The Revealer's Identity Since this book is the "Book of Heaven," you should not be surprised if it occasionally reveals to you "the Person of the Heavenly Lord," in many ways. He might kindle your heart, arousing your love to Him, so you may enter with the whole Church in a secret conversation with Him, saying: "Come, O Lord Jesus.” 1. Introduction vs. 1 - 3. 2. Apostolic peace to the churches vs. 4 - 6. 3. The advent of the Revealer vs. 7 - 8. 4. The Person of the Revealer vs. 9 - 20. 1 - INTRODUCTION "The Revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave Him, to show His servants things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John" Rev. 1:1. He called it “Revelation” or in Greek “Apocalypse,” which means “revealing the divine mysteries to mankind.” God was unwilling to punish Sodom and Gomorrah except after informing His beloved Abraham of His intention; also it was His will to reveal to Daniel, the man greatly beloved, what was about to take place. Therefore, it’s rather more appropriate that He announces to His bride - that He paid her dot on the cross - this “Revelation” to show her “things which must shortly take place.” The more the bridegroom loves his bride the more he opens his heart to her, revealing to her his secrets, specially what concerns his love to her, and what he prepares for her or her wedding day. The Lord could have sent the “revelation” directly to John, but He “sent and signified it by His angel,” to give the angels the opportunity to have the blessing of sharing their Lord His pleasure of revealing His secrets to His bride. Thus He always gives them the chance to serve those who are being sanctified (Heb. 10:14), to show likewise their love towards His bride. St. John the Beloved also shared in this service, as the angel was sent to him, and he by turn recorded the revelation to the church. But who is this John? It is he "who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, and to all things that he saw” [2]. He is just a witness telling what he sees or hears, as if he is saying: I am just "the voice of one crying in the wilderness" (Mark 1:3). I do not have credit in myself. It is God who granted me this blessing to witness for Him. The benefit of the Revelation "Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near" [3]. Blessed is he who reads the prophecy in his bed chamber, and he who reads it at the church, or hear it with his brethren. Because when he keeps those things, his heart will 7 get inflamed to realize “which are written in it, for the time is near," or according to the Greek text "for the chance is favorable and near.” Bishop Victorianus1 states that the Book begins by the promise to bless who reads, hears and keeps it, that he who persists on reading it learns how to perform the deeds and keep the commandments. 2 - APOSTOLIC PEACE TO CHURCHES "John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was, and who is to come.” The apostle sends the divine peace to the seven churches, to be discussed later. His peace implies "the grace" which is the foundation of the true peace, and the subject of our preaching and our joy. Tertullian reveals to us the secret of granting the apostolic grace before the peace, by saying that according to the old custom among people, they used to begin their encounter by extending peace. Jesus followed the same custom with His disciples, yet after the ascension they added "grace" to it and put it before peace as it was the subject of their preaching that they got through their Lord Jesus. The apostle is concerned for describing the Lord: "Him who is and who was and who is to come" in many occasions in this book. To assure that the giver and the source of grace is the Lord, residing in the Church, who guarded the Church, is guarding, and will keep guarding her; worked, is working, and will continue to work for her. Bishop Victorianus states that He "Who is," because He tolerates for us continuously. And "Who was," meaning that He with the Father created everything, and took Himself a beginning (in the body) from the Virgin. And "Who is to come" because He will definitely come for judgment. "And from the seven Spirits who are before His throne” [4]. The opinions differ in interpreting the truth about the seven Spirits who are before His throne: The first opinion: that they are the seven angels assigned to serve the seven churches mentioned in the Book of Revelation, as they are spirits in the service of them who shall be heirs of salvation. The Holy Bible and the writings of the Fathers witness that God sends His angels to everybody to serve him and guard him. Ibn-el-Assal2 believes that the "seven spirits" are the seven angelic bands, i.e. the Principalities, the Dominions, the Thrones, the Magistrates, the Powers, the Archangels, and the Angels. St. Clement of Alexandria and St. Cyprian the Martyr believe that they are the seven archangels3, as it shows in Rafael's words about himself that he is one of the seven 1 Of the 3rd century, martyred about 304 A.D as bishop of Pateu. He wrote an interpretation to this book, some texts of which were included in AN Fathers, vol. 7. 