Lesson 5
1:4 John to the seven churches that are in Asia: Grace
to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to
come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne,
5a and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the
first-born of the dead, and the ruler of kings on
earth.
The phrase “from him who is, who was, and who is to
come” is similar to other descriptions and titles for God.
For example, in Exodus 3:14 God says “I am that I am,” in
John 8:58, Jesus says “Before Abraham was, I am.” In
Hebrews 13:8, Jesus is described as being the same
yesterday, today, and forever.
The Greek in verse 4 is quite unusual. Various
translations include “The Being, the Was, the Coming,” and
“The Being One and the Was One and the Coming One.” The
definite article precedes each of the nouns, “the was, the
is, the is to come.”
Barclay tells us that John bursts the bonds of grammar
to show his reverence for God. Where we have “from him who
is,” John retains the nominative case and in effect has
“from he who is.” John’s reverence for God will not allow
him to alter the form of his name even when the grammar
demands it.
Further, where we have “from him who was,” John has
“from the ‘he was.’” John uses a grammatically impossible
construction to avoid using a form of “to become” that
might imply that God could change. Those suffering
persecution were particularly concerned with the
changelessness of God. He had saved his people in the
past—he would save them now.
I sometimes wonder if we have the same reverence for the
changelessness of God. I am certain that the denominational
world does not. God is the fixed point; we are not. And yet
many denominational songs (some of which are in our own
songbook) sound as if just the opposite were true — that
man rather than God is the unchanging fixed point. When we
sing songs (as we often do) that picture us placing a crown
on Jesus’ head — who is changing?
There is a very unusual form of the Trinity in these
verses in that we have the Father, the Son, and the Seven
Spirits who are before God’s throne. The figure of the
seven spirits is used elsewhere in the book. In Revelation
3:1 we read:
And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: ‘The
words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven
stars. ‘I know your works; you have the name of being
alive, and you are dead.
In Revelation 4:5 we read:
From the throne issue flashes of lightning, and voices
and peals of thunder, and before the throne burn seven
torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God.
In Revelation 5:6 we read:
And between the throne and the four living creatures and
among the elders, I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had
been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are
the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.
Some suggest that the Spirit is one in name but
sevenfold in virtue. See, for example, Isaiah 11:2, where
we read:
And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the
spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel
and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the
LORD.
But there are only 6 virtues listed there! The seventh
is the spirit of godliness and is found in the
Septuagint—the Greek translation of the Old Testament.
Also, the seven spirits may correspond to the seven
churches. Hebrews 2:4 speaks of God as giving “gifts”
(“shares” in Greek) of the Spirit and thus these seven
spirits may be the seven shares of the Spirit given to the
seven churches. Again, the symbolic nature of the number 7
likely indicates completeness.
There is likely also an allusion here to Zechariah 3:9
and 4:6, 10, where we find the seven eyes set upon the
stone before Joshua the High Priest. Compare again
Revelation 5:6 (seven eyes).
This passage contains several descriptions of Christ.
Jesus is called a witness because he has first hand
knowledge of God. He is the perfect witness. Recall John
18:37.
Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered,
“You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for
this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the
truth. Every one who is of the truth hears my voice.”
Jesus is the first-born of the dead. This points to the
resurrection of Christ. Paul used the phrase “first-born of
the dead” in Colossians 1:18 and the phrase “firstfruits of
them that sleep” in 1 Corinthians 15:20.
The term “first-born” also points to preeminence. Jesus
is the one with power and honor, the one in first place. In
Psalm 89:27, God said of David that “I will make him the
first-born, the highest of the kings of the earth.” David
was not the first-born son of his father Jesse but he was
certainly the preeminent son of Jesse. Recall Colossians
1:15, 18:
He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of
all creation; … He is the head of the body, the church; he
is the beginning, the first-born from the dead, that in
everything he might be pre-eminent.
Jesus is the ruler of kings. This may refer again to
Psalm 89:27, this time as a reference to the Messiah rather
than just to David. Nero and Domitian thought they were all
powerful and answerable to no one, and yet Jesus was their
king. That Jesus is the King of kings means that he is the
King over everyone and everything. We do not make Jesus
king when we obey him — we obey him because he is already
king!
