and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John, 2who testified to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, everything that he saw. (New American Standard Bible – NASB)
We’re in the 21st century:
“signified it Ἐσήμανεν[Esēmanen]. The same root word is used in John 12:33, σημαίνων[sēmainōn], where Jesus describes His death on the cross by indicating He will be lifted up from the earth in the same way as Moses lifted up the serpent on a pole.
32And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to Myself.” 33Now He was saying this to indicatewhat kind of death He was going to die.
(John 12:32,33; NASB)
“Elsewhere, Agabus indicated by the Spirit that there was to be a worldwide famine (Acts 11:28).
One of them, named Agabus, stood up and indicated by the Spirit that there would definitely be a severe famine all over the world. And this took place in the reign of Claudius.
(Acts 11:28; NASB)
“The appearance of this term does not justify a departure from the Golden Rule of Interpretation when interpreting symbolsas some hold. It merely indicates a way of communicating which includes symbol or analogy. Although symbols occur, they reside within a textual framework which is subject to normative interpretation with due recognition of the meaning conveyed by the symbols. ‘This symbolism . . . in no way gives license for a departure from the normal grammatical-historical system of hermeneutics. To clarify this point Govett proposes that esemanen be translated “represent.’’ The revelation given to John, symbolic though it be, is to be interpreted just as one would interpret the rest of the Bible.’‘This term evidently meant a kind of communication that is neither plain statement nor an attempt at concealment. It is figurative, symbolic, or imaginative, and is intended to convey truth by picture rather than by definition.’”
I still think that the author is leaning too hard on the word “esemanen” to mean something more than “communicate” in this context. When I say ‘I’m going to communicate with you now’, it implies all the different possibilities of communicating without focusing on one or two types. You’re not thinking to yourself: ‘Oh, she’s going to use hand signals now’ or ‘I’d better watch out for her use of metaphor.’ No, you’re just open for whatever I do to communicate, whether it’s Morse Code or a verbal declarative sentence.
“The revelation has already been signified from the perspective of the reader: ‘John’s use of the aorist emartyresen, then, is best explained by his adoption of the perspective of his readers in regard to his composition of this book. When they received it, his testimony as recorded in its pages would be a thing of the past.’”
We’ve gone through this several times now; this use of the aorist tense is very similar to the use of the past tense in English when one is writing a narrative. Most people really don’t need someone to explain this.
“angel An angelic host shows John the Revelation. One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues (Rev. 21:9). This angel was specifically sent to show John the things which must shortly take place (Rev. 22:6,16).”
Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls, full of the seven last plagues, came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”
(Revelation 21:9; NASB)
6And he said to me, “These words are faithful and true”; and the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent His angel to show His bond-servants the things which must soon take place…16”I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you of these things for the churches. I am the root and the descendant of David, the bright morning star.”
(Revelation 22:6,16; NASB)
Again, we are not given the name of a specific angel, or even introduced to one of the angels as “the” angel. We are told that Jesus “sent His angel,” but was this even a being that we were meant to see? I wonder sometimes.
“Here, as elsewhere in Scripture, an angel serves as the intermediary by which revelation is given to man:
“Angels were used for the revelation of the Law of Moses (Acts 7:53; Gal. 3:19; Heb. 2:2).
you who received the Law as ordained by angels, and yet did not keep it. (Acts 7:53; NASB)
18For if the inheritance is based on law, it is no longer based on a promise; but God has granted it to Abraham by means of a promise. 19Why the Law then? It was added on account of the violations, having been ordered through angels at the hand of a mediator, until the Seed would come to whom the promise had been made.
(Galatians 3:18,19; NASB)
2For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every violation and act of disobedience received a just punishment, 3how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?
(Hebrews 2:2,3a; NASB)
“They were active in the presenting of the prophetic truth to Daniel (Dan. 7:16-27; 8:16-26; 9:20-27; 10:1-12:13) and to Zechariah (Zec. 1:9; 2:3; 4:1, 5; 5:5; 6:4,5).