2 Meaning the son of Caesar’s script - writer. From the thirteenth century. 3 Our church is concerned about those archangels, and asks for their intercession immediately after the Virgin’s (Mother of God) as in the Psalmody. The archangels are entitled by names for our sake, so that we might get acquainted to them and gain benefit from their works. While in heaven they communicate without using names of human language. There names are as follows: 1. Michael, meaning “like God,” because he loves humans and shows lover’s jealousy. God grants him the power to fight the dragon on our behalf. The Church celebrates his feast on the twelfth of each Coptic month. 2. Gabriel, meaning the strength of God, because he informs us with God’s strength and His great works with us as he informed the 8 angels standing in front of God (Tob. 12:15). As for the reason why they are mentioned before the Person of our Lord Jesus the Faithful Witness, this, so as to talk about Him in length later. The Second Opinion: that it is a description of the Holy Spirit that works in the Church through His perfect gifts in the seven sacraments. "And from Jesus Christ, the Faithful Witness.”[5]. In this introduction the apostle calls the Person of Jesus Christ by names that prepare the reader to get in touch with the purpose of that Book, therefore he calls Him: (1) The Faithful Witness: The whole book deals with our witness for the Lord on earth, that He might witness for us in front of His Father and His angels. How to be a faithful witness? By the Lord Jesus: "the Faithful Witness,” as He says about Himself: "And for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth" (John 18:37). This testimony did not stop at the extent of talking, but it is a practical sacrificing testimony. He showed it by incarnation, engraved it on the cross, confirmed it by His death, and proclaimed it by His resurrection. Bishop Victorianus says, [He offered witness to the world by taking a human body, that He might suffer in it also, liberating us from sin by His blood. He gained victory over hell and rose as the Firstborn Son from death, over whom death has no control any more (Rom. 6:9). By His reign, He destroyed the kingdom of the world]. (2) The Firstborn from the dead: This book assures us that the Lord is our Firstborn Son; and as the Head was raised, so the rest of the body will rise with Him and through Him, "Christ the first of all; then those who belong to Christ" (1Cor. 15:23). Pope Athanasius the Apostolic1 says, [He was not named so because He died before us but because He suffered death for us and conquered it..., and as He was risen, we procure resurrection from Him and because of Him we surely rise from death.] And as John Chrysostom2 states, that the Lord is our Firstborn Son because He offered Himself an accepted sacrifice without blemish, which the Father accepted with content, and consequently humanity became accepted and holy in Him. Through the Firstborn Son we become inheritors of the “Church of the firstborns,” and enjoy the heavenly glory described in the Revelation. (3) "Who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood” [5], “and has made us kings, and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen” [6]. Here we can boldly say that as we have put on "the Lord Jesus,” we have become related to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the Supreme Head of priests. By this "He made us kings and priests.” We are very weak in ourselves, but in Him we are very strong. We, as nobodies, may be defeated by the least sin, but by Him we tread on the serpents and scorpions and all the powers of our enemy. We lay in weakness before Him, but with spiritual authority we hope and rejoice. Virgin and Daniel. 3. Raphael, meaning “God’s mercy,” as he cured Tobia’s eyes. 4. Sourial. 5. Sadakial. 6. Saratial. 7. Ananial . 1 Apology 1:6. 2 The author: The Divine Love - Article of Divine Love and Ascension (in Arabic). 9 We have nothing to offer, but with Him we present spiritual offerings accepted before God. We have become "kings and priests" in a spiritual sense. We should not mix between the general authority given to the Christian, and that given to those who were assigned by God to be kings and principals. To whom we should submit, and give them the honor they are worthy of as the Book commands us to do. We should not also mix between those who are sanctified, and devoted for service and preaching by the sacrament of priesthood and the general priesthood which St. Jerome1 calls “Laic Priesthood,” the believer gets by the sacrament of baptism. 