Revelation 1:1-20

As noted in the Introduction to Revelation, John (along with James and Peter) was considered to be a pillar within the church of holy-people (Christians, sanctified people, saints, children of the only true God) and a minister to the holy-people with a Judean/circumcision background (Galatians 2:9). John was one of the learning-disciples with Jesus before Jesus' death. After the resurrection of Jesus and the giving of the gift of holy spirit on the day of Pentecost (Acts chapter 2), John received holy spirit-life and continued to do what Jesus asked of him.

As we read, we will clearly see that the Lord Jesus Christ revealed this prophetic information to John so that...

• not only the holy-people living during this age
  • (between the giving of holy-spirit on the day of Pentecost and the gathering together of all holy-people with him in the air)
• but also the people living during the next age
  • (between the gathering-together of all holy-people away from the earth and the return of the Lord Jesus Christ back on earth)

...will be able to read and understand what the Lord Jesus Christ is doing now and what he will do in the future with reference to the realm of mankind and the spirit realm. It includes prophecy regarding events occurring during the past, the present, and the future.

Only God knows the date/time when He will give the Lord Jesus Christ the "go ahead" to gather all holy-people together with him in the air, which will begin the day of the Lord (I Thessalonians 4:13 - 5:4). Therefore God and the Lord Jesus Christ made known this prophetic information to encourage God's people so that they would be happy, and to warn those who have not yet believed what God says and thereby giving them the opportunity to believe and be saved (made-safe to God from sins and their consequences, from destruction).

John introduces this writing (book) with an explanation of where the information originated from and a summary of what it contains.

Revelation 1:1 and 2:

^1:1Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave to him to point-out to His slaves, which-things are necessary to come-to-pass in quickness, and he signified having apostled by means of his angel to his slave John, ^.2who witnessed the word of God and the witness of Jesus Christ as-many-things-as he saw.

This is the Revelation of Jesus Christ (the information that has been uncovered or revealed pertaining-to and proceeding-from Jesus Christ, as though removing a veil to expose what had previously been hidden)...

• which God gave to Jesus Christ (God was the ultimate source of this information; Jesus Christ received it from God his Father)
  • to point-out to His slaves (to indicate as pointing out this information with his finger to God's bond-servants, the people serving in the capacity of being slaves from the working or service relationship viewpoint),
    • regarding the things which are binding (which must, ought) to happen in quickness (once these things begin they will occur with speed, swiftly),

...and Jesus Christ signified (gave the signal, designated and authenticated them)...

• having apostled (he sent these things forth/away)
  • through his angel (by way of his angel [an angel is a spirit-being whose office and character is one of a messenger in official service via words and/or actions; the word "angel" comes from the Greek word aggello which means to tell or deliver a message and therefore an angel could be called a "messenger"])  
• to his slave John (John was Jesus Christ's bond-servant in the working or service category during the time of receiving this revelation),
  • who witnessed (John attested with information as detailed in this writing, he gave the declaration of knowledge that he personally had and therefore stated and confirmed it on the strength of his own authority) - what did he witness? - he witnessed
    • the word of/from God (the spoken-account of God's inner thoughts, containing individual words constituting what is spoken; the word that God gave to Jesus Christ)
    • and the witness of/from Jesus Christ (the attestation pertaining-to and proceeding-from him, the declaration which is borne bringing to light or confirming as authentic information, knowledge regarding and issuing-from Jesus Christ; the witness that Jesus Christ gave to John via his angel)
  • as much as he saw (John saw to the end of perceiving and knowing these things with his mind; referring to what he saw and which are detailed throughout this writing; he wrote this writing after these things were revealed to him, not beforehand or during the time that he was actually receiving the revelation).

God is the First, Superior or Ultimate One, the One Who has power, executes judgment, and emanates what He is, His power and light; He is the only true God. The name of God refers to the fullness of everything involved with Himself, all that He is and will continue to be, all of His authoritative-power, ability, workings, etc, His distinguishing and distinctive constitution, character, and quality.

