The Voice of Jesus

“My sheep hear my voice and I know them, and they follow me.” John 10:27



At the moment, there are two copies of the Bible on my desk. One is a New King James version and the other is a Holman Christian Standard. It is not unusual for me to look at more than one. In general I find it helpful to read a passage in multiple versions. Looking at the similarities and the differences helps me understand the intent of the author, or at least it seems that way to me.


In Revelation 4:1 there is an informative difference between the versions. The Holman says “The first voice that I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet said ‘Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.’” It seems to link this statement with the one in 1:10-11, which goes as follows – “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet saying ‘Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches…’”


According to the Holman (HCS) the voice that sounds like a trumpet in 4:1 appears to be the same one as the voice like a trumpet in 1:10-11. The New King James (NKJV) does not quite make that connection. It reads “And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying ‘Come up here and I will show you things which must take place after this.’” That voice could be the same trumpet-like voice as before, or another one like it.


There is another piece of information visible in the NKJV that makes it clear that the translators took it to be a different trumpet-like voice, not the same one. If you were to see the two versions you would notice that in the HCS version the quotations in both chapters have the words in red. The NKJV has red letters in chapter one, but black letters in chapter four. The people who put the HCS together believe that Jesus was talking in both instances. The NKJV people believe it was Jesus the first time but someone else later.


Why do either group of people think it was Jesus either time? In the NKJV there is a line that is not in the HCS, as part of Rev. 1:11. That verse begins with the red lettered statement “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last”. Those are words that would only be rightly said by Jesus. Why are they missing in the HCS version? Because they are missing in many of the manuscripts from which translations were made. Here again, there is a difference of opinion between the two groups. Whether or not they belong here is in question. They are present in 1:8 and in 1:17 without question, but some manuscripts have them in 1:11 and others do not.


The other factor which makes people think that Jesus was the speaker in 1:11 is that it is followed by a vision of someone who can be no one other than Jesus. John introduces that vision by saying “then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man…” John saw Jesus, without doubt.


One detail that appears in the continueing description of Jesus is that His voice sounded “like many waters” or “like cascading waters”. Not like a trumpet? Really. So what is up with the trumpet-like voice?


It seems to fit with the introduction of the book in the very first verse. That verse gives an ordered series of handoffs in the presentation of the revelation. “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show his servants – things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John…” There is an angel involved in the process between Jesus and John.


An angel spoke with a trumpet-like voice, to say that John needed to write down what he saw. Then he turned and what he saw was Jesus. Jesus spoke with a voice like many waters, and gave John the content of letters to seven churches. Immediately after that, the angel spoke again, with a trumpet-like voice. There should not be red letters in either place, and the questionable line should not be present in 1:11, because it is not Jesus speaking either time. He speaks between those verses. You can tell by His voice.


Every Bible I have looked at shows 1:11 in red letters, even if the questionable line is omitted. That leads us to believe it is Jesus speaking in that verse, but it probably is not. The choice of red or black letters is not part of the inspired Word of God. It is a product of interpretation on the part of the translators. They are scholars, work hard at what they do, and have good intentions.  Even so, they can be wrong.  A wrong interpretation may be backed by a long tradition, and still be wrong.


The Bible itself is right. Our interpretations of it may be wrong.  Makes me wonder how often they are.