Revelation 1:9-20:
9 I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. 10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet, 11saying, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,” and, “What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.” 12Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, 13and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. 14His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; 15His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; 16He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. 17And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. 18“I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death. 19“Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this. 20“The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches
This is a big chunk, more than I usually do, so here goes:
John gives us a brief description about the background of his writing. As we said earlier, he was exiled for preaching the gospel. The Island of Patmos was about 40-50 miles off the coast of Ephesus. It was a small island about 6 x 10 miles and very rocky. It was a penal colony, a place where prisoners were sent to. Why was John exiled for preaching? The emperors of this time thought they were God. They elevated themselves in the place of God and to preach another was as good as treason.
The first thing we see is John doesn't exalt himself. He describes himself as their companion and their brother. This was a belief that permeated the early church. We see this type of writing also with Paul and Peter. To elevate oneself above another spoke of pride and arrogancy of which they wanted no part. John was very close to the Lord, even known as one whom the Lord loved. He spent 3 1/2 years with Christ, before and after his resurrection. If anyone had boasting rights, it would have been John.
He speaks here of three things that unites believers, tribulations, kingdom and patience or perserverance. We all belong to the Kingdom as believers and will endure together. We will all endure tribulations and must perservere thru them. These things bring us closer together as a family. As our local church deals with illness, cancer, death etc we experience ourselves growing closer together as a body. We endure, not alone but as a group. As we do, we quite surprisingly can see how the tribulations and trials that are endured builds up God's body which is the church.
Paul said in Acts 14:22: strengthening the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and saying, “We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God.
These are common traits, characteristics as brothers and sisters in Christ and was written to the seven churches. These were specific churches but is also meant for us as well.
How much persecution do we endure? Probably not much because we're not willing to put ourselves out there like John or the early church did. We're not preaching enough. Usually we compromise our belief to spare ourselves. There are missionaries out there now that I'm aware of that are praying that they would be willing to go to the death if necessary. They are not asking for us to take away the threat of death but only asking us to pray for strength to die if and when it becomes reality. When persecution comes it's a sign that we're doing something right.
In our area right now we're being pressured to compromise by area churches. Our elders are in constanst prayer about this. The growing compromising going on here will play a part in our persecution to come and we're aware of that. Most of our church members are unaware because the elders deflect alot of it now.
We see here that John was in the spirit on the Lord's Day. Simply put he was worshipping God on Sunday. Here he is having a vision. He's not asleep but is experiencing a supernatural event. He is about to see things in a real and tangible way to pass on to us. First he hears a loud voice as a trumpet. Imagine, on this quiet island, a loud trumpet just before he hears the words. The first things he hears is the I AM statement. "I am the Alpha & Omega." This is a common term for God Almighty. This is English for YHWH or Jehovah God himself.
Notice back in 1:8 that we see this same statement. There it quite clearly is Jehovah God or God the Father speaking. Here in this section it's quite clearly Jesus speaking. Look ahead at v18 and you see "I am He who lives, and was dead" No question this is Jesus and He just declared himself God yet again.
John is being told to write this down. Now this was done on parchment that was rolled up. Sometimes the rolls could be as long as 30 feet long. Here someone said with the amount of words in Revelation, 404 verses, this scroll was about 18 feet long. Again, this would have been sent around the postal route of churches and copied down later most likely when John was released.
He was told to write that which you have seen (vision of Jesus), that which are (church's condition) and that which will take place (future Day of the Lord) Here in V11 and 19 we see two commands to write down these things. There are 12 such commands altogether. He didn't write this down for us to ignore them. Notice in V11 it says "see" and V19 it says "seen."
Basically he's being told "John, you tell them what I look like; my glory, my power, my countenance, in your own words"
He's also to write the things which "are" and that will be covered in Chap 2 & 3 when he writes on the conditions of the churches. The 7 churches there in John's day represent all churches. The question is which church do you belong to? What letter would we receive? Which church here in Revelation represents our own church?
After John reports on the things which "are" he will move onto the things "which are to come," future things or a sneak preview. We see he turns and sees 7 Golden Lampstands. No guesswork here. All we need to do is go to v20 for the interpretation. Each lampstand represents one of the 7 churches. The churches are not THE LIGHT but are holders of the LIGHT. Notice they are made of gold. Gold is a precious metal, the finest there is. The church is precious to Him. He died for the church.