16I approached one of those who were standing by and began requesting of him the exact meaning of all this. So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of these things. 17’These great beasts, which are four in number, are four kings who will arise from the earth.
(Daniel 7:16,17; NASB)
15When I, Daniel, had seen the vision, I sought to understand it; and behold, standing before me was one who looked like a man.16And I heard the voice of a man between the banks of Ulai, and he called out and said, “Gabriel, explain the vision to this man.”
(Daniel 8:15,16; NASB)
21while I was still speaking in prayer, the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision previously, came to me in my extreme weariness about the time of the evening offering. 22And he instructed me and talked with me and said, “Daniel, I have come now to give you insight with understanding. (Daniel 9: 21,22; NASB)
5I raised my eyes and looked, and behold, there was a man dressed in linen, whose waist had a belt of pure gold of Uphaz. 6His body also was like topaz, his face had the appearance of lightning, his eyes were like flaming torches, his arms and feet like the gleam of polished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of a multitude. 7Now I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, while the men who were with me did not seem the vision; nevertheless, a great fear fell on them, and they ran away to hide themselves. 8So I was left alone and saw this great vision; yet no strength was left in me, for my complexion turned to a deathly pallor, and I retained no strength. 9But I heard the sound of his words; and as soon as I heard the sound of his words, I fell into a deep sleep on my face, with my face to the ground. 10The behold, a hand touched me and shook me on my hands and knees. 11And he said to me, “Daniel, you who are treasured, understand the words that I am about to tell you and stand at your place, for I have now been sent to you.” And when he had spoken this word to me, I stood up trembling. 12Then he said to me, “Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart on understanding this and on humbling yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to your words. 13But the prince of the kingdom of Persia was standing in my way for twenty-one days; then behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia. 14Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the latter days, because the vision pertains to the days still future. 15When he had spoken to me according to these words, I turned my face to towards the ground and became speechless. 16And behold, one who resembled a human was touching my lips. Then I opened my mouth and spoke and said to him who was standing before me, “My lord, due to the vision anguish has come upon me, and I have retained no strength…18Then this one with human appearance touched me again and strengthened me.
(Daniel 10:7-16,18; NASB)
Then I said, “What are these, my Lord?” And the angel who was speaking to with me said to me, “I will show you what these are.”
(Zechariah 1:9; NASB)
And behold, the angel who had been speaking with me was going out, and another angel was going out to meet him.
(Zechariah 2:3; NASB)
1Then the angel who had been speaking with me returned and woke me, like a person who is awakened from his sleep…5So the angel who was speaking with me answered and said to me, “Do you not know what these are?” And I said, “No, my lord.”
(Zechariah 4:1,5; NASB)
Then the angel who had been speaking with me went out and said to me, “Now raise your eyes and see what this is that is going forth.” (Zechariah 5:5; NASB)
4So I responded and said to the angel who was speaking with me, “What are these, my lord?” 5The angel replied to me, “These are the four spirits of heaven, going out after taking their stand before the Lord of all the earth
(Zechariah 6:4,5; NASB)
“Angels were used to announce the birth of John to Zacharias (Luke 1:11-20) and the birth of Jesus to Mary (Luke 1:26-38) and to Joseph (Mtt. 1:20-21).
Now an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing to the right of the altar of incense.
(Zechariah 1:11; NASB)
26Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to the city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. (Luke 1:26,27; NASB)
But when he had thought this over, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
(Matthew 1:20; NASB)
“Some suggest that the angel actively contributed to the train of visionary events which passed before John:
“‘The office of the angel, as I take it, was, to form the connection between John’s senses or imagination and the things which he was to describe, making to pass in review before him what was only afterwards to take place in fact. How this was done, I cannot say: but as the devil could take Jesus to a high mountain and show him at one view “all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them,” I am sure that it falls sufficiently within the sphere of angelic natures thus to picture things to man; and that when commissioned of the Lord for the purpose, no good angel is wanting in ability to be the instrument in making John see whatever visions he describes in this book.’”
This is a possible explanation of an angel that is active, but may not be seen.
