College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
Revelation 1:9-20
Strauss-' Comments
SECTION 3
Text Revelation 1:9-20
9 I John, your brother and partaker with you in the tribulation and kingdom and patience which are in Jesus, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for 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 great voice, as of a trumpet 11 saying, What thou seest, write in a book and send it to the seven churches: unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamum, and unto Laodicea. 12 And I turned to see the voice that spake with me, And having turned I saw seven golden candlesticks; 13 and in the midst of the candlesticks one like unto a son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about at the breasts with a golden girdle. 14 And his head and his hair were white as white wool, white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; 15 and his feet like unto burnished brass, as if it had been refined in a furnace; and his voice as the voice of many waters. 16 And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth proceeded a sharp two-edged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. 17 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as one dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying, Fear not: I am the first and the last, 18 and the Living one; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive for evermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades. 19 Write therefore the things which thou sawest, and the things which are, and the things which shall come to pass hereafter; 20 the mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angles of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks are seven churches.
Initial Questions, Revelation 1:9-20
1.
What tribulation was John speaking of in Revelation 1:9?
2.
Where is the island of Patmos located?
3.
Why was John on Patmos?
4.
Where are the cities of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea located?
5.
Is the symbolism of seven stars and seven golden candlesticks clearly defined in this section of scripture? Revelation 1:20.
First Vision: The Seven Churches of Asia - Revelation 1:9 to Revelation 3:22
Vision of the Risen and Ascended Christ Revelation 1:9-20
John personally addresses his readers. He relates to his audience by identifying himself as a brother, and also as a participator (not a mere observer) as John used here a term sugkoinônes - a partner with the strengthening prefix sun.) What was it that John co-shared with his readers? John writes The Revelation during a time of intense persecution of the Church. John states that he was a co-sharer in the tribulation of his readers. The term thlipsei means an affliction i.e., persecution.
Note: See Herbert B. Workman, Persecution in the Early Church; also appendix of this commentary on Persecutions and the Early Church.
But John also shared the glories of the King of Glory, and the precious promises for all those who continue till the end. Being in Christ enables one to endure (hupomonç - endurance or patience) even banishment. John declares that he was (egenomçn - 2nd aor. mid. indicative) on the Island of Patmos. The use of the past tense suggests that John was not there when he wrote The Revelation. The middle voice form of the verb implies that he banished himself. It might be that John, like the other apostles (Acts 4:14-22), was requested to modify his message, that is, if he wanted to continue to preach in public. As a faithful ambassador, John declined such conditions for preaching; and thus banished himself to Patmos. John was on Patmos (an Island about 28 miles south, southwest of Samos) for the Word of God, and the testimony of Jesus. This translation is not strong enough. Literally, John wrote that he was on the Island because or on account (dia withthe accusative has casual force) of the Word and testimony of Jesus. This situation was similar to Paul's when he declares (1 Corinthians 4:10) that - We are fools for Christ's sake. Literally, Paul said we are morons because of Christ (also dia with the acc. case). Christ is thus the cause of the world's attitude that they were fools. This is also the theme of Fyodor Dostoevski's The Idiot. Our English word idiot is from the Greek word meaning isolated one or one who can not live in a social context i.e., to be alone.
John was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day (tç kuriakç kçmera), The phrase on the Lord's Day appears only here in the N.T. scriptures. This is not the eschatological phrase - the day of the Lord (2 Thessalonians 2:2). The standard N.T. phrase for the first day of the week is mia tôn sabbatôn.
Note: See Acts 20:7; Matthew 28:1 - eis mian sabbatôn - toward one of the sabbaths. See the Appendix after this chapter - The Lord's Day and Sabbath Controversy Revisited!
The term translated Lord is kuriakç (imperial), and it is the same term found in 1 Corinthians 11:20 (kuriakon - concerning The Lord's Supper). John had prepared himself (mid voice - aor) to be in the Spirit on the Lord's Day and suddenly the holy silence was broken with the unexpected entrance of the voice of God. His voice was as the assembling tones of a war trumpet (salpiggos - war trumpet).
The voice spoke directly and specifically to John, and commanded him to write (grapson - 1st aor. imperative the things that he was to see) in a scroll (Biblion - scroll rather than book). The use of the term book in our translation is an anachronism, because what we call a book was much later in developing than the New Testament period. The relevatory visions which were vouched safe to John and as he was commanded write so also he was commanded to send (pempson - 1st aor. imperative - active) the revealed information to the seven churches. (Note location of each city on the map.)
