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John's
Vision of Jesus Christ
(Revelation 1:10-20)
The first vision in the book of
Revelation is one of Jesus Christ. In previous
studies we have learned that the purpose for the
symbolic wording is to communicate with the
Christians in a way they could understand while
masking the meaning from their enemies. To we who
are Christians this description of Jesus is not
difficult at all. Jesus referred to Himself as the
Son of man on numerous occasions. All Christians
know that Jesus was dead and then resurrected never
to die again. This is not a difficult vision for a
Christian to understand because we are familiar with
the imagery. But someone who knew little to nothing
at all about Jesus Christ would look at this text
and read about the sharp two edged sword coming from
His mouth and His pure white raiment, flaming eyes
and feet like fired brass and instantly develop a
mental image of something bearing the literal
features described in the vision. I still remember
the outrageous mental images I had of this when I
was a young boy reading the Revelation for the first
time. I didn't visualize Jesus Christ. I
visualized a white clothed, fire eyed, brass shod
man with a real sword coming out of his mouth and I
remember thinking to myself that it had to hurt to
hold a sword like that.
I cannot count how many
times I have picked up a book, started reading it,
only to set it down after reading a few minutes,
never to look at it again. The book lost my
interest so quickly that based on the first
impression, I was unwilling to devote any more time
to it. Someone utterly unfamiliar with Jesus Christ
and the word of God would likely read to the first
vision and instantly conclude that Christians are a
bunch of superstitious nuts following after a
nonsensical God and pay little to no attention to
the rest of the letter. "But we preach Christ
crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto
the Greeks foolishness" (1 Corinthians 1:23). "But
the natural man receiveth not the things of the
Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him:
neither can he know them, because they are
spiritually discerned" (1 Corinthians 2:14).
Once again the genius of God is apparent in His
actions. It would have been easy to have just
identified Jesus Christ by name at this time rather
than go into a detailed description of the savior of
mankind in figurative terms. But He did not,
choosing to distract unbelievers with the figurative
language at the beginning. It is no accident that
unbelievers consider Christianity to be foolish.
This has been designed into God's plan since the
beginning and God wasted no time whatsoever in
implementing this in what was the most important
letter the persecuted Christians would ever receive
except for previous inspired writings. Jesus had
some specific things to say to the individual
congregations and this first vision of Jesus would
both prepare the Christians for the message to come
while causing instant confusion and distraction to
those who have no knowledge of Jesus, thereby
weeding out all but the most determined adversaries
of the Christians.
For the Christians, this
first vision sets the tone for what is to be
expected later on in the Revelation. God starts
with a relatively easy vision that any Christian
would be able to understand before moving on to some
direct and serious instruction to each specific
congregation. As the book progresses through the
first vision and the specific instruction to each
church, we see the imagery growing progressively
more difficult. The Christians are going to
recognize this for what it is, realize that the key
to understanding it is going to be found in the rest
of scripture and prepare themselves as the book
progresses. The unbelievers that make it past the
first vision are only going to get more and more
confused as they struggle with distractions brought
on by their natural tendency to try and understand
these visions literally. I like to think of this
first vision as a primer for what is to follow.
With that said, we will now
look at the particular elements of John's vision of
Jesus Christ.
Revelation 1:10-11
"I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, "
which obviously means that John was directly under
the influence of the Holy Spirit who was in the
process of telling John what to write. We learn
elsewhere that "all scripture is given by
inspiration" which in the original language
meaning "God breathed" (2 Timothy 3:16), and this
declaration by John affirmed to the readers the
means by which these visions were being communicated
to John. "The Spirit of the LORD spake by me,
and his word was in my tongue" (2 Samuel 23:2).
"The Lord's day"
This day would be the day set forth each week set
aside for the worship of God. Jesus was resurrected
on the "first day of the week" (Mark
16:1-6). The resurrected Jesus appeared to His
disciples on the "first day of the week"
(John 20:19). The church of Christ was established
on Pentecost which was the first day of the week
(Acts 2). The first century Christians met to "break
bread" on the "first day of the week"
(Acts 20:7). Paul commanded the Corinthian
Christians to "lay by him in store, as God hath
prospered him" on the "first day of the week".