Regarding the name of Jesus Christ, it includes all that the name of "Jesus" and the name of "Christ" represent and stand for – such as all the authoritative-power, and ability, etc, that God gave to Jesus when he raised him up out-from the dead-people, and gave him the name that is above every other name, designating the resurrected Jesus being Lord and Christ (refer to Acts 2:21 and 38; 3:6 and 16; 4:7-12, and 30; Romans 1:3 and 4; Ephesians 1:19-23; Philippians 2:9 and 10; II Thessalonians 3:6; Hebrews 1:1-4). Also, it emphasizes his obedience and service to God on a horizontal level to benefit people.

1) The word "Jesus" is explained in Matthew 1:21 by the Angel Gabriel when he spoke to Joseph.

Matthew 1:21:

^.21She [Mary] will bring-forth a son and you [Joseph] will call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins."

"Jesus" means "God saves / Jehovah (Yahweh) the Savior," and the Lord Jesus Christ was given that name "Jesus" because he is the one who carried-out God's will to make it available for people to be saved, to be made-safe. It is by means of Jesus, the Christ, that people are able to be saved and thereby have a true and vital spiritual relationship with the only true God. Jesus Christ is God's son – he is alive today! He is now at God's right-hand side, second-in-command to God his Father.

2) The word "Christ" means the "anointed-one" or "Messiah." In the lands and during the time-period of the writing of the Bible, holy oil was poured on the high priest of God to begin his ministry for God, and it was also used to anoint kings. Many people and things were anointed with holy oil to signify their making holy (sanctified) for a specific purpose, etc, which can be read about in many scriptures in the Bible (refer to Exodus 30:22-33; Acts 2:32-36, 4:27, and 10:38-41). The resurrected Christ continues doing God's will today.

A slave is a servant who is bound to serve his master. This service as a slave (bond-servant) means that the slave's whole being is at the service-of or in service-to that one master, not serving anybody or anything else! During the time-period of the writing of the Bible, a master was obligated to take-care of his slave and the slave was obligated to do all his master would ask of him; it was a mutually-beneficial relationship between the master and his slave.

 To be a "slave" was quite an honorable and responsible position to hold. However, today in the minds of some people the word "slave" has been changed from God's original design of a working-relationship to what mankind twisted, corrupted and perverted it to mean as a position of demoralization or degradation, etc. But we who are students of God's Word must consider this word "slave" as God considered it at the time of John's writing of this letter.

In the spirit relationship viewpoint as regards John and all holy-people (true Christians) - we are brothers of our Lord Jesus Christ and we are sons of God our Father by seed, by birth, because we have received the gift of holy spirit which is the spirit of Christ in us. We are servants in the work-relationship category, and as we speak and/or do what our holy spirit-life communicates to us then we are carrying-out our service appropriately.

[Reference: John 5:19-23; Acts 1:8, 2:18, 4:29, 11:28; Romans 9:28; I Corinthians 1:6-8, 7:22 and 23, 12:10, 14:26; II Corinthians 12:1; Galatians 1:12; Ephesians 3:3; II Timothy 1:6-10; Titus 1:1; Hebrews chapter 1; James 1:1; I Peter 2:16, 3:22; II Peter 3:8 and 9; I John 1:2, 5:9-11; Revelation 19:10, 22:6 and 16.]

Verse 3:

^.3Happy (is) the (person) reading and the (people) hearing the words of the prophecy and keeping the-things having been written² in it, for the time (is) near.

The word translated "happy" means that the one spoken about is pronounced happy, felicitous; he is a happy person from God's viewpoint, not that he feels happy at that time necessarily, but because of the reason that John explains.

Happy is...

