In John’s time, Asia referred to the area we now know as Turkey. The seven churches to which John wrote were churches found in seven cities in what today is modern-day western Turkey. Patmos, the island from which John wrote the Book of Revelation, is a very small island off the coast of Turkey in the Aegean Sea. It was located about seventy miles southwest of Ephesus. It is not a large island, only about twenty miles in circumference, rocky and barren, and was used by Roman authorities as a place of exile for criminals. The second great persecution of Christians had started under the Roman Emperor Domitian. It was to this slave colony that John was exiled.
Revelation 1:9-20 was written by John in response to our Lord’s instructions to write what he had seen. What John had seen was a vision in which Jesus Christ appeared to him. This is a description of that vision.
Revelation 1:9-20
| 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. |
| 1:10 | I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet, |
| 1:11 | 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.” |
| 1:12 | Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands; |
| 1:13 | and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His chest with a golden sash. |
| 1:14 | His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire. |
| 1:15 | His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters. |
| 1:16 | 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. |
| 1:17 | When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, |
| 1:18 | and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades. |
| 1:19 | “Therefore write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after these things. |
| 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. |
For our study it can be divided into three parts:
| I. | The Background 1:9-11 |
| II. | The Vision 1:12-16 |
| III. | The Instructions 1:17-20 |
The Background
John is the speaker in verses 9 through 11 of chapter 1. He describes himself in two ways: first, he is their brother; second, he is a fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance that are in Jesus. It has been suggested that since John describes himself as “a fellow partaker of the tribulation in Jesus,” this means we, as believers, will go through the Tribulation.
There are three major views as to when the rapture takes place in relationship to the Tribulation Period. One view (Post-tribulational) says it takes place at the end of the Tribulation Period, and therefore, we, if we are living in that time of history when it begins, will go through it. A second view (Mid-Tribulational) declares the rapture takes place at the middle of the Tribulation, and believers will go through the first part of it but will be spared the last half, which is the worst part. The third view and the one this study takes is the view (Pre-tribulational) that all believers are raptured, taken to be with Jesus Christ prior to the beginning of the Tribulation Period.
The reasoning that some make for the post-tribulational view from this verse is, if the Apostle John goes through the Tribulation, we certainly shall. This reasoning would be valid if the word tribulation here refers to the specific Tribulation Period. If it refers to the general tribulation that all believers experience because of their faith in Christ, then this argument loses its force. Because John is writing to believers who were not in The Tribulation at that point but were facing severe persecution by the Roman authorities and because John was also currently in a hard and difficult exile because of his faith, it is better to understand that John is saying to those to whom he is writing that he is suffering along with them in these difficult times, that he along with them will inherit the kingdom when our Lord returns to set it up and that during the meantime, during the hard times now, he along with them will persevere in the strength and safety that are found in our Lord.
John was on the island of Patmos. He was there because of the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus. The second great wave of Roman persecution had begun. The Roman Emperor Domitian, claiming to be divine, was requiring all to offer incense to him as a god. Believers were refusing to do this and were being put to death as traitors to Rome. Instead of killing John, perhaps to keep him from becoming a martyr, he was exiled to the island of Patmos. With John’s advanced age (about 90), perhaps the Roman authorities believed he would not survive long on that harsh prison island.
It was on a Sunday, the Lord’s Day, when these events occurred. Believers had begun keeping Sunday, the first day of the week, as a special day rather than the Sabbath, the last day of the week, because our Lord was resurrected on Sunday.
The text says John was in the Spirit or in spirit. This phrase occurs four times in this book (1:4, 4:2, 17:3 and 21:10). It seems to indicate a mental or spiritual state in which the Spirit of God took control, and John was able to see and experience things that exist or take place at another time and place. The angel who is showing him these events was able to transport John, mentally at least, to the future to witness certain things.