When the first readers read of the Lord's Day in the
Revelation they knew instantly this meant the first
day of the week, Sunday. They followed a pattern of
worship which involved meeting on every Sunday. We
being the Lord's church today follow that same
pattern. Of significance is that the first day of
the week was referred to as the "Lord's day."
The Greek word used here is kuriakos
(koo-ree-ak-os') meaning belonging to the Lord
(Jehovah or Jesus). This is the same word used in 1
Corinthians 11:20 in reference to the "Lord's
Supper." The Lord's day here is described as
being the day belonging to the Lord.
"and heard behind me a great voice, as of a
trumpet,"
John did not hear a
trumpet. He heard a voice that was compared to the
sound of a trumpet meaning it was loud and clear.
The Romans used trumpets to signal an important
announcement or a call to attention prior to an
event. This is the use of a metaphor and occurs
often throughout scripture, notably in the parables
of Jesus where the kingdom of God was described as
being "like" something. Like a trumpet,
Jesus voice came through loud and clear.
Revelation 1:11
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
Laodicea.
John is being shown
these things in visions and he is commanded to write
what he sees. As we saw earlier, all scripture is
God breathed, so we know John wrote down exactly
what the Holy Spirit wanted him to say. But it is
worthy of note that John was told to write what he
saw in the visions. The revelation is written as a
description of spiritual visions in in first century
man's terms and addressed to first century mankind,
specifically to the seven churches of Asia which we
understand to be to them in particular but with
application to Christ's church universally.
Revelation 1:12
"And I turned to see the voice that spake with
me. And having turned I saw seven golden
candlesticks"
These candlesticks are
representative of the traditional Jewish
seven-branched lampstand called the menorah. Jesus
tells exactly what these candlesticks represented in
verse 20, "and the seven candlesticks are seven
churches." In the tabernacle, God required a
candlestick to be made of gold and placed on the
table with the showbread. This candlestick was
required to hold seven candles. Exodus 25:33-37.
Zechariah saw a candlestick in a vision with 7
candles as recorded in Zechariah 4:2. Candlesticks
are an image the first century Jewish Christians
would be very familiar with.
Revelation 1:13
"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."
We are now getting into the
central subject of John's vision of Jesus Christ.
John saw one who was described as being like the Son
of man. Jesus frequently referred to Himself as the
Son of man in his teachings; "When Jesus came
into the coasts of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his
disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I the Son of
man am?" (Matthew 16:13). This is the favored
self-designation of Jesus in the Gospels. In Matthew
it occurs over 30 times, in Mark 15 times, in Luke
25 times, and in John a dozen times. Jesus took
this designation from the old testament where it
occurs 108 times in the KJV. Probably the most
significant Old Testament verse which could point to
Jesus' use of this designation is found in Psalms
80:17 "Let thy hand be upon the man of thy right
hand, upon the son of man whom thou madest strong
for thyself."
This was an appeal by
the psalmist for the raising up of a hero to redeem
Israel who had fallen away from God.
Jesus was described as
being in the midst of the churches.
The churches mentioned in Asia
geographically formed a rough circle. Christ, as
the head of the church, positioned in the center, is
inseparable from them, being the head. He moves
among the churches as the king and high priest,
seeing and knowing every facet of their life and
conduct as Christians. He provides counsel and
leadership when necessary and comfort in times of
affliction. This should give the Christians great
comfort because Christ, being in their midst, was
close to them, aware of their trials and
tribulations and was aware of their suffering. He
was also aware of their shortcomings which we will
observe later in our studies of the various churches
to whom the Revelation was specifically addressed.
