to revert (literally · verb — second aorist active indicative, 1st person singular
see
βλέπεινblepein
G991
to look at (literally or figuratively) · verb — present active infinitive
voice
φωνὴνphōnēn
G5456
a tone (articulate · noun — accusative singular feminine
that
ἥτιςhētis
G3748
which some · relative pronoun — nominative singular feminine
spake
ἐλάλειelalei
G2980
to talk · verb — imperfect active indicative, 3rd person singular
with
μετ᾽met᾽
G3326
properly · preposition
me
ἐμοῦemoû
G1700
of me
And
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
turned
ἐπιστρέψαςepistrepsas
G1994
to revert (literally · verb — aorist active participle, nominative singular masculine
saw
εἶδονeidon
G1492
used only in certain past tenses · verb — second aorist active indicative, 1st person singular
seven
ἑπτὰhepta
G2033
seven · adjective — numeral, indeclinable
candlesticks
λυχνίαςluchnias
G3087
a lamp-stand (literally or figuratively) · noun — accusative plural feminine
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
Zechariah 4:2 And said unto me, What seest thou? And I said, I have looked, and behold a candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his…
Exodus 25:37 And thou shalt make the seven lamps thereof: and they shall light the lamps thereof, that they may give light over against it.
Revelation 1:20-2:1 The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the…
Revelation 1:13 And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps wi…
Ezekiel 43:5-6 So the spirit took me up, and brought me into the inner court; and, behold, the glory of the LORD filled the house.
Micah 6:9 The LORD’s voice crieth unto the city, and the man of wisdom shall see thy name: hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it.
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,…
see the voice--that is, ascertain whence the voice came; to see who was it from whom the voice proceeded.
that--Greek, "of what kind it was which." The voice is that of God the Father, as at Christ's baptism and transfiguration, so here in presenting Christ as our High Priest.
spake--The oldest manuscripts, versions, and Fathers read, "was speaking."
being--"having turned."
seven . . . candlesticks--"lamp-stands" [KELLY]. The stand holding the lamp. In Exo 25:31-32, the seven are united in ONE candlestick or lamp-stand, that is, six arms and a central shaft; so Zac 4:2, Zac 4:11. Here the seven are separate candlesticks, typifying, as that one, the entire Church, but now no longer as…
And I turned For he had heard the voice behind him. To see the voice; i.e., the person from whom the voice came.
Seven golden candlesticks - Ἑπτα λυχνιας χρυσας· Seven golden lamps. It is absurd to say, a golden silver, or brazen candlestick. These seven lamps represented the seven Churches, in which the light of God was continually shining, and the love of God continually burning. And they are here represented as golden, to show how precious they were in the sight of God. This is a reference to the temple at Jerusalem, where there was a candlestick or chandelier of seven branches; or rather six branches; three springing out on either side, and one in the center. See Exo 25:31-37. This refe…
The Church Fathers
He shows that the voice was not sensory when he says, "I turned," not to hear but "to see the voice." For spiritual hearing and spiritual seeing are the same thing.
And having turned, etc. Here the form of the Church is beautifully described, bearing the light of divine love in the brightness of a pure heart. According to what the Lord says: "Let your loins be girded and your lamps burning" (Luke XII). He designates the perfection of its interior and exterior by the two parts of the number seven, while each one, consisting of the four qualities of the body, loves the Lord God with all their heart, all their soul, and all their strength.
"The court which is within the temple leave out." The space which is called the court is the empty altar within the walls: these being such as were not necessary, he commanded to be ejected from the Church. "It is given to be trodden down by the Gentiles." That is, to the men of this world, that it may be trodden under foot by the nations, or with the nations. Then he repeats about the destruction and slaughter of the last time, and says:- "They shall tread the holy city down for forty and two months; and I will give to my two witnesses, and they shall predict a thousand two hundred and threescore days clothed in sackcloth." That is, three years and six months: these make forty-two months. Therefore their preaching is three years and six months, and the kingdom of Antichrist as much again.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Candlestick · SYMBOLI — SYMBOLI
Visions · Mentioned in scripture: To John (See also Rev chapters 4 - 22) — Mentioned in scripture: To John (See also Rev chapters 4 - 22)
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).
And I turned to see the voice that spake with me,.... The Complutensian edition reads, "and there I:turned": and so the Arabic version; that is, to see who it was that spoke, from whom the voice came, and by whom it was uttered; see Exodus 20:18,
and being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; which represented the seven churches, Revelation 1:20; in allusion to the seven lamps in the candlestick of the sanctuary, Exodus 25:37; compared to "candlesticks", for the use of them, which is to hold forth light; these have none of themselves, but what is put into them, and being put into them, they hold it forth; so the churches of Christ have no light of themselves, but what is put into them;…
John’s first vision is a symbolic picture of Christ as the wise, secure, and powerful agent of God who always cares for his people.
1:12 I turned to see who was speaking: This statement refers to the loud voice of 1:10. • seven gold lampstands: The lighted menorah was a symbol of God’s presence among his people (Exod 27:21; Lev 24:1-4) and of his all-seeing eyes in the world (Zech 4:10).
