The Lore We Needed || Introduction to Revelation || Part 3 (FINALE)

Welcome back to the finale of my “Introduction to Revelation” Bible study. I have taken a deeper dive into Revelation 1 to hear from John what this book will hold. My goal for this series has been to set up a sturdy foundation to build our knowledge on this book, because we’re studying this book until September 8^th.

In Part 2, we talked about John’s greeting to the seven churches in the province of Asia. John wrote to these churches because he knew they trusted him and his words, which is found in the Trinity. The truth shows how Jesus is an all-powerful king, always victorious, and brings a sense of peace beyond our understanding.  Jesus calls us to share our relationship with him, despite how uncomfortable it might be. It’s good to do so because it can prepare other believers for the return of Christ to earth. This moment will be very distinct. This moment will be when evil is defeated, and we are all judged based on our deeds.

In Part 3, we’re looking at the vision of Jesus. This section of Revelation 1 is also called the vision of the Son of Man.

Revelation 1:9-20

9             I, John, am your brother and your partner in suffering and in God’s Kingdom and in the patient endurance to which Jesus calls us. I was exiled to the island of Patmos for preaching the word of God and for my testimony about Jesus. 

10           It was the Lord’s Day, and I was worshiping in the Spirit. Suddenly, I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet blast. 

11           It said, “Write in a book everything you see, and send it to the seven churches in the cities of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”

12           When I turned to see who was speaking to me, I saw seven gold lampstands. 

13           And standing in the middle of the lampstands was someone like the Son of Man. He was wearing a long robe with a gold sash across his chest. 

14           His head and his hair were white like wool, as white as snow. And his eyes were like flames of fire. 

15           His feet were like polished bronze refined in a furnace, and his voice thundered like mighty ocean waves. 

16            He held seven stars in his right hand, and a sharp two-edged sword came from his mouth. And his face was like the sun in all its brilliance.

17           When I saw him, I fell at his feet as if I were dead. But he laid his right hand on me and said, “Don’t be afraid! I am the First and the Last. 

18           I am the living one. I died, but look—I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and the grave.

19           “Write down what you have seen—both the things that are now happening and the things that will happen.

20            This is the meaning of the mystery of the seven stars you saw in my right hand and the seven gold lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

There is SO MUCH in these 11 verses that we need the breakdowns I have been writing. There are three sections in this passage: 9-11, 12-16, 17-20.

• John’s Backstory (9-11)
  • John got exiled to Patmos for sharing the Gospel and his testimony.
  • While worshipping the Holy Spirit, he heard a loud voice telling him to write his vision and send it to the seven churches.
• Depiction of Jesus (12-16)
  • The Son of Man stood in the middle of the seven lampstands (seven churches)
    • He wore a long robe with a gold sash across the chest.
    • He had pure white hair.
    • He had eyes like flames of fire.
    • His feet looked like polished bronze.
    • His voice sounded like intense ocean waves crashing.
    • He held on to the seven stars (seven messengers of those churches) in his right hand.
    • His tongue was like a sharp two-edged sword.
    • His face was bright like the sun.
• John’s Reaction (17-18)
  • John worshipped at his feet.
    • Jesus reminded John to not be afraid.
    • Jesus is the living one, alive forever.
    • Jesus holds the keys to eternal death and the grave.
  • Jesus commands John to write down his vision – holding both the things happening in the present and things that will happen in the future.

Patmos was a small rocky island in the Aegean Sea, about 50 miles offshore from the city of Ephesus on the Asia Minor seacoast. This shows how close he was to the different churches the letters he will be sending are.

The Christian church was facing an intense persecution. We hear the word “persecution”, but do we know what it means. John is using the Greek word thlipsis (thlip’-sis) to describe his persecution/tribulation/suffering. The word coveys this idea of being under pressure, referring to one’s hardships and trails faced by believers due to their faith. In the first-century Greco-Roman world, Christians often faced persecution from both Jewish and Roman authorities. The early church experienced intense persecution, as they were marginalized, imprisoned, and even killed for their faith. In a very strange and bold sense, the Christians in the 1^st century Roman Empire were treated similarly to our marginalized communities today. It’s strange to think about that as a reality that once existed, but it did.

Almost all believers were socially, politically, or economically suffering because of this persecution. John had been exiled to Patmos because of his refusal to avoid the persecution. Some countries still have situations where Christians are being persecuted, but our religious freedom is greatly increased from John’s time. Even with the excessive freedom that we have, we still have fears about sharing our testimony with others.

