by
this LXX tradition. Turning to rabbinic tradition, McNamara
shows that the rabbis were interested in the threefold
occurrence of ‫אהיה‬ ˒ehyeh in Exod 3:14. In Exod.
Rab. 3:14 (McNamara, New Testament, 105): ―R. Isaac [ca. A.D.
300] said: The Holy One Blessed be He said to Moses: Say to
them: ‗I am he who was [‫שחייתי‬ šḥyyty] and I am he (who is)
now [‫עכשיו‬ ˓kšyw], and I am he (who will be) for ever.‘
Wherefore is it said thrice, ‗I am [‫אהיה‬ ˒ehyeh].‘ ‖ According to
McNamara, the closest parallel to the tripartite divine name in
Revelation is Tg. Ps.-J. Deut 32:39 (New Testament, 111):
―When the Memra of the Lord will be revealed to redeem his
people he will say to all the nations: ‗See now that I am He who
is and who was and I am He who will be [ ‫למהוי‬ ‫דעתיד‬ ‫הוא‬ ‫ואנא‬ ‫והוית‬
‫דהוי‬ ‫הוא‬ ‫אנא‬ ˒n˒ hw˒ dhwy whwyt w˒n˒ d˓tyd lmhwy] and there is
no other God beside me.‘ ‖ ‫דהוי‬ dhwh consists of the relative
particle ‫ד‬ d prefixed to the participle ‫הוי‬ hwy, the equivalent of ὁ
ἠ ν ‫הוית‬ hwyt is the qal perfect presupposing ‫ד‬ d, the equivalent
of ὁ ἠ ν. ‫למהוי‬ ‫עתיד‬ ˓tyd lmhwy corresponds to ἐ μενος rather
than to ἐρτ τμενος. While McNamara prefers the view that the
author of Revelation was dependent on Tg. Ps.-J. Deut 32:39,
he concedes that both might be dependent on a common
liturgical tradition (New Testament, 112). McNamara‘s proposal
that the tripartite title for God in Rev 1:4, 8; 4:8 draws directly
(or even indirectly) on Tg. Ps.-J. is not convincing because his
early dating of that targumic text is not persuasive (see the
problem of early dating according to Fitzmyer, Aramean, 17–18;
York, JSJ 5 [1974] 49–62; Kaufman, JSNT 23 [1985] 117–24).
It is more probable to assume that both Revelation and the Tg.
Exod. Exodus Rabbah
Tg. Targum Pseudo-Jonathan
qal the basic stem of Heb. verbs

45. Revelation 1:4
45 wanderean ©2024
Ps.-J. make use of a formula that goes back to a liturgical
tradition of the first century A.D. (Chester, Divine Revelation,
208). McNamara thinks that John is not dependent on the Greek
versions of the tripartite divine name found in Plato, Plutarch,
Pausanias, and the Asclepius (New Testament, 102: ―The author
of the Apocalypse draws his imagery and language from
the OT and from Judaism and it is to be presumed that he is
also dependent on these same sources for his designation of
God as ‗He who is and who was and who is to come‘ ‖).
4d αὶ ἀ ὸ φ ν ἐ ὰ νεσμ φν ἃ ἐν ιον οσ ρ νοσ
αὐ οσ , ―from the seven spirits which are before his throne.‖
The phrase ―the seven spirits of God‖ is found in Rev
3:1; 4:5 (where it is probably an explanatory gloss); 5:6. The
fact that φ ν ἑ ὰ νεσμ φν is articular suggests that the
phrase is familiar to the readers (on the basis of the evidence
from Qumran discussed below, this is probably the correct way
to understand this use of the definite article). The phrase
―spirits of God‖ is not found in the OT (though the singular form
―Spirit of God‖ occurs ninety-four times). The plural term ‫רוחות‬,
rûḥôt ―spirits,‖ is never used of angels in the OT.
There are several major ways of interpreting the significance
of ―the seven spirits.‖
(1) A widespread and ancient Christian view that this is a way
of representing the Holy Spirit in its fullness
(Cowley, Apocalypse, 186: ―He said ‗seven,‘ referring to the
completeness of his gift.‖) appears to have originated in
the LXX version of Isa 11:2–3, which describes seven benefits of
the Spirit of God to be enjoyed by the future Davidic king: ―The
Spirit of God will rest upon him, a spirit of
[1] wisdom and
[2] understanding, a spirit of
[3] counsel and
[4] might, a spirit of
[5] knowledge and
OT Old Testament

46. Revelation 1:4
46 wanderean ©2024
[6] godliness; the Spirit will fill him with
[7] the fear of the Lord‖ (only six benefits are found in
the MT; six are mentioned in 4Q161 = 4QIsaiah Peshera
8–10
iii 11–13; and six are mentioned in rabbinic literature: cf. b.
Sanh. 93ab; Num. Rab. 13.11; Gen. Rab. 2.4.97; Ruth Rab.
7.2). This view was taken up into both early Judaism (1
Enoch 61:11) and early Christianity (Justin Dial. 39.2;
87.2; Cohort. ad Graec. 32; Irenaeus Adv. Haer. 3.18.2;
Victorinus Comm. in Apoc. 1.1 [Haussleiter, Victorinus, 16–
19]), though it was probably unknown to John; see Schlütz,
Isaias 11:2. Many modern commentators, for various reasons
(but often implicitly from the perspective of later
trinitarianism), understand the seven spirits as representing
the Holy Spirit (Beckwith, 424–27; Bruce, ―Spirit,‖ 336–
37; Sweet, 98; Metzger, Code, 23–24; Smalley, Thunder,
130; Talbert, 14; Bauckham, Theology, 25, 110–15): (a) The
seven spirits are sometimes identified with the Holy Spirit
because they are mentioned here in an epistolary salutation
between God and Christ (Bruce, ―Spirit,‖ 336–37). Bousset
([1906] 184–85) called attention to the Trinitarian formula in
Justin, 1 Apol. 6, which mentions ―the true God,‖ ―the Son
who came from him,‖ ―the army of the other good angels,‖
and ―the prophetic Spirit,‖ i.e. four supernatural beings: God,
the Son of God, the angels, the prophetic Spirit. Also 1 Tim
5:21 contains an oath formula, ―In the presence of God and of
Christ Jesus and of the elect angels,‖ a passage quoted in
connection with Rev 1:4 by Andreas of Caesarea
MT The Masoretic Text [of the Old Testament] (as published in BHS)
4Q 4QSama
b. Babylonian Talmud: tractate Sanhedrin
Num. on Numbers
Gen. on Genesis or Genesis Rabba
1 Ethiopic, Slavonic, Hebrew Enoch
Dial. Dialogue with Trypho
Adv. Irenaeus, Against All Heresies

