The Son of man. Gr. huios anthrōpou. The Greek here is without a definite article. It is an exact translation of the Aramaic kebar ’enash (see on Dan. 7:13), and seems to have much the same meaning here as kebar ’enash in Daniel. What is said in comment on kebar ’enash (Dan. 7:13) would therefore apply also to huios anthrōpou. It is certain from Rev. 1:11, 18 that the One thus referred to—as in Dan. 7:13—is in Christ. While the title “the Son of man,” with the definite article, is used of Christ more than 80 times in the NT, the expression “Son of man,” without the definite article, is used of Him in the Greek NT in only two other instances (Rev. 14:14, which is clearly an allusion to Dan. 7:13; and John 5:27, where Jesus’ humanity is emphasized).
Applying the same principle as with kebar ’enash (see on Dan. 7:13), we find that here John beholds Christ in vision for the first time. Who is this glorious being? He has the form, not of an angel or of some other celestial being, but of a man. He is human in form, albeit of dazzling brightness.
Although John wrote the Revelation in Greek, his mode of expression is often that of his native Aramaic (the Jewish language of NT times) rather than Greek. This is true of certain of his idiomatic expressions, and it is possible that huios anthrōpou, literally, “[a] son of man,” is one of these. If so, “a son of man” would mean simply “a human being,” “a man” (see on Dan 7:13). In the same way, “children of the resurrection” (Luke 20:36) are simply resurrected persons, and “children of the kingdom” (Matt. 8:12) are people eligible for the kingdom. Similarly, “children of the bridechamber” (Mark 2:19) are wedding guests, “children of this world” (Luke 16:8) are those who live for this world, “children of wrath” (Eph. 2:3) are those eligible for punishment because of their evil deeds, and “sons of Belial” (1 Kings 21:10) are worthless fellows.
When the glorified Christ manifested Himself to John in celestial splendor He still appeared to him in the likeness of a human being. Although Christ was eternally pre-existent as the second person of the Godhead, and ever remains so, His assumption of humanity is for all eternity to come (see Vol. V, pp. 917–919). What a comfort to know that our ascended, glorified Lord is still our brother in humanity, yet at the same time also God! For a further discussion of this passage see Problems in Bible Translation, pp. 241–243.
Down to the foot. A long garment is a symbol of dignity.
Paps. That is, the breast.
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