Hal Lindsey claims that Jesus is not ruling now. But
what does the Bible say? In 1 Peter 3:22 we see that all
powers have been made subject to him. In Ephesians 1:22 we
read that all things are in subjection under him. In
Revelation 2:27 we see that Jesus has power over nations.
Finally, in Matthew 28:18, we see that Jesus has all
authority in Heaven and on Earth. Jesus is king!
5b To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by
his blood 6 and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and
Father, to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever.
Amen.
This is a wonderful description of what Jesus has done
for man. What did he do? He loved us. He freed us from our
sin. He made us a kingdom of priests.
The phrase “washed us from our sins in his own blood” in
the King James Version should probably read “set us free
from our sins at the price of his blood.” The best Greek
manuscripts have ‘lusanti’ (freed) and not ‘lousanti’
(washed). As Israel was freed from Egyptian bondage to
become a new kingdom, so we have been freed from the
bondage of sin and death to become a new kingdom.
He loves (present tense) us and set (past tense) us
free. The death of Christ was a singular past event that is
a continuous expression of God’s love.
Further, Jesus made us a kingdom of priests to God. In
Exodus 19:6 God said “You shall be to me a kingdom of
priests, and a holy nation.” Under the old law only the
priests had access to God. Through Jesus Christ everyone
can now enjoy this access. Under the Old Law, only the High
Priest could enter the Holy of Holies and he could so so
only once a year, and even then he had a cord tied around
his foot so that he could be dragged out in case he died.
Now we all may boldly approach the throne of grace.
(Hebrews 4:16 and Hebrews 10:19–22)
In Exodus 25:8, God said, “And let them make me a
sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst.” In many ways
the entire Bible is a variation on this theme. It was (past
tense) fulfilled perfectly in Jesus Christ. We all have
access to God through Jesus. We are all priests.
The church of Christ is a kingdom of priests. Isaiah
61:6 told us about it long ago:
But you shall be called the priests of the LORD, men
shall speak of you as the ministers of our God; you shall
eat the wealth of the nations, and in their riches you
shall glory.
And 1 Peter 2:9 described the church in very similar
terms:
But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an
holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth
the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into
his marvellous light.
Part of our challenge in this book will be to look at
things through other’s eyes. To understand the book we need
to look at it through the eyes of its first century
readers, but we also need to try to see things through
God’s eyes. We need to see the church as God sees the
church — the beautiful bride of his son, the eternal
kingdom, the royal priesthood.
We often make the point that Revelation is trying to
describe what we cannot see (Heaven) in terms we can
understand, but we may find that it is really describing
something we can see (the church), but that we are not
seeing properly.
7 Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye
will see him, every one who pierced him; and all tribes of
the earth will wail on account of him. Even so. Amen.
Verse 7 is John’s motto: Jesus is coming in order to set
things right! No matter how hopeless things may seem at the
moment, Jesus is coming and he will set things right.
That’s not a bad motto for us as well!
This language is from the Old Testament and carries with
it a subtle reminder that the readers should keep in mind
that God has never failed to deliver his faithful people
from an oppressor. If they have studied the Old Testament,
they should already know this!
And this is a subtle reminder to us as well: Many today
seem to be waiting around with closed Bibles to receive a
revelation from God! Although truth may be scarce, the
supply has always exceeded the demand!
Does verse 7 refer to the coming of Christ at the end of
the world, what we often call the second coming of Christ?
Many say so or at least assume so, but let’s be careful. If
it does then it would seem to violate the time frame for
the book given a few verses earlier. The book’s stated
focus concerns things that were about to happen soon.
Further, recall that although Matthew 24:30 uses similar
language, it cannot refer to the end of the world there due
to the time frame given by Jesus in Matthew 24:34.
A better interpretation of verse 7 in view of John’s
time frame would have this verse apply to the figurative
return of Christ to judge Rome just as the similar language
in Matthew 24 referred to the figurative return of Christ
to judge Jerusalem.
In the Old Testament, the idea of coming on clouds or on
a cloud was used to describe God’s judgment against Egypt
(Isaiah 19:1; Ezekiel 30:3, 32:7) and against his own
people (Ezekiel 34:12).
