Revelation 1:16

he had Lit. having, and so the sword "going" out of His mouth. Throughout the book, participles are used coordinately with finite verbs, especially in descriptions: perhaps rather by a Hebraism than a mere carelessness of construction.

out of his mouth, &c. The image is perhaps suggested by Isaiah 49:2; but the application made of it in Revelation 2:16; Revelation 19:15; Revelation 19:21 is more like in sense to Isaiah 11:4; 2 Thessalonians 2:8. It is relevant to compare Ephesians 6:17; Hebrews 4:12; but the use of similar images by different Apostles must not be allowed to lead us into a sort of Christian mythology, as though the imagery were as absolutely and unalterably fixed as the doctrine symbolized by it. In ch. 19 we see plainly that not the sword but the Owner of it is "the Word of God:" in Revelation 2:23 we have the same sense as in Heb. l. c., but the image of the sword is notthere used to illustrate it.

his countenance The same word is used in John 11:44 in the sense of "face," and so it is best to take it here, though it might mean "appearance" generally. In Ezekiel 1:27, the LXX. use the word for "colour" not for "appearance."