"clothed with a garment
down to the foot, and girt about at the breasts with
a golden girdle." This attire is a sign of high
rank and office. The band being of gold and worn
about the chest indicates that Jesus is dressed to
rule rather than to serve. The clothing Jesus is
wearing in this vision is drawn from the attire of
the Jewish high priest as described in Exodus. This
is fitting that Jesus would wear this attire in that
He is the high priest of the Christian era.
Revelation 1:14
"And his head and his hair were white as white
wool, (white) as snow; and his eyes were as a flame
of fire"
The white head and hair are
symbolic of purity and holiness of which Jesus' head
is crowned. This imagery is probably borrowed from
Daniel's vision in 7:9, "I beheld till thrones
were placed, and one that was ancient of days did
sit: his raiment was white as snow, and the hair of
his head like pure wool..."
"and his eyes were as a
flame of fire" Fire was practically the only
source of artificial illumination in the first
century. Jesus eyes were described as being
illuminating, penetrating into the hearts and souls
of all Christians everywhere. "And there is no
creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all
things are naked and laid open before the eyes of
him with whom we have to do" (Hebrews 4:13).
Revelation 1:15
"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."
The imagery of the
burnished brass comes from Daniel 10:6 and Ezekiel
1:7. This was a mixture of metals similar to brass
or bronze which is unknown today in its exact
composition. But the imagery is of Jesus with feet
glowing fiery hot from the furnace and able to tread
out and burn His enemies to ashes. This imagery is
taken from Malachi 4:3 "And ye shall tread down
the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles
of your feet in the day that I make, saith Jehovah
of hosts."
"and his voice as the voice of many waters."
This imagery also reflects the vision in Daniel 10:6
"and the voice of his words like the voice of a
multitude." and again in Ezekiel 43:2 "and,
behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the
way of the east: and his voice was like the sound of
many waters; and the earth shined with his glory."
Jesus voice can be described as filling a double
role. It can be terrifying, thunderous and powerful
as we see in Revelation 14:2 and 19:6 while the same
voice can also be gentle, soothing and comforting as
we see in Zechariah 1:13 and Psalms 85:8. One can
visualize the soothing calm of gentle waters for
those in tribulation, while simultaneously
visualizing the voice of roaring thunder of crashing
waves on those who are His enemies.
Revelation 1:16
"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."
The right hand of Jesus
symbolized a position of favor in the minds of the
Christians. Jesus is seated on His throne "by
the right hand of God exalted" (Acts 2:33). On
the great day of the Lord after the final trump,
Jesus describes the lost as goats who would set on
His left and the sheep who would be set on His right
(Matthew 25:32-34).
The seven stars are
explained in verse 20 as the angels of the
churches. Angels are messengers. As we have
previously studied, the message of God's word comes
from the Holy Spirit and there is only one spirit
(Ephesians 4:4). Seven represents perfect
completeness so it is likely the seven angels
represent the perfect complete working of the Holy
Spirit. Notice in Revelation 2:7 when Jesus is
giving specific direction to the church in Ephesus,
He says "He that hath an ear, let him hear what
the Spirit saith unto the churches" Here is the
demonstration of the singularity of the Holy Spirit
we see represented in scripture elsewhere.
"and out of his mouth
proceeded a sharp two-edged sword"
Jesus is the word of God (John 1:1) and the
"word of God is living, and active, and sharper than
any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the
dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and
marrow, and quick to discern the thoughts and
intents of the heart"
(Hebrews 4:12). This is some New
Testament imagery having its origins in Old
Testament writings.
Psalms 149:6
(Let) the high praises of God (be) in their
mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand;
Isaiah 49:2
And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in
the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a
polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me;
"and his countenance was as the sun shineth in
his strength."
Jesus is in heaven reigning as our King. Jesus
is God the Son and in the presence of God the
Father, seated at His right hand. When Moses had
been in the presence of God on Mt. Sinai his face
glowed white when he returned to the camp of the
Israelites. The glowing face in the vision is
something the Jewish Christians would be familiar
with and something the Gentile Christians could find
in old testament scripture to relate to it.