3 - THE ADVENT OF THE REVEALER "Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, and they also who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen” [7]. As if the Apostle is blowing the trumpet for the Church saying, "The coming of the Groom is near, watch, He is sure coming.” "He is coming with clouds." The clouds refer to the brightness of His glory as in His transfiguration. The clouds also refer to His anger at evil and evildoers as the Psalmist says: "Clouds and darkness surround Him... A fire goes before Him. And burns up His enemies round about" (Ps. 97:2,3). Pope Dionysius of Alexandria thinks that the clouds refer to the angels surrounding Him in His coming. Saints Cyril, Augustine and Jerome think that the clouds are the symbol of His manhood that hides His divinity. St. Augustine explains this by saying that God hides the glory of His divinity from the wicked, that they might not see Him; while the righteous enjoy the glories of God who became man, and He reveals to them alone His splendor to enjoy. The wicked see Him and weep, while the righteous see Him and rejoice. The wicked see His wounds and fall in despair while the righteous see them - as saints Ignatius of Antioch, John Chrysostom and Cyprian say - vivid and radiant. Therefore, they never stop saying: "Even so Amen!," i.e. let it be O Lord, we are waiting for Your coming to enjoy Your Person! And who is He who comes to judge? He says about Himself: "I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End, says the Lord who is and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty” [8]. We have already understood His saying, "who is, and who was, and who is to come" [4]. He is "the Lord," or God the Judge, who is to rule. He is "the Almighty," therefore we should not doubt in His coming or His powers. He is "the Alpha and the Omega," and according to Origen2 if there existed a divine language with which we read the heavenly matters, we shall find that the Son is its first and last letters. Without Him we cannot comprehend anything about heaven and the 1 Dialogue against Luciferians. 2 AN Fathers, vol. 10, p. 314/6. 10 lips would be unable to utter the heavenly praises. And He is "the Beginning and the End,” as St. Augustine1 says that the Son is the Beginning in which heaven and earth were created, because it is said, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth," and "All things were made by Him." And the Psalmist says, "In wisdom (i.e. in Christ the Wisdom) You have made them all" (Ps. 104:24). Origen2 says, [He is the Beginning, because He was residing with Adam in Paradise, and became the ending or "the Last Adam," hence embracing the whole humanity from the beginning to the end of ages, caring about all to the end of time]. St. Ambrose3 states, that the Son of God has no beginning, because He is the actual beginning, and He does not have an end, as he is "the End.” By being Himself the beginning, how could He accept or assume what He really is (the beginning of existence as long as He actually exists, because He is the Beginning). And how could He have an end, He who is the ending of all things, and in this "ending" we find ourselves home where we reside without end. St. Jerome and Tertullian state that this conforms with what the apostle says, that "He might gather together in one all things in Christ" (Eph. 1:10), or in whom we find all our needs. In whom He holds His Church, keep her, protect her and provide her with all her needs. 4 - THE PERSON OF THE REVEALER God shines on man in a way that fits his conditions and needs to give him special fullness. Therefore, before God describes Himself, the apostle showed his conditions and the state of the church saying: "I John, both your brother and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ” [9]. When emperor Domitian arrested the apostle in his old age, to deprive him from his children and his service, and to stop his tongue from preaching, the contrary happened. 1- The brotherly and fatherly ties between him and his people were not severed, because these ties are not built upon bodily bases, but upon fellowship in the Lord. Here he proclaims to them that he is attached to them by fellowship together in tribulation (the sufferings of Christ), through which they shall have fellowship "in the kingdom of Jesus Christ" that they will be granted its guarantee, waiting together in the fellowship of "His patience" until they reach it in eternity. 2- His presence in Patmos did not obliterate his mind with sadness, but it was an opportunity for him to burst forth in Spirit. At the same time when his tongue stopped preaching, the Lord proclaimed to him a prophecy to announce to the Church, revealing to him unknown truths, pertaining to the end of ages, and the secret joys of the heavenly wedding. In the middle of pains, the consolation of God gratifies the believer's soul. That is why in the middle of the stoning pit, St. Stephen saw the heavens opened and the Son of 1 City of God, 11: 32. 2 Note No. 7. 3 Of the Christian Faith, 11:108. 