IN THE SPIRIT ON THE LORD’S DAY
Revelation 1:10–20
The Bible has much to say about the importance of walking in the Spirit:
- Galatians 5:16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
- Galatians 5:25 If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
- Romans 8:13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
- Romans 8:9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.
The Bible makes it clear that those who do not possess the Spirit of God do not belong to God. On the other hand, there will be visible evidence of God’s Spirit in the lives of true believers. The only way that we can be successful in the Christian life is to “walk in the Spirit”. When we obediently walk in the Spirit, there is no limit to what God can do in us and through us.
Alexander MacLaren said, “He who has the Spirit in his heart and the Scriptures in his hands has all he needs”. In our selected text, John speaks of a time when he was “in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day”. The remainder of this chapter details the things that he experienced when Jesus appeared to him on the Isle of Patmos. Because he was in the Spirit, John was able to see the Lord, hear the Lord, feel the Lord’s presence and to learn from Him. Each of these amazing privileges is available to us today, but if we seek to experience Jesus in this way, we must walk in the Spirit. I would like to listen to John’s description of his encounter with Jesus and consider the thought “In The Spirit On The Lord’s Day”.
- In verse 10 Johns speaks about:
WHAT YOU CAN HEAR WHEN YOU WALK IN THE SPIRIT
v10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet, 11 saying, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,”
Because John was walking in the Spirit, he was able to experience unhindered fellowship with the Lord. This put him in a position to receive this divine revelation from God.
It has been said that “one must be near to hear”. John mentions the fact that this encounter occurred on “the Lord’s Day”; he met with Jesus on the first day of the week, Sunday. Jesus rose from the grave on Sunday, the Holy Spirit descended at Pentecost on Sunday, the members of the early church gathered and broke bread on Sunday, and Paul instructed the Corinthians to take up a collection on Sunday. Sunday is the Lord’s Day.
On this specific Sunday, John was in the Spirit and suddenly he heard “a loud voice, as of a trumpet, saying, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,”. He did not hear an actual trumpet; rather he uses a trumpet as a metaphor to describe the clarity, volume, and tone of Jesus’ voice. Later, in verse 15 He describes Jesus voice as being like “the sound of many waters”. Throughout Revelation, a loud sound or voice indicates the gravity of what God is about to reveal. In every instance where Jesus speaks to John in the Revelation, he hears the voice of authority.
Again I remind you, John was able to hear this voice because he was in the Spirit. This was not a dream; John was empowered by the Holy Spirit to receive this divine revelation from God. Every true believer has the opportunity to hear God just as John did. I am not implying that He will come to us in visible form and talk to us with an audible voice, but if we walk in the Spirit, God will communicate with us. He speaks to us through His Holy Scriptures and He leads us through His Holy Spirit. God will tell you what His will is for your life. He will lead you and guide your steps as you walk with Him. He will tell you what you should do and tell you what you should not do. We have the great opportunity to communicate with God almighty. Furthermore, God wants us to talk to Him and He certainly wants us to listen when He talks to us.
There is no greater privilege than to have a personal relationship with God and to be able to communicate with Him. Unfortunately this is a privilege that we take for granted. God has much to say to us but many times we do not hear His voice because we fail to walk in the Spirit. If you will walk in the Spirit, then you can hear the voice of God.
- Not only will you be able to hear God when you walk in the Spirit, John goes on to show us:
WHAT YOU CAN SEE WHEN YOU WALK IN THE SPIRIT
I simply cannot describe for you the majestic sights that John saw on this specific Lord’s Day but suffice it to say that he saw some amazing sights. And if you will walk in the Spirit, you can see exactly what he saw. Notice that:
A. YOU CAN SEE THE SOVEREIGN LORD
After hearing the voice of Jesus, John turned around to see Him. - v12 Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and in the midst of the seven lampstands, one like the Son of Man.
The first thing that John saw was seven golden lampstands. These lampstands each held a single oil lamp. Each lampstand represented a specific church; those churches shined the light of life in the midst of a dark world. I’m sure the lampstands were intriguing to John, but his attention was quickly drawn to the one who walked in the midst of those lampstands. For in the midst of the churches was the “Son of Man”. Son of Man is the title that Jesus used most often to describe Himself in the Gospels; this title is a claim of His deity.
John goes on to describe the appearance of the Son of Man. He was: clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band. 14 His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; 15 His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; 16 He 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.
The long and golden sash indicates that the glorified Christ is dressed like a high priest. The white appearance that John describes is like that of the “Ancient of Days” recorded in Daniel 7:9. This white appearance is a demonstration of His purity and eternality. His eyes being “like a fiery fire” are a reference to His righteous judgment. John MacArthur says, “Like two lasers, the eyes of the exalted Lord look with penetrating gaze into the depths of His church”.
The “feet of brass” are another reference to His divine judgment. Jesus is walking among the lampstands (His Churches) and He is about to exercise His chastening authority upon sin. In His right hand are seven stars which we are told represent “the angels of the seven churches,” Coming out of Christ’s mouth is an extremely sharp, double-edged sword that represents the judging power of God’s Word. Finally, John says that Jesus’ countenance was radiant as the sun at high noon.
