Revelation 1:7-8

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Revelation 1:3-8

We have here an apostolic benediction on those who should give a due regard to this divine revelation; and this benediction is given more generally and more especially. I. More generally, to all who either read or hear the words of the prophecy. This blessing seems to be pronounced with a design to encourage us to study this book, and not be weary of looking into it upon account of the obscurity of many things in it; it will repay the labour of the careful and attentive reader. Observe, 1. It... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Revelation 1:7

1:7 Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye shall see him, and the people who pierced him will see him; and all the tribes of the earth shall lament over him. Yea! Amen! From now on in almost every passage, we shall have to note John's continuous use of the Old Testament. He was so soaked in the Old Testament that it was almost impossible for him to write a paragraph without quoting it. This is interesting and significant. John was living in a time when to be a Christian was an... read more

William Barclay

William Barclay's Daily Study Bible - Revelation 1:8

1:8 I am alpha and omega, says the Lord God, he who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty. Here is a tremendous description of the God in whom we trust and whom we adore. (i) He is alpha and omega. Alpha ( Greek #1 ) is the first letter and omega ( Greek #5598 ) the last of the Greek alphabet; and the phrase alpha ( Greek #1 ) to omega ( Greek #5598 ) indicates completeness. The first letter of the Hebrew alphabet is aleph and the last is tau; and the Jews used... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Revelation 1:7

Behold he cometh with clouds ,.... John carries on the account of Christ in his kingly office, one branch of which is to execute judgment; and describes him by a future coming of his, which cannot be understood of his coming to take vengeance on the Jews, at the time of Jerusalem's destruction, though that is sometimes expressed in such language, and with such circumstances, as here; see Matthew 24:30 ; because if this revelation was made to John, in the latter end of Domitian's reign, as... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Revelation 1:8

I am Alpha and Omega ,.... These are the words of Christ himself, appearing at once, and confirming what John had said of him, concerning his person, offices, and future coming: Alpha is the first letter, and Omega the last in the Greek alphabet, and signifies that Christ is the first and the last, as it is interpreted in Revelation 1:11 , and is a character often given to the divine Being in prophetic writings; see Isaiah 41:4 ; and is no small proof of the proper deity of Christ. Alpha... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Revelation 1:7

Behold, he cometh with clouds - This relates to his coming to execute judgment on the enemies of his religion; perhaps to his coming to destroy Jerusalem, as he was to be particularly manifested to them that pierced him, which must mean the incredulous and rebellious Jews. And all kindreds of the earth - Πασαι αἱ φυλαι της γης· All the tribes of the land. By this the Jewish people are most evidently intended, and therefore the whole verse may be understood as predicting the... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Revelation 1:8

I am Alpha and Omega - I am from eternity to eternity. This mode of speech is borrowed from the Jews, who express the whole compass of things by א aleph and ת tau , the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet; but as St. John was writing in Greek, he accommodates the whole to the Greek alphabet, of which Α alpha and Ω omega are the first and last letters. With the rabbins ת ועד מא meeleph vead tau , "from aleph to tau," expressed the whole of a matter, from the... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Revelation 1:1-20

Revelation 3:1-22 THE INTRODUCTION . Most writers agree that the first three chapters are introductory. They may be thus subdivided: Revelation 1:1-3 , the superscription; Revelation 1:4-8 , the address and greeting; Revelation 1:9-20 , the introductory vision; Revelation 2:1-29 ; Revelation 3:1-22 , the epistles to the seven Churches of Asia. The earliest systematic commentator on the Apocalypse in the Greek Church, Andreas of Caesarea, in Cappadocia... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Revelation 1:4-7

The apostolic salutation. The servant John, by no other name known, in fulfilment of his duty as the one by whom the great revelation was "sent and signified," hurries to pronounce his salutation to "the seven Churches which are in Asia"—typical examples of the one Church in its sevenfold, universal experience. I. The salutation INVOKES BLESSINGS : 1 . Of the highest character: "grace and peace." The entire revelation is, for the Church, a revelation of "grace and peace." It... read more

Spence, H. D. M., etc.

The Pulpit Commentary - Revelation 1:4-8

The address and greeting. Of this section only Revelation 1:4-6 are, strictly speaking, the salutation; Revelation 1:7 , Revelation 1:8 constitute a kind of summary, or prelude— Revelation 1:7 being more closely connected with what precedes, Revelation 1:8 with what follows. The salutation proper ( Revelation 1:4-6 ) should be compared with the salutations in St. Paul's Epistles. read more

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