11 man standing to help and support him. And in the middle of the bitter trial Job saw the Lord; and in the middle of anguish He showed the heavenly ladder to Jacob the fugitive. Also in captivity Ezekiel the prophet saw God seated on the Cherubim's vehicle. Once more we see that the message of the apostle who was exiled "for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ," did not stop, but in fact more improved. He says: "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day1. And I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet” [10]. No doubt that the apostle was not aware of the time when he was enjoying the revelation. He said, "the day of the Lord" because it was a period of enjoyment and delight. For what he saw is pertinent to the Lord's day or the great day of judgment. The apostle heard a voice "behind him," although he proclaims future, present and past events. The reason for this could be that man cannot see the heavenly glories until the corrupt (the body) is clothed with the incorrupt. That is why God asked Moses not to see Him except from behind, because he could not see Him and live. Hearing a loud voice from behind signals that he was going to talk about things hidden from the human eyes. It also shows that it bears a warning, that man might stop rushing towards earthly matters and listen to the divine voice. The voice "as of a trumpet" because it is a divine voice, great in its nature, authority, glory and theme! The Person of the Revealer 1 - The Alpha and the Omega: "Saying, I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, and, What you see, write in a book, and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea” [11]. The Lord has introduced Himself to us before as the "the Alpha and the Omega2.” Here also He manifests to His churches that He is "the First and the Last.” Origen3 says that the Son, the Word, is the First of creation or its Head and Disposer, and when He condescended, He did not become the second or the third or the forth, but became "the Last.” He became man and not one of the heavenly hierarchy. By that He embraced the whole creation from its beginning to its end. This is the beautiful description that the churches see in Him, therefore, cling to Him, because they are in His bosom. He does not forsake them and they do not want to depart from Him. As for the seven churches, they were real existing churches. Bishop Victorianus says that though they really existed and though the messages were directed to them, they also represent the state of the Church as a whole. He chose number "7," because it indicates to perfection. Bishop Victorianus explains this by saying that the apostle Paul wrote also to seven churches. He addressed the rest of the epistles he wrote to certain persons by name. The prophet Isaiah prophesied about this saying, "And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying: We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel. Only let us be called by your name, to 1 The Coptic text is translated; "I was in the Spirit on Sunday." 2 Revise commentary on v. 8. 3 A N Fathers, vol. 10, p. 314/6. 12 take away our reproach" (Isa. 4:1). Consequently, the church (the seven women) takes hold of the Lord Jesus, cling to Him and does not want to depart from Him. Thus, He might bestow His name on her and take away her reproach. Thus the apostle says: "Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands" [12]. Where the man is, the "seven women" gather around him (Isa. 4:1) as lampstands. They take light from Him and give light to the world. The oil of the Holy Spirit illuminates them... the Spirit of her Bridegroom, the true Light. The Prophet Zechariah saw her, "a lampstand of solid gold... and on the stand seven lamps" (Zechariah 4:2). The prophet talked to her saying: "Arise, shine; for your light has come. And the glory of the Lord is risen upon you... The Gentiles shall come to your light and kings to the brightness of your rising" (Isa. 60:1,3). It is "seven" a sign of diversity in gifts together with the unity of work and objective. It is the sign of a covenant between God and man, at the same manner Abraham did with Abimelech when they made an oath at "Beersheba" (Gen. 21:27-31). Because number “7” indicates perfection, it is repeated in this book 54 times. It is "golden" because it is heavenly, and because of its purity, glory and greatness in the eyes of the Bridegroom who says to her, "Behold you are fair, my love. How beautiful you are! Your have dove’s eyes" (Song 1:15). 2 - "And in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet, and girded about the chest with a golden band” [13]. The greatness and unity of churches lie in the presence of the Bridegroom in their midst. While He is in heaven, He is concerned with His Church, clothed with a garment down to the foot, so that His bride might be clothed with a garment down to the feet (19:8), proceeding together to an eternal wedding without end. It is beautiful that the presbyters are around the throne (4:4), also clothed in white garments, and everything in heaven is ready for the wedding day. The garment down to the feet is the garment of priesthood1... For the Lord never ceases His priestly work until the accomplishment of our salvation. He is constantly rising to help the humanity and pick off all people (Ps. 110:4; Heb. 5: 5-10). St. Irenaeus2 says that in these words He shows us some of the glory He accepts from His Father to whom He points as the Head (1:14). He also points to His priestly function by the long garment down to the feet. That is the reason why Moses clothed the high priest according to this rite. As for the golden band about the chest, this indicates the gathering of the people around the bosom of God where they feed on both Testaments. Bishop Victorianus says that His breasts are the two Testaments, and the golden girdle is the host of saints who are tested like gold. Or it might point to the enlightened conscience and pure spiritual understanding granted to churches. The golden girdle also indicates the pure love originating from God's bosom towards His children. It also shows Him as the Teacher of the Law, as the High Priest wore a girdle when offering the sacrifice. 