Revelation 1:11 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Revelation 1:11
Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.
properly · verb — present active participle, genitive singular feminine
I
ἐγώegō
G1473
I · personal pronoun — 1st person nominative singular
am
ἐιμιeimi
G1510
I exist (used only when emphatic) · verb — present active indicative, 1st person singular
Alpha
ΑA
G1
the first letter of the alphabet · noun — nominative singular neuter, a letter, indeclinable
and
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
Omega
Ω,Ō
G5598
the last letter of the Greek alphabet · noun — nominative singular neuter, a letter, indeclinable
the first
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Jeremiah 30:2 Thus speaketh the LORD God of Israel, saying, Write thee all the words that I have spoken unto thee in a book.
Habakkuk 2:2 And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.
Colossians 4:15-16 Salute the brethren which are in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the church which is in his house.
Revelation 3:1 And unto the angel of the church in Sardis write; These things saith he that hath the seven Spirits of God, and the seven stars; I know thy…
Isaiah 30:8 Now go, write it before them in a table, and note it in a book, that it may be for the time to come for ever and ever:
Ephesians 1:1 Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus:
Revelation 1:4 John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from…
Revelation 2:8 And unto the angel of the church in Smyrna write; These things saith the first and the last, which was dead, and is alive;
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Revelation 1:9–end
We have now come to that glorious vision which the apostle had of the Lord Jesus Christ, when he came to deliver this revelation to him, where observe,
I. The account given of the person who was favoured with this vision. He describes himself, 1. By his present state and condition. He was the brother and companion of these churches in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Christ. He was, at their time, as the rest of true Christians were, a persecuted man, banished, and perhaps imprisoned, for his adherence to Christ. He was their brother, though an apostle; he seems to value himself upon his relation to the church, rather than his authority in it: Judas Iscariot may be an apostle,…
I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last; and--The oldest manuscripts, omit all this clause.
write in a book--To this book, having such an origin, and to the other books of Holy Scripture, who is there that gives the weight which their importance demands, preferring them to the many books of the world? [BENGEL].
seven churches--As there were many other churches in Proconsular Asia (for example, Miletus, Magnesia, Tralles), besides the seven specified, doubtless the number seven is fixed upon because of its mystical signification, expressing totality and universality. The words, "which are in Asia" are rejected by the oldest manuscripts, A, B, C, CYPRIAN, Vulgate, and Syriac; Coptic a…
I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and - This whole clause is wanting in ABC, thirty-one others; some editions; the Syriac, Coptic, Ethiopic, Armenian, Slavonic, Vulgate, Arethas, Andreas, and Primasius. Griesbach has left it out of the text.
Saying - What thou seest, write in a book - Carefully note down every thing that is represented to thee. John had the visions from heaven; but he described them in his own language and manner.
Send it unto the seven Churches - The names of which immediately follow. In Asia. This is wanting in the principal MSS. and versions. Griesbach has left it out of the text.
Ephesus - This was a city of Ionia, in Asia Minor, situated at the mouth of the…
The Church Fathers
And send to the seven churches, etc. The Church of Christ was not then only in these places, but the fullness consists in the number seven. Asia, which is interpreted as elevation, designates the proud height of the world in which the Church sojourns; and, as is the custom of divine mystery, the genus fits the species. For the Apostle Paul also writes to seven churches; not, however, the same as John. And although these seven places are a figure of the whole sevenfold Church, yet specific things happened in these which he reproaches or praises.
