The Book of Revelation was given by the Father to Jesus, who presented it through the Apostle John “to show to his servants the things that must soon take place” (Rev. 1:1). The prophecy was written in the mid-90s by John on the island of Patmos, where he was in exile “on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus” (1:9). The book as a whole is a vision of God’s triumph over evil and the establishment of His eternal Kingdom.
Our passage for today comes from chapter 1, and in it we see how Jesus presents Himself to John--but not only to John, to us as well. He displays His presence and power so that we may be accountable to Him when temptations beset us and assured by Him when trials besiege us.
I Jesus Is Present (Rev. 1:9-11)
A. In Our Witness to Him (v. 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.”
John, the youngest of the original twelve apostles and now a man of advanced years, is the human author of the Book of Revelation. An elder in the church at Ephesus, he has been exiled to the island of Patmos “on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.” In other words, he is being persecuted, along with others, for his witness to Christ in the gospel.
Jesus warned of this. John himself recorded Jesus’ words the night before His death, when He said, “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you’” (John 15:18-20).
Many of our sisters and brothers are persecuted even in our own time. Voice of the Martyrs reports, for example, the experience of a young man named Philip, who lives in Laos. Philip walked two hours to another village to hear the gospel. Just three weeks after he returned home as a new believer, the police paid him a visit. They told him that any religion other than Buddhism was strictly forbidden in the region where he lived. They accused him of embracing the faith of foreigners and warned him that things were sure to go badly for him. Sometime later, the authorities pressed him to sign a document renouncing his newfound faith. He refused, and, before long, his neighbors, incited by the local government, killed his livestock and harassed his children. Philip and his family had to move to another village. Asked why he remained a Christian when it caused him such difficulty, he said, “My people are in darkness, worshiping they-know-not-what, and they are enslaved in their sin. I must tell them about Jesus, the only one who can save them from the destruction that awaits them.” Others, like Philip, have suffered the loss of their jobs and their property. Some have been rejected by their family and friends. And many have been murdered for their faith in Christ.
We may not experience persecution to this extreme—although even in our own country, our witness to Christ may lead others to withdraw from us—but whether we experience the cost of living for Christ personally or not, we can be aware of the affliction others endure and pray for them, especially that they would be possessed of the “patient endurance” of which John speaks in verse 9.
We can “endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ” (2 Tim. 2:3, NKJV), knowing that He is with us as He promised. “Behold,” He said, “I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matt. 28:20).
B. In Our Worship of Him (vv. 10-11)
Jesus is also with us in our worship. John found this to be so. He writes, “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet saying, “Write what you see in a book 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.”
It was “the Lord’s day,” or Sunday, the first day of the week. Since the Lord rose from the dead on that day, Sunday has become the day Christians gather for worship. Some—like John in this instance—are not in a position to gather with others. Still, they will want to do as John did and set aside time to worship on that day.
John says he was “in the Spirit” (v. 10). We notice that he was “on…Patmos” (lit., “in..Patmos”), but he was also “in the Spirit.” Although he was closed off from the rest of the world, he had direct access to the God of heaven. Rome could confine him and bind him, but, as an imprisoned Paul before him discovered, “the word of God is not bound” (2 Tim. 2:9). Therefore, he heard the “voice” of Jesus. It was “loud…like a trumpet” (Rev. 1:10). We read in Exodus 19:16 that, as the Lord was preparing to give forth His word to the freed Israelites at Sinai, there was the sound of a trumpet: “On the morning of the third day there were thunders and lightnings and a thick cloud on the mountain and a very loud trumpet blast….” Jesus’ trumpet-like voice is the instrument by which John will hear the word of the Lord in his own time, and he is to write down what he hears and sees, put it “in a book and send it to the seven churches” of Asia Minor (v. 11).
You and I will never likely hear the actual voice of Jesus this side of heaven, but when we worship “in the Spirit” (having prepared our hearts and having sought the Lord earnestly and prayerfully, predetermined to submit cheerfully and swiftly to His will, receiving His grace and empowered by His presence), we will hear and understand the Word of God and be transformed by it. Therefore, it would be wise for us to ready ourselves for worship each week by quieting our spirits, directing our attention to God, spending time reading and meditating on God’s Word, praying until our hearts are saturated with grace, confessing our sins, and making things right with God and neighbor.
II Jesus Is Powerful (Rev. 1:12-16)
He is…
A. Ruler (“one like a son of man,” (vv. 12-13)
“Son of man” was the way Jesus most often referred to Himself during His earthly ministry. It is a technical term that has its origin in the vision Daniel recorded in Dan. 7:13-14: “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.” This “son of man,” of course, is Jesus, whose “name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isa. 9:6). “Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it…from this time forth and forevermore” (v. 7).
When John says that Jesus was “one like a son of man” (Rev. 1:13), he stirs within us the recognition of Jesus as the Messiah, who will be ruler of all.
B. Priest (“clothed with a long robe and…a golden sash,” v. 13)
Old Testament imagery is used again to bear witness to Jesus as our great High Priest. John’s description of Jesus’ attire—that he was “clothed with a long robe and…a golden sash”—brings to mind the requirements for the high priest’s attire described in Exodus 28:4: “These are the garments that they shall make: a breastplate, an ephod, a robe, a coat of checker work, a turban, and a sash.”
Jesus is our High Priest in that His shed blood satisfies the wrath of God toward sinners—He is “the Lamb who was slain” (Rev. 13:8)—and in that He “always lives to make intercession for” us (Heb. 7:25).
C. Sage (“the hairs of his head were white,” v. 14)
Jesus’ white hair, “like white wool, like snow,” signifies the dignity and wisdom of age. Truly, as Paul writes in 1 Cor. 1:30, Christ “became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption.”
