There are many who avoid the book of Revelation because they are afraid of what it will reveal about what is yet to come. This is, of course, the opposite of the aim and message of this letter written to the churches. We would do well to recognize that, until relatively recently, Revelation was seen as a word of encouragement that emboldened the church in its determination to stay true to the faith in the face of a hostile world. This means that any fear that Christians today experience from the book is culturally bound. It is the product of at least two things. First, a highly imaginative entertainment driven Christian culture that has been selling a particular interpretation of eschatology that is not true to the Word of God. Fear sells books and DVD’s. Any writer or producer who can tantalize readers and viewers with tales of mysterious codes, outrageous monsters, and a future that seems to teeter back in forth between victory and defeat is assured of success and what follows is, unfortunately, great influence. The second problem is that Christians today don’t value Christ, and their testimony to Him, above all things. They fear death more than they fear dishonoring their Lord. They fear the loss of possessions when previous generations counted such a loss a joy if it came as a result of their faithfulness. The church in the United States knows little of what it is like to suffer for the faith and it influences the way that they read Revelation. The concept of suffering and loss terrifies them. If we would, however, look to Christ as worthy above all and any suffering that follows our commitment to Him as being a source of joy rather than despair, we would find little cause for fear. In fact, Jesus’ first words to John, and to us through him, are “fear not.”
9 I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, 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.”
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 sash around his chest. 14 The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow. His eyes were like a flame of fire, 15 his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters. 16 In his right hand he held seven stars, from his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength.
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.
Begin by noticing that John identifies himself as a “partner in the tribulation.” What does this say about the timing of the tribulation? John understood it not as simply a future event. And, since John wrote this some 2,000 years ago, we must conclude that the tribulation started in our past, continues on through our day, and will continue until the Lord’s return. This is, after all, the “last hour” according to John and “the last days” according to Paul. And so, it stands to reason that we should expect tribulation, which is said to be a sign of the last days, to be not just in the future but our current experience. Christians around the world today who are being imprisoned, tortured and executed can certainly testify to truth of this. Will it get worse? Yes, it will get worse in response to the expansion of the preaching of the gospel. As the gospel is spread, so resistance to it will grow. Jesus had said that “the gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come (Matt. 24:14),” and along with the spread of the gospel comes the increase of persecution. Both are signs that the day of the Lord is upon us.
In the face of this growing persecution, what is Jesus’ message to the church? John, a partner in the tribulation having, himself, been exiled for his faith, is told “do not fear.” Obviously, Jesus in that moment, is responding to John’s having fallen onto the ground as if dead. But because this command to not fear is followed with a description of who Jesus is and is followed by “write THEREFORE” about what he is going to be shown, it seems that Jesus’ command to “do not fear” is not only about John’s response to seeing Jesus. This is a call to John, and to the church after him, to not be afraid of the visions he was about to receive. So, it could be said that the whole point of this section from verses 9 to 20 is to let John know that the visions he will receive will teach him, and us, to not fear. How will they accomplish this? The book of Revelation is going to reveal Jesus to us. He will be revealed as the first and the last, the living One who died and is alive forever more and has the keys of Death and Hades. A grasp of these truths will drive away fear.
John lets us know that these visions came while he was in exile on the island of Patmos because of his testimony concerning Christ. It was on the “Lord’s Day” that he was “in the Spirit.” The Lord’s Day refers to Sunday which had come to be called the Lord’s Day because it was the day that Jesus rose from the dead. Sunday, then, became the day that Christians gathered for worship in commemoration of that event.
John says he was in the Spirit and, when he was confronted by the Son of Man, he fell at his feet as though dead. This is remarkably similar to how Ezekiel describes what happened to him when he encountered the glory of the LORD. Ezekiel writes, “When I saw it, I fell on my face and heard the voice of one speaking. He said, ‘stand on your feet and I will speak with you.’ And as he spoke to me, the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and I heard him speaking to me.” John is having the same experience.
When John turns to see the voice that was speaking to him, he sees the seven lampstands which are representative of the seven churches. In the midst of the seven lampstands one like a “son of man.” The phrase “son of man” on its surface simply means someone in human form rather than, say, one of the four creatures that we will find surrounding the throne of God in Rev. 4. But it means so much more than that. You may know that “son of man” was Jesus’ favorite name for himself. He uses it 69 times in the gospel accounts. When the high priest asks Jesus (Mark 14:61-62), “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” Jesus responded, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.” At this point Jesus is accused of blasphemy and, thus, worthy of death. Why? Because the high priest knew that, when Jesus said He was the son of Man, He was claiming divinity for Himself. How so?
