விரிவுரை தற்போது ஆங்கிலத்தில் மட்டுமே கிடைக்கிறது. தமிழ் மொழிபெயர்ப்பு நடைபெறுகிறது.
Revelation 1 — I Am Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last
The revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave Him. A blessing on those who read and keep. John writes to the seven churches of Asia from Patmos. He turns to see the voice and beholds the glorified Christ — one like unto the Son of Man, hair white as wool, eyes as a flame of fire, feet like fine brass, voice as many waters, seven stars in His right hand, a sharp two-edged sword from His mouth, His countenance as the sun. I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore.
“And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.”
— Revelation 1:17-18
- v.1-3 Prologue and blessing
- v.4-8 Greeting; the Alpha and Omega
- v.9-11 On the Lord's day in Patmos
- v.12-20 The vision of the Son of Man
Alpha and Omega. First and last letters of the Greek alphabet. Christ claims the whole alphabet of being — beginning, middle, end.
Which is, and which was, and which is to come. The eternal Lord across all tenses. Revelation will swirl through prophecy; the One described is unchanged through it all.
John, the beloved disciple who had leaned on Jesus' breast at the Last Supper, falls as dead before the glorified Christ. The friend remains; the glory is fuller than the upper room revealed.
Fear not. The hand that touched the leper now touches the prostrate seer. Christ's tenderness has not diminished with His glory.
Was dead... alive for evermore. The unique credentials of Christ. He alone has died and lives forever. The cross is in His resume; the resurrection is in His pulse.
Keys of hell and of death. He holds what no human can wrest from Him. The believer's death is in the hand of the One who has the keys.
Verse 3 calls for a particular use of Revelation — read, hear, keep. The book is not for argument but for obedience. As you read through, ask what each chapter asks you to do, to fear, to hope, to abandon. The blessing rests on the keeper, not on the speculator.
Revelation opens with the unveiled Christ. The Lamb of John's upper room is now the King with feet of brass and eyes of fire — and the same Person. He is the Alpha and Omega, the dying and rising Lord, the holder of death's keys. The book's every page is His.
A blessing pronounced over readers, hearers, and keepers. Revelation is not a code for elite decoders; it is a book for the church to hear and obey.
The time is at hand. The book's urgency. The events are not deferred to the distant future as far as their moral demand goes; the prophecy presses on the present.