D. Judge (“his eyes were like a flame of fire,” v. 14)
“Eyes…like a flame of fire” is a phrase describing Jesus’ penetrating gaze. He can see into the depths of the human heart, expose its motivations, and bring true judgment to bear on our sins. Jesus’ eyes are described twice more in Revelation with these same words:
• Rev. 2:18: “And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: ‘The words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze.”
• Rev. 19:12: “His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself.”
Heb. 4:13 says, “And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.” We are to understand that Jesus is looking into His church, and He sees our sins and failures, our inconsistencies, and our indifference. The apostle Peter writes, “It is time for judgment to begin at the household of God; and if it begins with us, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?” (1 Pet. 4:17).
E. Conqueror (“his feet were like burnished bronze,” v. 15)
“Feet…like burnished bronze” is a description testifying to the power of Jesus to tread on his enemies and crush them. The language is used in the Old Testament to describe one of God’s mighty angels. We told of this angel that he was “clothed in linen, with a belt of fine gold…around his waist. His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of a multitude” (Dan. 10:5-6). If one of God’s angels is so majestic in appearance, how much more so the Son of God! Can any of His enemies withstand Him?
F. Sovereign (“his voice like the roar of many waters,” v. 15)
In the Old Testament, it is God Almighty whose voice is associated with the roar of the surf:
• Ezek. 1:24: “And when [the living creatures] went, I heard the sound of their wings like the sound of many waters, like the sound of the Almighty, a sound of tumult like the sound of an army….”
• Ezek. 43:2: “And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was coming from the east. And the sound of his coming was like the sound of many waters, and the earth shone with his glory.”
The sound of Jesus’ voice is evidence that Jesus Himself is God Almighty.
G. Pastor (“in his right hand he held seven stars,” v. 16)
Jesus holds “in his right hand”—the hand of authority and power—“seven stars,” which we learn later are “the angels [or, messengers] of the seven churches” (Rev. 1:20). Since literal angels are not leaders in the church, these “messengers” are likely elders in the seven churches. Jesus is the true pastor (shepherd) of His flock, and he holds all pastors and elders in His right hand, indicating that He controls the leadership of His church.
H. Prophet (“from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword,” v. 16)
The “sharp two-edged sword” is God’s Word. Hence, it comes forth “from his mouth.” Its function is to pronounce judgment on those who seek to destroy His church either from within or from without. Heb. 4:12 says, “The word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”
I. Sun of Righteousness (“his face was like the sun,” v. 16)
Finally, John says of Jesus that “his face was like the sun shining in full strength.” He is indeed the long-awaited “sun of righteousness” who would “rise with healing in his wings” (Mal. 4:2). He is “the bright morning star” (Rev. 22:16). He is “the light of the world” (john 9:5).
III Jesus Is Purposeful (Rev. 1:17-20)
A. He Comforts Us (vv. 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.
John’s immediate reaction to seeing Christ in His splendor was to fall “at his feet as though dead” (Rev. 1:17). This is a common response to seeing the overwhelming glory of the Lord. When God spoke to Abraham, “Abram fell on his face” (Gen. 17:3). When He spoke to Moses and Aaron, “they fell on their faces” (Num. 16:22). When Isaiah had his vision of the Lord in the temple, he cried out, “Woe is me! For I am lost…” (Isa. 6:5). Ezekiel writes, “When I saw it [that is, “the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD”], I fell on my face…” (Ezek. 1:28). Think of Peter in the boat with Jesus, when he recognized to some degree the greatness of Jesus (Luke 5:1-11) or Saul as he encountered the forceful presence of Jesus on the Damascus road (Acts 9:1-9).
In each case, the Lord comforted His frightened servants. It is good for us to be overtaken by the mysterium tremendum et fascinans (the mystery of God, before whom we tremble and by whom we are fascinated). We need a healthy sense of the transcendence of God. But we also need to know that He seeks to bless those who fear Him, and He comforts them.
Notice that His comfort consists in His witness to His deity (“I am the first and the last”), to His resurrection (“I am…the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore”), and to His sovereignty (“I have the keys of Death and Hades”). As a man, Jesus yielded to the worst death could do. As God, He conquered death—not just for Himself but for all who believe in Him. And holding “the keys of Death and Hades” (the two terms are synonymous, but Hades as a term for hell should not be ruled out), He determines who will die and when. He is in control, and therefore His followers do not need to be afraid of any threat.
B. He Counsels Us (v. 19)
Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this.
Commentators have pointed out that this verse is something of an outline of the entire Book of Revelation. John is to write “the things that you have seen” (chap. 1), “those that are” (chaps. 2-3, a description of the seven churches), and “those that are to take place after this” (chaps. 4-22).
Jesus has a word for the churches of John’s day, but His word (or message) is not simply for those churches. What He has to say to them is relevant to us in our day. We need Jesus’ counsel if we are to be a vibrant, faithful, holy people of God in the twenty-first century. In the letters Jesus dictates to John we have our Lord’s counsel. Let us heed it.
C. He Carries Us (v. 20)
Finally, we see that Jesus not only comforts and counsels us; He also carries us. Verse 20 says, “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.”
We have already suggested that the “seven stars” are the representative elders of the “seven churches,” and, since He holds them in His “right hand,” we may say that He carries His people along. This in itself is great comfort.
We have affirmed that Jesus is present, powerful, and purposeful when it comes to His people. Therefore…
• motivated by His presence,
• mobilized by His power, and
• mindful of His purpose…
…let us…
• release our fears
• repent of our failures
• remain faithful
