Rev 1:17-20 Things That Are
Notes
Transcript
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.
We saw last Sunday Jesus is Holy and Righteous and He is in the midst of the churches. Jesus addresses 7 churches, which represent all churches in chapter 2,3. Today we are going to have an overview of all the letters to the 7 churches. However, before we do that let’s first finish the last verses of chapter 1, starting with v17.
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,
John relates, “When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead” (1:17). Last week we saw that when Isaiah and John had a glimpse of Jesus’ glory they were undone because of God’s holiness. We might ask why we need a glimpse of Jesus’ glory. There are several reasons and I encourage you to think more about this question this week. But here are a couple reasons that I can think of, because we need the right understanding of who Jesus is because the world is filling our ears with lies and deception that if we follow will lead to death and hell. We need the right understanding of who Jesus is so we can confidently walk this life in ways that honor and glorify Him, not living for our own self. Knowing who our Savior and Lord is will give us the strength to fight the god of this world and resist his temptations.
The glimpse of Jesus’ glory gave John’s audience and it gives us the encouragement that we need to serve the one who is far greater than anything in this world.
John’s audience is thus encouraged by the fact that they serve one whose glory surpasses that of mere human power. This glorified Jesus address his church directly in the letters he dictates to John in chapters 2, 3, and his authoritative word is validated by his overwhelming glory.
Jesus doesn’t leave John dead. “But he laid his right hand on me, saying, ‘Fear not’ ” (1:17). We pause in the middle of this statement to observe that Jesus is about to tell John why he shouldn’t be afraid—and the reason that John shouldn’t be afraid is not that Jesus isn’t scary. The glory of the risen Christ is terrifying!
Jesus tells John that he shouldn’t be afraid because “I am the first and the last” (1:17). This is a declaration from Jesus that he is what God is—before all things and after all things. This matches God the Father’s announcement in 1:8, “I am the Alpha and the Omega” (cf. 2:8; 21:6; 22:13). But the fact that Jesus is first and last isn’t the only reason John shouldn’t fear: Jesus goes on to say, “… and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades” (1:18). Jesus is the living one—death has no power to hold him (cf. Acts 2:24).
18 and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.
And the statement that he died and is now alive forevermore is an unmistakable reference to Jesus’ death and resurrection. Moreover, having died on the cross to pay the penalty for sin and having been raised from the dead, Jesus has “the keys of Death and Hades,” which means that he is in control of who gets locked up and who gets liberated. This is why Jesus tells John not to be afraid.
Though Jesus is terrifying in his holiness to all sinners, he died to pay the penalty for sin, and by virtue of his resurrection he now holds the keys of death and Hell. Thus, if Jesus tells John not to fear, this points to John’s sins being forgiven. Jesus has the keys! He can loose all bonds. John need not fear. The glorious good news is that all those who trust in Jesus have their sins forgiven. The death of Jesus saves all who trust in him.
19 Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this.
The voice that arrested John’s attention commanded him to write (1:10, 11), and now that John has seen Jesus in his glory, Jesus says again in 1:19, “Write therefore,” and the “therefore” places this command to write on the ground of Jesus’ glory that John has seen (1:12–16) and on Jesus’ ability to tell John not to fear because he, Jesus, has conquered sin, death, and Hell (1:17, 18).
What Jesus tells John to write in 1:19 is “the things that you have seen,” which probably refers to the vision that John has just recorded (1:9–20), “those that are,” which probably refers to the present state of the churches that Jesus will describe and address in chapters 2, 3, “and those that are to take place after this,” which probably refers to the events John records in chapters 4–22. Revelation 1:19, then, serves as a preview of the overarching structure of the book of Revelation.
Finally, in 1:20, Jesus explains to John “the mystery of the seven stars … and the seven golden lampstands,” saying that the stars “are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.” These are angelic beings that represent each church.
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.
That Jesus holds the seven stars in his right hand means that he is in control of the churches, and that he is among the lampstands means that he is present with the churches.