Exodus 34:29-30
29 And it came to pass,
when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two
tables of the testimony in Moses' hand, when he came
down from the mount, that Moses knew not that the
skin of his face shone by reason of his speaking
with him.
30 And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw
Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they
were afraid to come nigh him.
Revelation 1:17
"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,"
John was not the only
prophet to exhibit a dramatic response when he saw
the glory of God. When Ezekiel saw the vision of
God in His chariot he fell upon his face (Ezekiel
1:28). When Isaiah saw his vision of God's throne
he cried "Then said I, Woe is me! for I am
undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I
dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for
mine eyes have seen the King, Jehovah of hosts"
(Isaiah 6:5). Daniel fell on his face when Gabriel
was told to explain a vision to him (Daniel 8:17)
and after this Daniel was "sick certain days"
(V 27). It is obvious that seeing God's glory in a
vision has quite a physical impact on people. When
Moses was on Mt Sinai God allowed him a glimpse of
His glory as He passed by, but did not allow Moses
to see His face. God shielded His face from Moses'
view as He passed by. Exodus 33:20 "And he said,
Thou canst not see my face; for man shall not see me
and live." No fleshly man could ever look upon
the face of Jehovah and survive the event.
There is a time coming in
the lives of all who ever lived when they will come
face to face with God in His glory. For those who
have not lived faithfully, this will be a terrible
event. For those who have, it will be a glorious
one. In either case, it is going to be a shocking
experience to say the least.
"And he laid his right
hand upon me"
It is interesting to note that it was Jesus'
right hand that was laid upon the shoulder of John.
That is where Jesus was holding the seven stars.
Again, this usage of the right hand is
representative of a favored position or approval in
the minds of the first readers. When Paul converted
to Christianity, many of the Christians did not
trust him, but when they realized he had genuinely
converted, Paul was given their "right hands of
fellowship" (Galatians 2:9). John was overcome
with the glory of Jesus in this vision and was
unable to stand. But the placement of Jesus' right
hand on Him, assured John that he was going to be ok
and the first readers would see this as a sign of
comfort, assurance and fellowship.
saying, Fear not; I am
the first and the last,"
After having placed His right hand on John,
Jesus told him to "Fear not" Do not be
afraid. Imagine how horrific an experience this
would be to be lying at the feet of Jesus Christ in
His glory and not feel the comfort of His hand nor
hear the assurance in His voice. Only His enemies
are to feel terror at His presence. Those who
belong to Him need have no fear and are to find
peace and comfort before Him.
The expression "first
and the last" is found three times in Isaiah:
Isaiah 41:4
"Who hath wrought and done it, calling the
generations from the beginning? I, Jehovah, the
first, and with the last, I am he."
Isaiah 44:6
"Thus saith Jehovah, the King of Israel, and his
Redeemer, Jehovah of hosts: I am the first, and I am
the last; and besides me there is no God."
Isaiah 48:12
"Hearken unto me, O Jacob, and Israel my called:
I am he; I am the first, I also am the last."
Jesus often identified
Himself to John through figurative expressions that
described His characteristics. We see this here and
all through the rest of the Revelation when Jesus is
the subject of the visions. Any Christian familiar
with the imagery of these characteristics and
qualities of Jesus would be able to easily identify
who this is. Those who are unfamiliar with these
types of descriptions would be unable to understand
who the subject of the vision is.
Revelation 1:18
"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."
All Christians know that Jesus died and was
resurrected from the dead (1 Corinthians 15:3-4),
never to die again (Hebrews 7:16; 24-25). This is
another identification of Jesus by His
characteristics. He is alive, He was dead, but he's
alive now forever.
"and I have the keys of
death and of Hades."
Keys are always used figuratively in the New
Testament. Jesus gave Peter "the keys of the
kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 16:19); Jesus
accused lawyers of taking away the "key of
knowledge" in Luke 11:52.
The
key or keys in scripture imply power and authority,
either with the subject individual or delegated by
another. Each time keys are claimed or used, they
imply the exercise of power from without, or may be
used to open from the outside.
Jesus has the keys (power), to unlock (overcome)
death and Hades. Hades is Greek equivalent for the
Hebrew word "Sheol". These words represent
the abode of the dead where both the saved and the
unsaved await the final judgment of Christ. This is
where Jesus went after His death (Acts 2:27, which
was a quote from David in Psalms 16:10 where he used
the word "Sheol").
Both death and Hades will
be delivered up for Christ's judgment and those who
are not found in the book of life will be cast into
the lake of fire (Revelation 20:13-15), forever
(Revelation 14:11).
Revelation 1:19
"Write therefore the things which thou sawest,
and the things which are, and the things which shall
come to pass hereafter"
John is commanded to Jesus to write down what he
sees in the visions. He is to record the things
which are happening now which indicates the events
described are in progress at the time and will come
to pass afterwards. Jesus had earlier indicated the
timeframe of this is going to be relatively short
(Revelation 1:1) and will repeat it toward the end
of the prophecy (Revelation 22:6), so we know the
events that shall "come to pass" hereafter
will be in a relatively short timeframe.
Revelation 1:19
"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."
Jesus explains to John what
seven stars and the seven candlesticks in His right
hand represented. Scholars are divided to this day
on just what the seven angles represented. Some
believe it was the elders or the ministers of the
specific churches or men sent by the apostle to
carry the letter to them. This is entirely possible
and there is no reason why any of these could not be
true. However, it is this teachers belief that the
seven angels collectively represent the complete
work of the one perfect and complete Holy Spirit
represented in the words of the prophecy delivered
to the churches. Ultimately, it was the Holy Spirit
that was the primary active agent in the deliverance
of all scripture to the inspired writers (2 Timothy
3:16, 2 Peter 1:21). Disagreement over precisely
what these seven angels represent does not alter the
primary message to the Christians in any way. They
were to persevere and remain faithful until death
regardless of whether the seven stars were literally
seven messengers, one for each church, or the one
complete messenger from which all divine messages
derived.
Of significance is the fact
that Jesus acknowledged the fact that it was indeed
a mystery. This supports the fact that this book is
purposefully written in figurative language for the
express purpose of it being a mystery. It is the
intent of God that it be this way and as we have
discussed previously, the reason for this is to mask
the message from the enemies of Christianity while
revealing it in ways possible to understand to those
for whom it was intended.
Summary of John's Vision
When John turned to see the
vision of Jesus, he saw a figure clothed in royal
attire, standing in the midst of the congregations
of His people, with them, close to them and among
them. He was Holy and pure, but strong and
authoritative and commanded great reverence in His
presence. He is able to deal harshly with His foes,
but tenderly with His saints. His word was strong
and true and trustworthy, being a comfort for His
faithful children, but a fearful weapon towards His
enemies. He had been slain, but death could not
defeat Him. He overcame death and is alive and will
remain alive forever.
Nothing is said in this
vision about what would happen to the enemies of
righteousness. It was not time yet to reveal their
fate, being too early in the Revelation. To reveal
the fate of the enemies of the Christians at this
time would most certainly have been noticed and
their persecutors would have paid a lot more
attention to the details of the letter. Before the
fate of the enemies of the Christians was revealed
there first was numerous reprimands given to the
Christians in the various congregations addressed
after this vision. Those who would look at the
Revelation with the intent of incriminating the
Christians because of it would have to wade through
a considerable amount of figurative language before
perceiving any threat at all to themselves.
Jesus great power and
authority is evident in the imagery. The Christians
to whom this letter was addressed were watching
cruel Roman emperors rise to power and die. These
emperors did not have the ability to overcome
death. Their words were not trustworthy, their
practices were not pure and Holy. The Christians
had a worthy champion in comparison to what the
Unbelievers had. The cruel emperors, as vicious as
they were, would not live forever. The champion of
the Christians was just and merciful and would never
die and the first readers of the Revelation were
given this assurance from the beginning of the
letter. |