NOTES for Rev 1:9-20

The Revelation is given to John when, during the persecution of Christians, he had been exiled to the island of Patmos. This was in the first decades of Christianity, yet even in this text we find mention that for those who believed in Christ, the day of resurrection had become the Sabbath day, that is, the day devoted to God. The Messiah appears before the apostle as the High Priest, the Intercessor for the world, and the Judge who is to come, clothed in a long robe—the vestment of a priest—and girded with a golden sash symbolizing royal dignity. The keys of Hades and Death, and therefore power over them, are now in the hands of Christ, who passed through death and became for us the source of life.