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.See on reserved, 1 Peter 1:4.Prophecy.See on prophet, Luke 7:26. 1222Which are written (tana).Perfect participle, have beenwritten, and therefore stand written.The time (oJ kairov).Lit., near.See on shortly, verse.1.4.John.Note the absence of all official titles, such as are found in Paul;showing that John writes as one whose position is recognized.Seven.Among every ancient people, especially in the East, a religioussignificance attaches to numbers.This grows out of the instinctiveappreciation that number and proportion are necessary attributes of thecreated universe.This sentiment passes over from heathenism into the OldTestament.The number seven was regarded by the Hebrews as a sacrednumber, and it is throughout Scripture the covenant number, the sign ofGod s covenant relation to mankind, and especially to the Church.Theevidences of this are met in the hallowing of the seventh day; in theaccomplishment of circumcision, which is the sign of a covenant, afterseven days; in the part played by the number in marriage covenants andtreaties of peace.It is the number of purification and consecration(Leviticus 4:6, 17; 8:11, 33; Numbers 19:12). Seven is the number ofevery grace and benefit bestowed upon Israel; which is thus marked asflowing out of the covenant, and a consequence of it.The priests compassJericho seven days, and on the seventh day seven times, that all Israel mayknow that the city is given into their hands by God, and that its conquestis a direct and immediate result of their covenant relation to Him.Naamanis to dip in Jordan seven times, that he may acknowledge the God of Israelas the author of his cure.It is the number of reward to those who arefaithful in the covenant (Deuteronomy 28:7; 1 Samuel 2:5); of punishmentto those who are froward in the covenant (Leviticus 26:21, 24, 28;Deuteronomy 28:25), or to those who injure the people in it (Genesis4:15, 24; Exodus 7:25; Psalms 79:12).All the feasts are ordered by seven,or else by seven multiplied into seven, and thus made intenser still.Thus itis with the Sabbath, the Passover, the Feast of Weeks, of Tabernacles, theSabbath-year, and the Jubilee. 1223Similarly the number appears in God s dealing with nations outside thecovenant, showing that He is working for Israel s sake and with respect toHis covenant.It is the number of the years of plenty and of famine, in signthat these are for Israel s sake rather than for Egypt s.Seven times passover Nebuchadnezzar, that he may learn that the God of his Jewishcaptives is king over all the earth (partly quoted and partly condensedfrom Trench s Epistles to the Seven Churches ).Seven also occurs as a sacred number in the New Testament.There areseven beatitudes, seven petitions in the Lord s Prayer; seven parables inMatthew 13; seven loaves, seven words from the cross, seven deacons,seven graces (Romans 12:6-8), seven characteristics of wisdom (James3:17).In Revelation the prominence of the number is marked.To aremarkable extent the structure of that book is molded by the use ofnumbers, especially of the numbers seven, four, and three.There are sevenspirits before the throne; seven churches; seven golden candlesticks; sevenstars in the right hand of Him who is like unto a son of man; seven lampsof fire burning before the throne; seven horns and seven eyes of the Lamb;seven seals of the book; and the thunders, the heads of the great dragonand of the beast from the sea, the angels with the trumpets, the plagues,and the mountains which are the seat of the mystic Babylon, are allseven in number.So there are four living creatures round about the throne, four angels at thefour corners of the earth, holding the four winds; the New Jerusalem isfoursquare.Authority is given to Death to kill over the fourth part of theearth, and he employs four agents.Again the use of the number three is, as Professor Milligan remarks, soremarkable and continuous that it would require an analysis of the wholebook for its perfect illustration. There are three woes, three uncleanspirits like frogs, three divisions of Babylon, and three gates on each sideof the heavenly city.The Trisagion, or thrice holy, is sung to God theAlmighty, to whom are ascribed three attributes of glory.Seven Churches.Not all the churches in Asia are meant, since the list ofthose addressed in Revelation does not include Colossae, Miletus, 1224Hierapolis, or Magnesia.The seven named are chosen to symbolize thewhole Church.Compare chapter 2:7.Seven being the number of thecovenant, we have in these seven a representation of the Church universal.In Asia.See on Acts 2:9.Grace peace.For grace (ca>riv), see on Luke 1:30.Both words areused by Paul in the salutations of all his Epistles, except the threePastorals.From Him which is, and which was, and which is to come (ajpomenov).Lit.,the One who is coming.This is not equivalent to who shall be; i.e., theauthor is not intending to describe the abstract existence of God ascovering the future no less than the past and the present.If this had beenhis meaning, he would have written oJ ejso>menov, which shall be.Thephrase which is to come would not express the future eternity of theDivine Being
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