The incomparable glory of the risen Christ motivates John’s audience to heed what John has been commissioned to write. The matchless splendor of the glory of Jesus grabs our attention and His glory demands our obedience.
Next week we will start studying Chapter 2 verse by verse, but today let’s have an overview of the seven letters.
Jesus’ letter to the 7 churches
As we look at the seven letters in chapters 2, 3, it is important to keep in mind that they are preceded by the overwhelming glory of Christ described in chapter 1 and backed up by the flood of images of the power and mercy of God in judgment and final salvation described in chapters 4–22.
If we examine what Jesus says about the condition of the churches, we see that the first and last church have a similar problem—the loss of the first love in Ephesus is like the lukewarm state of Laodicea. Similarly, the second church addressed is like the next to last church addressed in that the churches in both Smyrna and Philadelphia are commended, not reproved, and neither church is called to repent. The three churches in the middle seem to progress from bad to worse: the letters to both Pergamum and Thyatira mention false teaching, idolatry, and immorality, and Thyatira seems to be in a worse state than Pergamum, while Jesus says that the church in Sardis is dead!
In the coming weeks, we will look at each of these letters one by one. Today we should feel the cumulative effect of what Christ says to his churches. Again, Jesus charges the churches to be zealous for the gospel, reject false teaching, and live in a manner that corresponds to the gospel.
It is helpful for us to reflect on the state of these seven churches. Only two of the seven were not reproved, and when this letter was written, the apostolic age had not yet closed! The church has never really had a “golden age” when everything was right. From the beginning there were problems—think of the dispute over the neglected widows described in Acts 6, or the problems with Gentiles and circumcision in Acts 10, 11, and 15. It seems to me that the sorry state of these churches Jesus addresses in chapters 2, 3, churches that were receiving apostolic ministry firsthand from John, gives us unexpected encouragement today.
We struggle with many of the same problems. We need not be excessively discouraged, much less despair, however, because just as Jesus loved these churches enough to reprove and discipline them (3:19), so also he loves us enough to reprove and discipline us. Then as now, the healthy churches are in the minority. Then as now, though, Jesus is committed to building his Church! As we consider these passages, ask the Lord to reprove and discipline you. Ask God to give you ears to hear what the Spirit is even now saying to the churches through this Word he inspired.
The main problem with the first and last churches addressed, Ephesus and Laodicea, seems to be complacency. Jesus does not want this. He wants Ephesus to return to its first love, and Laodicea to be zealous and repent.
The problems with the three churches in the middle, Pergamum, Thyatira and Sardis, progress from bad to worse. When we look at the description of the problems in Pergamum (2:12–17), we see that they are tolerating the false teaching of the Nicolaitans (2:15). This teaching is likened to the teaching of Balaam (2:14a), and John points out that Balaam’s teaching led to Israel’s eating food sacrificed to idols and engaging in sexual immorality (2:14b). But notice that while verse 15 says some in Pergamum are holding to the teaching of the Nicolaitans, it does not say that members of the church in Pergamum are eating food sacrificed to idols and engaging in sexual immorality. The implication seems to be, however, that the teaching of the Nicolaitans could very well lead to idolatry and immorality, just as Balaam’s teaching did.
We can contrast this with Jesus’ description of the church in Thyatira (2:18–29). The church is not only tolerating a false teacher, the false prophetess whom John calls Jezebel (2:20), but this false prophetess “is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols” (2:20b). So whereas the false teaching of the Nicolaitans could lead to this in Pergamum, the false teaching in Thyatira seems to have already borne its deadly fruit. When Jesus says in 2:21a, “I gave her time to repent,” this may mean that the process of church discipline outlined by Jesus in Matthew 18:15–18 was initiated. The attempted discipline, however, does not appear to have been successful: “but she refuses to repent” (2:21b). The rest of Jesus’ comments seem meant to compel the church to carry out the needed discipline.