We have already said that he addressed one church which exists during the time of the whole world, that is, from that time when he spoke to the consummation of the world. Since he now mentions the names of these churches specifically, let us see what meanings they have.… There is a mighty mystery in the names which we will examine and discuss to the extent that God allows. Ephesus means "my will" or "my plan." He wills that we know that the whole reality of our faith and the dignity of the catholic church is not to be ascribed to human merit, but they are the will of God and the disposition of the divine purpose. Smyrna means "their song." And what else is the song of the perfect if not the celestial doctrine and the preaching of the gospel and the advance of the Christian religion, or the melodious confession of the catholic church? Pergamum means "to him who divides their horns." This refers either to the insolence of the powers of the air, or to the arrogance of the heretics. And he teaches that the pride of the powers is always to be separated and divided from the congregation of the church, for the horns are either power or arrogance. He writes to Thyatira, that is "enlightened." This signifies that, after the expulsion of heretical pride and after the defeat of temptations from the powers of the air, the holy church is deserving of the light of righteousness. Sardis means the "beginning of beauty." The church is seized by the sun of righteousness and is illumined by the light of truth, so that she might have the beginning of beauty, the Lord Jesus Christ, and might always shine in perpetual light. Philadelphia means "preserving devotion to the Lord." After possessing the sun of righteousness, after the illumination of holiness, after the comeliness of holy beauty, the church rightly is devoted to the Lord and preserves herself by an inviolable observation of devotion. Laodicea means either "a tribe beloved of the Lord," or, as some would have it, "a birth is expected." Both are meaningful, for she who has merited the beauty of faith and the sun of righteousness and knows that through faith the Lord cleaves to her, might also be a tribe whom the Lord loves, who is both loved by the Lord and preserved by the Lord. Furthermore, the church might well await her own birth, either the regeneration of baptism or the glory of the resurrection, whenever she…
Dictionary and topics
A — Alpha, the first letter of the Greek alphabet, as Omega is the last. These letters occur in the text of Rev. 1:8, 11; 21:6; 22:13, and are represented by “Alpha” and “Omega” respectively (omitted in…
Alpha — (A), the first letter of the Greek alphabet. With Omega, the last letter, it is used in the Old Testament and in the New to express the eternity of God, as including both the beginning and the end.…
Asia — Is used to denote Proconsular Asia, a Roman province which embraced the western parts of Asia Minor, and of which Ephesus was the capital, in Acts 2:9; 6:9; 16:6; 19:10, 22; 20:4, 16, 18, etc., and…
John — (1.) One who, with Annas and Caiaphas, sat in judgment on the apostles Peter and John (Acts 4:6). He was of the kindred of the high priest; otherwise unknown. (2.) The Hebrew name of Mark (q.v.). He…
Laodicea — The city of this name mentioned in Scripture lay on the confines of Phrygia and Lydia, about 40 miles east of Ephesus (Rev. 3:14), on the banks of the Lycus. It was originally called Diospolis and…
Omega, Or Omega — The last letter of the Greek alphabet. It is used metephorically to denote the end of anything (Revelation 1:8,11)
Pergamos — The chief city of Mysia, in Asia Minor. One of the “seven churches” was planted here (Rev. 1:11; 2:17). It was noted for its wickedness, insomuch that our Lord says “Satan’s seat” was there. The…
Pergamum — In the Revised Version for Pergamos. (Revelation 1:11) Pergamum is the form usual in the classic writers.
Thyatira — A city of Asia Minor, on the borders of Lydia and Mysia. Its modern name is Ak-hissar, i.e., “white castle.” Here was one of the seven churches (Rev. 1:11; 2:18-28). Lydia, the seller of purple, or…
Alpha · A title of Christ — A title of Christ
Asia · The congregations of
πρῶτος
prōtos
G4413
foremost (in time · adjective — nominative singular masculine, superlative
Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last,.... These characters, which are repeated here; see Gill on Revelation 1:8; are left out in the Alexandrian copy, the Complutensian edition, the Vulgate Latin, Syriac, and Ethiopic versions; but are very fitly retained, to point out the person that speaks; to express his dignity, deity, and eternity; to excite the attention of John, and to give weight to what he said:
and, what thou seest, write in a book; that it might remain, and be read of all men, and be profitable to the churches in the then present age, and in all future ones:
and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; from whence it appears, that not only the seven fol…
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
— The congregations of
Ephesus · The congregation at — The congregation at
I Am That I Am · A name of — A name of
Inspiration · 11:16-29; — 11:16-29;
Laodicea · Message to, through — Message to, through
Omega · Alpha and Omega, the all-comprehensiveness of Christ — Alpha and Omega, the all-comprehensiveness of Christ
Pergamos · One of the “seven congregations” in — One of the “seven congregations” in
Philadelphia · One of the seven congregations in — One of the seven congregations in
Sardis · One of the seven congregations in — One of the seven congregations in
Smyrna · One of the seven congregations in — One of the seven congregations in
Thyatira · General references — General references
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
