The Son of Man - Part 1, Revelation 1:9-20
INTRODUCTION:
Last Sunday we began our study of the Revelation of Jesus Christ and we learned that this is a book that unveils or reveals Jesus Christ for us, He is the main subject of this book and He is revealed as the risen, ascended, glorified Lord of lords and King of kings. Last week we just barely got started looking only at the first 8 verses which was mainly an introduction and salutation. Within those 8 verses we did discover that blessing was promised to the person who read or listened to the prophecy and took to heart what it says. We also learned that Jesus is coming in judgment and we need to be sharing the Good News now with the unsaved before it is too late. Last week I also gave you six ways in which studying Bible prophecy should influence you and my prayer is that as we study this book you will be influenced in all these ways. (handout or powerpoint slide with six ways)
This morning we are going to continue on in chapter one and hear John’s description of his vision of the glorified Lord Jesus Christ. Let’s pray and then get into our passage of Scripture.
--PRAY--
SCRIPTURE:
Turn in your Bibles to Revelation chapter 1, verses 9-20. Please, if you are able, stand in honor of God’s Word and follow along as I read.
Revelation 1:9-20,
“I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance which are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet, saying, ‘Write in a book what you see, 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.’ Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands; and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His chest with a golden sash. His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire. His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters. In His right hand He held seven stars, and out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword; and His face was like the sun shining in its strength. When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, ‘Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades. Therefore write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after these things. As for the mystery of the seven stars which 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.” (Revelation 1:9–20, NASB95)[1]
THE VOICE (Revelation 1:9-11)
This section of chapter 1 begins simply with, “I, John, your brother and fellow partaker…” (Revelation 1:9a, NASB95)[2] John does not say that he is an apostle, a pastor, an elder, but simply a brother in Christ. John had been living in Ephesus and ministering to the churches in the province of Asia, he was known by the churches to whom he was sending this book and John was their brother is Christ, but he also says that he was a fellow partaker with them. The church in the Roman Empire was under persecution at this time, the Emperor Domitian was demanding Emperor worship and those who did not worship the emperor were persecuted, exiled or worse and the persecution was growing and John was a fellow partaker in the tribulation, in the trouble that was being felt by the church, but John also says that he is a fellow partaker in the kingdom, the kingdom spoken of here is the hope of all believers, the kingdom of God that as believers we all hope and pray to come. When Jesus was teaching His disciples how to pray He began with this very thing, Jesus said in Matthew 6:9-10, “Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.’” (Matthew 6:9–10, NASB95)[3] John says that he is a companion with the believers in the present persecution and he is a companion with them in the kingdom that is to come. Thirdly, he is a companion with them in the perseverance, the present persecution must be endured, we must stand strong and not give into the present tribulation. This word “perseverance” in Greek speaks of person who is not swayed from his purposes or his faith or by his seeking to live in holiness no matter how great the trials or sufferings become, he remains steadfast in his faith. John says that he is a companion with those who remain firm and solid in their faith because their purpose, their faith is resting on God’s kingdom coming and their being a part of it. John says this tribulation, this waiting for the kingdom, this perseverance are in Jesus, it is because of our faith in Him, our believing that Jesus died for us, paying the penalty for our sin, that he was buried and on the third day He rose from the dead. It is this faith that brings about the tribulation, that will someday bring you physically into the kingdom of God which you are already a part of spiritually, and Jesus is the one who gives us the patient endurance as we wait for God’s kingdom to come, for His will to be done on earth as it is in heaven.
John says that he shares in all these with believers, and his tribulation is that he was on the island of Patmos, he was not there on pleasure, he was exiled there for preaching the Word of God and for his testimony concerning Jesus Christ. He refused to bow to the image of the emperor, he refused to quit preaching and teaching the Word of God and speaking about Jesus and so he was sent to the penal colony on the island of Patmos possibly to work in the mines on this rocky island that was about 10 miles long and 6 miles wide.
