Revelation 1:17 - Printer Friendly

ESV: When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last,

NIV: When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: 'Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last.

NASB: When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, 'Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last,

CSB: When I saw him, I fell at his feet like a dead man. He laid his right hand on me and said, "Don't be afraid. I am the First and the Last,

NLT: When I saw him, I fell at his feet as if I were dead. But he laid his right hand on me and said, 'Don’t be afraid! I am the First and the Last.

KJV: 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:

NKJV: And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last.

The appearance of Deity in the Old Testament brought humbling responses. When the Lord appeared to Moses from a burning bush, Moses hid his face because he was afraid to look at God (Exodus 3:1–6). When Isaiah saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, he cried out, "Woe is me! For I am lost…for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts" (Isaiah 6:5). When the prophet Daniel received a vision of the glorious Christ, his strength left him. He fell into deep sleep with his face to the ground. However, an angel touched him and told him not to fear (Daniel 10:8–12).

When the apostle John saw the glorified Christ, he fell at His feet as though dead (Revelation 1:17). However, the Lord responded by telling Him not to fear. He identified himself as He did in verse 8 as the first and the last. Because believers are united by faith to Him, who is eternal, they too have nothing to fear.

Revelation 1:17–20 reports John's dramatic response to seeing the glorified Son of God and Jesus' comforting actions and words. Jesus also describes Himself and repeats His command to John to write what he has seen, the present things, and what lay in the future. Finally, He explains the meaning of the seven stars and the seven lampstands.

The Roman government had banished John to the island of Patmos in the Aegean Sea, off the coast of Asia Minor, modern-day Turkey. While John was at Patmos, the risen, glorified Son of God appeared to him and commanded him to write ''the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this'' (Revelation 1:19). John pronounces blessings to those who read and obey Revelation, and then he greets his readers warmly and describes Jesus' appearance.

The apostle John begins this chapter by stating that he received the revelation of Jesus Christ by divine activity. God sent this vision to John while he was on the island of Patmos, likely as a punishment from the Roman government. This book follows John's four prior messages contained in the New Testament: the Gospel of John and the letters 1, 2, and 3 John. Chapters 2 and 3 tell what Jesus dictated to seven churches in Asia Minor, while the rest of John's message concerns future events.

The word ''revelation'' means ''an unveiling or disclosure.'' This writing unveils future events such as the rapture, three series of judgments that will fall on the earth during the tribulation, the emergence of the Antichrist, the persecution of Israel and her amazing revival, as well as Jesus' second coming with His saints to the earth, the judgment of Satan and his followers, and finally, the eternal state. This content, combined with the original Greek term apokalypsis, is why we now refer to an end-of-the-world scenario as ''an apocalypse.''

Accessed 5/3/2024 5:01:59 PM