1 Cf. Tertullian: The Answer to the Jews, 14. 2 St. Irenaeus against heresies 20:10. 13 St. John Chrysostom says that He is girded across His loins as an indication of the Law of the Old Testament, and across the breast where we find love and justice as an indication of the New Testament. 3."His head and His hair were white like wool, as white as snow.” He was also described "His garment was white as snow. And the hair of His head was like pure wool" (Dan. 7:9). St. Augustine believes that the white hair points to the host of saints who are as the hair of the Lord, not one single hair falls down without His permission. They are pure and immaculate, united together in beauty and harmony. Bishop Victorianus says that in the white hair appear the assemblies of the Fathers like wool, as they are His simple sheep. And they are like the snow as they are countless in number, learned from heaven. The white hair also is a sign of superior wisdom and beauty, also refers to eternity (Dan. 7:9). 4 - "And His eyes like a flame of fire” [14]. We see in Him the awake Bridegroom "who will not slumber or fall asleep." Nobody can snatch us from His hand. In Him we see the Judge who examines the unknown and the known, saying with the prophet: "For your eyes are open to all the ways of the sons of men; to give everyone according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings" (Jer. 32:19). His eyes burning with fire are an indication to the power of the divine word. They light the way and disperse darkness from the heart, or as Bishop Victorianus suggests that God's commandments illuminate the believers and burn the deniers. 5 - "His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace.” The feet of God are mercy and justice, by them God walks among His people to ascertain their salvation and destroy the powers of evil. They also refer to both Testaments with which He walks among His people, since they are the pure word of God. The Lord offers His feet that are like fine brass to the believer to wear, that he might walk on the road of pains, paying no attention to stumbles, because His feet crush anything that stands in the way. St. Gregory the Nezianzus says that they indicate the Lord's manhood burning with divinity, who dwelt among us and became one of us, hence the humanity met with Him. 6 - "And His voice as the sound of many waters” [15]. (a) By this the Lord reveals His glory to us as in (Ezekiel 43:2), and as St. Irenaeus says1: [For the voice of God is like many waters, as God is rich and great. And the word "His voice" crosses through those people offering free gifts to His followers, and giving His commandments to suit and benefit every group.] Likewise the Father offers His Son as many waters to irrigate the barren land that it might bring forth abundant fruit. (b) He also reveals to us His awe, power, effectiveness (Heb. 4:12) and continuity because the sound of waters (the seas) is awesome and never stops neither day nor night. (c) Bishop Victorianus says, [The many waters is understood to be many peoples 1 St. Irenaeus against heresies 14:20. 14 who came through baptism], as He had sent His disciples saying, "Go you therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them..." 7 - "He had in His right hand seven stars.” Ibn-el-Assal believes that the seven stars are the seven angels or church bishops. They are in His hand [a symbol of their obedience, and that they submit to His disposal as something in His possession.] It is good to liken the bishops to the stars which are enlightened by the Sun of Righteousness, and consequently, they reflect His light upon the rest of the stars. But they as leaders have to turn precisely in their orbit His Person, or else they would perish. They appear small to whoever looks at them, but great in the eyes of God, kept in His right hand as He loves them and does not let them go. 8. "Out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword.” The Lord appears to His people as a warrior carrying a sharp sword out of his mouth; that is His strong words. (a) By which He disciplines and consoles. By His word the inner man grows and the darkness disperses. (b) It is two-edged and cuts forcefully inside the speaker and the listener as well. (c) By His word He protects and justifies the believer, cuts the evil and judges the wicked. "He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him: the