“This seems unlikely given that John was said to be ‘in the Spirit’ (Rev. 1:10)—the Holy Spirit is elsewhere the agent by which such visionary events are presented.”
I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet
(Revelation 1:10; NASB)
The term “in the Spirit” doesn’t have a hard and fast reference to any specific circumstance. It seems to refer to being influenced by the unseen realm in a positive manner. We know that the Holy Spirit is within us because Jesus told us that, and we know that to be “in the Spirit” allows us to interact with, and sometimes actually see parts of, the usually unseen world. But how this is accomplished, and exactly who or what plays a part in it, we truly don’t know.
“The phrase ‘And I saw. . .’ occurs no less than forty times.This indicates John’s primary role as a scribe rather than an author.”
Exactly.
“3.1.2 – Revelation 1:2 bore witness An epistolary aorist, referring to the perspective of the readers of this book once it had been completed.
“who bore witness to the word of God The phrase word of God is a signature of the Apostle John and occurs in John 1:1; 1Jn. 1:1; 2:14; 5:7 TR; Rev. 1:2; 19:13.“
He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God.
(Revelation 19:13; NASB)
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
(John 1:1; NASB)
What was from the beginning, what we have heard, what we have seen with our eyes, what we have looked at and touched with our hands, concerning the Word of Life
(1 John 1:1; NASB)
I have written to you, fathers, because you know Him who has been from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God remains in you, and you have overcome the evil one. (1 John 2:14; NASB)
The following verses have some interesting variations between translations:
7For there are three that testify: 8For the Spirit and the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement.
(1 John 5:7,8; NASB)
7For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. 8And there are three that bear witness in earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one.
(1 John 5:7,8; KJV)
7And the Spirit is the witness, because the Spirit is the truth. 8There are three witnesses, the Spirit, the water, and the blood; and these three agree.
(1 John 5:7,8; RSV)
7For because three are who are testifying [in the heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit, and these — the three — are one; 8and three are who are testifying in the earth], the Spirit, and the water, and the blood, and the three are into the one.
(1 John 5:7,8; YLT)
7And the Spirit is the (One) witnessing, for the Spirit is the truth. (Because three there are bearing witness in Heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit, and these three One is.) 8And three there are who bear witness on the earth, the Spirit, and the water, and the blood; and the three to the One are.
(1 John 5:7,8; Green’s Interlinear Bible, the word for word translation from the Greek)
In Green’s translation, the word “One” in parentheses is apparently implied. The longer sentence that is parenthetical seems to be actually part of the Greek original. Which makes me wonder why the more modern translations of NASB and RSV leave that part out entirely.
“This is strong evidence that John the Apostle is indeed the authorof this work, as tradition holds. There are many parallels between Jesus and God’s revealed word:
“‘Among the parallels between Jesus and Scripture are 1) their eternality; 2) their production by the Holy Spirit; 3) a divine message embodied in earthly form; 4) the accommodation of man’s limited intellect; 5) perfect—without sin; 6) having unique divine authority; 7) rejected by man; 8) victorious over foes; 9) revealed by faith; 10) bearing witness one to another; 11) the sole means of revelation of the Father; 12) called the Word of God.’”
I think this list is stretching the point a bit, for instance, I don’t see Christ as a “production by the Holy Spirit.” And usually, I see the Word of God that is equivalent to Jesus Christ as being the ‘spoken’ Word of God. The ‘written’ Word of God, i.e., the Scripture, I don’t see equated to Jesus Christ much at all.
“In the same way that Jesus was fully human and yet without error (divine), the written word of God was given through human vessels who were superintended by the Holy Spirit so that the result is inerrant.”
“In the same way”? The written Word of God is definitely “superintended by the Holy Spirit,” though I would prefer the phrase “inspired by” rather than “superintended,” which sounds rather like Scripture was produced in a factory. However, to imply that Jesus came into being in a similar manner to a Spirit-inspired Scripture is a bit over the top in my humble opinion.