• the person who is reading (so as to personally know what is written, and also speaking out loud so others can hear what he is reading)
• and the people who are hearing (listening to what is being read by the reader, which are)
  • the words of the prophecy (the information originally from God via Jesus Christ concerning the past, present and/or future that John received to speak-forth to, before, or in front of another person or people, and which he wrote down in this writing)
• and keeping (as keeping an eye on, having in safekeeping, and therefore not neglecting or violating but watching over, taking care of, maintaining, and observing)
  • the things that were written and continue written in the prophecy,

...why? - in truth, the time is near (the specific time, precise period, opportune occasion, the season detailed in this writing is close).

Each second and minute and hour and day and month and year that goes-by brings all holy-people (every Christian including John) nearer in time to the event of Christ's coming to gather us all together with him. When we will be gathered-together with Christ we will receive into full-manifestation the salvation which God has promised us in Christ. The fulfillment of all the prophecies regarding the day of the Lord will come to pass after our gathering-together with our Lord Jesus Christ.

[Reference: Romans 13:11; I Corinthians 12:10, 14:22; II Corinthians 3:12-16; I Thessalonians 4:13-18, 5:1-3 and 20; II Peter 1:19-21; Revelation 19:10, 22:7-10, 18 and 19.]

Verses 4-8:

^.4John - to the seven churches, the (churches) in Asia; grace to you and peace from the (One) being and the (One Who) used-to-be and the (One) coming, and from the seven spirits which (are) before His throne, ^.5and from Jesus Christ the witness, the believer, the firstborn of dead-people, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.

To the (one) loving¹ us and having loosened us from our sins in his blood - ^.6and he made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father - to him (are) the glory and the strongness into the ages, with-certainty.

^.7"Look!, he comes with the clouds, and every eye will see him, and the-people-who stabbed him, and all the tribes of the earth will lament on him" - yes, with certainty.

^.8"I am the Alpha and the Omega" says the Lord God, the (One) being and the (One Who) used-to-be and the (One) coming - the All-Strong-One.

John identifies himself by name (John) to those to whom he is writing. He addresses this writing to the seven churches, emphatically and specifically those in Asia.

The word "church" comes from the Greek word ekklesia, which comes from two words meaning "out from" and "called," so together it means "called out from." A church is an assembly of people called out from other people for any reason. It does not refer to a particular type of building or a house, even though the church or assembly may meet in a particular type of building or in a house. These seven churches are listed in verse 11 below.

John's greeting to them is:

• grace to you
  • [Grace is what is freely bestowed without any merit on the recipient's part; it includes reference to the attitude and quality of the one giving something favorable to another. Grace is not bestowed because somebody deserves a wage that is owed for something they said or did, nor because they begged so hard, nor because they forced the giver to give! Grace is bestowed because the giver wants to give by his own freedom of will to the recipient - it is completely unmerited favor from the giver to the recipient.]
• and peace
  • [Peace is tranquil harmony, tranquility, peaceful wholeness, without any strife or disagreement. We may think of peace as the opposite of war, the opposite of conflict, the opposite of being at odds with the other party. All of God's children are at peace with God our Father and our Lord Jesus Christ because it is given to us from God and the Lord Jesus Christ, therefore all Christians should behave peaceably with one-another too.]

...from...

• God Who is
  • the One Who is presently and actively being (He exists in living reality right now during the present time)
  • and the One Who used-to-be (He has existed historically during the past time)
  • and the One coming (He is in the process of coming, the action of moving from one location to another and He will arrive at a future time; refer to Revelation 21:1-3 and 22),

...and from...

• the seven spirits (7 is the number associated with the spirit realm and completion or perfection; their consistency or make-up is that they are spirit-beings)
  • which are in the sight and presence of God's throne (a ‘throne’ is the high seat designated for a king and so includes all the regal authority associated with that position - these 7 spirits are before the throne of God),

...and from...