In Daniel 7, Daniel had a vision in which four kingdoms
were depicted by four beasts that ruled the earth. The
fourth beast was the Roman empire. After the days of that
beast’s power we read in Daniel 7:13–14 that Daniel “saw in
the night visions, and, behold, with the clouds of heaven
there came one like a son of man, ... and to him was given
dominion, and glory, and kingdom, that all peoples,
nations, and languages should serve him.” In Revelation
22:7 Jesus said he would come without delay. Just as he had
done before, Jesus was coming without delay to rescue his
people and judge those were oppressing his people.
We are told here that not everyone would welcome that
coming. The tribes of the earth would wail on account of
him. In this book, we will find that the wicked are
described as those who dwell on earth. To God’s people,
Christ’s coming is a promise of hope, but to the enemies of
Christ his coming is a threat.
Verse 7 says that “every eye will see him, every one who
pierced him.” Zechariah 12:10 says “they shall look upon me
whom they have pierced,” and only John’s gospel makes
reference to that prophecy (John 19:37). Again, we have a
link back to John’s gospel.
8 “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who
is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.
The phrase “alpha and omega” (the first and last letters
of the Greek alphabet) denotes completeness. It is similar
to our phrase “A to Z.” Nothing is left out. Christ is all
sufficient. The phrase is used again at the end of the book
in 22:13. Also, recall Isaiah 44:6.
Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel and his Redeemer,
the LORD of hosts: “I am the first and I am the last;
besides me there is no god.”
Verse 8 says that God is the Almighty—that is, the one
who has dominion over all things. The word occurs 10 times
in the New Testament — once in Second Corinthians 6:18
where the Old Testament is quoted and 9 times in
Revelation. Even though no earthly empire had been able to
withstand Rome, John is assuring the church (“the panting,
huddled flock whose crime was Christ”) that their God is
the Almighty and that they will be victorious. Read
Revelation 19:6.
Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great
multitude, like the sound of many waters and like the sound
of mighty thunderpeals, crying, “Hallelujah! For the Lord
our God the Almighty reigns.”
Is this book relevant today? Absolutely! We all need to
be reminded that God is the Almighty! Not the nations of
this world, not the political leaders, not the armies, not
the terrorists, not science, not medicine — but God! If we
place our trust in anyone or anything else, then we are
fools. There is but one eternal kingdom and but one eternal
king!
9 I John, your brother, who share with you in Jesus the
tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance, 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.”
The Greek word “tribulation” denotes a pressing together
(as of grapes) or a squeezing or a pinching. In John 16:33,
Jesus said, “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be
of good cheer; I have overcome the world.”
Hailey: “Tribulation had been the lot of the church from
its beginning, but it was now breaking upon the saints with
an increasing intensity.”
Governors of the various provinces could at their own
discretion have a criminal executed. enslaved, or banished
to an island. The most common places of Roman banishment
were the rocky Aegean islands off the coast of Asia, which
included Patmos. As we have discussed, John may have been
banished there by Domitian himself while his father
Vespasian and brother Titus were away from Rome.
Patmos is a rocky and uninviting island located about 70
miles southwest of Ephesus. The island is about 10 miles
long and 6 miles across as its widest point. The sea almost
pinches it off in one place, forming a harbor. It is
perhaps not a coincidence that the word “sea” is used 22
times in Revelation.
Banishment to Patmos for John may have involved hard
labor at the quarries. Sir William Ramsay says that John’s
banishment would have been “preceded by scourging, marked
by perpetual fetters, scanty clothing, insufficient food,
sleep on the bare ground, a dark prison, work under the
lash of the military overseer.”
John did not refer to himself as an apostle or as a
close associate of Jesus, but as a brother of those being
persecuted and as one who shares in their tribulation. As
Barclay says, John did not preach endurance from his easy
chair. No one will ever listen to one who preaches heroic
courage to others while he himself has sought a prudent
safety.
“In the spirit” means under the influence of the Spirit.
This book, as with all Scripture, is inspired by God
through the Holy Spirit. It is God breathed.
The reference to Sunday as the Lord’s day given here is
the first such reference in literature now existing.
A trumpet often accompanies the voice or the appearance
of God. Recall Exodus 19:16 when the Law was given, and
recall the description of the final judgment found in 1
Corinthians 15:52.