Because he was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, John was able to see the Sovereign Lord; he saw the majesty of Jesus Christ. If we walk in the Spirit, we too will be able to see the majesty of our Savior. When we walk in the Spirit, we will get a glimpse of our Sovereign Lord well before we see Him in glory. Furthermore, if you walk in the Spirit:
B. YOU CAN SEE THE LIVING LORD
Jesus said to John “I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen.” (v18a)
John had no doubt that Jesus was alive. He was one of the first witnesses of the empty tomb, he saw Jesus alive several times after His resurrection, he watched Him ascend to Heaven and he heard Christ promise that one day He would come again. Though he knew that Christ was alive and seated at the Father’s right hand, it had been many decades since he had seen his Lord face to face. This must have been an overwhelming experience for John, in fact we know that it was because John goes on to say that when he saw Him, he “fell at His feet like as a dead man”.
Unlike John, we have yet to see Jesus in person. We walk by faith and not by sight, but when we walk in the Spirit, we can see the living Lord. We can live with full assurance that Jesus is alive, and we can know that one day we will see Him face to face.
It was this same John who said “Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” (1 John 3:2)
- If you walk in the Spirit, you can see the Sovereign Lord, you can see the Living Lord and:
C. YOU CAN SEE THE CONQUERING LORD
When Jesus spoke to John, He proclaimed, “I have the keys of Hades and of Death. (v18b). Jesus “holds the keys of Hades and of Death”; here Hades speaks of the soul and death refers to the body.
When someone dies their body goes to the grave and the souls of those who are saved are present with the Lord. In the coming resurrection, the soul of the believer will be united with a new, glorified body. This is not the case for the unbeliever, those who die without Christ go to Hell and in the future they will be called out of Hell to stand in judgment before Jesus at the Great White Throne, after this they will be cast into the Lake of Fire for eternity. Through Jesus’ work at Calvary and His victorious resurrection, He has conquered sin, death and Hell. When we surrender to Him as Lord and Savior we are delivered from sins penalty and protected from the Second death. Through faith in Him, we are able to share in His victory!
When we walk in the Spirit we will be reminded of the price that He paid for our redemption and victory that He secured on our behalf. John saw the Sovereign Lord, he saw the living Lord and he saw the conquering Lord, when you walk in the Spirit, you can see what John saw!
- As we move further I would like to examine:
WHAT YOU CAN FEEL WHEN YOU WALK IN THE SPIRIT
v17 And 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.
John was perhaps the best friend that Jesus had when He walked the earth. This is evident in the picture of John laying his head on the chest of the Savior at the Last Supper. But now, when John gets a glimpse of Jesus, he falls at his feet as if he were dead. The reason for this is that when John walked with Jesus during His earthly ministry, His glory was veiled in human flesh. If you will remember, when John saw Jesus in His glory on the Mount of Transfiguration, John responded the exact same way. When the Disciples saw the brightness and glory of Jesus and heard the voice of the Father “they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid”
Saul of Tarsus responded the same way when Jesus appeared to Him on the road to Damascus. There are many other examples of men and women responding this way when coming face to face with the glory of God. When you walk in the Spirit, you have the opportunity to see the Lord, and when you see the Lord you will be astonished by His presence. When you see His glory you will be overwhelmed and motivated to worship Him.
John was overwhelmed and extremely frightened when he saw the majesty of Jesus, he “fell at His feet as if he were dead” but then Jesus came and spoke words of comfort and assurance to him, He said “do not be afraid, I am the first and the last”. When you walk in the Spirit you can feel the presence of the Lord, you will be overwhelmed by His majesty, and you can receive comfort and encouragement through His Words.
Seeing what we have seen thus far should make us desire to walk in the Spirit each and every day of our lives. When you walk in the Spirt you can hear the Lord, you can see the Lord and you can feel the Lord. Finally, I would like to consider:
WHAT YOU CAN LEARN WHEN YOU WALK IN THE SPIRIT
Jesus came to John with a specific purpose, He had a task for him to accomplish. Because John was walking in the Spirit, he was able to receive some important information from the Lord. Notice:
v10 “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.”
v19 Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this. 20The 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.
When Jesus appeared to John, he learned that He had a plan for him. The Revelation that he was about to receive would be used to minister to the members of seven specific churches in Asia Minor. Then on top of that, the Revelation would reach down for generations and bless and inform Christians throughout church history. This was an extremely important message and Jesus knew that He could entrust John with the task of sharing this information with those that needed to hear it. This would not have happened if John had not been walking in the Spirit.
I am not implying that Jesus is going to appear to you in a vision and give you some “new revelation” but I can assure you that if you will walk in the Spirit, Jesus will show you His plan for your life. He will tell you where to go and what to do. If you will be obedient to the message that you receive, others will be blessed as a result. If you will follow His direction and faithfully obey His Words, you can have a positive impact on the Kingdom of Christ. But in order for this to happen, you must make it a priority to walk in the Spirit.
After all we have seen, I don’t know why anyone would not want to experience these things. For when you walk in the Spirit you can hear the Lord, when you walk in the Spirit, you can see the Sovereign, Living & Victorious Lord, when you walk in the Spirit, you can feel the Lord and when you walk in the Spirit, you can learn from the Lord. These promises do not belong to the unbeliever, for you cannot walk in the Sprit if you are not indwelt with the Spirit. I encourage you to repent and believe in Jesus, trust in Him for salvation and then you too can experience the amazing benefits of walking in the Spirit.
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