Revelation 1:9-20 - Meet the Sender

Meet the Sender

Revelation 1:9-20

I will tell you right now that the sermon you are going to hear this morning is not the sermon I had written on Thursday, the day I commit to writing sermons. My intention was to get started into chapter 2 and covering the letters to Ephesus and Smyrna; the first two letters. But…I went back and read again the description of Jesus that John gives us in chapter 1 verses 9-20 and realized that we needed to go back and get a good look at the Sender of the letters to the seven churches. It is interesting to me that nowhere in the gospels that tell of the life of Jesus do we ever see a description of Him. We don’t know if He was tall or short, fat or thin, bald having a perfect head or needed to have it covered with hair. We do see many depictions of Jesus in art and usually the pictures make Him look like a western European even Germanic not Jewish; and Jesus was without a doubt Jewish. We know that He wore a beard, not from the gospels, but because Isaiah chapter 50’s description of the Suffering Servant saying that they would pluck out His beard. We also know that there wasn’t anything about His appearance that would cause anyone to notice Him because Isaiah 53:2 says: 2For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him.[1] Really that is all we know about the physical appearance of Jesus; He was Jewish (so He probably had dark hair), He had a beard and wasn’t particularly good looking. Is that how you picture Him? Well folks this morning we are going to get a description of Jesus. Remember I said in the very first sermon from Revelation that much of our purpose in going through Revelation was to get a look at the glory of God and our Redeemer Jesus Christ and that is what we will begin to do today with John’s description of Jesus in this the very first vision in the Revelation of Jesus Christ. That way when we get to the letters to the seven churches we will have a view as to the nature of the Sender. Let’s pray.

If you will take your copy of God’s word I will be reading from Revelation 1:9-20 9 I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. 10 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,” and, “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.”12 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, 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. 17 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. 18 I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death. 19 Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this. 20 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 which you saw are the seven churches.[2]

I’m not going to spend a lot of time on John even though he does give us a description of himself there in verses 9 and 10. He identifies himself as a fellow sufferer in the kingdom of God patiently waiting for the return of Jesus Christ. He also makes it clear that his persecution was due to the fact that he preached the word of God proclaiming Jesus as the Messiah and most likely making the statement that Jesus is Lord. If this is written during the time of Emperor Domitian then it would make sense that he would be imprisoned or exiled to hard labor because Domitian claimed for himself the title of lord god. Either way John, probably in his 90’s by that time, was determined to worship on the Lord’s Day regardless of the convenience or danger and he didn’t even have a piano player.

That is all I want to say about John except to restate that he was worshiping (he was in the Spirit) when he was roused to attention. He heard a loud voice like a trumpet. Have you ever been near a trumpet when it blasts? It will get your attention, you will take notice. The nation of Israel and Judah used a trumpet to sound out a call to arms when the enemy would be threatening. It would be sounded in one village and the next village would hear it and do the same until all the nation was aware of the need. Trumpets were used in battle all the way through the First World War, until radios took their place, because you can hear their call above the battle sounds. They are still used today to wake people up. So why does John compare the sound of Jesus voice to the sound of the trumpet? Because when Jesus speaks to His people, when His words are clearly pronounced, His people will hear and they will respond to His words. And when the voice of Jesus, the Trumpet blast was heard it was Jesus proclaiming His own preeminence. Verse 11: I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last. Jesus is making it clear that He is the Almighty God. This is how the Apostle Paul put it in Colossians 1:15-18 15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.[3] In John 3:30 John the Baptist says: He must increase, I must decrease. John 1:3 says that everything that was made was made through Him and without Him nothing was made that was made. We can see throughout the New Testament and even in the Old Testament that the Messiah, Jesus, is the central focus of all of Scripture. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last. Then after Jesus got John’s attention He gave Him a task to write the letters to the seven churches. We will come back to that thought when we get to verse 19 but the task is significant.