What about the order of the churches? Many elaborate
theories have been put forth to explain it. The simplest
theory seems the most likely. The churches listed in verse
11 are arranged in the order that a traveler on foot would
take if he started at Ephesus, the closest church to
Patmos. There is about 30 to 45 miles between each of the
listed congregations. (Although when we get to the last of
the seven letters we may see yet another possible reason
for this particular ordering.)
Notice in verse 9 that John was a partaker with them in
the kingdom. If the kingdom did not already exist at the
time of this writing, then this claim by John makes no
sense! And yet how many commentaries on Revelation argue
that the kingdom has not yet come?
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 girdle round his breast;
14 his head and his hair were white as white wool, white as
snow; his eyes were like a flame of fire, 15 his feet were
like burnished bronze, refined as in a furnace, and his
voice was like the sound of many waters; 16 in his right
hand he held seven stars, from his mouth issued a sharp
two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in
full strength.
The golden lampstand (or menorah) is a familiar Old
Testament image. Exodus 25:31–37 tells us that such a lamp
was in the tabernacle. Such a lamp is also mentioned in the
vision of Zechariah 4:2 —
And he said to me, “What do you see?” I said, “I see,
and behold, a lampstand all of gold, with a bowl on the top
of it, and seven lamps on it, with seven lips on each of
the lamps which are on the top of it.
Then and now, the menorah depicts Judaism, and yet verse
20 will tell us that these seven lampstands are the seven
churches. Which is it? What we see here is something we
commonly see in the New Testament — descriptions of God’s
people from the Old Testament used to describe God’s people
in the New Testament. God’s people did not change from the
Old to the New; God’s people have always been the faithful
remnant, and today that faithful remnant is the church.
And how do we know that these are the people of God?
Because verse 13 tells us that Christ stands in their
midst. Jesus loves his people; Jesus cares for his people;
Jesus stands with his people. This is a beautiful opening
to this book of comfort for the people of God. Jesus is not
watching from afar; he is standing in their midst. Again,
we are reminded of Exodus 25:8.
The title “Son of Man” in verse 13 is a Messianic title
from Daniel 7:13, and is also frequently used in the New
Testament as a title for Christ. There is no doubt about
whom John is writing here.
The long robe and the golden girdle in verse 13 denotes
the clothing worn by the High Priest when he was
officiating on behalf of the people. And, of course, we
again see a description of Christ. Hebrews 4:14 tells us
that Jesus is our High Priest.
Verse 14 tells us that Jesus’ head and hair were white
as white wool and white as snow. This description also
comes from Daniel 7, but there it is not used of the Son of
Man (God the Son) but rather is used in Daniel 7:9 to
describe the Ancient of Days (God the Father). John uses
Old Testament descriptions of God the Father to describe
the risen Christ. The symbol of whiteness depicts the
purity and sinlessness of Christ. (Compare Isaiah
1:18.)
The voice of Christ is described as the sound of many
waters. God is described the same way in Ezekiel 43:2 ―
And behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the
east; and the sound of his coming was like the sound of
many waters; and the earth shone with his glory.
Remember that as John was writing this he could likely
hear the roar of the Aegean Sea.
Verse 15 tells us that Christ had feet of bronze. What
does that mean? To see what the feet of bronze depict, we
should do what we will often be doing to understand the
symbols in this book — we should see how the same symbol
was used in the Old Testament.
In Micah 4:13, feet of bronze were used to depict the
power to trample.
Arise and thresh, O daughter of Zion; For I will make
your horn iron, And I will make your hooves bronze; You
shall beat in pieces many peoples.
In Daniel 10:6 and Ezekiel 1:7, feet of bronze were used
to denote the speed and the strength of those sent by God
to do his will on the earth. The message is don’t get in
their way! The message to Rome is prepare to be
trampled!
Verse 16 shows a sword coming from his mouth. This
figure is a common symbol for judgment. In Isaiah 11:4, God
smites the earth with the rod of his mouth. Also, recall
the description of God’s word from Hebrews 4:12–13 ―
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than
any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and
spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts
and intentions of the heart. And before him no creature is
hidden, but all are open and laid bare to the eyes of him
with whom we have to do.
And recall from John 12:48 that we are judged by the
words of Christ!
