Fathers

Revelation 1

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This is the Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things which must happen soon, which he sent and made known by his angel to his servant, John, who testified to God’s word and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, about everything that he saw. Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and keep the things that are written in it, for the time is at hand. John, to the seven assemblies that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from God, who is and who was and who is to come; and from the seven Spirits who are before his throne; and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us, and washed us from our sins by his blood— and he made us to be a Kingdom, priests to his God and Father—to him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, including those who pierced him. All the tribes of the earth will mourn over him. Even so, Amen. “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” I John, your brother and partner with you in the oppression, Kingdom, and perseverance in Christ Jesus, was on the isle that is called Patmos because of God’s Word and the testimony of Jesus Christ. I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, like a trumpet saying, “What you see, write in a book and send to the seven assemblies: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.” I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. Having turned, I saw seven golden lamp stands. And among the lamp stands was one like a son of man, clothed with a robe reaching down to his feet, and with a golden sash around his chest. His head and his hair were white as white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire. His feet were like burnished brass, as if it had been refined in a furnace. His voice was like the voice of many waters. He had seven stars in his right hand. Out of his mouth proceeded a sharp two-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining at its brightest. When I saw him, I fell at his feet like a dead man. He laid his right hand on me, saying, “Don’t be afraid. I am the first and the last, and the Living one. I was dead, and behold, I am alive forever and ever. Amen. I have the keys of Death and of Hades. Write therefore the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will happen hereafter. The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lamp stands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven assemblies. The seven lamp stands are seven assemblies.

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What the Fathers say

Revelation 1:12

Eastern Fathers

Oecumenius

"The seven lampstands," as John himself goes on to explain, are the seven churches to which he has been commanded to write; he calls them "lampstands" because they bear the light of the glory of Christ. For he does not call them lamps, but "lampstands." This lamp itself does not emit light; rather, it contains within itself the power to illuminate. Christ illuminates His churches spiritually. …

Commentary on Revelation ↗

Cyprian

That after He had risen again He should receive from His Father all power, and His power should be everlasting. In Daniel: "I saw in a vision by night, and behold as it were the Son of man, coming in the clouds of heaven, came even to the Ancient of days, and stood in His sight. …

Treatise XII. Three Books of Testimonies Against the Jews. ↗

Irenaeus

If, then, neither Moses, nor Elias, nor Ezekiel, who had all many celestial visions, did see God; but if what they did see were similitudes of the splendour of the Lord, and prophecies of things to come; it is manifest that the Father is indeed invisible, of whom also the Lord said, "No man hath seen God at any time." But His Word, as He Himself willed it, and for the benefit of those who beheld, did show the Father's brightness, and explained His purposes (as also the Lord said: "The only-begotten God, which is in the bosom of the …

Against Heresies Book IV ↗

Western Saints

Bede

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.

Commentary on Revelation ↗

Alcuin of York

And I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. By saying to see, he shows that it was not a physical voice, which cannot be seen, but a spiritual one, with which seeing it is no different from hearing it. Allegorically, the Church turned to see the voice, because it directed its attention, out of the desire of its mind, to the words of the law and of the prophets, so as to see their mysteries now fulfilled. …

Commentary On Revelation ↗

Victorinus of Pettau

"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. …

Commentary on the Apocalypse of the Blessed John ↗