Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible
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Revelation
Book: Revelation
Chapter: 1
Overview:
The Divine origin, the design, and the importance of this
Book.
(1-3) The
Apostle John salutes the
Seven churches of
Asia.
(4-8) Declares when, where, and how, the
Revelation was made to
him.
(9-11) His
Vision, in which he saw
Christ appear.
(12-20)
1-3 This
Book is the
Revelation of
Jesus Christ; the whole
Bible is
So; for all
Revelation comes through
Christ, and all
relates to him. Its principal subject is to discover the
purposes of
God concerning the affairs of the
Church, and of the
nations as connected therewith, to the
End of the world. These
events would surely come to pass; and they would begin to come
to pass very shortly. Though
Christ is himself
God, and has
Light and
Life in himself, yet, as
Mediator between
God and
Man,
he receives instructions from the
Father. To him we owe the
knowledge of what we are to expect from
God, and what he expects
from us. The subject of this
Revelation was, the things that
must shortly come to pass.
On all who read or hear the words of
the
Prophecy, a blessing is pronounced. Those are
Well employed
who search the
Bible. It is not enough that we read and hear,
but we must keep the things that are written, in our memories,
in our minds, in our affections, and in practice, and we shall
be blessed in the deed. Even the mysteries and difficulties of
this
Book are united with discoveries of
God, suited to impress
the mind with awe, and to purify the soul of the reader, though
he may not discern the prophetic meaning.
No part of
Scripture
more fully states the
Gospel, and warns against the evil of
Sin.
4-8 There can be
No true peace, where there is not true
Grace;
and where
Grace goeth before, peace will follow. This blessing
is in the name of
God, of the Holy
Trinity, it is an act of
adoration. The
Father is first named; he is described as the
Jehovah who is, and who was, and who is to come, eternal,
unchangeable. The Holy
Spirit is called the
Seven spirits, the
perfect
Spirit of
God, in whom there is a diversity of
Gifts and
operations. The
Lord Jesus Christ was from eternity, a
Witness
to all the counsels of
God. He is the
First-born from the dead,
who will
By his own power raise up his people. He is the
Prince
of the
Kings of the
Earth;
By him their counsels are overruled,
and to him they are accountable.
Sin leaves a stain of guilt and
pollution upon the soul. Nothing can fetch out this stain but
the
Blood of
Christ; and
Christ shed his own
Blood to satisfy
Divine
Justice, and purchase
Pardon and purity for his people.
Christ has made believers
Kings and priests to
God and his
Father. As such they overcome the world, mortify
Sin, govern
their own spirits, resist
Satan, prevail with
God in
Prayer, and
shall
Judge the world. He has made them priests, given them
access to
God, enabled them to offer spiritual and acceptable
sacrifices, and for these favours they are bound to ascribe to
him dominion and
Glory for ever. He will
Judge the world.
Attention is called to that great
Day when all will see the
Wisdom and happiness of the friends of
Christ, and the
Madness
and misery of his enemies. Let us think frequently upon the
second
Coming of Christ. He shall come, to the terror of those
who wound and crucify him
By apostasy: he shall come, to the
astonishment of the whole world of the ungodly. He is the
Beginning and the
End; all things are from him and for him; he
is the Almighty; the same eternal and unchanged One. And if we
would be numbered with his saints in
Glory Everlasting, we must
now willingly submit to him, receive him, and honour him as a
Saviour, who we believe will come to be our
Judge. Alas, that
there should be many, who would wish never to die, and that
there should not be a
Day of
Judgment!
9-11 It was the
Apostle's comfort that he did not suffer as an
evil-doer, but for the
Testimony of
Jesus, for bearing
Witness
to
Christ as the
Immanuel, the
Saviour; and the
Spirit of
Glory
and of
God rested upon this persecuted
Apostle. The
Day and time
when he had this
Vision was the
Lord's Day, the
Christian
Sabbath, the first
Day of the
Week, observed in remembrance of
the
Resurrection of Christ. Let us who
Call him "Our
Lord,"
honour him
On his own
Day. The name shows how this sacred
Day
should be observed; the
Lord's Day should be wholly devoted to
the
Lord, and none of its hours employed in a sensual, worldly
manner, or in amusements. He was in a serious, heavenly,
spiritual frame, under the gracious influences of the
Spirit of
God. Those who would enjoy
Communion with
God On the
Lord's Day,
must seek to draw their thoughts and affections from earthly
things. And if believers are kept
On the
Lord's holy
Day, from
public ordinances and the
Communion of saints,
By necessity and
not
By choice, they may look for comfort in meditation and
secret duties, from the influences of the
Spirit; and
By hearing
the voice and contemplating the
Glory of their beloved
Saviour,
from whose gracious words and power
No confinement or outward
circumstances can separate them. An
Alarm was given as with the
sound of the trumpet, and then the
Apostle heard the voice of
Christ.
12-20 The churches receive their
Light from
Christ and the
Gospel, and
Hold it forth to others. They are golden
candlesticks; they should be precious and pure; not only the
ministers, but the members of the churches; their
Light should
So shine before men, as to engage others to give
Glory to
God.
And the
Apostle saw as though of the
Lord Jesus Christ appeared
in the midst of the golden candlesticks. He is with his churches
always, to the
End of the world, filling them with
Light, and
Life, and
Love. He was clothed with a robe down to the feet,
perhaps representing his
Righteousness and priesthood, as
Mediator. This vest was girt with a golden
Girdle, which may
denote how precious are his
Love and
Affection for his people.
His head and hairs
White like
Wool and as
Snow, may signify his
majesty, purity, and eternity. His eyes as a
Flame of Fire, may
represent his knowledge of the secrets of all hearts, and of the
most distant events. His feet like fine
Brass burning in a
Furnace, may denote the firmness of his appointments, and the
excellence of his proceedings. His voice as the sound of many
waters, may represent the power of his
Word, to remove or to
destroy. The
Seven Stars were emblems of the ministers of the
Seven churches to which the
Apostle was ordered to write, and
whom
Christ upheld and directed. The
Sword represented his
Justice, and his
Word, piercing to the dividing asunder of soul
and
Spirit, Heb 4:12. His countenance was like the
Sun, when
it shines clearly and powerfully; its strength too bright and
dazzling for mortal eyes to behold. The
Apostle was overpowered
with the greatness of the lustre and
Glory in which
Christ
appeared. We may
Well be contented to walk
By Faith, while here
upon
Earth. The
Lord Jesus spake words of comfort; Fear not.
Words of instruction; telling who thus appeared. And his Divine
nature; the First and the Last. His former sufferings; I was
dead: the very same whom his disciples saw upon the
Cross. His
resurrection and
Life; I have conquered
Death, and am partaker
of endless
Life. His office and authority; sovereign dominion in
and over the invisible world, as the
Judge of all, from whose
sentence there is
No Appeal. Let us listen to the voice of
Christ, and receive the tokens of his
Love, for what can he
withhold from those for whose sins he has died? May we then obey
his
Word, and give up ourselves wholly to him who directs all
things aright.