The prophet Daniel had a vision he describes in Daniel 7:13-14 saying,
I saw in the night visions, and behold with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom that all peoples, nations and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.
So, by adopting the title “son of man” for himself, Jesus was saying that He was the one that Daniel saw. He was the One from heaven who has been given an everlasting kingdom from Yahweh. Jesus is Lord. Jesus is divine.
In chapter 10 of Daniel, Daniel recounts another vision.
5 I lifted up my eyes and looked, and behold, a man clothed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist. 6 His body was like beryl, his face like the appearance of lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and the sound of his words like the sound of a multitude. 7 And I, Daniel, alone saw the vision, for the men who were with me did not see the vision, but a great trembling fell upon them, and they fled to hide themselves. 8 So I was left alone and saw this great vision, and no strength was left in me. My radiant appearance was fearfully changed, and I retained no strength. 9 Then I heard the sound of his words, and as I heard the sound of his words, I fell on my face in deep sleep with my face to the ground.
John is having the same encounter with the same living Christ who is among the lampstands. It was the job of the priests in the temple to keep the lamps burning by ensuring that they had enough oil and by trimming the wicks. The understanding was that, as long as the lampstands remained burning, God’s presence among them would remain. Christ now walks among the churches, represented by lampstands, demonstrating that He, as our high priest, is keeping the flames burning and has the power to extinguish them as well.
In His right hand, He held 7 stars and, in verse, 20, we are told that they represent the angels of the 7 churches. There is some debate over what this means. As the word “angel” can simply mean “messenger,” it does seem natural to understand this to refer to the “messengers of the churches,” in other words, the elders of each church. “From his mouth came a sharp two-edged sword.” We will see this referenced in Revelation 2:16 when he says to the church in Pergamum that, if those who promoted false teachings and promoted sexual immorality did not repent, He would “war against them with the sword of my mouth.” In Revelation 19:15 we are told “from His mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations.” From these passages we know that this two-edged sword is not merely the Word of God, the “sword of the Spirit,” but it is His voice speaking words of judgment and wrath which accomplish what they say.
This vision that John beholds would cause any of us to fall upon our faces and, while in Daniel 10, an angel comes to Daniel and places his hand on him, this time it is Christ himself who lays His right hand on John and says “Fear not.” In this we find the amazing grace of Christ as He is willing to stoop down and lay His hand upon John and, by implication, upon us. Isaiah 42 speaks of this Jesus declaring, “A bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench.”
When we come to Christ, we all want to be strong tall redwood trees in the faith. Standing sturdy in the face of life’s storms, providing shelter from the rain for those under our care, roots digging deep into the soil of God’s Word, not simply standing atop of shifting sand. The green of our leaves, the fruitfulness of our lives evident for all to see. We want to be on fire for the Lord. Casting warmth and light all around, constantly being refined as we grow in our holiness. But virtually everyone goes through periods when, rather than being “on fire for the Lord” we are but a “faintly burning wick” from which one can barely see the glow of spiritual life. Rather than emanating light and warmth, there is but a little waft of smoke trailing up to ceiling which may accurately reflect the strength, or lack thereof, of our prayers. And rather than that tall strong tree, we are but a small reed bent by the hard knocks we’ve received. And in those times you wonder “What use has God have for me? What does Jesus think of me now? He gave His life for me and I can’t even stand up straight for Him! Can I honestly have any assurance that I will not fold in the face of persecution? That I won’t give up? Might it be that Christ Himself will just snuff me out and break me off?” Through God’s Word, Jesus reaches down, places his right hand upon you and says “Fear not.”
Isaiah 41 begins with a description of One who stands over all in judgment and who “tramples kings under foot.” The question is posed: “Who has performed and done this?” The response: “I, the LORD, the first and with the last; I am he.” In Isaiah 44:6-7 we read, “Thus says the LORD, the King of Israel “I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god.” Again, in Isaiah 48:12-13, “Listen to me, O Jacob, and Israel, whom I called! I am he; I am the first, and I am the last. My hand laid the foundation of the earth.” What is He saying to His people? “No matter the suffering, no matter the tribulation, I am the One who tramples kings under foot.” Who should we fear when our Savior is LORD of LORDs and King of Kings? And no matter what other deities others may call upon, there are, in fact, no other gods. They are but idols, mute statues. They are but figures representing the demonic- those who lead the spiritually blind but who will one day be cast into the everlasting pit. And make no mistake, this includes Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism- all find their source in the demonic and they will not have the final word, they will be cast aside. Fear Not. Fear not the rulers of the world. Fear not the gods of the age. Fear not the trajectory of the earth.