“testimony of Jesus Christ There are two ways which the testimony of Jesus Christ may be understood:
“Jesus is the Subject – The testimony was provided by Jesus. He is its source (subjective genitive). Both here and in Rev. 19:10, the grammatical evidence points toward taking this as the subjective genitive (the testimony born by Jesus Christ—which God gave Him).
At this I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For it is the Spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus.”
(Revelation 19:10; NASB)
“ Jesus is the Object – The testimony is about Jesus (objective genitive). He is the One revealed by the testimony. John was banished to Patmos ‘for the testimony of Jesus Christ’ (Rev. 1:9). This almost certainly refers to persecution resulting from his testimony about Jesus. When the fifth seal is opened, John sees martyrs ‘who had been slain for the word of God and for the testimony which they held’ (Rev. 6:9). When the two witnesses finish their testimony, the beast ascends from the bottomless pit and overcomes them (Rev. 11:7). The saints who overcome Satan do so by the (spoken) word of their testimony (Rev. 12:11). The enraged dragon goes forth to make war against those who ‘have the testimony of Jesus Christ’ (Rev. 12:17). At the start of the Millennial Kingdom, John sees ‘the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus (μαρτυρίανἸησοῦ [martyrian Iēsou], testimony of Jesus)’ (Rev. 20:4). In these situations, Scripture records persecution as the result of holding the testimony. This cannot refer to merely receiving a testimony from Jesus. It must refer to giving that testimony forth in the face of opposition. This objective sense would also be in accord with what John records concerning the role of John the Baptist (John 1:7). Many other passages indicate that Jesus is the primary object of prophetic revelation: the ‘volume of the book’ is written of Him (Ps. 40:7; Luke 18:31; 24:27, 44; John 5:39, 46; Acts 8:35; 10:43; Heb. 10:7).”
I, John, your brother and fellow participant in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.
(Revelation 1:9; NASB)
When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been killed because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained
(Revelation 6:9; NASB)
When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them and kill them. (Revelation 11:7; NASB)
11And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death…17So the dragon was enraged with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.
(Revelation 12:11,17; NASB)
Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast of his image, and had not received the mark on their foreheads and on their hands; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
(Revelation 20:4; NASB)
He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him.
(John 1:7; NASB)
Then I said, “Behold, I have come; it is written of me in the scroll of the book.
(Psalm 40:7; NASB)
Now He took the twelve aside and said to them, “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all the things that have been written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished.
(Luke 18:31; NASB)
And so some of those who were with us went to the tomb, and found it just exactly as the women also had said; but Him they did not see”…Now He said to them, “These are My words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all the things that are written about Me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.
(Luke 24:27,44; NASB)
39You examine the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is those very Scriptures that testify about Me…45For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. (John 5:39,45; NASB)
Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him.
(Acts 8:35; NASB)
All the prophets testify of Him, that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.”
(Acts 10:43; NASB)
Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come (it is written of Me in the scroll of the book) to do Your will, O God.’”
(Hebrews 10:7; NASB)
“A survey of various passages concerning the testimony of Jesus Christ indicates that Jesus is both the subject and the object of testimony. Prophetic motivation is from Jesus: ‘the Spirit of Christ . . . testified’ (1Pe. 1:11). It is also about Jesus: ‘indicating . . . beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow’ (1Pe. 1:11). The relationship of the saints to the testimony of Jesus concerns both aspects: (1) we receive the testimony provided by the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ; (2) we are charged with delivering the testimony concerning Jesus to others. The ministry of the saints can be found entirely within the phrase: Knowing Him to make Him known. If either part of this ‘ministry equation’ is neglected, our testimony suffers.” [from A TESTIMONY OF JESUS CHRIST, VOL1, by Tony Garland, 2004]
10As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, 11seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.
(1 Peter 1:11; NASB)
The last few paragraphs were good. We’ve looked at this issue before, but it’s not bad to revisit it: that is, if Revelation is from or about Jesus. And of course, it’s both.
That’s enough for today. I suspect we have two more posts to finish up this phrase.
Go deeply into Revelation 
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