What Does Revelation 1:17 Mean?
And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as one dead. And he set his right hand upon me, saying, Do not be struck with awe. I am the first and the last.
Key words are shown with the Hebrew or Greek and what each word meant.
Selah Decoded Version The Selah Decoded Version renders what the Hebrew and Greek words meant to the people who first heard them.
King James wording
King James Version
And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:THE KEY
The hand that touches you at the edge of collapse belongs to the one who holds both the beginning and the farthest edge.
THE MEANING
When the sight of him leaves you on the ground, his right hand meets you there. “Fear not” comes from the one who is first and last, the foremost and the farthest edge. Your collapse does not place you beyond his reach.
WHAT THIS UNDOES
This undoes the belief that falling apart means you have reached a place where help cannot reach you.
THE ROOT
ἔσχατος
eschatos
GROWS FROM
ἐσχατ-
Utmost, farthest, outermost; hence last.
Ἔσχατος can name the last in time and what lies at the farthest edge. The one who calls himself “the last” is not only at the end of a sequence; no edge lies beyond his reach.
ALSO GROWS
eschata: Last things; things at the end or far edge.
ἔσχατα
This plural form keeps the sense of “last” while pointing to what lies at the limit.
eschatē: Last, in the feminine form; used in “the last day.”
ἐσχάτῃ
The same stem can mark a final point in time, while the verse also carries its sense of utmost edge.
πρῶτος
prōtos
GROWS FROM
πρωτ-
Foremost; first in sequence or rank.
Πρῶτος can mean both earliest and foremost. Paired with ἔσχατος, it holds the whole span, from what comes first to the farthest edge, in one claim.
ALSO GROWS
prōteuō: To be first or hold first place.
πρωτεύω
This related verb makes the rank or primacy within “first” explicit.
prōtotokos: Firstborn.
πρωτότοκος
The compound carries “first” into the idea of priority and place, not just a point on a timeline.
THE PATTERN
When fear overtakes a person, divine presence meets it with reassurance and support.
And he said to me, Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to bend yourself low before your God, your words were heard and responded to, and I have come for your words.And Jesus came near and touched them, and said, Rise, and do not be struck with fear.Do not fear, for I am with you. Do not look about in dismay, for I am your God. I will grip you, and I will help you, and I will hold you up with the right hand of my alignment.THE THREAD
I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.The same Greek word for “last” (ἔσχατος, eschatos) appears beside “the end” and “the last.” That echo lets the word hold both time’s final point and the farthest edge.
Read the SDV Bible.
Every verse has a Deep Dive in the app.
The iPhone Bible app with the Selah Decoded Version.
Does something in this reading look wrong? Tell us