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Revelation 1:8-10
New Catholic Bible
Revelation 1:8-10
New Catholic Bible
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “the one who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”
“I Am the First and the Last.”[a] 9 I, John—your brother and partner in the suffering and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are ours in Jesus—was on the island of Patmos[b] because I had proclaimed the word of God and given testimony to Jesus. 10 On the Lord’s day, I was caught up in the spirit,[c] and I heard behind me a loud voice, like the sound of a trumpet,
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- Revelation 1:9 The author describes himself as a Christian who has been exiled to a little island that lay off the coast of Miletus and Ephesus and was known as a prison island. Before his eyes the risen Christ appears. The majestic description derives its images from the portrait of the Son of Man in chs. 7 and 10 of the Book of Daniel. The description of his stance and clothing suggests majesty and power; this being who is master of life possesses the secret of all things and holds even the realm of death subject to him (v. 18).
The netherworld, or the lower world (Hebrew: Sheol; not to be confused with hell, the place of eternal damnation), is a localization of the realm of death, where, it is imagined, the dead dwell, deprived of the ability to perform any existential act. Another term for it is Hades. Christ has the power to release souls from the netherworld (see Jn 5:26-28).
The very figure of Christ shows the judgment to be imminent. But he is also present in the life of the Churches, and the author lists seven of them (seven is the number symbolizing universality).
The text speaks of the angels of the Churches; according to the religious vision of the world at that time, some heavenly representatives presided over the destinies of cities, peoples, and Churches. The seer might be speaking of the earthly persons in charge of the Churches. However, the Churches are also in the power of Christ and under his protection.
What is happening now, and what will take place afterward (v. 19): these words anticipate the two main parts of the work. - Revelation 1:9 Patmos: a small island in the Aegean Sea about 50 miles from Ephesus. According to the third-century Church historian Eusebius, John the Apostle was released from Patmos under the emperor Nerva (A.D. 96–98).
- Revelation 1:10 In the spirit: i.e., in a state of spiritual ecstasy (see also Rev 4:2; 17:3; and 21:10). The Lord’s day: Sunday. In the Old Testament the expression “Day of the Lord” signifies some special intervention of God in history. For Christians, the eschatological age is the last times that have begun with the Resurrection of Christ; to celebrate the Lord’s day means therefore to commemorate his Paschal victory and to hasten his return (see Acts 20:7; 1 Cor 11:26; 2 Pet 3:12; see also the present-day liturgical acclamations after the consecration of the Eucharist).
