Revelation 1:9-20

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Introduction

Vision of the Son of Man

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. 10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet 11 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.”

12 Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 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. 14 The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, 15 his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. 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.

17 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, 18 and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. 19 Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this. 20 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.

This week we begin looking at John’s vision in verses 9-20, his vision of one like a son of man, who is the glorified second person of the Trinity. Or as he’s described in verses 17-18, “the first and the last, the living one” and the one who died, but who is alive forevermore, and who has the “keys of Death and Hades” - this, of course, is Jesus.
These verses also serve, like the prophets before him, as God’s commission for him to deliver this vision to the churches. But first, John addresses his audience, he addresses seven particular churches in Asia Minor, Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. And he addresses them there in verses 9-11 by writing,

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. 10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet 11 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.”

In verse 9 he addresses them as their “brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus.” In other words, he shares in their tribulation, he’s their fellow brother in the kingdom of God, and that he too is patiently enduring the same tribulation. All three of these categories, tribulation, the kingdom, and patient endurance were highly applicable to the church then and are to the church now.

Tribulation

The Apostles were not kept from the tribulation that the churches faced, but instead they were fellow participants in it. In fact, the Apostles set for the church an example to follow. The Apostle Paul wrote letters to the churches while he was in prison for preaching the Gospel, while he was in chains. There in verse 9 we get the impression that the Apostle John may have been exiled by the Roman Empire to the Island of Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus, and from there he wrote his Apocalypse to the seven churches in Asia Minor to give them hope, to call them to repentance, and to admonish them to endure this tribulation.
Yet this example didn’t begin with Apostles, the Apostles followed the example of Jesus, and they had heeded his words. Throughout Jesus’ ministry he had prepared his disciples for persecution. This is clear throughout the Gospels, and particularly in Matthew chapter 10, when Jesus sent out his disciples to proclaim that the kingdom of heaven was at hand. And in verses 16-25 he warned them of the resistance they would face along the way. This is what he told them,

Persecution Will Come

16 “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. 17 Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, 18 and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. 19 When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. 20 For it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. 21 Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, 22 and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. 23 When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

24 “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. 25 It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household.

Jesus also told his disciples in John 15:18-20, the night before he was betrayed,

18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 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.

then in John 16:33, just a few verses later,

33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

And throughout the Book of Acts we see this play out, for example, in Acts 14:12 after the Apostle Paul had been stoned, we’re told that he travelled to the city of Derbe, and,

21 When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, 22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.

In other words, persecution and tribulation is normative for the church. The Apostle Peter writes in 1 Peter 4:12-13,
1 Peter 4:12–13 ESV
Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.
So, when John writes to these seven churches this is the backdrop of teaching and experience from which he’s assuming, and so he comforts them by reminding them that he too is their brother and partner in the tribulation.

The Great Tribulation

Now, of course, what they’re experiencing at this point isn’t just any tribulation common to Christianity, but they’re experiencing the tribulation that Jesus had described to his disciples in his Olivet Discourse, what we often refer to as the great tribulation, where Jesus said to his disciples in Matthew 24:9,

9 “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake. 10 And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. 11 And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. 12 And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

The church in John’s day had begun to experience the birth pangs of this great tribulation, therefore when John writes to them, he comforts them by reminding them that he too is their brother and partner in it.

The kingdom

Moreover, he also reminds them that he is their brother and partner in the kingdom. Now, I think we can miss the significance of this statement because we often lack a robust view of the kingdom, it’s nature, it’s coming, and its relationship to us today. Therefore, I want to take a minute to described the implications of what John is saying when he reminds the churches that he is their brother and partner in the kingdom.

The Book of Daniel

Turn with me to the Book of Daniel, chapter 7. Now we’ve referred to this chapter many times over the last couple of years, while we were in Matthew’s Gospel and again as we’ve surveyed John’s Apocalypse, but I want to look at some passages that we haven’t yet considered. As I mentioned in our survey, John’s Apocalypse could be described as part two of the Book of Daniel.
And what I mean is that the Book of Daniel, particularly as it relates to its prophecies, was “a prophecy given to the Jews to prove the time of the coming Messiah.” (Daniel 7 - Who are the “ten kings”, Jay Rogers) In other words, its prophecies describe the events leading up to the first coming of Christ, and where Daniel leaves off John picks up in the timeline of events. The Book of Daniel describes four kingdoms, four kingdoms that will precede the coming of Israel’s Messiah. At one point these kingdoms are described as four beasts, which would later be known as Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and the fourth beast, as Rome. Then later, in John’s Apocalypse, the imagery of a beast is picked up again and identified with Rome and it’s emperor, Nero Caesar.
Now, Daniel also describes a fifth kingdom that will bring these other four kingdoms to an end, a kingdom established by God himself. Listen to what Daniel says in Daniel 2:44-45, when he interprets a dream given to the king of Babylon,

