Christ amidst the lampstands
(REV. 1:12-20)

Art used by permission by Pat Marvenko Smith, copyright 1992
Click here to visit her "Revelation Illustrated" site

Rev 1:1-2 - 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, who bore witness to the word of God, and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to all things that he saw.

If you have not done so already please read the "Preface" as it discusses the meaning and application of the word "revelation" in the context of this book and also other things pertinent to the proper understanding of Revelation.

This revelation was given by the Father to His Son who has made it known to us. "The expression 'must shortly come to pass' is translated from the Greek en táchei. The word....essentially (does) not mean 'at once' or 'shortly' but mean(s) 'with speed, swiftness, or quickness.' At least this is the first element of information that John wants to pass on to us. He speaks primarily about God's intervention in history, whether it is past or future history. God allows man to have his day, but God is also going to have His day in which He will intervene suddenly and speedily. This is clear throughout the entire Book of Revelation, and especially toward the end when God suddenly intervenes in the affairs of men. The other possible but secondary meaning is 'in a short time.' Indeed, the things in Revelation, especially in the second and third chapters, had begun and were actually current events at the time John was writing. They began to happen then; they are continuing to happen as God described them. We must not interpret 'quickly' or 'soon' only in relation to final events. They must take their time in the order that God meant them to take place." [2] Jesus sent and "signified it" (correct NKJV translation indicating it was communicated in "symbols")by His angel to His servant John. At the time John was on the island Patmos (vs. 9) reportedly placed there by the Romans as a member of a penal colony. Therefore if what he had written had fallen into the hands of his captors he could have been in trouble - thus it was "signified," or put into symbolic language (as in the case of Daniel and Ezekiel).

Rev 1:3 - Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near. What John wrote was intended to be read publicly in the churches, but a special "blessing" was attached - one of seven "blessings" in the book of the Revelation.

Rev 1:4-6 - John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace to you and peace, from Him who is and who was and who is to come; and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne; and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the first-born of the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us, and released us from our sins by His blood, and He has made us {to be} a kingdom, priests to His God and Father; to Him {be} the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen. "Seven churches" - the number seven is used fifty-four times in Revelation. It symbolizes "perfection, completion." The seven churches to which John wrote were located in what we now know as western Turkey. He was reportedly the pastor of the church at Ephesus, and may have been bishop over the other six churches also. "...from Him who is and who was and who is to come" (the Father), "...from the seven Spirits who are before His throne" (the Holy Spirit), "from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness (prophet), the first-born of the dead (priest), and the ruler of the kings of the earth (king)." This identifies Jesus as the Messiah "who loves us, and released us from our sins by His blood, and He has made us {to be} a kingdom, (royal) priests to His God and Father."

Rev 1:7-8 - Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over Him. Even so. Amen. "I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty." Note Jesus' statement in Matt. 24:30. There will anguished but unrepentant mourning by multitudes of unbelievers who realize that the day of judgment has come and God's wrath is at hand. Mankind lost his "Alpha and Omega" point through Adam's sin, so he has no stable foundation or realizable goal. His house is built on sand. (Matt. 5:26-7) "If you are a believer in evolution, and your beginning was in the slime, then your hope for the future is nothing more than that." [1]

Rev 1:9 - I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance {which are} in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos, because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. There has been (and continues to be) considerable debate whether John the apostle was actually the author of Revelation, but the evidence for his being that seems quite conclusive while the opinions against are not conclusive at all. There is apparently evidence that he was placed by the Romans in a penal colony on Patmos near the end of the first century. During the first two to three centuries most of the church fathers cite the apostle John as the author of Revelation, among them Justin Martyr (110-165 A.D.). Polycarp (disciple of the apostle John) wrote in his work Against Heresies, "John, also the Lord's disciple, says in the Apocalypse -" and then proceeds to quote from Revelation. There was also Tertullian (145-220), Clement of Alexandria (153-217), Hippolytus etc. Also, there are thematic similarities between Revelation and John's Gospel.