47. Revelation 1:4
47 wanderean ©2024
(Schmid, Studien 1/1:14). (b) One Holy Spirit is seven
because he is manifest in each of the seven churches
(Swete, Holy Spirit, 274; Allo, 9). (c) The author inserts the
salutation after writing out the visions of Rev 4–5 where the
seven spirits are mentioned (Beckwith, 426–27). (d) Based on
a reading of Zech 4 where the seven lamps (4:2), said to
represent ―the eyes of the Lord, which range through the
whole earth‖ (4:10), are somehow connected with the Spirit
of God (4:6; Caird, 15). All of these explanations, however,
are artificial and unconvincing. In part this is because of the
later conceptualization of God in terms of three interrelated
persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
(2) A second important view, in my opinion certainly the
correct one, understands the seven spirits as the seven principal
angels of God. In early Jewish literature the term ―spirits‖ was
used only rarely as a synonym for ―angels‖ (Jub. 1:25; 2:2;
15:31–32; 1 Enoch 61:12, ―spirit of light‖), or of various types
of heavenly beings (1 Enoch 75:5, ―the spirit of the dew‖; see 2
Enoch 12:2 [J], ―flying spirits‖; 16:7, ―the heavenly winds, and
spirits and elements and flying angels‖); see TDNT 6:375–76.
More ommonly, the term ―spirits‖ is used in early Judaism for
demonic spirits; see Comment under Rev 16:13–14; 18:2. T.
Reub. 2:1–9 speaks of seven spirits of deceit given to man by
Beliar (the functions of the seven spirits of error are discussed
in 3:1–8), and seven other (good) spirits given to man at
creation by which every human deed is done (by listing ―sleep‖
as the eighth spirit in 3:1, the redactor brings this teaching in
line with the Stoic view of the eight divisions of the soul; see J.
von Arnim, Stoicovum Veterum Fragmenta, vol. 2, nos. 823–
33). However, angels are designated ―spirits‖ in the Qumran
Jub. Jubilees
J Yahwist/Jahwist (supposed biblical literary source)
T. Testament of Reuben
vol. volume

48. Revelation 1:4
48 wanderean ©2024
literature (Sekki, RUAH 145–71). In 1QM 12:8–9 the phrase ‫עבא‬
‫מלאכים‬ ṣb˒ ml˒kym, ―host of angels,‖ is used as a parallel to ‫צבא‬
‫רוחיו‬ ṣb˒ rwḥyw, ―host of his spirits‖ For a list of references to
such expressions in 4QShirShabb , see Newsom, Songs, 25. The
unique phrase ―Lord of Spirits‖ occurs 104 times in the Parables
of Enoch, i.e. 1 Enoch 37–71, and only there in 1 Enoch (see
Black, Enoch, 189–92). Elsewhere the phrase is rare and occurs
in 2 Macc 3:24; LXX Num 16:22; 27:16; 1 Clem 64:1 ( ε ης
φ ν νεσμ φν); two Jewish grave inscriptions from Delos,
dating from the second or first century B.C. (Deissmann, Light,
423–35). The phrase may have an exegetical origin in the
phrase ―God of the spirits of all flesh,‖ which occurs in Num
16:22; 27:16. The closest parallel is 2 Macc 3:24, ―the
Sovereign of spirits and of all authority‖ (NRSV). Ps 104:4 reads
―who makest the winds [Heb. ‫רוחות‬ rûḥot] thy messengers, fire
and flame thy ministers,‖ an important passage in view of the
association with the seven spirits of God with seven torches of
fire in 4:5. In an explanatory gloss in 4:5, the seven torches of
fire burning before the throne are interpreted by John as the
seven spirits of God. Again in 5:6 the seven eyes of the Lamb
are interpreted as ―the seven spirits of God sent out into all the
earth.‖ Though commentators formerly noted the absence of the
phrase from the OT and early Jewish literature (Beckwith, 424),
that situation has changed with the publication of the Dead Sea
Scrolls, for ―spirits‖ (‫רוחותם‬ rwḥwtm or the construct form ‫רותי‬
rwḥy) is a common designation for angels at
Qumran. 1QH 3:22 refers to ―spirits of knowledge‖ (4Q405
19ABCD 4, ―[sp]irits of the knowledge of truth and
righteousness;‖ 4Q405 17:3, ―spirits of knowledge and
1QM (War Scroll) from Qumran
2 2 Maccabees
1 1 Clement
NRSV New Revised Standard Version (1989)
Heb. Hebrew
1QH (Thanksgiving Hymns) from Qumran Cave 1