Philip Schaff's Popular Commentary (4 vols)

Revelation 1:1-8

In the first paragraph of the chapter we have the Preface and the Salutation of the book, the one extending from Revelation 1:1 to Revelation 1:3, the other from Revelation 1:4 to Revelation 1:8. The Preface consists of three parts, the person from whom the revelation came; the fidelity with which it was received and uttered by him to whom it was primarily given; and the blessedness of those who receive and keep it. The Salutation consists also of three parts, a benediction from the Triune God, from whom grace and peace descend to the Church; a doxology to that glorified Redeemer in whom His people are delivered from sin and in their turn prepared for glory; and a brief intimation of the bright prospect, to be further unfolded in the book, of a time when the Lord Jesus Christ, now hidden from the view, shall Himself return to perfect the happiness of His redeemed, and to take vengeance upon all who in this world have persecuted and crucified them, as they once persecuted and crucified Him.

Both Preface and Salutation thus prepare us for what is to come, by impressing upon us the supreme importance of the revelation about to be made, and by conveying to the Church, even at the very outset, the joyful assurance of her ultimate and eternal triumph. Finally, both are followed by an utterance of our Lord Himself, interrupting the Seer (as God interrupted the Psalmist in Psalms 2:6), and commanding our attention by reminding us that He who sends the revelation is very and eternal God.

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Philip Schaff's Popular Commentary (4 vols)

Revelation 1:1-8

Old Testament

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