Verse 14 tell us that his eyes were like a flame of
fire. We see a similar description in Daniel 10:6 of the
messenger of God sent to Daniel. We also see those eyes in
the verses we just looked at from Hebrews 14 — “all are
open and laid bare to the eyes of him with whom we have to
do.” Perfect eyes are required for perfect judgment, and
Christ’s eyes are perfect. He sees all. Nothing is hidden
from him.
Verse 16 describes the face of Christ — like the sun
shining at full strength! The description in verse 16
reminds us of the transfiguration of Jesus. In Matthew 17:2
we read that his face shone like the sun. There, as here,
the description denotes the glory and the divinity and the
power of Christ.
Verse 16 tells us that he held seven stars in his right
hand. The symbol is explained in verse 20, which we will
consider in just a moment.
17 When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead.
But he laid his right hand upon me, saying, “Fear not, I am
the first and the last, 18 and the living one; I died, and
behold I am alive for evermore, and I have the keys of
Death and Hades. 19 Now write what you see, what is and
what is to take place hereafter. 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.
And how does John react to this vision of the risen
Christ? Verse 17 tells us: “When I saw him, I fell at his
feet as though dead.”
The Bible is full of similar accounts from those who
come face to face with divinity.
• Ezekiel 1:28 (Such was the appearance of the likeness
of the glory of the LORD. And when I saw it, I fell upon my
face.)
• Ezekiel 3:23 (So I arose and went forth into the
plain; and, lo, the glory of the LORD stood there, like the
glory which I had seen by the river Chebar; and I fell on
my face.)
• Ezekiel 43:3 (And the vision I saw was like the vision
which I had seen when he came to destroy the city, and like
the vision which I had seen by the river Chebar; and I fell
upon my face.)
• Luke 5:8 (But when Simon Peter saw it [the miracle of
Jesus’ filling their nets with fish], he fell down at
Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful
man, O Lord.”)
• John 18:5-6 (Jesus said to them, “I am he.” Judas, who
betrayed him, was standing with them. When he said to them,
“I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground.)
• Isaiah 6:1-5 (“Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a
man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people
of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD
of hosts!”)
Do you think maybe we have lost some of that awe when it
comes to Christ? Is it possible that he has become too
familiar to us? Remember who it is who is writing this. If
anyone could have claimed a special familiarity with Jesus,
it was John, his cousin and the apostle whom Jesus loved.
(John 13:23) And yet, look at the relationship we see here.
Is Jesus our friend? Absolutely. You will never have a
better friend than Jesus. Is Jesus the eternal Almighty
God, who created and upholds the entire universe, and who
is the very image of the invisible God, whose face appears
as the sun shining with full strength? Absolutely! And
let’s remember that the next time we are tempted to plaster
His name on a t-shirt or a bumper sticker.
The command ‘fear not’ in verse 17 is generally the
first thing heard after God appears to his own people!
Recall, for example, Genesis 26:24.
And the LORD appeared to him the same night and said, “I
am the God of Abraham your father; fear not, for I am with
you and will bless you and multiply your descendants for my
servant Abraham’s sake.”
But we should note that the God is most definitely not
telling the Romans to fear not. They should be
terrified!
One of the most beautiful pictures in the entire book is
here in verse 17. John has fainted dead away at the sight
of Christ, and how does Jesus respond? He kneels down,
places his right hand on John, and tells him not to fear.
That was also a message to the seven churches, and it is
also a message to all Christians. Jesus is on our side, and
he is not a distant monarch. Jesus upholds the entire
universe, and yet he notices sparrows. A wonderful savior
is Jesus our Lord!
The next few verses describe the great power of
Christ.
Verse 17 tell us that Jesus is the first and the last.
Again, we have Old Testament descriptions of God applied
here to the risen Christ.
• Isaiah 44:6 (Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel
and his Redeemer, the LORD of hosts: “I am the first and I
am the last; besides me there is no god.”)
• Isaiah 48:12 (Hearken to me, O Jacob, and Israel, whom
I called! I am He, I am the first, and I am the last.)
Verse 18 tell us that Jesus is the living one Again,
many Old Testament passages come to mind.
• Joshua 3:10 (And Joshua said, “Hereby you shall know
that the living God is among you.)
