Revelation 1:7 Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye
shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth
shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. 8
I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord,
which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.
Daniel
7:13 I saw in the night visions, and,
behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the
Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him.
Matthew
24:30 And then shall appear the sign of
the Son of man in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and
they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and
great glory.
And;
Zechariah
12:10 And I will pour upon the house of
David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of
supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they
shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in
bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.
John 19:37 And again another scripture saith, They shall
look on him whom they pierced.
Psalm
22:16 For dogs have compassed me: the
assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.
Here is Jesus Christ in verse 8 declaring Himself to
be Almighty God.
I am Alpha and Omega,
the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and
which is to come, the Almighty.
This will be expressed several times in Revelation (1:11;
4:8; 11:17; 22:13 as examples). See also in Isaiah;
Isaiah
43:10 Ye are my witnesses, saith the
LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and
understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there
be after me.
Isaiah
44:6 Thus saith the LORD the King of
Israel, and his redeemer the LORD of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last;
and beside me there is no God.
Isaiah
48:12 Hearken unto me, O Jacob and
Israel, my called; I am he; I am the first, I also am the last.
Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is
given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be
called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The
Prince of Peace.
Remember, as well, that Jesus told Philip that to
have seen Him was to have seen God the Father (John 14:7-9; also see John 8:58).
Revelation 1:9 ¶ I John, who also am your brother, and
companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was
in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony
of Jesus Christ.
John was on the island of Patmos. The Bible does not say
that he was a prisoner but that he was there for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. It is
certain Christian traditions that say he was there as a prisoner. The Harper’s
Bible dictionary says the following, which is misquoted in Wikipedia as of this
writing;
Early Christian tradition says that
John was banished to Patmos by the Roman authorities. This tradition is
credible because banishment was a common punishment used during the Imperial
period for a variety of offenses. Among such offenses were the practices of
magic and astrology. Prophecy was viewed by the Romans as belonging to the same
category, whether pagan, Jewish, or Christian. Prophecy with political
implications, like that expressed by John in the book of Revelation, would have
been perceived as a threat to Roman political power and order. [The writer goes
on to refer to Pliny’s Natural History and Tacitus’ Annals as references to the
series of islands where Patmos was located as being used for used for such
purposes.] [1]
This sets the writing and events
in a specific period of time in history, probably, according to many historians
in the AD90’s, fully decades after the temple of Herod at Jerusalem had been
destroyed by the Romans.
[1] Adela Y. Collins, “Patmos,” Harper Bible Dictionary, Paul J.
Achtemeier, gen. ed., (San Francisco:
Harper & Row Publishers, 1985), 755.
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