44 And in the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that shall never be destroyed, nor shall the kingdom be left to another people. It shall break in pieces all these kingdoms and bring them to an end, and it shall stand forever, 45 just as you saw that a stone was cut from a mountain by no human hand,

The point here is that God is describing a future time when the kingdom of heaven will be established upon the earth, a kingdom cut from a mountain by no human hand, a kingdom that will never be destroyed, and a kingdom that will break in pieces these four other kingdoms, Babylon, Medo-Persia, Greece, and Rome. And this kingdom is the same kingdom that Jesus came heralding. We read texts like Matthew 4:23 all throughout the Gospels,

23 And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.

The kingdom came at Jesus’ first advent. And while we acknowledge that we’re still awaiting the consummation of that kingdom, we also recognize that the kingdom of God had certainly come in a very real and tangible sense. Hebrews 12:28 says,

let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken,

It’s a kingdom that we have received, a kingdom consisting of real saints. In Luke 17:20 Jesus described it like this,

“The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, 21 nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.”

Kingdom given to the saints of the Most High

Now, in light of the kingdom of God coming at the first advent of Christ, follow along with me here in Daniel chapter 7, starting in verse 13. Now, for the sake of time, we’re jumping into the middle of a vision given to the prophet Daniel, and there’s more going on here than we’re going to cover, but I want you to notice some of the striking parallels between Daniel and Revelation. What Daniel describes in this particular vision portrays the same events described in John’s Apocalypse, we’ll see a clash of kingdoms, and we’ll see the kingdom of heaven supplant the fourth beast, or kingdom, which is descriptive of the Roman Empire. We read,

13 “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.

14  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.

Daniel’s Vision Interpreted

15 “As for me, Daniel, my spirit within me was anxious, and the visions of my head alarmed me. 16 I approached one of those who stood there and asked him the truth concerning all this. So he told me and made known to me the interpretation of the things. 17 ‘These four great beasts are four kings who shall arise out of the earth. 18 But the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, forever and ever.’

19 “Then I desired to know the truth about the fourth beast, which was different from all the rest, exceedingly terrifying, with its teeth of iron and claws of bronze, and which devoured and broke in pieces and stamped what was left with its feet, 20 and about the ten horns that were on its head, and the other horn that came up and before which three of them fell, the horn that had eyes and a mouth that spoke great things, and that seemed greater than its companions. 21 As I looked, this horn made war with the saints and prevailed over them, 22 until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given for the saints of the Most High, and the time came when the saints possessed the kingdom.

23 “Thus he said: ‘As for the fourth beast,

there shall be a fourth kingdom on earth,

which shall be different from all the kingdoms,

and it shall devour the whole earth,

and trample it down, and break it to pieces.

24  As for the ten horns,

out of this kingdom ten kings shall arise,

and another shall arise after them;

he shall be different from the former ones,

and shall put down three kings.

25  He shall speak words against the Most High,

and shall wear out the saints of the Most High,

and shall think to change the times and the law;

and they shall be given into his hand

for a time, times, and half a time.

26  But the court shall sit in judgment,

and his dominion shall be taken away,

to be consumed and destroyed to the end.

27  And the kingdom and the dominion

and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven

shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High;

his kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom,

and all dominions shall serve and obey him.’

