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John's vision of the Son of Man is a
vision
Vision, Visions, or The Vision may refer to:
Perception Optical perception
* Visual perception, the sense of sight
* Visual system, the physical mechanism of eyesight
* Computer vision, a field dealing with how computers can be made to gain und ...
described in the
Book of Revelation
The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament (and consequently the final book of the Christian Bible). Its title is derived from the first word of the Koine Greek text: , meaning "unveiling" or "revelation". The Book of R ...
(
Revelation 1
Revelation 1 is the first chapter of the Book of Revelation or the Apocalypse of John in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The book is traditionally attributed to John the Apostle, but the precise identity of the author is a point of a ...
:9-20) in which the
author
An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states:
"''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...
, identified as
John
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Secon ...
, sees a person he describes as one "like the Son of Man" (
verse 13
Verse may refer to:
Poetry
* Verse, an occasional synonym for poetry
* Verse, a metrical structure, a stanza
* Blank verse, a type of poetry having regular meter but no rhyme
* Free verse, a type of poetry written without the use of strict ...
). The
Son of Man is portrayed in this vision as having a robe with a golden sash, white hair, eyes like blazing fire, feet like bronze and a voice like rushing waters. He holds seven stars in his right hand and has a double-edged sword coming out of his mouth. The vision is interpreted by Christians as the only identifiable physical
description of Jesus in any form in the
Christian biblical canon.
Account
John of Patmos
John of Patmos (also called John the Revelator, John the Divine, John the Theologian) is the name traditionally given to the author of the Book of Revelation. The text of Revelation states that John was on Patmos, a Greek island where, accordin ...
, the author of the
Book of Revelation
The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament (and consequently the final book of the Christian Bible). Its title is derived from the first word of the Koine Greek text: , meaning "unveiling" or "revelation". The Book of R ...
, wrote how on the
Lord's Day
The Lord's Day in Christianity is generally Sunday, the principal day of communal worship. It is observed by most Christians as the weekly memorial of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who is said in the canonical Gospels to have been witnessed ...
he was "in the Spirit", and heard a loud voice "like a trumpet" (
Revelation 1:10). When he turned around, he saw this
Son of Man figure. In
Revelation 1:18, the figure identifies himself as "the First and the Last", who "was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever", a reference to the
resurrection of Jesus
The resurrection of Jesus ( grc-x-biblical, ἀνάστασις τοῦ Ἰησοῦ) is the Christian belief that God raised Jesus on the third day after his crucifixion, starting – or restoring – his exalted life as Christ and Lo ...
.
Connection with the rest of the book
Some of the language used in
Revelation 1
Revelation 1 is the first chapter of the Book of Revelation or the Apocalypse of John in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The book is traditionally attributed to John the Apostle, but the precise identity of the author is a point of a ...
is also used in
Revelation 19
Revelation 19 is the nineteenth chapter of the Book of Revelation or the Apocalypse of John in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The book is traditionally attributed to John the Apostle, but the precise identity of the author remains a p ...
to describe the
Rider on the White Horse. In both places, he has a sword coming out of his mouth (
1:16 and 19:15) and has "eyes like blazing fire" (
1:14 and 19:12). The sword proceeding from Jesus’ mouth describes the counterintuitive way God's messiah conquers: by the word of God.
The Son of Man is portrayed as walking (
2:1) among seven lampstands, which represent the
seven churches of Asia
The Seven Churches of Revelation, also known as the Seven Churches of the Apocalypse and the Seven Churches of Asia, are seven major Churches of Early Christianity, as mentioned in the New Testament Book of Revelation. All of them are located in ...
(
1:20). In
Revelation 1:11, he says, "Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches".
Chapters 2 and
3 report the content of the letters written to the angels of the seven churches. Throughout the letters he is identified in terms of the vision, such as "him who has the sharp, double-edged sword" (
Revelation 2:12).
Connection with the Book of Daniel
There is a striking resemblance between John's and Daniel's visions of a son of man. In John's vision the Son of Man has white hair, a sword, and lampstands. In Daniel's vision the Son of Man has a body resembling
tarshish
Tarshish ( Phoenician: ''TRŠŠ'', he, תַּרְשִׁישׁ ''Taršīš'', , ''Tharseis'') occurs in the Hebrew Bible with several uncertain meanings, most frequently as a place (probably a large city or region) far across the sea from Phoen ...
, which Rabbi
Rashi
Shlomo Yitzchaki ( he, רבי שלמה יצחקי; la, Salomon Isaacides; french: Salomon de Troyes, 22 February 1040 – 13 July 1105), today generally known by the acronym Rashi (see below), was a medieval French rabbi and author of a compre ...
explains - quoting Tractate Hullin 9lb - as the man being as large as the Tarshish Sea in Africa. Rashi interprets Daniel's Son of Man to be the
archangel Gabriel
In Abrahamic religions ( Judaism, Christianity and Islam), Gabriel (); Greek: grc, Γαβριήλ, translit=Gabriḗl, label=none; Latin: ''Gabriel''; Coptic: cop, Ⲅⲁⲃⲣⲓⲏⲗ, translit=Gabriêl, label=none; Amharic: am, ገብ ...
.
In
Jewish mysticism, the angels are the heavenly priests of God who serve in his heavenly temple in his
heavenly Jerusalem
In the Book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible, New Jerusalem (, ''YHWH šāmmā'', YHWH sthere") is Ezekiel's prophetic vision of a city centered on the rebuilt Holy Temple, the Third Temple, to be established in Jerusalem, which would be the c ...
; hence Gabriel wearing priestly robe and sash. Jesus is similarly depicted because, according to the New Testament, he is the eternal high priest of mankind.
