Revelation 1:16

Revelation 1:16. From the personal appearance of the Redeemer, the Seer now passes to His equipment for His work, and that in three particulars. And he had in his right hand seven stars. In the writings of St. John the verb ‘to have' denotes possession, and the ‘right hand' is the hand of power, so that the Lord is here represented as possessing these seven stars, for their rule, protection, and guidance: ‘No one shall pluck them out of My hand' (John 10:28). The stars are grasped ‘in' His hand, to denote that they are His property. When the idea is varied in Revelation 1:20, the preposition is also changed, they sure then not ‘in' but ‘upon' his hand. The seven stars are further explained in Revelation 1:20 to be ‘the angels of the seven churches' (see on that verse). The second particular mentioned is that of the sword.

Out of his mouth a sword, two-edged, sharp, proceeding forth. The order of the words in the original, and the love of the Seer for the number three, seems to make it desirable to understand ‘proceeding forth' as an attribute of the sword parallel to the other two, instead of connecting it directly with its noun in the sense, ‘out of his mouth proceeded forth a sharp, two-edged sword.' The word here translated ‘sword' occurs six times in the Apocalypse (chaps. Revelation 1:16; Revelation 2:12; Revelation 2:16; Revelation 6:8; Revelation 19:15; Revelation 19:21), and only once in the rest of the New Testament (Luke 2:35), but it is very frequently used in the Greek translation of the Old Testament, particularly in Ezekiel. In Ezekiel 5:1 it is associated with the attribute ‘sharp.' In Psalms 149:6 we have it connected with the epithet ‘two-edged' or two-mouthed, the edge of the sword being considered as its mouth by which it devours (Isaiah 1:20; cp. Hebrews 11:34, where the plural ‘mouths' of the Greek leads to the thought of the two edges). The use of this figure in Scripture justifies the idea that there is here a reference to the Word of God which proceeds out of His mouth (Ephesians 6:17; Hebrews 4:12); but there is no thought of ‘comforting' or of ‘the grace and saving power of the Word.' Its destroying power is alone in view, that power by which it judges, convicts, and condemns the wicked. ‘He shall smite the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips shall He slay the wicked' (Isaiah 11:4; cp. John 12:48). Hence, accordingly, the various epithets here applied to the sword, all calculated to emphasize its destroying power, two-edged, sharp, proceeding forth, the latter denoting that it is not at rest, but in the act of coming forth to execute its work.

And his countenance as the sun shineth in his power. The third particular of Christ's equipment. We might have expected this particular to be connected with the previous group describing the appearance of the Lord. Its introduction now as a part of Christ's equipment leads directly to the conclusion that we are to dwell mainly upon the power of the sun's rays as they proceed directly from that luminary. Hence, also, in all probability the particular Greek word used for ‘countenance,' not so much the face as the appearance of the face, the light streaming from it. The sun is thought of not at his rising, but in his utmost strength, with the scorching, intolerable power which marks him in the East at noonday.

It thus appears that throughout the whole of this description, the ‘Son of man' is one who comes to judgment. To Him all judgment has been committed (John 5:22; John 5:27), and the time has arrived when He shall take unto Him His great power and reign. Nor are we to ask how it is possible that this should be the prominent aspect of the Lord in a book intended to strengthen and console His Church. That God is a God of judgment is everywhere throughout the prophets of the Old Testament the comfort of the righteous. They are now oppressed, but ere long they shall be vindicated; and there shall be a recompense unto those that trouble them.