This is this the kingdom that John was talking about back in Revelation 1:9, when he said, “I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom.” John is reminding them not to despair, but to remember that they are a part of an everlasting kingdom, a kingdom that cannot be destroyed. And that the tribulation they’re facing is a direct result of the advent of that kingdom. That while the Roman Empire had made war against them, that eventually it’s dominion would be taken away, that it would be consumed and destroyed, and given to the saints of the Most High.
You see, at the coming of Christ’s kingdom, the kingdom of darkness was dealt a decisive blow. Therefore, later, in Revelation 12 we’re told that Satan made war upon the saints, a war that resulted in unprecedented persecution of the church at the hands of the Roman Empire, but John reminds the church that they are partners with him in the tribulation and the kingdom, the same kingdom which cannot be destroyed. That they were in a war against the kingdom of darkness, and that they must persevere, that they must endure. Or as John puts in in verse 9, through patient endurance. Jesus had told his disciples back in Matthew 10::21-22,

21 Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, 22 and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

In short, we’re called to endure like the seven churches in Asia Minor. And like the churches we too should take heart that many of them did endure, and that we too are citizens of that same kingdom, the same everlasting kingdom that cannot be destroyed. And more than that, Daniel tells us that “the kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Most High.” Or as Jesus put it in his parable of the Mustard Seed in Mark 4:30-32,

With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable shall we use for it? 31 It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when sown on the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth, 32 yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes larger than all the garden plants and puts out large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.”

In the Spirit

Now, let’s continue there in verse 10,

10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet 11 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.”

The Apostle John recounts the circumstances of his vision, that he was “in the Spirit on the Lord’s day.” And anyone familiar with the OT prophets would have recognized that John’s description of the event follows the pattern of the prophets before him. In Matthew 22:43-44, when Jesus quotes Psalm 110 in his interaction with the Pharisees, he describes David as being “in the Spirit” when he wrote it. The prophet Ezekiel described the circumstances of his vision in a similar fashion, saying, in Ezekiel 3:12,

12 Then the Spirit lifted me up, and I heard behind me the voice of a great earthquake

This is also why the Apostle Peter said in 1 Peter 1:21,

21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

The idea here is that John, like the prophets before him, was uniquely taken into the presence of God and given divine revelation, and he’s instructed to write what he sees in a book, and to send it to the seven churches.

Apocalyptic

And notice that he’s instructed to write what he sees, describing for us the literary style of the book, that it’ll be, in a very real sense, a picture book, or what we call an apocalyptic style, a language of imagery, a style that reveals and discloses divine revelation through symbols and figurative language, of which we’ll see here at the end of the chapter.

Voice like a trumpet

We’re also told that while he was in the Spirit, he heard a voice behind him, like a trumpet. This language is meant to describe the powerful nature of the one who is speaking. Just like Ezekiel’s experience when he heard a voice behind him that it was like a great earthquake. John also describes his voice like the roar of many waters later on in verse 15.

One like a son of man

Then in verse 12 we read,

12 Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 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. 14 The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, 15 his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. 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.

When John turns to see the voice that was speaking to him, what he sees is one like the son of man. This is the same language that the prophet Daniel used to describe the Messiah, one like the son of man, and it was also the title Jesus used most frequently when referring to himself. Therefore, what John sees is the risen Christ, highly exalted, and in glorious splendor. He beholds the Lord of Glory, of whom he had walked with some 30 years earlier, but this time in all his glory.

7 Lampstands

And immediately we see that he’s standing in the Holy Place of the heavenly Temple, because he turns and sees seven golden lampstands. Which, we’ll see later in verse 20, are the seven churches (seven representing the fullness of the church), and like the seven lampstands, the Holy Place of the earthly tabernacle had in it the show bread and a lampstand with seven lamps. The lamps signified the light of God’s presence, and in Revelation Jesus is pictured in the midst of them so as to tend to those lamps, or to care for his church. This is why we’ll see in the following chapters seven letters addressed to the seven churches, as Jesus attends to his church by delivering both rebuke and encouragement. At times even warning them that if they do not repent that he will remove their lampstand from its place, the light of God’s presence with it.

Long robe & sash

Then John goes on to describe Jesus as clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash around his chest. His clothing here is meant to illicit the imagery of a priest and of royalty. Leviticus 16:4 describes Aaron as wearing a sash around his waist, and in Luke 20:46 when Jesus is warning his disciples of the hypocrisy of the scribes, he describes them as those “who liked to walk around in long robes”. Or in Isaiah 6 where Isaiah sees the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filling the temple.

Hair white as snow

John also says that the hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. The imagery here is similar to what Daniel saw in Daniel 7:9 when he beheld the Ancient of Days and wrote, “As I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days took his seat; his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool;” Likely describing his purity and wisdom, but more than that Jesus is depicted here in like manner with the Ancient of Days himself, which speaks of his own divine nature.