• Jesus Christ who is
  • the witness (the one who bears witness, attests to the information and knowledge that he has regarding a certain-thing, and he can therefore confirm it by giving information bringing it to light on the strength of the authority that he has),
  • the believer (the one who is faithful, who believes what God says, who has faith-in, has confidence-in, trusts the information that God makes known),
  • the firstborn of dead-people (the first one born, begotten, given-birth-to, brought-forth relative-to those who are dead; the word “firstborn” indicates that there is/will-be at least one more born after this first one and it emphasizes birth, being brought-forth; Jesus Christ is the first and only human-being at this point in time whom God has made-alive by giving him his spiritual body, and the resurrected Christ will never die),
  • and the ruler of the kings of the earth (the one being chief, who is in a dignified hierarchical or first-placed position relative-to those who reign as kings ruling certain portions of the earth/land).

To the one (Jesus Christ)...

• who is loving¹ us (he is presently and actively loving all holy-people with God's kind of love)
  • [The word "love¹" or the verb "to love¹" comes from the Greek word agape which is God's kind of love. To love with His love means to love the same way as God loves, to manifest God's love towards another, whether it is towards God Himself, the Lord Jesus Christ, yourself, your Christian neighbor, or towards anyone else. God tells His children today (all who have the spirit of Christ within us) how to Godly-love by means of His previously-revealed written Word and also via our holy spirit-life whereby we receive information from Him regarding how to love in different specific situations. It is the carrying out of God's commandments, His Word, which is the correct usage or way to manifest God's kind of love according to His will (refer to I Corinthians chapter 13 and I John 5:1-3). It is not the same as the brotherly or friendly kind of love, nor is it the same as the emotional/feelings/sexual kind of love. Also reference the article Love in I Corinthians 13.]
• and having loosened us (unbound us - this verb is in the aorist tense emphasizing that once this event was accomplished it was done, finished, it will not need to be done a second time [some Greek texts read "washed"] - he has already unfastened, untied us)
  • out-from our sins (the sins that we committed, our sinful actions, errors, missing the mark of God’s Word, swerving from the truth of what God says; this includes the sin of not having holy spirit-life prior to our receiving the gift of holy spirit when we first believed what God says regarding Himself and His son, the Lord Jesus Christ)
  • in his blood (within the cause and sphere of action of Jesus' blood, the shedding of it, his death) -
• and he made us a kingdom (the word "kingdom" refers to all that is contained within his sovereignty, his kingly or royal dominion and government and rule and territory and power, etc - we who are holy-people are his kingdom)
  • [The Lord Jesus Christ is God's son. When God raised His son from being among the dead-people He placed him into the position of being the authority of His kingdom, and so at the moment it is Christ's kingdom. Christ is second-in-command to God and is subject to none except God Himself! We Christians are now in/within the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is where we belong. This is where we are standing. This is our position. This is where we have our life. This is where we live our life. Christ is our life from God's viewpoint because we have the spirit of Christ within us - holy spirit-life (refer to Colossians 1:13 and 27).],
• priests to his God and Father (he also made us priests, people to serve God Who is his Father by performing priestly service, which is to offer-up spiritual sacrifices well-acceptable to God by means of Jesus Christ; refer to Hebrews 13:15 and 16, and I Peter 2:5 and 9) -

...to/with him (Jesus Christ) are and will be...

• the glory (importance, splendor, renown)
• and the strongness (the exerted force, power in effect, exerted strength)
  • into the ages (throughout the durations of lifetimes to come, for eternity, forever [some Greek texts include the words "of the ages"]),
    • with-certainty (amen, truly, surely!).

The following is a reference to the prophecies recorded in Daniel 7:13 and 14, Zechariah 12:10, and Matthew 24:30 and 26:64. The first section refers to the Lord Jesus Christ, and the second section refers to God his Father.

"Look (behold, see, pay attention)!, he comes in company and association with the clouds (particular and distinct clouds above the earth, not the indefinite cloudy masses that we see in the sky from time to time, but specific clouds)...

