Revelation 1:10

And I heard behind me, etc. He is first admonished by the voice to turn his sight to the vision.

The other prophetic books are collections of distinct prophecies, given upon various occasions: but here is one single treatise, whereof all the parts exactly depend on each other. chap. iv, 1 is connected with ver. 19 and what is delivered in the fourth chapter goes on directly to the twenty- second.

quarantine:anchor (2026-07-29) — cites-ver-19-anchored-10-10

I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day,....

I was in the Spirit - That is, I received the Spirit of prophecy, and was under its influence when the first vision was exhibited. The Lord’s day - The first day of the week, observed as the Christian Sabbath, because on it Jesus Christ rose from the dead; therefore it was called the Lord’s day, and has taken place of the Jewish Sabbath throughout the Christian world. And heard behind me a great voice - This voice came unexpectedly and suddenly. He felt himself under the Divine afflatus; but did not know what scenes were to be represented.

On the day before Saturday they crucified Him; and on the day after Saturday, which is Sunday, having appeared to His apostles and disciples, He taught these things." To the Lord's day PLINY doubtless refers [Epistles, Book X., p. 97], "The Christians on a fixed day before dawn meet and sing a hymn to Christ as God," &c.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — odd-straight-quotes

I was in the Spirit - This cannot refer to his own spirit, for such an expression would be unintelligible. The language then must refer to some unusual state, or to some influence that had been brought to bear upon him from without, that was appropriate to such a day. The word “Spirit” may refer either to the Holy Spirit, or to some state of mind such as the Holy Spirit produces - a spirit of elevated devotion, a state of high and uncommon religious enjoyment. It is clear that John does not mean here to say that he was under the influence of the Holy Spirit in such a sense as that he was inspired, for the command to make a record, as well as the visions, came subsequently to the time referred to. The fair meaning of the passage is, that he was at that time favored, in a large measure, with the influences of the Holy Spirit - the spirit of true devotion; that he had a high state of religious enjoyment, and was in a condition not inappropriate to the remarkable communications which were made to him on that day. The state of mind in which he was at the time here referred to, is not such as the prophets are often represented to have been in when under the prophetic inspiration (compare Eze 1:1; Eze 8:3; Eze 40:2; Jer 24:1), and which was often accompanied with an entire prostration of bodily strength (compare Num 24:4); 1Sa 19:24; Eze 1:28; Dan 10:8-10; Rev 1:17), but such as any Christian may experience when in a high state of religious enjoyment. […]

John used the same four keys that Habakkuk did. In Revelation 1:9-11 we find he was in the spirit (stillness), he heard a voice behind him (tuned to spontaneity), saying, "Write in a book (journaling), what you see (vision)."