Revelation: - Knights of Columbus, Supreme Council

Symbols Old and New
The language further describing Christ expresses the central New
Testament doctrine of the salvation which He wrought. In v. 7 there is a
combination of allusions to Mark 13:26 and its parallels, to Daniel 7:13, and
to Zechariah 12:10ff. “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” John quotes of the
Lord God. We would say, “I am the A and the Z,” that is, the beginning and
the end. God is, was, and is coming – wholly pervades history and everything is
under His control, for He is the Almighty. Thus we have a fitting beginning to
John’s message.
Before the churches are actually addressed, however, John describes a
vision of the Son of Man whose revelation this is. The material for this
description has been taken chiefly from the seventh chapter of Daniel and the
first chapter of Ezekiel. It is instructive to read through these chapters both to
get an idea of what John’s imagery means and to note how he has al tered it to
fit his own special mess age. We might add that John intended us to do this –
or rather, he was writing for those who would already be quite familiar with
these Old Testament passages and would thus know how to interpret his
words. This fact is to be seen dem onstrated in that John does not bother to
explain this familiar imag ery, but, on the contrary, when he introduces a new
symbol that is not in these sources, then he does explain the meaning. The seven
stars and the seven lamp-stands, for in stance, are explained in verse 20, for
they are John’s own symbols. But for the rest, the best commentary is the Old
Testament.
John is writing to a persecuted Church - tribulation and patience in Jesus
(v. 9) are two of Paul’s fav orite expressions for suffering for the sake of the
Gospel. John, a partner in this persecution (tradi tion tells us that he was exiled
to the island of Patmos under the Em peror Domitian, A.D. 81-96), was in the
spirit, that is, he received a divine revelation, on Sunday, possibly during the
ceremonies of wor ship. He saw one like to a son of man (Daniel 7:13) standing
in the midst of what we are later told represent the churches, seven golden lampstands.
The Son of Man is, of course, Christ, Who is clad in the long garment
of royalty and girded with the girdle of priesthood (v. 13). That He stands in the
midst of the lamp-stands represents Him as the Lord of His Church. He is further
represented with white hair. This detail, too, is borrowed from Daniel 7:9. The
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