• and every eye will see him (in the sense that Jesus Christ will present himself to be perceived with their eyes and known by all),
• and the people who stabbed him (who dug his flesh out with something pointed, prickly, sharp, which includes the beatings they gave him, the crown of thorns, crucifixion, and the piercing of his side while hanging on the cross),
• and all the tribes/clans of the earth will lament on him (they will beat their chests and/or cut themselves to demonstrate their extreme grief on account of him)" -
  • yes (with definite affirmation, as replying to a question posed or something else having been asserted to be the case),
  • with certainty (Amen! Truly! Surely!).

"Emphatically I am (in Greek there is a definite word for “I” plus the verb meaning “I am” giving emphasis – I Myself am)...

• the Alpha (this is the name of the first letter of the Greek alphabet - figuratively referring to God being the Beginning or the First One)
• and the Omega (this is the name of the last letter of the Greek alphabet - figuratively referring to God being the End or the Last/Final One)"

...says the Lord God (the word "Lord" is the Greek word kurios and here it emphasizes and confirms the validity and authenticity of God’s lordship, dominion and authority over and relative-to His people, plus the respectful submission due to Him; also, this word is used in Greek as a translation for the Hebrew word Jehovah / Yahweh and refers to God in His covenant-relationship to that-which He created)...

• the One being (as verse 4 above)
• and the One Who used-to-be (as verse 4 above) 
• and the One coming (as verse 4 above)  -
  • the All-Strong-One (God is the One being totally strong, having all strength, every superiority and dominion in exerted force, almighty in relation to us whom He has created; this emphasizes God's strength from/with which He gracefully supplies what is needed to/for His people, and to/for the rest of His host of beings; refer to II Corinthians 6:18, plus Romans 9:29 and James 5:4 where God is referred to as the Lord of Hosts which is from the same root word in Hebrew.).

[Reference: Genesis 4:8; Exodus 3:14; Psalm 89:27; Daniel 7:13 and 14; Zechariah 12:10; Matthew 5:34, 16:27, 24:30, 26:64; John 8:14, 19:37; Acts 1:9-11, 2:9 and 24, 4:26, 7:49; Romans 3:25, 5:9, 8:29, 10:8-10, 13:1-4, 14:17; I Corinthians 11:25, 15:23-28; II Corinthians 6:18; Ephesians 1:7 and 19-23, 2:13, 6:10; Colossians 1:13-22 and 27; II Thessalonians 1:6-10; I Timothy 5:21; II Timothy 2:13, 4:1 and 18; Hebrews 1:6, 7 and 14, 2:17, 3:1 and 2, 4:14, 8:1, 9:11-15, 10:12, 13 and 19, 12:2, 23, 24 and 28, 13:15, 16 and 20; I Peter 1:3 and 18-21, 2:4-10; II Peter 1:11, 3:18; I John 3:8 and 9; Revelation 3:14, 4:8, 5:9 and 10, 8:2, 11:17, 16:5, 19:11, 21:6, 22:13.]

Verses 9-11:

^.9I John, your brother and sharer-in-common-together in the pressure and kingdom and patient-endurance in Jesus, became in the island, the (island) being called Patmos, because-of the word of God and the witness of Jesus. ^.10I became in spirit in the Lordly day and heard behind me a great sound as of a trumpet ^.11saying, "That-which you observe you must write into a book and you must send to the seven churches - into Ephesus, and into Smyrna, and into Pergamos, and into Thyatira, and into Sardis, and into Philadelphia, and into Laodicea."

Emphatically I John...

• your brother (all holy-people are brothers in the spirit category because all of us have received the same gift of holy spirit and we are therefore all children of God our Father)
• and sharer-in-common-together (a joint partaker of/with/in the same-thing, a co-sharer, having participation, communion, partnership sharing together with what is common to both parties, which in this case is in conjunction with you) in
  • the pressure (when compression or stress is afflicting us, whatever may be pressing-upon or squeezing us, whether it would be physical, mental or spiritual)
  • and kingdom (as verse 6 above)
  • and patient-endurance (a bearing-up, holding, enduring and remaining upright relative to God and the things of God under any obstacles)
    • within the cause and sphere of action of Jesus,

...came to pass to be in the island, emphatically and specifically the island which is being called Patmos, on account of the word of God and the witness of Jesus (as verse 2 above).