Worse off than the churches in either Pergamum or Thyatira is the church in Sardis, which is dead (3:1). This is where false teaching leads—death. This is where idolatry and immorality lead—death. No exceptions! For the glory of God, Jesus calls these churches to reject this false teaching, hold fast to the gospel, and live in a way that corresponds with the gospel rather than in ways that correspond with false teaching.
Is your first love still flaming, or are you lukewarm? Are you ready to be faithful unto death like those in Smyrna, holding fast and not denying the name of Jesus, like those in Philadelphia? Or are you more like the churches in Pergamum and Thyatira, not so concerned about sound doctrine, with the result that idolatry and immorality have come? If you’re not at all concerned with these things, it might be that you’re most like Sardis: dead. Where are you?
We can be sure of what Jesus has promised: “all the churches will know that I am he who searches mind and heart, and I will give to each of you according to your works” (2:23). Jesus is going to make himself known, and from what we see of him when he makes himself known to John, we know that he is worthy of our patiently enduring whatever we might face in this life. We know that he is worthy of our singular devotion. We know that walking in purity, avoiding sexual immorality of the spiritual and physical kinds, will repay us with greater pleasures and rewards than anything that sin promises with its forked tongue. We can all stand to hear again the word of 2:5, “Repent!” 2:16, “Repent!” 2:22, “Repent!” 3:3, “Repent!” and 3:19, “Repent!” As we will see in coming weeks when we look more closely at these letters individually, Jesus intends the whole church to repent, and given his teaching in Matthew 18:15–18, the repentance needs to take shape in the church’s practice of corrective discipline.
A church can honor Christ and be zealous for the gospel by practicing church discipline, or they can risk Jesus’ taking their lampstand away (2:5) and waging war on them with the sword of his mouth (2:16).
For the glory of God, Jesus charges the churches to be zealous for the gospel, reject false teaching, and live in a manner that corresponds to the gospel.
As Jesus introduces himself in these ways, he is both proclaiming his own matchless glory and authority and announcing the truths of the gospel. If we look only at the message Jesus gives to each church, we might be tempted to think these letters are concerned more with behavior than with theology. But that would be a false conclusion. There is high Christology in these seven letters, and it comes in the way that Jesus describes himself and what he has accomplished. Each introductory statement Jesus makes also relates to some aspect of the message to that church.
The opening words of each letter announce the gospel and the greatness of Jesus. The body of each letter calls the churches to live in a way that corresponds to the gospel and images the purity and holiness of Jesus. This makes John’s main point: For the glory of God the churches are to be zealous for the gospel, reject false teaching, and live according to the gospel.
The opening words of each letter in chapters 2, 3 point us back to chapter 1, the contents of the letter portend what will be described in chapters 4–20, and the conclusion of each letter promises blessings that the faithful enjoy in chapters 20–22.
At the end of the first three letters, the statement “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” comes before the promises made “To the one who conquers” (2:7, 11, 17). At the end of the last four letters, the promises made “To the one who conquers” come before the statement “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (2:26–29; 3:5, 6; 3:12, 13; 3:21, 22). The reversal of the order of the statements in the last four letters makes the call to hear what the Spirit says to the churches the final word of the seventh letter, calling all churches who hear these letters to reflect upon their contents.
The contents of these letters, then, begin with the gospel and the greatness of Christ, call the churches to reject false teaching and live in a way that corresponds to the gospel, and then promise astonishing rewards to those who hear what the Spirit says and overcome temptation and affliction by holding fast to the gospel even unto death. And these letters proclaim these things not only to the members of the seven churches that are directly addressed but also proclaim these glorious things to “those who hear, and who keep what is written in” this prophecy of Revelation (1:3). That includes us.
For the glory of God, Jesus wants these churches, us to hold fast to the gospel, reject false teaching, and live in a way that matches the gospel.
Because of Christ’s holiness we must line in righteousness, we must not live for our own selves but we must live for Jesus.
Jesus is coming we must be ready by living in righteousness if not He is going to spit us out of his mouth. There is no more time to be lukewarm, we better be on fire for the Lord or we will be in the fire of hell without the Lord.