6 and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.
When a person puts their faith in Jesus Christ, the person is sanctified and prepared for service for God’s kingdom. Only those with the Holy Spirit can bring Him glory. For God is good and deserves glory and power forever.
7 “Look, he is coming with the clouds,”
and “every eye will see him,
even those who pierced him”;
and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.”
So shall it be! Amen.
The phrase “Look, he is coming with the clouds,” alludes to Daniel 7:13-14 which says, 13 “In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. 14 He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshiped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.
Daniel saw God the Son Jesus Christ in his vision and like John, they witnessed His second coming that is going to occur in the future. Everyone that was ever created will see this event. The phrase “will mourn because of him.” refer to remorse and repentance as prophesied in Zechariah 12:10 which says, 10 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.
“So shall it be! Amen.” His second coming is guaranteed.
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”
The Lord God declares that He is the Alpha and the Omega and is coming. Jesus applies the same title to Himself in Revelation 1:17-18; 22:12-13 and is the One coming.
9 I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.
John as a fellow believer is suffering for the cause of Christ and His glory like all believers. John patiently endures this suffering because he knows that God has a purpose. In his case, it was to reveal to the seven churches and all of us in the future what will take place and need not worry because, in the end, the Lamb of God will be victorious.
Patmos was an island that the Roman government used to banish their prisoners and make them work in the mines. It was a barren rock belonging to a group of people called “The Sporades.”
10 On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet
The phrase “On the Lord’s Day” could be referring to the day of Jesus’ resurrection which happened on the first day of the week (Sunday).
The voice that John heard was like a trumpet. Trumpets in the Old Testament were used to get people’s attention and readiness. In the same way, Jesus was getting John ready to pay close attention to the Lord’s Words and write them down so that upon completion they can be dispersed to the seven churches.
Note: All geographical background information came from “New Unger’s Bible.”
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