Revelation 1:1

THE REVELATION OF ST. JOHN THE DIVINE

Chronological Notes relative to this Book.

-Year of the Constantinopolitan era of the world, or that used by the Byzantine historians, and other eastern writers, 5604.

-Year of the Alexandrian era of the world, 5598.

-Year of the Antiochian era of the world, 5588.

-Year of the world, according to Archbishop Usher, 4100.

-Year of the world, according to Eusebius, in his Chronicon, 4322.

-Year of the minor Jewish era of the world, or that in common use, 3856.

-Year of the Greater Rabbinical era of the world, 4455.

-Year from the Flood, according to Archbishop Usher, and the English Bible, 2444.

-Year of the Cali yuga, or Indian era of the Deluge, 3198.

-Year of the era of Iphitus, or since the first commencement of the Olympic games, 1036.

-Year of the era of Nabonassar, king of Babylon, 845.

-Year of the CCXVIIIth Olympiad, 4.

-Year from the building of Rome, according to Fabius Pictor, 843.

-Year from the building of Rome, according to Frontinus, 847.

-Year from the building of Rome, according to the Fasti Capitolini, 848.

-Year from the building of Rome, according to Varro, which was that most generally used, 849.

-Year of the era of the Seleucidae, 408.

-Year of the Caesarean era of Antioch, 144.

-Year of the Julian era, 141.

-Year of the Spanish era, 134.

-Year from the birth of Jesus Christ, according to Archbishop Usher, 100.

-Year of the vulgar era of Christ's nativity, 96.

-Year of Pacorus II, king of the Parthians, 6.

-Year of the Dionysian period, or Easter Cycle, 97.

-Year of the Grecian Cycle of nineteen gears, or Common Golden Number, 2; or the first embolismic.

-Year of the Jewish Cycle of nineteen years, 18; or the year before the seventh embolismic.

-Year of the Solar Cycle, 21.

-Dominical Letters, it being the Bissextile, or Leap Year, CB.

-Day of the Jewish Passover, the twenty-fifth of March, which happened in this year on the day before the Jewish Sabbath.

-Easter Sunday, the twenty seventh of March.

-Epact, or age of the moon on the 22d of March, (the day of the earliest Easter Sunday possible,) 11.

-Epact, according to the present mode of computation, or the moon's age on New Year's day, or the Calends of January, 19.

-Monthly Epacts, or age of the moon on the Calends of each month respectively, (beginning with January,) 19, 21, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26, 26, 27, 29, 29.

-Number of Direction, or the number of days from the twenty-first of March to the Jewish Passover, 4.

-Year of the Emperor Flavius Domitianus Caesar, the last of those usually styled The Twelve Caesars, 15: Nerva began his reign in this year.

-Roman Consuls, C. Antistius Vetus, and C. Maulius Valens.

CHAPTER I.

The preface to this book, and the promise to them who read it,

1-3.

John's address to the seven Churches of Asia, whose high

calling he particularly mentions; and shows the speedy coming

of Christ, 4-8.

Mentions his exile to Patmos, and the appearance of the Lord

Jesus to him, 9-11.

Of whom he gives a most glorious description, 12-18.

The command to write what he saw, and the explanation of the

seven stars and seven golden candlesticks, 19, 20.

NOTES ON CHAP. I.

The Revelation of St. John the divine. To this book the inscriptions are various. "The Revelation. - The Revelation of John. - Of John the divine. - Of John the divine and evangelist. - The Revelation of John the apostle and evangelist. - The Revelation of the holy and glorious apostle and evangelist, the beloved virgin John the divine, which he saw in the island of Patmos. - The Revelation of Jesus Christ, given to John the divine." These several inscriptions are worthy of little regard; the first verse contains the title of the book.

Verse Revelation 1:1. The Revelation of Jesus Christ] The word αποκαλυψις, from which we have our word Apocalypse, signifies literally, a revelation, or discovery of what was concealed or hidden. It is here said that this revelation, or discovery of hidden things, was given by GOD to Jesus Christ; that Christ gave it to his angel; that this angel showed it to JOHN; and that John sent it to the CHURCHES. Thus we find it came from God to Christ, from Christ to the angel, from the angel to John, and from John to the Church. It is properly, therefore, the Revelation of God, sent by these various agents to his servants at large; and this is the proper title of the book.

Things which must shortly come to pass] On the mode of interpretation devised by Wetstein, this is plain; for if the book were written before the destruction of Jerusalem, and the prophecies in it relate to that destruction, and the civil wars among the Romans, which lasted but three or four years, then it might be said the Revelation is of things which must shortly come to pass. But if we consider the book as referring to the state of the Church in all ages, the words here, and those in Revelation 1:3, must be understood of the commencement of the events predicted; as if he had said: In a short time the train of these visions will be put in motion: -

_____ et incipient magni procedere menses.

"And those times, pregnant with the most stupendous events, will begin to roll on."