John tells us that he was in the Spirit, he was spending time in prayer fellowshipping with the Lord when suddenly he found himself in the Spirit, which means he had the experience of being carried beyond normal sense into a state where God could reveal supernaturally the contents of this book, and he says that it took place on the Lord’s Day. Now there is some debate as to what this term Lord’s Day means, in English we might take this to mean Sunday, that John is referring to the first day of the week the day in which our Lord rose from the dead. This is very possibly the meaning, the only difficulty with it meaning Sunday is this is the only place in the New Testament where this phrase is used to mean Sunday or the first day of the week. After Christ was raised from the dead, and the church was formed they began meeting publicly on Sunday to commemorate the Lord’s resurrection, but nowhere in the New Testament is it referred to as the Lord’s Day, it is always referred to as the first day of the week. It was not until early in the 2nd century that Sunday began to be referred to as the Lord’s Day. If this is what John meant then it was either a phrase that the churches of the province of Asia were using and they would have understood what John meant by it. Or the other possibility is that it refers to what the Old Testament calls the “Day of the Lord,” which refers to the end times, beginning with the rapture and ending with the New Heavens and New Earth. The support for this is the word Lord in Greek as used here is an adjective describing the day, in Hebrew there is no adjective form of Lord, so the phrase must be in the form, day of the Lord and John is using the Greek form to say the same thing. The only problem with this view is that he does not see things from the day of the Lord until chapter 4. I lean more to this second view, I believe there is more support for this being the Day of the Lord then there is for it being Sunday or the first day of the week. So, John was in the Spirit and the Spirit transported Him to the Day of the Lord.
John says that he was in the Spirit and he heard a loud voice or a great voice behind him, and this voice was loud and clear like the sound of a trumpet. John is not saying that is sounded like a trumpet, but that it was loud and clear like a blast on a trumpet is loud and clear. This voice that was behind him was speaking to him, since he was in the Spirit. This voice spoke to him and said: “Write in a book what you see, 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.” (Revelation 1:11b, NASB95)[4] The voice told him to write a book or a scroll of all that he sees, and then to send it to the seven churches and then the voice listed the churches and they are organized in the order in which the personal notes are written to each of them in chapters 2 and 3, which is also in there geographical order starting in the southwest with Ephesus, the city closest to the island of Patmos and then going up the coast to Smyrna and Pergamum and then going inland and south to Thyatira, then south to Sardis and then Philadelphia and finally the farthest south and the most inland the city of Laodicea. John had told us in the first three verses that he was to write a book of what he heard and saw, he had told us he was sending it to the seven churches in the province of Asia, but here he describes for us his commissioning to write a book and send it to the seven churches and now we know the names of the cities of those seven churches.
THE VISION (Revelation 1:12-16)
Up to this point John has only heard this voice speaking behind him speaking to him, now in verse 12 he says he turns to see the voice that was speaking to him. Not literally to see the voice, but to see who it was that spoke to him with this voice that was loud and clear. Turning to look behind him he sees seven golden lampstands. Remember in the Tabernacle and then later in the temple, there was one lampstand having seven lamps, it was a single stand with branches on each side holding three lamps per side and then the seventh lamp was in the center on the central staff of the stand. That is not what John sees here, but he describes seven separate lampstands each holding a single lamp and arranged in a circle. The symbolism of the lampstands is explained for us in the end of this chapter.
John goes on describing for us what he saw having turned in the direction of the voice. In the middle of the lampstands John sees one who he describes as a “Son of man.” This is a title that is used often in the Gospels to describe the Lord Jesus Christ, it is even a title which Jesus used to refer to himself. This is also a title that Daniel used to describe the coming Messiah, the Deliverer. This title emphasizes Jesus Christ’s humanity and Messianic character, though He is fully God, when He came as the Messiah He took on human flesh and He still bears that flesh today in its resurrected and glorified state. This is Jesus Christ risen, ascended, and glorified standing in the middle of the candlesticks.
John goes on to describe him for us and each thing he describes is a symbolic representation of the attributes of Christ in special relationship to the events that John is about to see and record in this book. John first describes Jesus Christ being dressed in a robe that reached down to His feet. This reminds me of the robe that Jacob gave to Joseph that showed that he was the firstborn, but this robe is also the clothing of a priest and judge, much like Aaron’s robe was designed for “glory and beauty.” Not only does He have a robe that goes down to His feet, but the robe was girded across His chest with a golden sash. The golden sash corresponds to the one worn by the high priest to bind his garments higher on the body than at the waist. Josephus, a Jewish historian during the time of Jesus, says that this binding of the robe at the chest was in keeping with the dignity and majesty of the high priest and as being designed to allow greater freedom in movement. The difference being the sash of the high priest had golden thread woven in it, this sash is made entirely of gold. Christ standing in the middle of the candlesticks dressed for the role of our great high priest and judge.