Note: Five of the seven cities were mentioned by Tacitus, Annals, 4. 53-56, p. 176-177; Modern Library edition, New York, 1942 - there was a debate over which of these cities was to be honored with the to-be erected Temple in commemoration of Tiberius.
John turned to see who the speaker was (or source of the voice) who had entered conversation with him (met emou - means a conversation and not merely one person addressing a listener). After he had finished the act of turning, he was in a single act seven golden lampstands - the imagery is taken from the lampstand of the Tabernacle (Exodus 25:31).
John declares that he saw one standing among (en mesô - in the middle) of the lampstands, and this royal person was like (homion - one like) the son of man (no definite article, but still the title of Christ and not merely a man) - See Daniel 7:13. This is one of the beautiful messianic titles used by the Lord Himself.
Note: See B. B. Warfield, The Lord of Glory, reprinted Zondervan Pub. Co., Grand Rapids, Michigan, N.D. - chpt. The Witness of the Apocalypse, pp. 286-297 (brilliant Calvinist - Bible believer of a past generation); for student grounded in the Word and able to evaluate the brilliant scholarship of one who does not hold a high view of the scriptures as revelation, see Sigmund Mowinckel, He That Cometh, Blackwell, Oxford, 1956, chp. 10, The Son of Man - pp. 346-450 - also excellent contemporary bibliography; see also Special Study in this commentary on The Titles for Christ in The Revelation. The Interpretors Bible, contains the popularized negative critical attitude toward the scriptures. (Abindgon Press, 1954, Nashville, Tenn. Martin Rist and Lynn H. Hough authored the material on the Revelation. See page 375, volume 12, chp. Revelation 11:13 for a denial that Daniel's Son of Man concept is messianic. See the counter claim made by Edward J. Young, The Prophecy of Daniel, Eerdmans, 1949, p. 154.
The remaining imagery of this verse is kingly or priestly in origin (See Daniel 10:5; Isaiah 6:1). With great flowing picturesque language, John describes our marvelous messiah. The garments which clothe Him reaches from head to foot- (podçrç - from pous - foot, and aor - to fasten). This is a robe of honor, and symbolizes a person of the highest standing. The next beautiful imagery is conveyed by the phrase (perizôsmenon - mastos) and speaks of the priestly garment. The priest was bound at the breasts with a golden girdle. There is no question but that this symbolism is priestly, and that it applies to our messiah, who is prophet, priest, and king. This golden girdle was used as a symbol of righteousness, and power, etc., in the O.T. (Isaiah 11:5, etc., in Ephesians 6:14 - The Christian's girdle is truth).
This verse continues the description of the one like unto the son of man (Daniel 10:6). As John continues to describe Daniel's Ancient of Days (Daniel 7:9) he uses terms suggesting the pre-existing Christ (as John 1:1 asserts). The symbols of purity dance upon the stage of the great drama. The ancient of Days is set upon the stage of the human drama of sin and salvation. John's next phrase was used over 700 years before the postman of Patmos sent heaven's message unto the Churches of Asia. Daniel said His eyes were lamps of fire (Daniel 10:6). The imagery above probably relates to the eternality and purity of the Son of Man.
The source of the imagery is still Daniel. The meaning of the term translated burnished brass (chalkolibanô) is not known for certain, but this fits the imagery very well. For the next imagery John reaches back into the Spirit inspired scroll of Ezekiel 1:24; Ezekiel 43:2, etc. Here the voice as of many waters flows to God's Patmos bound penman from the prophet beyond the Chebar (Ezekiel).
The one like unto the Son of Man hold seven stars in His right hand, and out of his mouth proceedeth a two-edged sword. The imagery of the two edged sword is the Word of God (see Hebrews 4:12; Revelation 19:15).
Note: For many O.T. examples of the symbol of the sharp sword see William Barclay, The Revelation of John Vol. I. The Saint Andrew Press, Edinburgh, 1962 impression, p. 63 - some excellent material in Barclay's works, but does not always show a high regard for the Bible as God's Word).
John takes us by the hand and leads us into the light of God's presence when he states that his countenance shines (phainei - pres. tense - keeps on shining - see John 1:5) in the power of it. The 1901 text erroneously translates the present tense (phainei) his countenance was (?) as the sun shineth in his strength. The use of this English past tense implies that the countenance used to shine but does not anymore. Nothing could be farther from the truth. Truly, Jesus is the light that keeps on lighting every man that comes into the World - John 1:9. Thanks be to God - Light shall prevail over darkness!
