Revelation Chapter 1

Revelation 1:9

I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.

In the modern church there are misconceptions about what it means to be a follower of Jesus. We talk too often about being blessed abundantly as well as our best life now. And while there will be a time when faithful followers will receive a reward, its mostly not found in this life. John explains here what it means to be “in Jesus” and to accept the testimony of Jesus. It is brotherhood and partners in the tribulation, in the kingdom, and in the patient endurance. These are the things that are to be expected as a follower of Jesus, but mostly what we hear about is receiving the kingdom. The old testament is chocked full of warnings from God to Israel that they would suffer greatly, sometimes at the hands of others, mostly at the hands of the Almighty. We will soon become acquainted with the concept of endurance so here is the definition: To last; to continue in the same state without perishing; to remain; to abide. We must continue in this tribulation patiently. I’m sure once the tribulation starts, it will seemingly take forever for the Lord to finally come but that’s when the patient endurance comes in. This will also be the time when all the promises God made during the time of the prophets to keep Israel safe and exalt them will come true. So those that must patiently endure are not Israel and are certainly not those that are consigned to the lake of fire, then that leaves only one group; those that are called by His name: Christians. And just like the old testament was full of warnings toward Israel, the new is full of warnings towards the Christian.

Revelation 1:10-11

I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard a loud voice behind me like a trumpet saying, "Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches:Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea." (ESV)

Notice that John was already in the Spirit when this vision begins to take place. He had put himself in a place where he was patiently enduring and the Spirit was on him. Then we receive some words from Jesus, write what you see and tell the churches. The voice he heard behind him was like a trumpet, meaning it was not meant to be a secret. The very words of Jesus are meant to be heard and heeded. They are exclaimed in such a way that because they are to be heard by all then they do not need to be changed. I’m sure most of us have heard sermons or teachings where Jesus’ words are being read or spoken and then the teacher says, “what Jesus really meant by this…”. He is the Word of God and has chosen His words carefully, and they should be trusted and referenced as such. One of the most unpopular instances of this is found in Matthew 6:24; "No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.” Nowhere in there does He say to toy with money or that we should somehow figure out how to mingle the two together to bring Him glory. He does say however that you will love one and hate the other; which means that if you find yourself not hating money, then it is God you hate. As much as we want to twist His words or make it say something else, at some point we must make amends that Jesus did not throw out words haphazardly. He says what He means and means what He says. So when He told John to write these letters it wasn’t something that John had to wonder about whether or not he meant it; Jesus said do it, it must then be done. As for that Matthew verse, stick that concept of God and money on a shelf as we will be revisiting it in a later lesson.

Revelation 1:12-13

Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. (ESV)

It is interesting to me the order in which the next few verses are described in. John turned to the witness the voice and the first thing he mentions are the seven golden lampstands. There are a lot of glorious things about to be described, but here we see the churches. There is a visual of Jesus in the midst of the lampstands. They are different churches yet we see the Son of man among them all; checking on them, wondering if He will find faith within them when He returns. His concern for them is the cause for this very vision. Will all seven lampstands continue to enjoy Him in their midst? The churches have their own place, a destiny of sorts that they are rooted, but in a real way they can also be removed from their place.

We also see Jesus wearing a long robe. In ancient times when there was work to be done you would not see men in long robes but they would often be girded with a belt, which is the picture we have when Aaron and sons were girded with a sash around their waist so that they could serve the Lord. We find Jesus here with His robe long, signifying that He is not coming back to serve but to be served as Master. There is debate over the meaning of the golden sash but as He is a great High Priest, He would obviously be wearing something similar to what His Father commanded Aaron and his sons to wear (since they were performing a shadow of what was in Heaven) but instead of girding his sash around His waist, He wears it around His chest. The important idea surrounding the sashes given to Aaron’s sons is that they were made for glory and beauty. When God was bragging on His Son in the book of Job, He asked Job, “Have you an arm like God, and can you thunder with a voice like his” (see yesterday’s lesson); “Adorn yourself with majesty and dignity; clothe yourself with glory and splendor.” The very garment God was asking Job about is the one we see Jesus wearing in this vision. Now if the sash the priests wore were for glory and beauty, how much more the one worn by the Son of man?

ref: Luke 18:8; Exodus 28:40; Leviticus 8:7-8; Exodus 28:40; Job 40:9-10

Revelation 1:14-15

The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. (ESV)

As we learn about the Lord’s appearance, I want you to close your eyes and visualize what Jesus may look like…More than likely you would picture a caucasian Jesus with long flowing brunette hair. Sound about right? Now the color of His hair on earth was possibly this color, we don’t know. What we do know is that in this vision He has white hair. Now some scholars say that this is just a reflection of His glory and His hair is probably not white. Is this possible?..absolutely, but is it more likely that His hair is actually white (whether it be because of His glory or not). Let’s just put our presuppositions away and believe when John said white hair, he meant hair that’s white. Now I will concede that his hair being described as white wool can speak to the fact that He is the Lamb of God but white nonetheless. His hair is almost always depicted as being long and flowing. Paul says, “Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair it is a disgrace for him”; so by that rational He probably wouldn’t have it in order not to disgrace His Father’s glory; being the exact representation of His nature.