Next John describes for us the head and hair of the Lord Jesus and he describes it as white like white wool, like snow. John MacArthur says this is not referring to a flat white color, but a blazing glowing white light, the prophet Daniel described the Ancient of Days whom we understand to be God the Father in Daniel 7:9 as having clothing as white as snow and the hair of his head like pure wool. This bright white hair is ascribed to Jesus and it does not indicate old age, but His absolute purity, His complete holiness, and may imply the eternity of the Son of Man in His divine nature, the fact that He has always been and always will be. John then describes His eyes and says they were like a flame of fire, His eyes, like two lasers, speak of searching righteousness and divine judgment on all that is impure, searching out the impure things in the earth and in the church and bringing them into judgment.
John says His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace. This description of his feet also speaks of judgment and takes us back to the Old Testament and the articles of the tabernacle, the altar upon which the sacrifices for sin were offered was overlaid with bronze, which speaks of the judgment of sin, at the altar sin was judged when an innocent animal died in your place and your sins were covered. That fact that Jesus’ feet are described as burnished or glowing bronze as in a furnace speaks not only of judgment, but divine judgment. We will see Jesus moving through the earth and through the church with His feet of judgment divinely judging sin.
Next John describes the voice of Jesus Christ, not as a clear, strong blast like a trumpet, but as the sound of many waters, possibly like the sea crashing against the rocks of Patmos, it was the voice of authority that no one could oppose. It speaks of the power and the majesty of the Son of God before which human authority must bow.
John then tells us that Jesus Christ is holding seven stars in His right hand which will be explained to us at the end of this chapter. Out of His mouth came a sharp two-edged sword which also speaks of divine judgment that comes from Him like a sharp two-edged sword when He speaks the judgment of God, in chapter 2 we will see Him using this sword against those who deceive and lead the church astray, and in chapter 19 this sword will be used to strike down the nations that oppose Him, it is a sword of divine judgment.
John finishes His description of Jesus Christ by telling us His face was like the sun shining in all its strength, at the brightest part of the day. This is a description of the glory of Jesus Christ. Whenever God’s glory is spoken of it is associated with light, bright, blazing light. The Shekinah glory that led the children of Israel through the wilderness for 40 years is described as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, a visible representation of God’s glory among them. When Moses came down from the mountain after being there with God for 40 days and 40 nights his face glowed from having been in the presence of God. The fact that Jesus Christ’s face was shining like the sun at its brightest is a declaration that Jesus Christ is God. There is no doubt left, John has seen the resurrected, ascended, glorified Lord coming in power with authority to judge.
CONCLUSION:
I am going to stop here this morning. We have four more verses in this chapter that we will do next time. If you want to find out what the stars and the lampstands are you will have to come back next week. John saw His Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ in all His glory. Next week we will learn John’s response. As you consider John’s description of the resurrected, ascended and glorified Son of God, what is your response? Are you ready to meet Him? Are there some things in your life that might cause you to hang your head in shame upon seeing Him?
As you consider the glorified Jesus Christ as described for us today in this prophecy of John how does the study of this Bible prophecy influence you? As I look over that list number 3 especially stands out to me, in view of who Jesus Christ is I am influenced to live a pure and holy life so that when He comes I will not be ashamed for how I have lived, I will be ready for His return at any moment. The end of our Scripture reading this morning speaks of this in 1 John 3:2-3 John wrote, “Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” (1 John 3:2–3, NASB95)[5] John has just described the glorified Lord Jesus Christ, is your hope fixed on Him and does it influence you to purify yourself, just as He is pure? I know it influences me in this way.
[1]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[2]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[3]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[4]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995
[5]New American Standard Bible : 1995 Update. LaHabra, CA : The Lockman Foundation, 1995