John may have gone to this island located in the Aegean sea voluntarily. While he was there he received the revelation of Jesus Christ as detailed in this writing. John continues:

I came to pass to be...

• in spirit (within the sphere of action of spirit; "in spirit" refers to the time when John was receiving information via his holy spirit-life - not by reading a book or some other form of learning)
• in the Lordly day (during the period of time when the action associated with the Lord Jesus Christ is occurring – the day that belongs-to and refers-to the Lord, when he is exercising his rulership, glory, and strongness - this phrase is not referring to "Sunday")
  • [The word "Lord" is the Greek word kurios and in this context it is referring to the Lord Jesus Christ in his rulership position of being a master or an owner, one who has the authority or authoritative-power, the one from whom the directions and instructions are given and who is to be obeyed, the one who has the dominion over and exercises his lordship in relation to that-which his title of "Lord" is being associated – this word emphasizes and confirms the validity and authenticity of the lord’s lordship, including dominion and authority, over and relative-to his slaves, plus the respectful submission due to him by his slaves.]

...and I heard what the great sound (the large voice or uttered-tone) spoke behind me, as of a trumpet making its sound (which is strong and loud and thereby summons the hearer's attention) saying...

• "That-which you observe (what you, John, look at, mentally envision, are mentally aware of, contemplate)
  • you must write into a book (this Greek word biblion translated "book" emphasizes its content - referring to John writing the information he is receiving into a small book, scroll, paper, papyrus, which became the contents of this writing of Revelation)
• and you must send it to the seven churches in the western area of Asia Minor (modern Turkey) -
  • into Ephesus,
  • and into Smyrna,
  • and into Pergamos,
  • and into Thyatira,
  • and into Sardis,
  • and into Philadelphia,
  • and into Laodicea."

[Reference: Acts 14:22, 16:14, 18:19, 19:1 and 10; I Corinthians 9:23, 11:20, 15:32; II Corinthians 1:4-7; Ephesians 3:5; Philippians 1:5-7, 4:14; Colossians 2:1, 4:13-16; II Timothy 2:12; Revelation 22:8.]

Verses 12-16:

^.12And I turned-back to observe the sound, the-one-which used-to utter-forth with me; and having turned-back I saw seven golden lamp-stands, ^.13and in (the) midst of the lamp-stands (there was one) like a son of man having clothed-himself-with² a long-robe and having girded² a golden girdle towards the breast, ^.14but his head and the hairs (were) white as white wool, as snow, and his eyes as a flame of fire, ^.15and his feet like shining-copper as in a furnace having been set-on-fire², and his sound as a sound of many waters, ^.16and having in his right hand seven stars, and journeying-out from his mouth a sharp two-edged sword, and the sight of him as the sun shines-light in its ability.

Verse 13 has the phrase “son of man” which generally refers to anyone of mankind, humankind, but specifically in this context it is referring to Jesus who is now the Lord and the Christ. It emphasizes that he is the one who is descended from the man whom God created and made and formed as recorded in Genesis chapters 1 and 2, the first man Adam to whom God gave dominion, etc, on/over the earth. However this first man gave it to satan as recorded in Genesis chapter 3. In accordance with God's promise - Jesus is the seed of the woman (Genesis 3:15).

Today of course Jesus has accomplished redemption and salvation and so he is the resurrected Christ, the second man having received his spiritual body, the life of which is holy spirit (not soul/breath life). Christ is the new man, the last man. After the time that all Christians will be gathered together away from the earth, Christ Jesus will come to be present on earth for those who will believe at that time among the nation of Israel and the other nations, the Gentiles, as ‘the son of man’ and he will exercise the authority that he has, his dominion on/over the earth having regained and replaced the first man and all that the first man gave to the devil/satan.