Angels we know are messengers. The question here is who are these Angels? Are they real Angels? Some think so, but most believe here it's talking of the Pastor, Elder or Church Leader of each church. They would go to 2:1 which says to write the letter to the Angel of the Church. This would be another way to say messenger of the Church. One who speaks for God.
In v13 John sees Jesus in the midst which is where Jesus belongs. Sad to say that's not true anymore for many churches. The focus of every church should be Christ. In our church we always strive to keep Christ in the midst of all we do. He's to be the center of attraction. He deserves our focus always. Those churches without Christ have no meaning. Some have nothing but vain empty repetitions and are considered cold, dead or empty without the light and love of Christ in their midst. No Jesus, no church. No Jesus, no worship. No Jesus, no meaning. In John 8:12 Jesus said:
"I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life. "
No Jesus, no light.
In v13-16 he describes Christ. It had been 60 years since he had last seen Jesus. He now would see him differently than before when he walked with him. He mentions his garment, golden band, head and hair, His eyes and feet, His voice, right hand, face and mouth.
His garment described here is similar to what the Priests of the OT wore and as described in Exodus 28:4, the Golden Band reminiscent of the Ephod the Priests were to put on their breast. We know that Christ is now forever our High Priest.
Notice His head and hair were white. This word means brilliant. John is writing in his own words what he's seeing. Most likely he's seeing a hot white light or a halo and is trying to put it in words that are hard to describe. Daniel had the same thoughts as he wrote this in 7:9:
“I watched till thrones were put in place,
And the Ancient of Days was seated;
His garment was white as snow,
And the hair of His head was like pure wool."
His eyes were like flames of fire. When he returns His anger will burn. His eyes will show this as His eyes will penetrate, burning into the very being of those he encounters in that day. His feet are glowing and are a symbol of judgment. Many times in scripture it says His enemies will be put under his feed. A favorite verse of the early church was Psalm 110:1 which states this very thought.
The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at My right hand,
Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.”
His voice was like the sound of rushing waters. Now imagine John on this Island listening to the waves crashing against the rocks. What does he mean by this description? I would imagine he's explaining the overpowering strength in His voice, maybe the loudness of it. Daniel comes up with a similar description in 10:5-6 and Ezekiel in 43:2. Out of His mouth comes a sword in action. We know from other scriptures that this sword is the Word of God (Hebrew 4:12) and is quite powerful.
Notice Paul said this some 30 years earlier in 2 Thess 2:8:
And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming.
His Word will bring judgment. The Word of God penetrates the heart. I know this firsthand. It's true.
I get the feeling after all this that John is overwhelmed. This is a description of who we will see one day. John has an incredible reaction in v17. He fell as dead. We see this many times for those who met Jesus face to face in his glory. We saw this in Ezekiel 1:28, 3:23, 43:3, 44:4 and Daniel 10:8-9. Abraham fell on his face in Genesis 17:3 as well.
Today our attitude towards God is very casual even in many churches. God is our buddy, our pal, our friend. Well while He is all that his holiness cannot be overlooked. He is God. We too will fall to our knees or on our face when we see Him. Everyone who met God felt a sense of unworthyness. They were in awe and reverence of his holy majesty. He is God, King of Glory.
Jesus puts out His hand to reasure him not to fear. We should be in awe. We should be reverent, but we don't need to fear. He saved us.
In v18 we see this risen Savior holds the keys. He alone has the power over death and Hades. Death is a state or conditon and Hades ia a place. There are two classes of people. Those that believe and those that don't. There are two destinies that is determined by which class you are in. Jesus is making a statement here. He has the power. He is the way. He has the keys. Only He can unlock the door to Heaven for us. On one else has the keys, not Buddah, not Allah nor anyone else.
Works do not open the door for us. Works will not get us in. When we read about the Great White Throne Judgment in 20:11 we see that works did not get them in. They were judged according to their works. None were able to get in via those works.
There is no hiding. There will be no running from God. If you reject Him to the very end your destiny is sure. We as Christians are to shine the light that He's given us in their direction. We are to point them to Him who has the keys. How can we be so arrogant as to not say anything and keep Him to ourselves? Just remember when you do say something, you will be persecuted.
"