The effect of seeing one like unto the Son of Man was so awe-inspiring that John fell (epesa - 1st aor. ind.) at his feet as one dead. The one who held the seven stars in his right hand now stretches it forth in a touch of mercy as he placed his right hand on me saying: fear not (mç phobou - pres. mid. imperative - the ability to obey the command was in the subject - thus the use of the middle voice literally stop being afraid!) The 1901 A.V. faultily translates the phrase I was dead (egenomen - 2nd aor. mid. act.) means rather that I became dead of my own free act (this is the significance of the middle voice). Christ was the only prey that death held no claim to, but for our redemption he became obedient unto death - Philippians 2:8. Through the glorious resurrection of Christ, the victim became victor and behold (idou - look here) I am alive (literally living from present participle zôn) for evermore and, I have the keys of death and of hades. Christ is here asserting that He alone controls the realm of death and the realm of the unseen.
Note: See appendix on Death immediately following chap 2 for some brief thoughts: and see the Special Study in this commentary on the Biblical Doctrines in The Revelation for brief study on the Greek term hades. This English word is made by transcribing directly from the Greek word; it is not a translation of the term.
John is again commanded to write (grapson - aor. imperative). He was to respond to this command by instantaneous obedience (the significance of the aor. imperative). What was he to write? He was to record instantly the things which thou sawest (eides - 2nd aor. ind. act) and the things which are (eisin - present) and the things which shall come to pass hereafter. The 1901 translation is wrong in translating this last verb as future. The form of the verb (genesthai - and aor. inf. plus mellei - about) literally means are about to come to pass; therefore, the phrase should read - the things which are about to occur or come to pass. The hereafter translates meta tauta and would more clearly be translated after these things. What things? The things which are about to occur after the things which are. This verse probably relates the division of the book. It is about things which were, are, and shall be!
The mystery of the seven stars and the seven golden lampstands is about to be unveiled. Christ identifies the seven stars as the angles of the seven churches: and the seven lampstands are the seven churches. The word mystery (mustçrion) as it is used in the N.T. is always related to the fact of revelation, though this word has a long pre-biblical history. The implication of secrecy, as in the Mystery Religions, or the Dead Sea Community, is absent from the N.T. usage.
Note: For those unacquainted with this term and its special problems see B. F. Westcott's St. Paul's Epistle to The Ephesians, Eerdmans reprinted - 1950, pp. 180-81; there will be a Special Study on the Greek term musterion in this commentary. Further bibliographical information will be given there.
Who are the angels of the seven churches? No final, categorical answer can be given to this question, but we can declare that they are not to be identified as Vincent, Trench, et al. do. The word angel is a Greek word that also means messenger, with no supernatural connotation as with angel. Archbishop R. C. Trench maintained that these angels were the bishops of the seven churches. From a purely biblical standpoint this is an impossible claim because the N.T. is very clear about the polity of the Church. There is always a plurality of Elders (Bishops) in every congregation. The single bishop, or monarchical episcopate was most certainly a post-biblical development. There is no explanation which is fully satisfactory regarding the identification of the messengers of the seven churches, but what ever conclusion one draws, if honest, he must reckon with Swete's position. He states that the Apocalypse uses aggelos some sixty times, excluding those in which it is followed by tçs ekklçsios or tôn ekklesiôn, and always in the technical sense of a superhuman being employed in the service of God or of Satan. There is therefore a strong presumption that the aggeloi tôn ekklçsiôn are angels in the sense which the word bears elsewhere throughout the book. (Swete, The Apocalypse of St. John, Eerdmans reprint 1951, p. 22.)
The lampstands specifically and clearly identified as the Churches of Asia, and is a vital part of the imagery of chps.2 and 3. Christ walks in the midst of the congregations and demands repentence, or else He will come and remove their lampstands.
Review Questions
Revelation 1:9-20
1.
Was John personally involved in the great persecution of the body of Christ - Revelation 1:9?
2.
Is there a difference between the Lord's Day and the Sabbath - Revelation 1:10?
3.
Who commanded John to write and send the scroll to the seven churches - Revelation 1:11?
4.
According to Revelation 1:12 - Was John merely a listener to the voice, or was he also engaged in the conversation?
5.