In verse 12 and 13 it says that John turned around to see the voice that spoke to him. Don’t let that confuse you, he was simply tuning around to see where or from whom the voice came from and he was in for a treat. He first saw seven golden lampstands and we told in verse 20 that they represent the seven churches he is going to write the letters to. Most likely these lampstands were similar to the seven wicked lampstands that were commissioned by God to stand in the Tabernacle and later in the Temple. They were intended not as decorations but as light so the priests could do their work in worship. The reason lampstands are used to represent the churches and I would say the church today is because the church is the only light in the darkness of the world and they are only light because they reflect the light of Jesus Christ. John 1:4-5; 9-13 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it…9 That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.[4] Matthew 5:16 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.[5] And look Who is in the midst of the churches, it is One like the Son of Man. Jesus called Himself the Son of Man many times, it was probably His favorite title for Himself. He is clothed in what would most likely look like the apparel of the High Priest of the people of Israel. It is very important to recognize that Jesus is in the midst of His churches. He isn’t watching from afar, it is not like He is getting reports from the angels, He is present with His churches. Later when we get to the letters to the seven churches He makes a statement to each church that He knows something about them. He is present with His church, in Revelation and today with us. Then in verse 14 John tells us that His hair was like wool, as white as snow and that His eyes were like flames of fire. Some say that the white speaks of His purity and it could be so but in Proverbs it says that white hair is a sign of wisdom. I believe that His white hair, as white as snow (even whiter than my beard), is symbolic of the wisdom of God on display in His Son and the eyes like flames sure represent His omniscience. Psalm 139 talks about God’s perfect knowledge of man. So we can see in this description that He walks in the midst of His church and sees their needs and responds to their needs whether their needs be a physical need, a need of correction, admonishment, warning or encouragement (we will see that in the letters) and He does all of this in the wisdom of God.

We have seen His clothing, His head, His eyes and heard His voice. Now John tells us about His feet and a little more about His voice in verse 15. There can be much said about His feet being polished brass or bronze but I think if we look at Psalm 110:1 and Genesis 3 we will get a pretty good idea what is being portrayed here. Psalm 110:1 The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.”[6] And in Genesis 3 God said that He would crush the head of the Serpent. When we get to the end of Revelation we will see this all borne out completely. The polished bronze feet shows us that Jesus is the ultimate conqueror. And as to His voice being like many waters; how many of you have seen spy movies where the people will turn on the water and the shower if they think there might be an electronic bug in the house. Running water or crashing waves will drown out all other voices. When Jesus speaks to His church and they are as determined to worship Him as John was on the Isle of Patmos, He drowns out all the voices of the world that would seek to draw us away from Him. His voice is like many waters drowning out the world.

Verse 16 has 3 images that we need to look at. First in His right hand he holds seven stars. In verse 20 we read earlier that the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches that the letters are being sent to. This brings up a small complication concerning what John is talking about by using the word “angel”. The word simply means a messenger, one who is sent with a message. So is John talking about an angel in the sense of the spiritual created being or is he talking about a person who is sent as a messenger most likely the pastor of the church. If it is a literal angel this would indicate that each church has an angel, you don’t find anything like that in the New Testament but the word is used 99 times in the New Testament, 54 of them being in Revelation and every time, with the possible exception of here and chapters 2 and 3, it is used to mean a real angel. I tend to lean towards a human messengers like the pastor of the churches the letters are to be sent to. Either way I believe the point John is making is that Jesus has them in the strength of His hand and He controls the truth of the message, the power of the message, and the certainty of the message. His message will be delivered. The second thing we see in this verse is probably the oddest of the images. “Out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword”. The message that is coming out of His mouth symbolized by the sharp two-edged sword. His word strikes down the enemy in Revelation 19:15, His word is life in 1 John 1:1-4 and His word is comfort in verse 17 that we will see in a moment. Hebrews 4:12-13 12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.[7] The word coming from His mouth will accomplish what He wills it accomplish. Then we are told that His countenance is alike the sun at full strength. I have no doubt that you have all looked at the sun. Could you see anything past the sun? When you look at the brightness of the sun you can see nothing else. When you look at the Son of God He will capture your vision, nothing is brighter or more captivating to a child of God than the Son of God in all of His glory.

