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Revelation 01 General Notes
Structure and formatting
This chapter explains how the book is a recording of the vision John received on the island of Patmos.
Some translations set apart quotations of the Old Testament. The ULB and many other English translations indent all the lines of 1:7, which is a quotation from the Old Testament.
Special concepts in this chapter
Seven churches
This letter was specifically addressed to seven actual churches located in the modern country of Turkey.
White
White is a color that often symbolizes holiness or righteousness in scripture. (See: rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/holy and rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/righteous)
Important figures of speech in this chapter
"Him who is, and who was, and who is to come"
The phrase explains that God has always existed, exists now and will always exist. Not all languages have a way to easily translate the past, present and future aspects of a verb. It is possible this is a play on the name of God, Yahweh, which means "I am."
His blood
This is a reference to Jesus' death. (See: rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-metonymy)
Other possible translation difficulties in this chapter
"He is coming with the clouds"
Many scholars believe Jesus will come back in two stages. Jesus' first return will be subtle, like a "thief in the night." Then, Jesus will come in an undeniable way where everyone will see him. It is this latter coming that the book of Revelation is about.
Jesus
The image of the man in heaven is probably Jesus. Overall, the image is a description of Jesus in all of his glory. (See: rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/glory and rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-explicit)
"The angels of the seven churches"
The Greek word translated as "angels" can also be translated as "messengers." It is possible this is a reference to the messengers or leaders of these seven churches.