What O.T. prophet is the source of the term the Son of Man-vs. 13?
6.
What two characteristics of the Son of Man does the imagery of Revelation 1:13 probably reveal?
7.
To what does the imagery of the two-edged sword refer - Revelation 1:16?
8.
In Revelation 1:17 John is commanded to do what?
9.
What credentials of Christ were revealed in Revelation 1:18?
10.
What was John commanded to record in Revelation 1:19?
11.
Is it possible, from a biblical standpoint, that the angles mentioned in Revelation 1:20 are the ruling bishops of each of the seven churches of Asia?
Special Study
The Lord's Day - Sabbath
Controversy Revisited
Why does confusion persist about the Lord's Day? How is it possible to confuse the Sabbath Day and the Lord's Day? In this scope we shall provide a background and bibliography for further, more detailed study.
The Sabbath Day in Historical Perspective
The brilliant Catholic director of the Ecole Biblique in Jerusalem and editor of the Revue Biblique, Roland de Vaux, O.P., has placed all concerned with the Sabbath issue in his debt. (He is also an example of the R.C. Churches attitude toward her first-rate scholars who take some negative critical attitudes toward the scripture but never an extreme position). His classic work, The Sociology of Ancient Israel, Its Life and Institutions, McGraw-Hill Book Co., New York, 1961, pp. 475) provides us with the most recent research on this persistent but quite unnecessary confusion between the Sabbath and the Lord's Day.
The Hebrew word shabbath is not translated into English - rather it is transcribed into our English word Sabbath. In the Hebrew O.T. this word is used only in the context of the O.T. religion (once used for entire week, Leviticus 23:5). The O.T. also mentions the sabbatical year (occurs every 7 years - see Leviticus 25:2; Leviticus 25:8, etc.). A longer term (sahbbathon) is used of special feast days, etc., but it is most important that we realize that these days did not always fall on a Sabbath. With Linguistic skill available to very few men in the world today, de Vaux repudiates the theory of a Mesopotamian origin for the Hebrew Sabbath, Roland de Vaux declares that the simplest etymology root of the word) is the verb which means to cease working, i.e., to rest. There are theories concerning a Babylonian, a Cannanite, a Qenite, a creation law, etc., source of the Sabbath. But what does the Bible say?
Biblical Origin of the Sabbath
Certain sources are still persistent in declaring that the Sabbath had its origin in creation (Genesis 2:2-3). If this is a true assertion, it would be difficult to find out why an inspired prophet Nehemiah (Revelation 9:13-14) was not aware of it. He declares that God made known the Sabbath from Mt. Sinai. In support of Nehemiah's contention, it must be pointed out that there is no biblical record of a holy Sabbath being given or observed before the Mosiac period. We must hasten to declare that Genesis, chp. Revelation 2:2-3 is no counter example to my claim, because the term Sabbath means rest not seven (as is claimed by the adherents of The Akkadian origin theory), There certainly was a Sabbath (rest day), but from this claim one cannot validly conclude that it was a seventh day Sabbath (i.e., Sabbath's fell on other days of the week than on what we call Saturday). Involved in this problem is the very intricate issue of calendaration, but it is too technical for us to consider here. There is not one verse in the O.T. which even intimates that any of the patriarchs knew anything about or observed a seventh day Sabbath. The unlearned continue to bring to our attention that the Hebrew word zakor (Exodus 2:8) necessitates long history of the Hebrew holy Sabbath (note the term in the parallel passage Deuteronomy 5:12 - shamor - observe). All that can be grammatically and logically claimed for these terms is that they call attention to the fact that a few weeks before (Exodus 16) they had received the religious, holy Sabbath through medium of special revelation. (For advanced Bible Students grounded in the Eternal Word see the views of H. H. Rowley, Moses and the Decalogue, Bulletin of John Rylands Library. Also, Sigmund Mowinckel, Le Decalogue, T. Wever, Boekhandel - 1951, Netherlands. The first biblical declaration (Exodus 16:22-30) about the Sabbath Day is associated specifically with the giving of the manna (and later stated as one of the Ten Commandments, Exodus 20:1-17). Besides the theory held by all Sabbatarians, (some Baptists, 7th Day Adventists, et al.) the view already mentioned from the great work of de Vaux, is set forth as a live option - that is the Babylonian or Akkadian origin. This view must be rejected on critical linguistic and extra biblical grounds. Besides this the Babylonian shabbatu was determined by the phases of the moon, and thus did not necessarily fall on the seventh day. Their shabbatu was not a day of rest as was the Hebrew Shabbath. Neither did it have religious meaning, rather it was a day of evil omen.