(1) The only writings in the New Testament (NT) where Jesus is referred to as the "logos" are John's Gospel and Revelation - and John's first letter. (2) "The Lamb of God" is a central motif in John's Gospel and Revelation. (3) So is the word "witness" ("marturia"). (4) "Truth" ("aletheia") occurs 13 times in John's Gospel and 10 in Rev. - and only 5 in the rest of the NT! (5) God's "dwelling" or "tabernacling" in the midst of His people is found only in John's Gospel and Revelation.

Rev 1:10-11 - I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like {the sound} of a trumpet, saying, "Write in a book what you see, and send {it} to the seven churches: to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea." "...in the Spirit" is not controversial as there are other examples of it in the Bible. "...on the Lord's day" on the other hand is, and no one can say for certain what John meant. The "Lord's day" is quite a common term nowadays to refer to Sunday - but not in the apostle John's time. As a matter of fact this is the only place in the Bible it can be found. The Christians of John's time did not refer to the first day of the week as the "Lord's day," and apparently would not for another 75 years. The only other possibility to which John could be referring was "the day of the Lord" - a very common term throughout the Bible referring to the second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ to judge the world. Since the events that John was shown could easily be said to fit into that category, it would be no problem to say that it was to the "day of the Lord" that John was referring when he wrote, "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day." "...a loud voice like {the sound} of a trumpet" Trumpets were used by the Israelites to summon each other into (1) God's presence or (2) warfare. They were (are) a very good attention-getter. Especially if you happen to be standing in the same room as one that is sounded. Or was it a cave in John's case?

Rev 1:12-18 - And I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands; and in the middle of the lampstands one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His breast with a golden girdle. And His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire; and His feet {were} like burnished bronze, when it has been caused to glow in a furnace, and His voice {was} like the sound of many waters. And in His right hand He held seven stars; and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength. And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as a dead man. And He laid His right hand upon me, saying, "Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades. Who of us would not have reacted as the apostle John did? This is a very normal reaction throughout the Bible for those suddenly finding themselves in the presence of the "Ancient of Days" (Daniel 7:9) as the description of this Person seems to fit. But no less true would it be to be in the presence of the glorified Christ, as was the apostle John. The "seven golden lampstands" remind us of what Jesus said His Church was to be - "The light of the world." (Matt. 5:14-16) "...and in the middle of the lampstands one like a son of man." (John 8:12; Matt. 16:18) The involved description of His Person will be seen to have critical relevancy in Rev. 2-3 as He dictates letters to the seven churches. These characteristics of "eyes like a flame of fire," "feet {were} like burnished bronze," etc. each have special application to what He has to say about the churches. This is the glorified Christ in His exaltation, taking on the outward appearance of the eternal God. "We are intrinsically terrified of the holiness of God," one Bible teacher said. "When we look into the face of Christ and understand what holiness is - what the glory is that we behold - then we find out what our former opinions were in their reality." [1] (1 Cor.13:12; 1 John 3:2-3)

Rev 1:19 - "Write therefore the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall take place after these things." This verse is commonly interpreted as: (1) "Write therefore the things which you have seen..." - Rev. 1; (2) "...and the things which are..." - Rev. 2-3; (3) "...and the things which shall take place after these things." Rev. 4-22

Rev 1:20 - "As for 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 are the seven churches." The only room for discussion here is - who are the "angels?" They can either be real angels assigned to the churches (this particular Greek word "angelos" is used to refer only to real angels in the remainder of the book of Revelation) or to the pastors of the various churches, since the word "angelos" also can be translated "messenger." I lean toward "pastors" since I have difficulty believing the Lord Jesus would instruct John to write letters to actual angels. But it's not worth arguing about. You choose.

[1] R. C. Sproul - Ligonier Ministries
[2] The Hebrew-Greek Key Study Bible
© 1984 by Spiros Zodhiates and AMG International, Inc.
p. 1542

To Chapters 2&3:

CONTENTS

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