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Scripture focus
And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance [was] as the sun shineth in his strength.
Revelation 1:16 — KJV
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Revelation 1:16
King James Version (KJV)
“In our prayers we talk to God, in our Bible study God talks to us, and we had better let God do most of the talking.”
— D.L. Moody
Commentary
Commentary on Revelation 1:16
Theological / DevotionalRight hand. Here, the hand of God represents His power to sustain.
Seven stars. This symbol represents the “angels,” or messengers, sent to the seven churches (see on v. 20).
Went. The form of the verb in the Greek implies continuous action—the power of Christ is constantly at work.
Twoedged sword. Gr. rhomphaia distomos, literally, “two-mouthed sword.” The rhomphaia was a large, heavy, two-handed sword. It is the word used in the LXX for the “sword” God placed at the entrance to Eden (see on Gen. 3:24) and for the sword of Goliath (1 Sam. 17:51).
The expression “two-mouthed sword” is apparently derived from Semitic usage, although it appears in Greek as early as the 5th century B.C. in the plays of Euripides. It is found much earlier than this, however, in the OT, where the equivalent phrase in Hebrew is pi chereb, “mouth of the sword” (see Gen. 34:26; 2 Sam. 15:14). Thus, in telling the story of Ehud, the writer of Judges says literally, “And Ehud made for himself a sword, and for it two mouths” (see Judges 3:16). Similarly, Prov. 5:4 speaks of a chereb pioth, “a sword of mouths,” which the KJV correctly translates as “twoedged sword.” This interesting figure of speech may be derived either from the thought of a man’s sword as devouring his foes (see 2 Sam. 11:25; Isa. 1:20; Jer. 2:30)—its edge being its mouth—or from the shape of certain ancient swords whose handles were made in the form of an animal’s head, with the blade protruding from the mouth.
John repeats the symbol in chs. 2:12, 16; 19:15, 21, where, in the sense that it comes forth from the mouth of Christ, it is an instrument of divine punishment. It appears best to understand it here in the same sense, as symbolic of Christ’s authority to judge, and especially of His power to execute judgment. That the sword has two edges, together with the fact that it is said to be sharp, would seem to imply the incisiveness of His decisions and the effectiveness of His acts of judgment.
As the sun. The sun is the most brilliant light commonly known to man.
By SdaBc