(For further study, see R. H. Charles, The Decalogue, Edinburgh, T. & T. Clark, 1926, pp. 118; also Robert H. Pfeiffer's ridiculous claim that the religious significance of The Shabbath was impossible for wandering Israelite monads. See his Introduction to Old Testiment, Harpers, N.Y., 1941, p. 231; even the negative critic James Muilenburg acknowledges that The Shabbath was a religious institution founded by Moses. This is some concession from him. See his work vol. V Interpretors Bible, Abingdon, Nashville, 1956, p. 687.
The Seventh Day Adventists and the Sabbath
This group of Sabbatarians attempt to escape the O.T. Doctrine of the Hebrew religious Shabbath by dividing the O.T. Law into moral and ceremonial law. They acknowledge that Christ nailed the Law to the Cross but only the ceremonial law, and the Sabbath Law is not ceremonial, but rather moral in nature. In fact, they identify the mark of the Beast of The Revelation with the change from the O.T. Sabbath which they attribute to the Roman Catholic Church, to the Lord's Day, Sunday. Is this a true claim? If the Lord's Day as a day of worship is found in the N.T. scriptures then it follows that the change was not effected by the Roman Catholic Church for the simple reason that no such institution existed at the time with all due respects to their claim to the contrary. (For an excellent popular style analysis of the Seventh Day Adventists-' claim see Walter R. Martin, The Truth About Seventh Day Adventism, Zondervan Pub. House, p. 140-173, 1960.)
Note: For an examination of the attitude towards the Lord's Day - Sabbath, Lord's Day problem in the Patristic Literature, see Jean Danielou, The Bible and the Liturgy: Liturgical Studies, University of Notre Dame Press, Notre Dame, Indiana, 1956; a few Patristic attitudes are also mentioned in Martin's work on 7th Day Adventism mentioned above - pp. 152-4 - for brief discussion of the Sabbath and the year of the Lord see H. Riesenfeld, Sabbat et Jour die Seigneur, p. 210-217 in N.T. Essays: Studies in Memory of T. W. Manson, Manchester University Press, Manchester, England, 1959.
The N.T. and the Lord's Day
The N.T. is crystal clear about two things: (1) That the O.T. Sabbath is not the Lord's Day; (2) and that the Church, even though the book of Acts shows us that early Jewish Christians persisted in also worshipping on the Sabbath - (besides) the Lord's Day; in fact they worshipped everyday, - worshipped on the Lord's Day because that was the day when the Victim became Victor over sin and death. What does the term the Lord's Day mean? In a special sense, it is His day for His followers to gather to acknowledge Him as Lord of heaven and earth. The Old Testament religious Sabbath comes on the seventh day, but the Lord's Day is the first day of the week. Why and when was the change made? The Old Testament Sabbath and the New Testament Lord's Day were both commanded of the Lord, but for entirely different reasons, and for a completely different group of people. The Lord came forth from the realm of the dead to be our savior on the first day of the week and not on the seventh, that is why the change was made. The two days just had different purposes!
We cannot here critically examine the problem of chronology in the Gospel records, but we must realize that the date of crucifixion plays a determining role in the time of the resurrection. Those who are spokesmen for Sabbatarianism claim that Jesus was crucified on Thursday or late Wednesday and not on Friday as this author would claim. The Gospel authors clearly tell us that Jesus was crucified Friday afternoon, because the preparation was without any question, the day before the Sabbath. (Literally Matthew 27:62 declares - and on the morrow, which is after the preparation.) The crucifixion account in Matthew concludes with the burial scene (Matthew 27:57-61), and evening had come (genomenes - 2nd aor. participle). Then in the very next section (Matthew 27:62-66 we read then on the morrow which is the day after preparation. Preparation comes on Friday (there can be no valid challenge to this fact) and Matthew 27:62 declares that on the next day (the Sabbath) the chief priests, et al., took further precautions against the man on the middle cross. Why? Wasn-'t he dead? Then we read about Eis mian sabbatôn (or towards one of the Sabbaths) the grave did not and could not hold its prey. The above Greek phrase is the standard New Testament phrase for the Lord's Day (See Acts 20:7). This was a day commemorating Christ's victory over death. John was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day and received information about the past, present, and future never before vouched safe to mortals. Empirical historiography does not have access to this information. It came by way of special revelation!