• Psalm 42:2 (My soul thirsts for God, for the living
God. When shall I come and behold the face of God?)
• Hosea 1:10 (Yet the number of the people of Israel
shall be like the sand of the sea, which can be neither
measured nor numbered; and in the place where it was said
to them, “You are not my people,” it shall be said to them,
“Sons of the living God.”)
• Jeremiah 10:10 (But the LORD is the true God; he is
the living God and the everlasting King. At his wrath the
earth quakes, and the nations cannot endure his
indignation.)
Jesus is God! Nowhere else in the Bible is the divinity
of Christ any more clear than it is in these verses.
Virtually every Old Testament description of God the Father
is applied in this book to God the Son.
When you study modern commentaries about Revelation you
often hear a lot about “the antichrist.” But 1 John 2:22
tells us that an antichrist is anyone who denies the
divinity of Christ, which means there are many antichrists
in the world today.
Verse 18 tells us that Jesus possesses the keys of
death. Just as it still means today, to possess the key to
something is to control that thing. I control the Honda out
on the parking lot. I can make it open; I can make it
start; I can make it stop. To have a key means to have
authority. Recall Isaiah 22:22 ―
And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of
David; he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall
shut, and none shall open.
It is in that same way that Jesus possesses the key of
death. Jesus conquered death—he controls it. Rome thought
that it controlled death, but bloodthirsty Rome and its
bloodthirsty emperors will soon learn otherwise! They will
soon be swimming in blood!
Keys are often associated with locked gates, and death
has gates.
• Psalm 9:13 (O thou who liftest me up from the gates of
death.)
• Psalm 107:18 (They drew near to the gates of
death.)
• Isaiah 38:10 (I am consigned to the gates of Sheol for
the rest of my years.)
Jesus has the key to that gate. When he says “Come
forth!,” the dead come forth and no gate can hold them
back.
2 Timothy 1:10 tells us that Jesus abolished (past
tense) death. But 1 Corinthians 15:25-26 tells us that
Jesus “must reign until he has put all his enemies under
his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.” How can
death remain as an enemy if it has been abolished? Hebrews
2:14-15 provides the answer:
Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood,
he himself likewise partook of the same nature, that
through death he might destroy him who has the power of
death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who
through fear of death were subject to lifelong bondage.
Death has been conquered (past tense) but it will remain
until the last day when, as 1 Corinthians 15:54-56 tells
us, death will be swallowed up in victory.
Rome and death are in a similar position, and when Jesus
is coming in judgment the very last place you want to be is
in the same position as death! By the time this book ends,
Rome will also have been judged and conquered (past tense),
and yet we may find that Rome like death will remain for a
time after it has been conquered. But as with death, the
final outcome for Rome will never be in any doubt.
In verse 19, John is told to write everything down. He
is told to write down what is (that is, what he is now
seeing in the first vision) and what is to come (that is,
what he is about to see in the second vision, which starts
in Chapter 4).
The mystery of the 7 stars and the 7 lampstands is
explained in verse 20. As with other mysteries in the
Bible, this mystery is something that was formerly not
understood but that has now been revealed. Revelation is
not the only book with such mysteries. We have:
• The mystery of godliness in 1 Timothy 3:16.
• the mystery of marriage and the Church in Ephesians
5:31–32.
• The mystery of the hardening of Israel in Romans
11:25.
• The mystery of the promise to the Gentiles in
Ephesians 3:4.
Verse 20 gives us the explanation for the the mystery of
the seven stars and the seven golden lampstands. The seven
lampstands are the seven churches, and the seven stars are
the seven angels of the seven churches.
Before we look at what this explanation means, let’s
pause to note two important things we should take from
verse 20.
First, verse 20 confirms that this book contains
figures. Jesus refers to stars and lampstands, but he
clearly tells us that these items are figures. So, for
those who pride themselves in taking everything in this
book literally, they need to study verse 20 very
carefully.
Second, verse 20 tells us with absolute certainty what
these particular figures represent, and we will see other
explanations in this book. This is but one example of
someone (in this case, Jesus himself) explaining a part of
the vision to John during the vision itself. These
explanations are signposts to let us know if we are on the
right road with the other symbols in the vision.
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