When we come to verse 17 we see the only correct response to the revelation of Jesus to John. He fell on his face like a dead man, worshiping His Lord and King. He saw the glory of the risen Jesus Christ and all he could do was worship in proper fear of God. I have to ask; what else could he do; what else could we do in the presence of Jesus? But notice what Jesus does. The same hand that held the stars reached down and comforted John and the same voice that gets the attention of those who seek Him and the same voice that drowns out the world and the same voice that conquers the enemies of God spoke words of comfort to one who had holy fear. What a wonderful, wonderful Savior His is. Then He reminded John why he could be comforted; I am the First and the Last, I am the He who lives, was dead and behold I am alive forevermore. I hold the keys to hades and death or the grave and death. You don’t have to be afraid because I am eternally God and I paid your debt on the cross. Jesus lived the perfect sinless life, was crucified as our substitute and was raised again. Therefore He has all power, all ownership of death and the grave, He overcame death and grave and it no longer has any sting for those who are His. John needed not to fear and folks neither do you if you are His.

Finally we see in verse 19 that when God, Jesus, reveals Himself in all His glory we will bow and worship and when we worship Him HE gives us a task. “Write the things you have seen, the things which are, and the things which will take place after this.” John was given a task to perform by the risen glorified Jesus. Of course we see this same thing throughout Scripture. In Isaiah 6 God revealed His glory in the Temple (the train of His robe filled the Temple) and Isaiah worshiped Him recognizing God’s holiness and his unholiness. Then God said “Who shall we send and who will go for Us?” and Isaiah received that for what it was a commission to go and call God’s people to repentance. Or how about Exodus 3 where God appeared in His glory as a burning bush? Moses removed his shoes in a show of worship and received a commission to go and tell Pharaoh to let the people of God go free. Then there is Acts 9 where the same thing happened to Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus, he was told to preach the gospel to the Gentiles and to kings and suffer many things. Those guys are so lucky God, Jesus, revealed Himself to them and then they received a task to do, they got a job to serve the Almighty God. Boy I wish that would be my life, don’t you? You need to know that that is you. God has revealed Himself to you by the power of the Holy Spirit when you were changed, made into a new creation and was clothed in the righteousness of Christ. You met Jesus, maybe not as dramatically as John but you met Him. And you have received a commission. Acts 1:8 You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you shall be my witnesses at home, next door, down the street and across the ocean. Matthew 28:18 All power am I given in heaven and earth. Go therefore into all the world and make disciples, teaching them to observe all that I have taught you and remember that I am walking among the lampstands, I am with you always.

Like John we are fellow sufferers of tribulation in the Kingdom of God waiting patiently for our Lord Jesus Christ. Though we have not received a vision like John did we still know that His voice awakens us and drowns out all other voices when we truly seek to worship Him. Though His voice will conquer His enemies it will comfort those who seek to serve Him. When He speaks it is with the wisdom of Almighty God not of man and we can be sure that He walks in our midst seeing to it that the message we receive is the truth. Let us look to Him and see no other, let his brilliance blind us to the message of the world so that the message He Has given us becomes our commission; the commission to proclaim Jesus as Lord to a lost and dying world. Let’s pray.

[1] The New King James Version. (1982). (Is 53:2). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

[2] The New King James Version. (1982). (Re 1:9–20). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

[3] The New King James Version. (1982). (Col 1:15–18). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

[4] The New King James Version. (1982). (Jn 1:4–13). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

[5] The New King James Version. (1982). (Mt 5:16). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

[6] The New King James Version. (1982). (Ps 110:1). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.

[7] The New King James Version. (1982). (Heb 4:12–13). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.