The seven gold lampstands stand for the seven churches in Asia, and Jesus stands in the center among them all. No matter what the church faces, Jesus loves to protect them all with his love and power. Through the Holy Spirit, his love and power exist in churches today. However, churches might not always show it. Their polity, their practices, or their ministry events might portray a version of Jesus that’s not centered on his grace, mercy, and compassion. When churches face persecution from the outside communities of their reflection, they have two responses: do you become hard-hearted and not hear and respond to the concerns of the public or do you allow for conversation to permeate and a possible change, either within the church or with the concerned community, to occur. The same possible responses can be found inside the church, with concerned members of the congregation seeing the direction of their church go in a wrong way. They can listen to their members to work towards a mutual way forward or they can refuse to listen and cause further strife and conflict.

The title “Son of Man” occurs a lot of times in the New Testament, even used by Jesus to refer to himself. John had recognized Jesus because of his time living and traveling with him. In this part of Revelation, Jesus appears as the might Son of Man. His white hair shows his wisdom and divine nature. His bright eyes represent his judgment of all evil. The gold cash refers to hi High Priest status. This status shows that He can go into God’s presence to obtain forgiveness of sin for those who have believed in him. 

There’s one part of his description that im sure isn’t sitting well with you: “…a sharp two-edged sword came from his mouth.” The sword in Jesus’ mouth symbolizes the power and force of his message; what we know as the Bible. (See Paul’s section on the Armor of God and/or my series called “Underneath the Armor.”) His words of judgment are as sharp as a sword, ready to cut through your defense with his truth. The word of God can penetrate us deep into our core, allowing for deep reflection and inner change that can transform our life and turn it upside down. Sometimes we’ll ignore or dismiss God’s teaching because of the impact it could have and can take us out of our comfortable boundaries. It shows that Revelation might be difficult to understand and hang on too, but that’s why we’re going through this slowly.

As the Roman government increased its persecution of Christians, John wondered how the church could survive and stand against the opposition. However, Jesus appeared in his most divine form. He reassured John that he and his fellow believers had access to the strength of God to face the battles ahead. When we’re facing our battles, the same power we’ll find in this book is available to us today. We can use God’s strength to overcome all adversities that we run into.

Our sins have convicted and sentenced us, but Jesus holds the keys of death and Hades. Hades was this place of purgatory that allows all people to reflect on their sinful nature and have one last attempt to right their wrongs with God. Death is a place of nothingness and emptiness, an eternal separation from God. Jesus, through our belief in him, can set us free from the control of sin. Believers won’t have to face this eternal separation or have any doubt about it. Our commitment to have him be our Lord and Savior is enough, so long that our deeds reflect that plan God has with us. When we try to live our lives without God, we go down a path that leads to this potential eternal separation. Having our lives dedicated to Christ removes the potential of being separation and allows us to focus more about being right with God and loving his creation in its intended purpose.

The thing that puzzled me in the description of Jesus is the stars, or the angels of the seven churches. These are the messengers sent to deliver the message (go figure) to the churches. Scholars believe that they are the angels named to guard the churches and others say that they are elders or pastors of the local churches. Because of the seven letters that we’ll discuss starting Friday in Revelation 2 and 3 contain reprimands, these angels are probably not the divine messengers like Gabriel. They are most likely earthly leaders that are accountable to God for the churches they represent.

Today, we talked about John’s background, learning that he was exiled because of the persecution from the Roman Empire. He had this interaction with Jesus that gave us a divine description of who Jesus was. We hear the command for John to write the vision that we’re going to look at and send it to the neighboring churches in Asia Minor. I will see you Friday as we discuss the Letters in a series I’m calling, “You’ve Got Divine Mail.” Until then, stay blessed.

• Associated Scripture
  • Rev 1:9
    • Philippians 4:14
    • 2 Timothy 2:12
  • Rev 1:11
    • Revelation 1:2, 19
    • Revelation 2:1, 18, 24
    • Revelation 3:1
    • Revelation 7:14
  • Rev 1:12
    • Zechariah 4:2
  • Rev 1:13
    • Daniel 7:13
    • Daniel 10:5
  • Rev 1:14
    • Daniel 7:9
    • Daniel 10:6
  • Rev 1:15
    • Ezekiel 1:24
    • Ezekiel 43:2
  • Rev 1:16
    • Isaiah 49:2
  • Rev 1:17
    • Isaiah 44:6
    • Isaiah 48:12
    • Daniel 8:18
  • Rev 1:19
    • Isaiah 48:6
    • Revelation 1:1
  • Rev 1:20
    • Revelation 1:4, 12, 16
    • Revelation 2:1
    • Revelation 3:1