Roland de Vaux states well the biblical distinctions between the Sabbath and the Lord's Day when he says that Jesus claimed the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath (Mark 2:28); he could therefore abolish the Sabbath, and he did in fact do so, for the New Covenant which he brought abrogated the Old Covenant, of which the Sabbath was the sign. The Christian Sunday is not in any sense a continuation of the Jewish Sabbath. The latter closed the week, but the Christian Sunday opens the week in the new era by commemorating the Resurrection of our Lord, and the appearances of the risen Christ, and by directing our attention to the future, when he will come again. And yet Sunday does symbolize the fulfilment of those promises which the Sabbath foreshadowed. Like all the other promises of the Old Testament, these promises too are realized not in an institution, but in the person of Christ; it is he who fulfils the entire Law. Sunday is the Lord's Day the day of him who lightens our burdens (Matthew 11:28), through whom, with whom, and in whom we enter into God's own rest (Hebrews 4:1-11).
Roland de Vaux, Ancient Israel, Its Life and Institution, McGraw-Hill Book Co. Inc., New York, 1961.
We have revisited this persistent and ill-founded controversynow may we truly be in the Spirit on the Lord's Day!
Tomlinson's Comments
BEGINNING OF APOCALYPSE
PART I
Text (Revelation 1:9-20)
APOCALYPSE PROPER BEGINS
9 I John, your brother and partaker with you in the tribulation and kingdom and patience which are in Jesus, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for 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 great voice, as of a trumpet 11 saying, What thou seest, write in a book and send it to the seven churches: unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamum, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicca. 12 And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And having turned I saw seven golden candlesticks; 13 and in the midst of the candlesticks one like unto a son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about at the breasts with a golden girdle. 14 And his head and his hair were white as white wool, white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire; 15 and his feet like unto burnished brass, as if it had been refined in a furnace; and his voice as the voice of many waters. 16 And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth proceeded a sharp two-edged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength. 17 And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as one dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying, Fear not; I am the first and the last, 18 and the Living one; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive for evermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades. 19 Write therefore the things which thou sawest, and the things which are, and the things which shall come to pass hereafter; 20 the mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks are seven churches.
Revelation 1:9 John here names himself for the third time and twice again in Revelation he names himself by name (Revelation 21:2) and (Revelation 22:8).
He is an apostle, but walks as a brother not exalting himself above his brethren as men have done in later centuries who claim apostolic succession. He remembered Christ's injunction, But be not ye called Rabbi for one is your Master, even Christ: and all ye are brethren. (Matthew 23:8).
He was a companion in tribulation because he was a partaker of the suffering of the church of Ephesus and of all the churches throughout the seven periods of history.
He was in the isle called Patmos. Our knowledge of the place of the revelation to John rests upon the testimony of John himself. It is a small island in the southern part of the Aegean Sea. Here he was in banishment under the reign of Domitian, because of his faithful witness for the Word of God.
Revelation 1:10 He was absent from the saints assembled in Ephesusa few miles across the seabut he was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day. The expression The Lord's Day does not occur in the earlier writings of the apostles; they always speak of this day as the first day of the week, when Christians came together to commune (Acts 20:7) and to hear the preaching (Acts 20:7) and to lay by in store as the Lord had prospered them (1 Corinthians 16:2). But we find the writers of the second century used the term the Lord's Day. Epistles of Barnabas, Ignatius and Dionysius, written about this time, call the first day of the week, the Lord's Day and the name is of common occurrence from that time forward. Incidentally, this term, then, points to a period near the beginning of the second century as the date of the writing of the apocalypse.
How natural to so refer to the day as the Lord's Day. On the Lord's day, or the first day of the week, the church was born on Pentecosta first day of the week, which followed the seventh Sabbath after the one which fell in the Passover week. On this day the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles. On this day they preached the first gospel sermon, on this day began the adding to those being saved. Since the Lord's Day, or first day of the week was the day of worship under the Christian Dispensation, how fitting that the apocalypse should be given on that day.
Revelation 1:11-12 As John turned to see the speaker whose voice he had heard, his eyes rested upon a vision of surpassing glory. The first objects that drew his attention were seven golden candlesticks, which (Revelation 1:20) informs us are the seven churches, which in turn represent the seven great epochs in the history of the church.
