Mosaic From The Commentaries (on Revelation 1)

1905

In the Spirit: Transported out of everyday consciousness and placed in the condition of prophetic ecstasy.—Lange. Caught into a state of spiritual rapture. — Camb. Bib. I came to be in a state of ecstasy capable of receiving revelations. — Pulpit Com. Lord's Day: Our Sabbaths should be islands of light and joy in God's presence.— Beecher. Term used here for first time. — Camb. Bib. Heard behind me: Represents utter unexpectedness and surprisingness of the Divine voice. — Lange. Alpha and Omega: A and Z, and, of course, all the letters between. — Holmes. Write into a book: Twelve times St. John reminds us that he writes this book by Divine command. — Pulpit Com. Ephesus, Smyrna, etc.: Seven cities enumerated in the order in which a traveler on a circuit would visit them. — Camb. Bib. Seven candlesticks (lamp-stands): First things seen, for whole Apocalypse treats of the future of the kingdom of God as represented by the churches. — Lange. Son of Man: Saw a human being — Camb. Bib. A garment to foot: A cloak of dignity. — Ibid. His hairs: Since that, according to Oriental ideas, was the special representative of his dignity. — Lange. Out of his mouth: Symbolically pregnant. Expressive of the fact that Christ overcame the world with his Word as with a two-edged sword. — Ibid. This description of the glorified Lord sublime as a purely mental conception, but intolerable if we were to give it an outward form. — Trench. — International Sunday School Lesson (excerpt), June 11, 1905.