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.
He had - `having.' John takes up the description, irrespective of the construction, with separate strokes of the pencil (Alford).
In his right hand seven stars - (Revelation 1:20; Revelation 2:1; Revelation 3:1.) He holds them as a star-studded "crown of glory," or "royal diadem," in His hand: so Isaiah 62:3, as their Possessor and Upholder.
Out of his mouth went - `going forth;' not wielded in the hand. His WORD, the sword of His Spirit, is omnipotent in executing His will against sinners. Its reproving, punishing, rather than its converting power, is here prominent. Still, as He encourages the churches, as well as threatens, its saving power is not excluded. Its two edges (back and front) imply its double efficacy, condemning some, converting others. Tertullian ('Adv. Jud.') explains them the Old and the New Testament. Richard of Victor, 'the Old Testament cutting externally our carnal, the New Testament internally our spiritual, sins.'
Sword, х Romfaia (G4501), the Thracian long, heavy broad-sword] - six times in Revelation, once elsewhere in the New Testament, namely, Luke 2:35.
Sun shineth in his strength - in unclouded power. So shall the righteous shine, reflecting the image of the Sun of righteousness. Trench remarks, This description, sublime as a purely mental conception, would be intolerable if we gave it outward embodiment. With the Greeks, aesthetical taste was the first consideration, to which all others must give way. With the Hebrews, the full representation ideally of the religious reality was paramount, that representation being designed to remain a purely mental conception. This exalting of the essence above the form marks their deeper religious earnestness.