The resurrected Christ Jesus is now second-in-command to God his Father. You may like to review the Chart of events and timelines.

John continues writing the revelation of Jesus Christ:

I (John) turned back to observe the voice, the voice which was speaking in company and association with me (it spent time talking with me; the action of speaking to John continued during a past time that is now finished as John is writing; it was not a quick one-time occurrence);...

...and after I turned back I saw (not just the act of looking and seeing something, but actual perception in the mind and thereby getting to know)...

• seven golden lamp-stands (which hold the lamps up above them so they can burn easily emitting light - 7 of them made of/with gold; refer to verse 20 below to understand what these 7 symbolized),
• and in the middle of the lamp-stands there was one similar to a son of man (singular ‘son’ – a son of mankind, one whose human origin is specifically from Adam, the first man)
  • who had clothed himself and remained clothed with a long-robe (he had put on, enveloped his body with a garment that reached down to his feet)
  • and who had girded a golden girdle towards the breast and he remained girded (referring to the length of linen worn around his body a little above his elbows, it was about 3-4 inches wide as a sash and wrapped around him a few times, then tied, and the ends hung down to the feet - this demonstrated a dignified position of authority),
• but his head and the hairs were white (radiant, emitting light, effulgent, brilliant and bright)
  • as white wool,
  • as snow,
• and his eyes as a flame of fire (bright and burning fire, blazing, flaming fire, indicating God's purification and righteous judgment in action, being implemented and carried-out; refer to II Thessalonians 1:8),
• and his feet similar to shining-copper (burnished bronze, fine brass or other refined metal shining yellow or gold)
  • as though in a furnace (kiln) that had been set on fire and was still ignited (burning, inflamed and glowing with heat as a furnace, fired-up),
• and his sound (voice, uttered-tone)
  • as a sound of many waters (which communicates strength and power in motion moving forward),
• and having seven stars in his right hand (he was holding the 7 stars in his right hand which indicates that he is giving them a position of blessing, power, honor, favor, approval, excellence, authority to carry-out his instructions to them; refer to verse 20 below to understand what these symbolized),
• and a sharp two-edged sword (‘two-edged’ literally means ‘two mouths’ as of a river branching in two directions, but here referring to a large sword, long and broad having two edges and which is keen and quick in motion through obstacles in every direction - in the figurative sense referring to the effects of his words as he speaks)
  • journeying-out from his mouth (making its journey, proceeding, passing out from his mouth),
• and the sight of him (his appearance)
  • as the sun shines-light in its ability (as it brings or causes light to shine so as to be evident, clearly seen, within the sphere of action of its able-power, its capability).

[Reference: Daniel 10:5-14; John 5:27; Acts 7:30; Ephesians 6:14; II Thessalonians 1:8; Hebrews 1:7, 2:6, 4:12, 8:2 and 5, 9:2, 23 and 24; Revelation 2:12 and 18, 14:14.]

Verses 17-20:

^.17And when I saw him I fell towards his feet as a dead-person, and he put his right (hand) on me saying,

"You must not be fearful; I am the first and the last; ^.18and the (one) living, even I became dead and look!, I am living into the ages of the ages; and I have the keys of the death and the gravedom. ^.19Therefore you must write which-things you saw, even which they are and which are about to come-to-pass after these-things. 

^.20The mystery of the seven stars which you saw on my right (hand) and the seven lamp-stands, the golden (lamp-stands) - the seven stars are angels of the seven churches, and the lamp-stands, the seven (lamp-stands) are seven churches."

When I (John) perceived him I fell towards his feet as a dead-person (as someone who has just died falls down to the ground), and he placed his right hand on me (the word "hand" is not in the Greek text but in the context it is understood, and the fact that it was his right hand instead of his left hand indicates that the specific words of prophecy spoken to John were for the purpose of being a blessing to/for him, good words) saying...