The prophet described Jesus in this way; “he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,

and no beauty that we should desire him.” That is exactly the form Jesus took when He had walked the earth but is not at all what we see here or when He returns. As you can see he does exhibit majesty with eyes like a flame of fire and feet like burnished bronze. He is a sight to uphold and one that all men will notice and fear. We will discuss His eyes, feet and voice in more depth when we get to the churches in chapter 2.

ref: 1 Corinthians 11:14; Hebrews 1:3; Isaiah 53:2

Revelation 1:16

In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two- edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength. (ESV)

Jesus holding the seven stars, (which are actually angels), in his right hand holds some pretty awesome implications for Him. One of the last times we heard Jesus speaking about angels was when He was being betrayed and arrested. He said, “Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?" Comparison between these two show that in the earlier instance, He would have to seek His Father to send the angels for He had been made lower than the angels for a little while; in the Revelation verse after He had been given all authority in Heaven and earth, he now holds the power over angels in His hand. Hallelujah! In the Matthew verse He didn’t call for the angels because Scripture had to be fulfilled, but this time around we will see angels playing a significant role in order that Scripture will continue to be fulfilled.

Next we see from His mouth a sharp two-edged sword, which is the word of God. No doubt most of us have heard from someone that “only God can judge me”, or “the Lord knows my heart”; and its probable that person, (even if they are Christian), has no real concept of what was just said. That sword discerns the thoughts and intentions of the heart. Saying the Lord knows my heart is of no benefit to us since His words declare the heart is desperately wicked. Also, know that while we are able to serve Him, we choose to neglect Him because of our own selfish desires.

His face was like the sun should not surprise any bible student. There are many references, especially in Revelation about the Lord shining and that shine being so bright that the sun and moon are not even needed any longer. Also, this idea was played out before Peter, James, and John at His transfiguration. How glorious it will be to see God in all of his Glory.

ref: Matthew 26:53-54; Hebrews 2:9; Matthew 28:18; Hebrews 4:12; Revelation 2:16; Jeremiah 17:9; Matthew 17:2

Revelation 1:17-18

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, "Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. (ESV)

When I saw Him, I fell at His feet as though dead. Many in the bible saw or were given a vision of the glory of the Lord. Jacob saw Him and was afraid. Moses was only able to see His back or else he would die. Moses and Aaron both fell on their faces outside of the tent. And of course when Paul saw, he fell to the ground and was blinded three days. Not to mention all the elders and angels in Heaven that will very soon be finding themselves on their faces before God. These are the type of things that happen when you behold the glory of God. When people encountered angels they almost always fell down and worshipped; how much more when they encounter the God of all the earth. In a recent book turned movie, someone who claimed to have seen the Father and Son had a reaction that is not in likeness to anything seen in scripture, therefore we must question and be skeptical about such a vision. Also nowhere in scripture does it explain in detail what He actually looks like and I believe that is partially for idol's sake. When we create a 2D representation of a God whose glory we cannot behold that item will very likely become an idol that can turn the entire world astray (this also happened in said book/movie). The response the men in the bible portrayed brings more clarity about how it comes to pass that EVERY knee shall bow. It seems an uncontrollable fear grips those that experience this and rightly so. So then we see Jesus telling John not to fear, as if that is something he can accomplish; and then refers to Himself as the first and last and the living one. Jesus is letting him know here that He is the living one as was referred to the Romans in the above passage: "As surely as I live, every knee will bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God."

Then Jesus proceeds to put to rest all the swoon theorists by acknowledging that He did in fact die. Yes, our Lord and Savior died and that will be the only time that happens for He is alive forevermore. Death has no power over Him because He holds the keys to both Death and Hades, which are separate entities but more on that later.

ref: Genesis 28:17; Exodus 33:20-23; Numbers 20:6; Acts 9:3-9; Romans 14:11; Romans 6:9

Revelation 1:19-20

Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this. As for the mystery of the seven stars that 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 are the seven churches. (ESV)

In John’s time some of the things we will encounter had already occurred, and the rest were waiting to take place; which means some of those things might have already taken place from the time that John wrote them up to today, and some will most certainly take place in the future. I will make mention of some of these that seem certain and will also comment on others that some scholars think have taken place but others think have not.

Though we’ve covered it already, the seven stars in the hand of the Son of man was still a mystery to John up to this point. I do want to note that these angels are indeed different angels than the one giving this vision to John in Rev 1:1. The seven angels in the single hand of Jesus must have been a sight to uphold, whether they were literally there or it was a symbolic display of the awesomeness of Jesus, I don’t know and it doesn’t really matter as long as it is made known the extent of His power.

One final note; the angels are messengers by nature so they are there to bring this message to their respective churches but have no authority over the churches that we are aware of, but it is in fact Jesus who reigns and rules over His churches.