Explanation and interpretation
William Hendriksen
William Hendriksen (18 November 1900 – 12 January 1982) was a New Testament scholar and writer of Bible commentaries. He was born in Tiel, Gelderland, but his family moved to Kalamazoo, Michigan in 1911. Hendriksen studied at Calvin Colle ...
suggests that the whole of the vision "is symbolical of Christ, the Holy One, coming to purge His churches," and to "punish those who are persecuting His elect."
William Hendriksen
William Hendriksen (18 November 1900 – 12 January 1982) was a New Testament scholar and writer of Bible commentaries. He was born in Tiel, Gelderland, but his family moved to Kalamazoo, Michigan in 1911. Hendriksen studied at Calvin Colle ...
, ''More Than Conquerors: An Interpretation of the Book of Revelation'' (Tyndale Press, 1962), 56.
Significance of the seven stars
John tells us in
Revelation 1:20 that the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches ()
In the New Testament, the Greek word for
angel
In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God.
Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles inclu ...
s (''aggelos'') is not only used for heavenly angels, but also used for human messengers, such as
John the Baptist
John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...
(,,).
Merrill Unger
Merrill Frederick Unger (1909–1980) was an American Bible commentator, scholar, archaeologist, and theologian. He earned his A.B. and Ph.D. degrees at Johns Hopkins University, and his Th.M and Th.D degrees at Dallas Theological Seminary. He w ...
is of the opinion that human messengers is the meaning of the stars. In commenting on this verse,
C.I. Scofield
Cyrus Ingerson Scofield (August 19, 1843 – July 24, 1921) was an American theologian, minister, and writer whose best-selling annotated Bible popularized futurism and dispensationalism among fundamentalist Christians.
Biography Child ...
states: "The natural explanation of the "messengers"
ngelsis that they were men sent by the seven churches to ascertain the state of the aged apostle ... but they figure any who bear God's messages to a church."
Several New Testament scholars believe that the angels are not human messengers. Isbon Beckwith says they represent the churches "ideal conception of its immanent spirit". Henry Barclay Swete refers to the angels as the "prevailing spirit" of the church.
![Domitian denarius son reverse](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1f/Domitian_denarius_son_reverse.PNG)
One aspect of the vision is the portrayal of Jesus holding seven stars in his right hand. Such a motif is also found on coins of the Emperor
Domitian
Domitian (; la, Domitianus; 24 October 51 – 18 September 96) was a Roman emperor who reigned from 81 to 96. The son of Vespasian and the younger brother of Titus, his two predecessors on the throne, he was the last member of the Fl ...
. Sometime between 77 and 81, Domitian's infant son died. He was subsequently
deified
Apotheosis (, ), also called divinization or deification (), is the glorification of a subject to divine levels and, commonly, the treatment of a human being, any other living thing, or an abstract idea in the likeness of a deity. The term has ...
, and is portrayed on coins of Domitian, with seven stars. Ernest Janzen argues that the globe on which the infant stands represents world dominion and power, while the stars indicate his divine nature; he is depicted as "the son of (a) god" and "conqueror of the world." Although Domitian's son cannot be said to be holding the stars, some scholars have drawn parallels between the
numismatic and biblical evidences. Frederick Murphy notes that "Revelation's image of Jesus with seven stars in his hand may be an allusion to that coin and an implicit critique of it. It is not the Roman imperial family that has cosmic significance, but Jesus."
[Frederick James Murphy, ]
Fallen is Babylon: the Revelation to John
', (Trinity Press International, 1998), 91.
Austin Farrer
Austin Marsden Farrer (1 October 1904 – 29 December 1968) was an English Anglican philosopher, theologian, and biblical scholar. His activity in philosophy, theology, and spirituality led many to consider him one of the greatest figures of 20 ...
, on the other hand, takes them to be the seven
classical planet
In classical antiquity, the seven classical planets or seven luminaries are the seven moving astronomical objects in the sky visible to the naked eye: the Moon, Mercury, Venus, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn. The word ''planet'' comes fro ...
s, and interprets the vision as representing Christ's lordship over time.
Austin Farrer
Austin Marsden Farrer (1 October 1904 – 29 December 1968) was an English Anglican philosopher, theologian, and biblical scholar. His activity in philosophy, theology, and spirituality led many to consider him one of the greatest figures of 20 ...
, "Inspiration, Poetical and Divine," in ''Interpretation and Belief'', 47.
See also
*
Chronology of Revelation
The events of Revelation are the events that occur in the Book of Revelation of the New Testament. An outline follows below, chapter by chapter.
Chapters
One
* The Revelation of Jesus Christ given to John.
Two
* John addresses the church of ...
*
Resurrection appearances of Jesus
The resurrection of Jesus ( grc-x-biblical, ἀνάστασις τοῦ Ἰησοῦ) is the Christian belief that God raised Jesus on the third day after his crucifixion, starting – or restoring – his exalted life as Christ and Lord ...
*
Son of man (Christianity)
Son of man is an expression in the sayings of Jesus in Christian writings, including the Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles and the Book of Revelation. The meaning of the expression is controversial. Interpretation of the use of "the Son of man" ...
*
Son of man (Judaism)
"Son of man" is the translation of one Hebrew and one Aramaic phrase used in the Hebrew Bible. In Hebrew, the term is ''ben-adam,'' while in Aramaic its equivalent ''bar-adam'' is used. In the Book of Daniel and in post-biblical literature, the ...
References
{{Book of Revelation
Biblical dreams and visions
Book of Revelation
Christology
Christophany
John the Apostle
Visions of Jesus and Mary