And fear not death.
Jesus is “the living one” who “died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.” Jesus is the “living One”- a common reference to God in the Old Testament but this living one has experienced death. So here we find both the divinity and humanity of Christ. Jesus did die but death did not have the final word. Jesus rose again and, just as He tramples earthly kings underfoot, so death itself is defeated. And as those united to the living One we, though perishable, put on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, and we are able to say:
“Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” (1 Cor. 15:53-55)
Indeed, because of Christ, we are able to say with the apostle Paul “To die is gain” as it is “far better” to be with Christ than to remain here. Through Christ, we join with the saints that have gone before us who (Hebrews 11:16) “Desire a better country, that is a heavenly one.” We join in the faith of Moses who chose “to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasure of sin. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward” (Heb. 11:25-26).
We have no need to fear. Death and Hades (realm of the dead) are under Jesus’ authority. He utilizes those keys to death every time He welcomes someone saying “Well done good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your master.” Deuteronomy 32:39-41 declares, “See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god beside me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal; and there is none who can deliver out of my hand. For I lift up my hand to heaven and swear, as I live forever. ” And, so, we find that the threats against God’s people are empty threats. He will stay the hand of any that would seek to harm His people – unless He is ready to call us unto Himself. And that should be a cause for joy.
To John, He says in verse 19: “Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this.” Why? So that we will fear not.
1. The argument is that Jesus’ command to John to “fear not” was also the motivation for the writing down of the visions he was to receive- namely to encourage believers to not be afraid in the face of persecution and an unknown future. How has what we have read thus far in Revelation chapter 1 already been of help in this regard? What are some ways these visions of Christ might embolden believers in the face of suffering and, even, death?
2. We continue to see that the Old Testament is referenced quite often in the book of Revelation. This should lead us to conclude that no one can possibly understand what is contained within it without some working knowledge the OT, especially the writings of the prophets. It also helps us to understand why there is such a wide variety of interpretations of the book of Revelation that differ in so widely in their conclusions. For example, if someone believes that the prophecies of the OT prophets are limited in their application to Jews or the nation of Israel and, for God to be faithful to His promises, they “must” find their fulfillment in a Jewish/Israeli context (a dispensationalist approach), how might they read Revelation differently than someone who understands the prophets to be speaking to the elect people of God which includes both believing Jews and Gentiles (the church)?
3. John says that he was a “partner in the tribulation” (1:9). He had also written in 1 John 2:18, “Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come” (also: 1 John 4:3 “every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already”), how do these verses help us to understand John’s perspective on when he was living in relation to the “end times” and how does it differ than what most people today assume?
4. Some have argued that the 7 churches are listed in the order they are because they represent 7 different church ages. By this way of understanding, the church in Ephesus represented the early church and Laodicea represents the church right before the return of Christ. Here is a map of the 7 churches of Revelation:
It appears that the reasoning behind the order that the churches are listed may be much simpler. Assuming that the ‘church age’ view is incorrect, why do you think the churches are listed in the order that they are?
5. At the time of writing Revelation, John clearly assumed that his readers would know what “the Lord’s day” was. In the late 90’s it became fashionable for churches to try ‘creative’ approaches to worship which included some churches changing when they would gather for worship. For example, Willow Creek Community Church (at the time the most influential evangelical church in the country and a trend setter for ‘seeker sensitive churches’) devoted Sunday mornings to an evangelistic service to which non-believers (or ‘seekers’) were invited, while church members were expected to gather on Thursday nights for worship. What would you say to such an approach?
The Baptist Second London Confession of 1689, Chapter 22, paragraph 7, says this regarding the proper day of worship:
It is the law of nature that in general a portion of time specified by God should be set apart for the worship of God. So by his Word, in a positive-moral and perpetual commandment that obligates everyone in every age, he has specifically appointed one day in seven for a sabbath to be kept holy to him.(28) From the beginning of the world to the resurrection of Christ the appointed day was the last day of the week. After the resurrection of Christ it was changed to the first day of the week, which is called the Lord’s Day.(29) This day is to be kept to the end of the age as the Christian Sabbath, since the observance of the last day of the week has been abolished.
(28) Exodus 20:8. (29) 1 Corinthians 16:1, 2; Acts 20:7; Revelation 1:10.
Some Christians (such as those at Willow Creek) argue that the day when the church gathers for worship is unimportant. Why does our confession disagree?