• "You must not be fearful (don't be afraid);
• emphatically I am (in Greek there is a definite word for “I” plus the verb meaning “I am” giving emphasis – I myself am, I exist in the state of being)
  • the first (the first one, the point of origin)
  • and the last (the last one, the more remote, uttermost, final or extreme point)
    • relative to the events recorded in this prophecy;
• and the one living (being alive),
  • emphatically to the degree and in explanation that I became dead (I came to pass to be without life, I died at one time)
  • and look (behold, see, pay attention)!, I am living (the word “living” is a verb in participle form and is placed before the verb "I am" in this phrase in Greek to emphasize this truth – LIVING I am - I am presently and actively being alive)
    • into the ages of the ages (for the durations of lifetimes throughout the durations of lifetimes to come – not only one age or a group of ages, but emphatically for all the durations of life, the entirety, for eternity, forever);
• and I have (hold) the keys (the instruments which are necessary for me to be able to bind or loosen, tie or untie, lock or unlock, close or open, exclude or receive, stop the exit or grant the entrance/access)
  • of the death (the end of life, the point of dying, being without life; "the death" refers to lacking God's life which is holy spirit-life)
  • and the gravedom (the continuing state of death, of being dead)."

God resurrected Jesus to eternal life when he loosened the pangs of death from him because it was not possible for him to be strongly-held by it (Acts 2:24). The devil's death-power (Hebrews 2:14) was not powerful enough against God's resurrection-power and so God was able to raise Jesus Christ up from among the rest of the dead-people!

Every person is born with a fleshy body with its soul/breath-life, and this body results in death both physically and spiritually because of the fall of Adam (refer to the Appendix to Romans). However during the present age, every person who believes what God says regarding Himself and His son, the Lord Jesus Christ, receives holy spirit-life within our present fleshy bodies, which is the spirit of Christ, and this results in eternal life (receiving a spiritual body with its holy spirit-life in the future) because of the resurrection of Christ (I Corinthians 15:21-28). The Lord Jesus Christ now has the keys of the death and the gravedom (John 5:19-30; I Corinthians 15:54-57; Hebrews 2:14 and 15; Revelation chapter 20).

John continues with the words from the Lord Jesus Christ:

"Following-on logically, you (John) must write...

• the things which you saw (what you perceived; referring to what was being revealed to John and is recorded in this prophetic writing)
  • even which they are (with emphasis the things which they represent, what they signify, what the figurative symbols that are used in this prophecy are compared to in order that people can understand)
  • and which are on the point of coming to pass (about to happen, to occur) after these things (following the present age, what happens afterwards).

The mystery (secret) of the seven stars which you (John) saw on my right hand and the seven lamp-stands, emphatically and specifically the golden lamp-stands, is as follows:

• the seven stars (verse 16) are (in comparison to, represent)
  • angels assigned to the seven churches,
• and the lamp-stands, the seven lamp-stands (verse 12) are (in comparison to, represent)
  • seven churches (verse 11 above)."

We should note that a "mystery (secret)" contains the details that are known and can be understood by those involved in it and by those to whom it has been revealed – it is not inexplicable to those involved in it.

[Reference: Matthew 16:18 and 19; John 5:19-30, 16:13; Acts 2:22-36, 17:31, 26:16, 27:24; Romans 1:4, 5:12, 17 and 21, 8:18 and 38; I Corinthians 3:22, 15:21-28, 45-47 and 51-57; Ephesians 1:21; I Timothy 4:8, 6:19; II Timothy 1:10, 4:1 and 18; Hebrews 2:5-15, 6:4 and 5, 7:25, 13:8 and 14; James 1:15; I Peter 5:1; Revelation 2:8, 20:13 and 14, 22:13. Note: verbs with a superscript 2 (²) immediately following them indicate the "perfect" tense - details are provided in the "Relevant Notes" link of this study.]