word that I have spoken, will judge him in the last day" (John 12:48). Tertullian says1: [This interpretation that is for us and not for the heretics] gives us steadfastness, as the Lord Christ appears as a warrior... David says: "Gird Your sword upon Your thigh" (Ps. 45:3). Yet, listen to what we have read before about Jesus Christ? "You are fairer than the sons of men. Grace is poured upon Your lips" (Ps. 45:2). How then can we relate the delicacy of the supreme beauty and the flowing grace on His lips to the One who is girded with a sword ready for war?! David also adds, "and in Your majesty ride on victoriously.” That is, “because of truth, humility, and righteousness.” How can He reach these results by using the sword that is known to be used in deception, rashness and harm?! Then, we can understand that He is the "Divine Word" who has two edges; the Law and the Gospel, by which He tears the devil into pieces and protects us from the spiritual enemies full of evil and malice. He employs it to sever us from things dear to us, for the sake of God's Holy Name. The Lord came to bring a sword on earth and not peace (Matt. 10:34). Thus, the brightness of beauty and the grace on the lips go together with this sword the Lord bears as David says. 9 - "And His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength" [16]. The Apostle could not describe the brightness of His glory except by comparing His face to the sun, for He like the Father "dwells in unapproachable light" (I Tim. 6:16). He shines on His saints and they "will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father" (Matt. 13:43). ENDING We can summarize all revelation in that the Church finds in the Lord the 1 Against Maricon, 4. 15 Bridegroom, the Priest, the Father and the Leader. In Him she finds all her needs. He braces her, sanctifies her, keeps her and leads her to present her to His Father pure and chaste. Some see in these descriptions that we find in Him the Church - the Body of Christ - in its fullness united in Him and cannot exist other than in Him. He is the Beginning and the End, where all the righteous gather in Him: a) Clothed with a dress down to the feet as a symbol of the righteous, from Adam to the flood. b) The girdle at the breast a symbol of the righteous from the flood to Moses. c) The white head and hair, a symbol of the righteous under the Law, in the Old Testament. d) The burning eyes, a symbol of the prophets who see in a prophetic spirit. e) The feet of brass is a symbol of the apostles and disciples who roamed preaching the truth. f) The sound of many waters is a symbol of the Gentiles who accepted faith. g) The sharp sword coming out of His mouth symbolizes those who are hardly saved in the days of the Antichrist. h) The face bright as the sun is a symbol of the saints in Paradise. THE IMPACT OF THE SCENE ON JOHN "And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me: ‘Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last [17]. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen And I have the keys of Hades and of death’” [18]. No sooner had the apostle seen the Lord in His glory, than he fell at His feet, as the apostles did at the time of His transfiguration (Matt. 17:6). And Daniel at the Tigris River (Dan. 10:8), but the compassionate Lord put His right hand on him and raised him up. Let us bow with the adulteress at His feet, that He might put His hand upon us and raise, us after we bury the death of sin under His feet. He is the "Living" who, because of our sins "was dead,” but now He is living in whom we rise and He offers atonement intercession for us before the Father. It is He alone who "has the keys of Hades and of Death.” He raises us up shutting their gates facing us, therefore, neither eternal death nor Hades will have any authority over us. Our Lord descended into Hades from on the cross1. He is the Medicine of life who disappeared in Hades, thus destroyed its gates2 releasing us victorious. The wonderful thing is that the speaker is the Incarnate God who says, "I am the Alpha and the Omega,” and "I was dead.” He did not say “I am the Alpha and the Omega by the divine nature,” or "I was dead by the human nature,” because He is One Hypostasis with one nature of two inseparable natures. "Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this [19]. The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven 1 The Eucharist of St. Basil. 2 St. Ephram the Syrian: Christmas Hymns (translated of by the author unto Arabic, p. 23). 16 golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches” [20]. He ordered him to write what he saw: the scene mentioned before "The Lord amidst His Church,” and what he sees: The state of the seven churches (Chs 2 & 3), and what he will see: "The state of the Church until the advent of the Lord, and His heavenly glory.” He called all this "a mystery" which man cannot comprehend, or be in touch with, unless it is through the works of the Holy Spirit who teaches and reveals the mysteries of God to His servants.
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