When many Christians consider the 10 commandments, they recognize the importance of 9 of the commandments, but the commandment regarding the Sabbath is the exception. Typically, they will appeal to Paul’s comments in Romans 14:5-12 and Colossians 2:16-17 to argue that the requirement to meet one day out of seven and on a particular day was abrogated by Christ. Our confession (and, thus, CRBC) argues that this interpretation of these passages is in error. Expecting that some of you still struggle with understanding why we would say that this command is still binding on believers, engage in this activity: Assume for the sake of argument that Paul, while writing Romans 14 and Colossians 2, fully expected believers to understand that gathering on Sundays for worship was, indeed, binding on them as the proper approach to Christian worship. How might we reconcile that expectation with what he has written?
6. Some argue that Revelation 1:19 is a key verse for understanding the structure of the book. In this verse Jesus tells John, “write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this.” The argument is that “the things that you have seen” include Revelation chapter 1; “those that are” refers to Revelation chapters 2 and 3 and which describes the ‘age’ that we are currently in (i.e., the church age); and “those that are to take place after this” refers to everything from chapter 4 to the end with those events still lying in the future. Glance over Revelation 12 (or read it slowly if you want) and consider why this approach to understanding the structure of the book might be a little too rigid.
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2) For those who believe that the prophecies “must” be fulfilled in national Israel/Jews as opposed to the church, there are so many prophecies alluded to in Revelation that they “need” to have a way to make a sharp distinction between the church and Israel and limit many of the visions to Israel. This is why the teachings behind a “pre-tribulational rapture” are so important in a dispensationalist framework. The rapture removes the church from the earth leaving behind only Jews with whom God then “rebegins” the work He put on hold when He began the so-called “church age.” Since God had made land promises to the Jews, they believe that God must restore national Israel to prominence or He could be accused of being unfaithful. Thus, portions of Revelation are looked at as God being faithful to His promises to the Jews while Christians are resting in the presence of the Lord.
Those who understand the promises of the OT in a more “covenantal” way as being for all believers- Jews and Gentiles alike- no such approach is necessary. A covenantal approach is the approach of Reformed Baptists. Some of the key passages for us are:
• Romans 4:16-18- Abraham is the “father of us all.”
• Romans 11:17 – “you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree.”
• Galatians 3:28-29 – “There is neither Jew nor Greek…If you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to the promise.”
• Galatians 4:21-31- “the Jerusalem above is free; and she is our mother” and “now you, brothers, like Isaac, are children of promise.”
• Galatians 6:16 – “peace and mercy be upon…the Israel of God.”
• Ephesians 2:11-22- “(Jesus) has made us both one…that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two….you are no longer strangers and aliens, bu you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.”
• Ephesians 3:6 – “The Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.”
• The whole book of Hebrews where the shadows and promises in the OT are all fulfilled in Christ and His church.
We understand, as those who have been ‘grafted in’ and who are able to count Abraham as our father and are, therefore, heirs and children of promise, that the promises in the OT are ours as well, recognize no need for a sharp distinction between Israel and the Church (in fact it is the Church that is called “the Israel of God”) and, therefore, are able to see the whole of Revelation as a book written to us.
3) John clearly believed he was living in the last hour (not just last days but the last hour of the last day!). Does this mean that there will not be an uptick in persecution and a “great tribulation”? No, Jesus indicates that persecution will increase in Matthew 24. Does this negate the idea of “an antichrist” character arising in the future? Again, no. BUT it does mean that we need to be sober in our approach and not understand that we are living in the calm before the storm. We are in the storm now but it will get worse. And we might want to consider if there are already “antichrists” that are around, then he will not be like a character out of the movies but someone of prominence that fits in with the current political/cultural scene.
4) It seems that the order of the churches is nothing more than the order in which they lay on the route a messenger would have taken to deliver this letter from John from church to church.
5) The way that we would understand Paul’s writings would include:
a. Christians did not need to observe the “Sabbath” in that they did not need to go to the temple on Saturdays. This was a common practice of the early Christians as seen in the book of Acts. Paul is saying to them- “You can do that if you want, but you are under no obligation. Rather, we gather in the Lord’s Day for worship now.”
b. “Festival, new moon and Sabbath” (Colossians 1:16) was a way of referring to old covenant laws (as seen in Hosea 2:11) and, therefore, Paul is saying that believers are not bound to old covenant religious structures given under the Mosaic Law but he is not saying that we should not gather weekly for worship. Also, various gatherings on the Jewish calendar were referred to as “Sabbaths” not simply meeting for worship on Saturday.
6) Revelation 12 concerns the events of the Savior’s birth, hence it is describing events from the past rather than something we are looking to in the future. The fact is that there are several places where past events will be referenced and so we can’t simply say that everything from chapter 4 forward is something that is yet to come.