John turned around because he heard a very loud voice. It was like someone blowing a trumpet right behind him. This voice instructed John to write in a book (a scroll) what he sees (present tense). What is found in verses 9 through 20 of this chapter is the fulfillment of this instruction. We know this because in verse 19, at the end of this section, the Lord again instructs John to write what he has seen (past tense).
What John turned to see in verse 12 and what he had seen by verse 19 is the vision of our Lord walking amid the seven golden lampstands. John was commanded to write what he witnessed in a scroll, which was the form a letter would take in that day, and send it to the seven churches identified as being in what is now eastern Turkey. These are Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea. It should be noted the church in Ephesus, for example, or any of the other cities refers not to one single group that met at one place, one church building in Ephesus, but to the collection of all believers in that city. The church in Ephesus was a collection of various house-churches that existed there. Members of one probably knew some members of other groups, and pastors and teachers traveled around from church to church in the area. It was quite different from the way churches are organized today.
The Vision
When John turned to see the voice that was speaking, he saw seven golden lampstands. These were probably larger lampstands that sat on the floor rather than smaller ones that sat upon tables or other furniture. We are told in the text that they represent the seven churches to which John wrote. These seven churches were seven literal churches that existed in John’s day. This is the immediate reference of the text. They, however, also represent the church in seven different periods of church history.
Among these lampstands, John saw a person walking. He was wearing a long robe with a golden vest or sash across the chest. His head and his hair (beard and hair) were very white. His eyes glinted in the light or glowed like a flame of fire. His feet were glowing like hot metal. His voice thundered like a tremendous waterfall or huge waves breaking on a shore, and his face radiated like the sun. In His right hand, this person held seven stars and out of His mouth, a sharp double-edged sword appeared.
The person seen by John can be none other than our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. While much could be said about the significance of his appearance, it is important to note that this was a powerful and glorious person. We are told in the text itself what the stars represented that our Lord held in His right hand. They represent the angels of the seven churches. These angels are also mentioned in each of the letters to the respective churches. The Greek word translated angel, (ἄγγελος), can also be translated as messenger. The question then is: are these seven literal angelic beings, or are these seven messengers from these churches that had come to Patmos to visit John?
In chapters two and three, each letter to a specific church begins with the phrase “To the angel (or messenger) of the church in…write.” This seems to indicate that we are to understand the word to mean messenger. Why would our Lord direct a message to an angel associated with a church? It might make better sense to understand that these letters were written to messengers to take back to their respective churches.
On the other hand, in this vision, the stars are held in our Lord's right hand. Stars are used to refer to angelic beings. See, for example, Revelation 9:1 and 12:4. The fact that they are in our Lord's right hand is a picture that He has authority over and controls these angels/messengers. To see this as our Lord saying He has authority over and controls seven human messengers does not make as much sense. Why not say he has authority over and controls the leaders of the church or, better, all believers in that church? It makes more sense to understand that our Lord, in His glorious power, has authority over the seven angels given oversight over the church throughout its history.
The question is probably best answered in realizing the dual nature of the prophecy found in the letters to these seven churches. In the immediate context, they seem to refer to the seven literal churches then in existence. As such, this word probably means the messengers of these churches, their representatives sent to John. In the fuller far-reaching reference, these churches refer to the whole history of the church throughout the age. These are the angelic powers that oversee and protect the church for our Savior. From the Book of Daniel, we know that angelic and demonic powers are associated with nations and that there is a war going on between them. It only makes sense that not only do nations have angelic powers representing them, but so does the church.
Our Lord represents the churches as lampstands because they are to give forth the light of Jesus Christ to a darkened world. It is the lamp set on a hill, and as long as it exists, it is to shine. Our Lord was present by His Spirit in each of these seven literal churches in John’s day, and He is with the church in every age. He walks among the churches; He, through the Spirit, empowers them.
We are not told here in the text what the sword coming out of our Lord’s mouth represents, but from other passages of scripture (Hebrews 4:12), it is clear that it represents His spoken word, which is authoritative and effective.
