Revelation 1:9-20

Revelation 1:9–20 NIV

9 I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10 On the Lord’s Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, 11 which said: “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.” 12 I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, 13 and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. 14 The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. 15 His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. 17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. 18 I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades. 19 “Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. 20 The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

These verses give us the backdrop or the occasion that John was given to tell all of what he saw.

What John heard (v.9-11)

How does John identify himself in verse 9?

Why was John on the island in the first place?

What John saw (v.12-16)

1. What are the “seven golden lampstands”? Refer to verse 20 for an explanation.

Seven golden lampstands: the lamp in these lampstands was an oil lamp, which consisted of a shallow clay bowl full of olive oil, with a wick lying in the oil; one end of the wick extended onto a lip of the bowl, where the oil in the wick burned so that its flame provided light. A translation must avoid giving the impression that electric light bulbs or wax candles were the source of light. The lampstands themselves were either made of gold or, more likely, were gold plated. Each lampstand, it is assumed, had several lamps on it. Lampstands may in certain languages be rendered as “lamp holders,” “things on which lamps are placed,” or even “poles that have lamps on top.”

The lampstands represent the seven churches that Christ is sending this letter to. They are the “light” in the dark world. They carry the “light” into all of the earth where it has not been heard yet.

2. Who is described as the “son of man”?

3. What does the description of Jesus in v. 13-16 portray Him to be?

John’s Instructions (v.17-20)

1. What was John’s response to the vision of the resurrected Christ?

2. Jesus gives John some needed reassurance in verse 17 and makes it clear in verse 18 who He is and what He has come to do. Verse 17-18 is a great description of who Jesus is.

3. Verse 19 tells us what the book of Revelation is all about “what will take place later”.

As we said last time - the book of Revelation should be something that is a comfort for us and not something that we avoid. It is the last chapter in God’s redemptive story and one that we should look forward to as believers. It should also push us to tell others about what is to come because we know that He is coming soon. We don’t know when Christ will return so we must be ready and we must warn others to be ready!

4. Verse 20 gives us the description of the stars and the lampstands.