And standing in the midst of the candlesticks he saw one like unto the Son of Man,not like the Son of Man John had seen in the day of his flesh when Christ walked among men, but more like the glorified Christ he had seen on the Mount of Transfiguration. Every manifestation the glory of Deity is accompanied with brilliant splendor.
Whether the burning bush of Horeb, the glory of Sinai, the Shekinah of the Holy of Holies, the Transfigured Christ on Hermon, the Son of man on Patmos, all indicate that where ever Deity manifests itself there is no darkness at all.
In the great intercessor prayer (17th Chapter of John) Christ had prayed that they may behold my glory which Thou hast given me and here is the beginning of the answer to that prayer when John beheld Him in all his heavenly splendor.
Revelation 1:13 Moving amidst the seven golden candlesticks or the church in its sevenfold development, He was keeping his commission promise, Lo I am with you always, even unto the end of the age. (Matthew 28:20)
He was dressed in the long robe of the High Priest and girt about with the girdle of a King. His voice was as the sound of surging waters. Here He is represented in His three-fold office, Prophet, Priest and King.
Revelation 1:14 His white hair portrayed glorious purity. His eyes were as a flame of firefiery eyes with which to see everywhere, for all things and all lives are naked and open to Him.
Revelation 1:15-16 Out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword. This is a symbol of the Word by which Christ carries on his spiritual warfare and wins all conquests. The Christian soldier is to be armed with the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God (Ephesians 6:17) and this sword, the word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart (Hebrews 4:12)
This was the sword with which Christ should smite the nations (Revelation 19:15).
Revelation 1:17 Though John had been familiar with the lowly Son of man, and had seen His glorious transfiguration, when he beheld the transcendent vision of Patmos, his heart failed him, and he fell at Christ's feet as one dead. But when the hand that held the seven stars was laid upon him it was with the same tender touch of the yesteryears. Then the Lord revealed the purpose of His appearing unto John, Fear Not. How often in the days of His flesh had he said to His disciples, Fear not!
Revelation 1:18 Christ here bears testimony to his own life, death and resurrection. He pronounces his own Amen to his declaration.
He said He had the keys of hell, or Hades and of Death. When Peter confessed Him in the coasts of Caesarea Philippi as the Christ the Son of the Living God, Christ had declared, Upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell (Hades) shall not prevail against it. (Matthew 16:13-18). And on Pentecost, the birthday of the church of Christ, Peter proclaimed in the first gospel sermon the death, burial and resurrection of Christ and as he came to the climax of that message he said, He seeing this before spoke of the Resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell (Hades), neither did his flesh see corruption. (Acts 2:31)
Christ proved the truth of Peter's confession of Him as the Christ, the Son of the Living God, by coming back from Hades, whose gates could not prevail against his deity. Not only was Christ triumphant over death, but the very gates of death and Hades are under His dominion. Hence, He was able to deliver John who had fallen as one dead, but all who love and obey Him from the bonds of death.
Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same, that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is the devil; and deliver them, who through fear of death, were all their lifetime subject to bondage. (Hebrews 2:14-15)
Revelation 1:19 Christ divided up the apocalyptic visions into three parts; viz. the past, the present, and the future. He was to write of the things he had seen during his life time, the things as they were at the time of the Patmos visions, and the things which would fall under the time denoted as the hereafter.
Revelation 1:20 Christ explains the mystery of the seven Stars and the seven candlesticks. The seven stars He declares are the angels of the seven churches, represented by the seven candlesticks.
The word angel means a messenger and is equally applicable to the messenger of God, as well as of man.
This last verse of the first chapter is of special signification in that it throws light upon the Book as a whole, giving us a clear understanding of the principle upon which the Book is to be interpreted.
In Mark 1:2 referring to John the Baptizer, Mark quotes from Malachi, Behold I send my messenger before my face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
It certainly holds the same meaning in this passage, for it is self evident these letters were not sent to the angels of God. The messengers were men filling some office in connection with the churches.
The term could not refer to a diocesan bishop, for such an office did not exist until the church apostatized from the New Testament pattern. The term can hardly refer to an elder for all the churches of the first century had a plurality of elders. It would seem more likely to refer to the preachers or evangelists of the churches. Particularly does this become so when we recall that each church represents a church epoch or period. This apocalyptic uncovering is entrusted to the preachers throughout the sevenfold history of the church. Christ was holding them in His hand to support and strengthen them throughout the gospel age.