Eyes, feet and voice

John then describes his eyes like a flame of fire, and his feet like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice like the roar of many waters. Here John’s descriptions match what Daniel describes in Daniel 10, when he sees a terrifying vision of a man, he writes in Daniel 10:5-6,

5 I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, a man clothed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist. 6 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.

The imagery here is meant be terrifying, eyes like a flame of fire and his feet like burnished bronze, speak of his role as judge.

Stars in his right hand

And in his right hand we’re told that he held seven stars, which verse 20 says are the seven angels of the seven churches. Many have speculated that Jesus was referring to literal angels, while others argue that Jesus was describing a messenger in a more generic sense, whereas some have thought of these angels as speaking figuratively of the pastors of these churches, but I’ve found most of these analogies more or less awkward.
Throughout the Scriptures stars are frequently descriptive of authorities and governments. For instance, in Joseph’s dream, the members of his family are seen as celestial bodies, sun, moon, and stars. Moreover, these angels, or messengers, apparently represent the churches in some way, therefore I suspect the best analogy here would be to describe them as the ruling governments of these churches, or the elders of these churches, which are pictured here as being in Jesus’ right hand. Later, we’ll see that the letters to these seven churches are all addressed to the angels of the seven churches, which would make sense considering elders are charged with shepherding the flock, bearing the responsibility of their congregations, and therefore the reason Jesus addresses them when speaking to the churches.
And this imagery of Jesus holding them in his hand is particularly rich. I think we’re supposed to see Christ’s authority exhibited over the churches, that they’re in the palm of his hand. And his authority ought to bring them comfort in one sense, but fear in another. The seven stars in his hand may also be intended to communicate Jesus’ dine authority over the created universe. To someone in the ancient world seven stars would have reminded them of the cluster of stars known as Pleiades. To the Jews it might have also reminded them of the Book of Job, when God answers Job in Job 38:31 he asks Job,

31  “Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades

or loose the cords of Orion?

32  Can you lead forth the Mazzaroth in their season,

or can you guide the Bear with its children?

33  Do you know the ordinances of the heavens?

Can you establish their rule on the earth?

Therefore, when Jesus is seen holding seven stars in his hand, his sovereignty over the created universe and his divine power likely came to mind. And this imagery wasn’t just limited to the Scriptures, but several Roman coins have been found that depict various persons with seven stars around them, intended to signify their cosmic authority.

Sharp sword and face like the sun

John also says that out of his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining at full strength. The sharp two-edged sword portrays him as a judge, in fact, in Revelation 2:16 he tells the church in Pergamum that if they do no repent that he will come to them soon and war against them with the sword of his mouth. And later in Revelation 19:15 he says that he will strike down the nations by the sword of his mouth. And most of us are familiar with Hebrews 4:12, that,

the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

but maybe less familiar with verse 13 which says,

13 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.

And finally John writes that his face was like the sun shining at full strength. Like Moses when he came down from Mount Sinai and his face was radiant after speaking with God, however, the face of the one described here shines like the sun shining in full strength. Not like the moon that reflects the glory of the sun, but the very sun itself. Just like Jesus’ transfiguration high up on a mountain with Peter, James, and John, when “he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.”

Conclusion

And upon seeing the risen Lord we’re told there in verse 17 that John fell at his feet as though dead. Jesus here is depicted as a holy, righteous, and divine judge, which rightly prompted John to fall on the ground at his feet. However, while the holiness of God ought to instill fear in the hearts of his enemies, it ought ultimately to instill hope and comfort in the hearts of his people. Verse 17 goes on to say,

But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, 18 and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.

These are the kind of words spoken by someone who has dealt a decisive blow to the kingdom of darkness. And it’s words like these that are meant to lift the heads of his saints, that though their days may seem bleak, and that all hope may be lost, here stands Christ, the first and the last, the living one, who died, but who is alive forevermore, who holds the keys of Death and Hades. While it may seem like the State has the power over life and death, Christ says, no, I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, therefore I possess the keys of Death and Hades.
Just as Jesus told his disciples in Matthew 10:28,

do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. 30 But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. 32 So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven, 33 but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.

While Jesus is a terror to his enemies, he is a strong tower to those who find refuge in him, to one a terror, to the other a savior.

Prayer

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