He laid his right hand on me, saying, “Don’t be afraid. I am the first and the last,
18and the Living one. I was dead, and behold, I am alive forever and ever. Amen. I have the keys of Death and of Hades.
20The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lamp stands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven assemblies. The seven lamp stands are seven assemblies.
The Apocalypse makes numerous allusions to Old Testament texts. This verse brings two Old Testament passages together. The statement “He is coming with clouds” is taken from Dan. 7:13 in a text which points to the Messianic Son of Man coming in the end-time days to set up his kingdom at the time when the little horn (Antichrist figure) is destroyed (see also Matt 24:30). This fits the focus of the book of Revelation as it moves toward the Second Coming of Christ and beyond (Rev. 19-22). Verse 7 also alludes to Zechariah 12:10 which gives a portrait of the mourning of the Jewish people when they see Christ at His Second Coming, and God grants a Spirit of grace and supplication to them. The reader of the Apocalypse must be careful to study the Old Testament texts that are mentioned in their own contexts to properly understand what the book of Revelation is saying.