There is another vision of our Lord found in the book of Revelation, in chapter 19, verses 11-15. If we compare these passages, there are similarities and differences. In each case, the eyes are described like flames of fire, and in each case, there is a sword proceeding from His mouth. Among the differences is this, in chapter nineteen, our Lord is crowned; He is a King. In chapter one, there is no crown. Something takes place between chapter one and chapter nineteen, and that something is the coronation ceremony of the Messiah. He has not been crowned in chapter one, but He is crowned by chapter nineteen.
The Instructions
John's reaction to seeing this vision was he fell at his feet as if dead; that is, he fainted dead away. In response, the person in the vision places his right hand on John and tells him not to fear. He then declares who he is by stating three things about himself.
He states: (1) He is the First and the Last; (2) He is the Living One, who was dead, but who is now alive forevermore; and (3) He has the keys of death and Hades. These statements identify the speaker. The statement that He is the First and the Last is similar to the declaration of God the Father in verse 8, in which He states He is the Alpha and the Omega. Here it indicates the person speaking is preeminent, the beginning and the end of what is to be revealed. The second declaration leaves no doubt who the speaker may be. Jesus Christ is the Living One; He was dead, but now is alive forevermore. This is the resurrected Messiah. In the last statement, our Lord declares He possesses the keys to death and Hades. To have the keys to something means one controls access to it. Our Lord controls or has power over death. He is the giver of life. He controls or has power over Hades.
Hades does not refer to Hell. Hell, although it now exists, is empty. There is no one there yet. It is reserved for Satan and his angels and all who reject the salvation offered by God through Jesus Christ. Hades, on the other hand, refers to the place of the dead, that place to which the spirits of those who have died go to await judgment. Under the Old Testament economy, both saved and unsaved went here. The saved were on one side, separated from those who were lost (Luke 16:19ff). After the death of our Lord and prior to His resurrection, He visited Hades, declared the judgment of the lost and led the spirits of saved back to Heaven (Ephesians 4:8-10 and I Peter 3:18-19). Spirits of believers now go to be with our Lord in Heaven (2 Corinthians 5:6-8), while spirits of the unsaved still go to await judgment in Hades. At the final judgment, Hades will be emptied, and all will be condemned to Hell at that time.
John is instructed to record three items: 1) The things which he had seen, 2) The things which are, and 3) The things which shall take place after these things. The first item, things which he had seen, clearly refers to the preceding vision of Revelation 1:9-20. The third item, things which shall take place after these things, can be easily identified as those events which are found in chapters 4:1 and following. Compare 1:19 with 4:1. This leaves the second item, the things which are, to refer to chapters 2 and 3, or the letters to the seven churches.
Following the instructions to write what he is to write, our Lord identifies for John the seven golden lampstands and the seven stars. They are called mysteries, which means they are something that was hidden but has now been revealed. Our Lord reveals to John that the lampstands represent the churches, and the seven stars represent the seven angels/messengers of those churches.
As John is about to be instructed about what he is to communicate to believers in these seven churches and us, he is given a vision of our Lord. It is crucial that John have the correct mental picture of his Lord. It is crucial that we, too, have the correct mental image, for how we envision a person often determines how we respond to them. How do you see your Lord? Is He a carpenter walking around the streets of Nazareth? Do you see Him, as He is often pictured, as a shepherd in a white robe wearing sandals carrying a shepherd's staff? Do you see Him hanging on a cross, bleeding and dying? While all of these are pictures of our Lord, we do not serve a humble carpenter, a shepherd, or a sacrifice hanging on a cross. We serve a glorious, resurrected, powerful sovereign who is about to be crowned King of all kings and Lord of all lords. Fix that picture firmly in your mind!
In this section then John records for us the introductory vision he had of our Lord. He tells us the circumstances or background of the vision, the vision itself and then the instructions given to him by our Lord. The chart of this is:
