Verses 9-20
Patmos
9. I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.
"...the Apostle John was first plunged, unhurt, into boiling oil, and thence remitted to his island-exile." Tertullian, "Prescription Against Heretics," The Anti-Nicene Fathers, vol. 3, chapter 36.
In the Spirit
10. I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,
To be "in the Spirit" means under a special inspiration of the Holy Spirit. This is not the normal indwelling of the Spirit that all Christians experience, but a special endowment with the prophetic gift.
21. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
When under inspiration, a prophet receives messages from God for His people.
43. He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying,
30. Yet many years didst thou forbear them, and testifiedst against them by thy spirit in thy prophets: yet would they not give ear: therefore gavest thou them into the hand of the people of the lands.
Under inspiration, a prophet also receives special revelations of God. He sees and hears things, shown to him in heavenly visions, by the working of the Holy Spirit.
- The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the midst of the valley which was full of bones,
2. And immediately I was in the spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.
The Lord's day
10. I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,
There is only one day that God calls "His own."
In the Old Testament, God calls the sabbath "My holy day."
13. If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
In the New Testament, Jesus calls Himself "Lord of the Sabbath."
28. Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.
5. And he said unto them, That the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.
The seven churches
11. Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.
In the times of John, there were groups of believers in each of these seven places in Asia Minor. Christ had a special message for each one of those churches.
Christ as High Priest
12. And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks;
13. And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.
The Son of man is Jesus Christ. He is clothed as a priest. The priests' clothes had to reach the earth, so the legs wouldn't be exposed (Compare Ex. 20:26 with Is. 47:2-3).
Christ walks in the middle of the seven candlesticks. The candlesticks represent the churches.
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 which thou sawest are the seven churches.
The girdle represents righteousness and faithfulness. Christ is a righteous and faithful High Priest.
5. And righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.
The girdle is also a picture of God's people, who have a special place near the heart of Christ.
11. For as the girdle cleaveth to the loins of a man, so have I caused to cleave unto me the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah, saith the LORD; that they might be unto me for a people, and for a name, and for a praise, and for a glory: but they would not hear.
The girdle is made of gold. Christ wants His church to become as pure and precious as gold.
12. I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.
Christ's appearance
14. His head and his hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire;
15. And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.
16. And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp twoedged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.
This is the same Jesus which Daniel saw in vision:
5. Then I lifted up mine eyes, and looked, and behold a certain man clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz:
6. His body also was like the beryl, and his face as the appearance of lightning, and his eyes as lamps of fire, and his arms and his feet like in colour to polished brass, and the voice of his words like the voice of a multitude.
| Revelation 1 | Daniel 10 |
|---|---|
| Clothed with a garment down to the foot. | Clothed in linen. |
| Girt about the paps with a golden girdle. | His loins were girded with fine gold of Uphaz. |
| Hair white like wool, white as snow. | |
| His eyes were as a flame of fire. | His eyes were as lamps of fire. |
| His feet were like fine brass, as if they were burning in a furnace. | His arms and his feet were in color like polished brass. |
| His voice was as the sound of many waters. | The voice of His words was like the voice of a multitude. |
| His body was like the beryl. | |
| His countenance was as the sun shineth in its strength. | His face was as the appearance of lightning. |
Christ's face shone like the sun. He is the Sun of Righteousness.
2. But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.
The seven stars
Christ holds seven stars in His hand. In verse 20, the symbol of the stars is explained:
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 which thou sawest are the seven churches.
Seven stars = seven angels of the seven churches.
The word "angel" comes from the Greek "angelos" (Strong's Greek - 32 - angel, messenger). In the New Testament, it is primarily used for supernatural beings, or heavenly angels.
However, its Hebrew counterpart, "malak" (Strong's Hebrew - 4397 - messenger), is used for both human and divine messengers. Therefore, in some cases, the word "angel" in Greek is also used for human messengers. This is one of those cases.
So the seven stars points to the messengers or spokesmen in the churches of God, the leaders of the churches. They shine as the stars, because they win souls for God.
3. And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever.
God knows all the stars by name. He knows every burden bearer in the cause of God.
26. Lift up your eyes on high, and behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out their host by number: he calleth them all by names by the greatness of his might, for that he is strong in power; not one faileth.
The Sword
Out of Christ's mouth came a two-edged sword. This is a symbol of God's Word.
17. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
12. For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged 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.
Christ's prerogatives
17. And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last:
18. I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
Historicist interpretation
19. Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter;
This verse is the basis for a historicist view of the book of Revelation, as opposed to the futurist or preterist interpretations. This verse clearly states that Revelation shows things that are past, present, and future.
This means that Christ's message was not only for the churches in Asia Minor during John's lifetime, but that each of those messages applies to a special period in the history of the church throughout the Christian dispensation.