Revelation 1:16 - Exposition

He holds the Churches in his hand as a precious possession, which he sustains as a glory to himself. These Churches are as planets, which shine, not with their own light, but that of the sun; which shine most brightly in the night of "tribulation," which (like him who holds them in his right hand) are a guide to the wanderer, and are ever moving, yet ever at rest. Out of his mouth a sharp two-edged sword . This metaphor runs through both Old and New Testaments. It is frequent in this book ( Revelation 2:12 , Revelation 2:16 ; Revelation 19:15 , Revelation 19:21 ; comp. Luke 2:35 ; Ephesians 6:17 ; Hebrews 4:12 ; Psalms 45:3 ; Psalms 57:4 ; Psalms 59:7 ; Psalms 64:3 ; Psalms 149:6 ; Proverbs 12:18 ; Isaiah 11:4 ; Isaiah 49:2 , etc.). The sharp words of men and the searching words of God are both spoken of under this figure of the sword. Tertullian and Richard of St. Victor explain the two edges as the Law and the Gospel. Other still more fanciful explanations have been given. "Two-edged" ( δίστομος ) is literally "two-mouthed," and perhaps expresses no more than the thorough efficiency of the sword. It occurs in Revelation 2:12 and Hebrews 4:12 ; also in classical Greek as equivalent to the more common ἀμφήκης . If a double meaning be insisted on, it may be found in the double character of God's Word, which not only smites the wicked, but searches the good; which cuts sometimes to punish, sometimes to heal. Thus in these very epistles to the Churches, penetrating words both of blessing and condemnation are uttered. The word for "sword" ( ῥομφαία ) occurs six times in Revelation; elsewhere in the New Testament only Luke 2:35 . In classical Greek it is the heavy Thracian broadsword. In the LXX . it is used of the "flaming sword" of the cherubim which kept the way of the tree of life ( Genesis 3:24 ); also of the sword of Goliath ( 1 Kings 17:1-24 :25). His countenance was as the sun shineth . It is the "Sun of Righteousness" and "the Light of the world." The exceptional glory of the Transfiguration has become constant now.