A Sharp Two-Edged Sword

Revelation 1:16

Excerpt

Out of his mouth a sharp two-edged sword. This metaphor runs through both Old and New Testaments. It is frequent in this book (ch. 2:12, 16; 19:15, 21; comp. Luke 2:35; Eph. 6:17; Heb. 4:12; Ps. 45:3; 57:4; 59:7; 64:3; 149:6; Prov. 12:18; Isa. 11:4; 49:2, etc.). The sharp words of men and the searching words of God are both spoken of under this figure of the sword. Tertullian and Richard of St. Victor explain the two edges as the Law and the Gospel. Other still more fanciful explanations have been given. “Two-edged” (δίστομος) is literally “two-mouthed,” and perhaps expresses no more than the thorough efficiency of the sword. It occurs in ch. 2:12 and Heb. 4:12; also in classical Greek as equivalent to the more common ἀμφήκης. If a double meaning be insisted on, it may be found in the double character of God’s Word, which not only smites the wicked, but searches the good; which cuts sometimes to punish, sometimes to heal. More

Spence-Jones, H. D. M., ed. Revelation. London; New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company, 1909. Print. The Pulpit Commentary.

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