David Guzik
Study Guide for Revelation 1
C. John is commanded to write.
1. (9) John on the Island of Patmos.
I, John, both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ.
a. I, John . . . was on the island that is called Patmos: The island of Patmos was a like an Alcatraz Island in the Roman Empire. It was used as a prison island, and functioned as a prison without walls. The island was rich in marble, and most of the prisoners were forced laborers in marble quarries. Patmoswas a rocky, desolate island about 10 miles long, and 6 miles wide.
i. “John was at the time in exile, upon a lonely and desolate island. But neither seas, nor Alps, nor ages, can sever the bonds by which Christians are united to each other, or to Christ, their Lord. Less than a year ago I passed that island. It is a mere mass of barren rocks, dark in colour and cheerless in form. It lies out in the open sea, near the coast of Western Asian Minor. It has neither trees nor rivers, nor any land for cultivation, except some little nooks between the ledges of rocks. There is still a dingy grotto remaining, in which the aged Apostle is said to have lived, and in which he is said to have had this vision. A chapel covers it, hung with lamps kept burning by the monks.” (Seiss)
ii. Barnes describes Patmos as “Lonely, desolate, barren, uninhabited, seldom visited, it had all the requisites which could be desired for a place of punishment; and banishment to that place would accomplish all that a persecutor could wish in silencing the apostle, without putting him to death.” Praise God that this exile didn’t silence the Apostle John!
b. For the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ: Most scholars assume that John was on Patmos because he was arrested and imprisoned in persecution from the Romans. This is probably the case, especially because John says that he isyour brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ. However, it is also possible that John was on Patmos as a missionary to the prisoners there.
i. The ancient Christian historian Eusebius says John was imprisoned at Patmos under the reign of the Roman Emperor Domitian. (Church History, III.18, 20 - from the Nicean and Post Nicean Fathers Series 2, Volume 1, pages 1480149)
ii. “According to Victorinus, John, though aged, was forced to labor in the mines located at Patmos. Early sources also indicated that about a.d. 96, at Domitian’s death, John was allowed to return to Ephesus when the Emperor Nerva was in power.” (Walvoord)
2. (10-11) John is commanded to write.
I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet, saying, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last,” and, “What you see, write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.”
a. I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day: What does John mean by saying he was in the Spirit? This seems to have more meaning than simply saying he was walking “in the Spirit” as opposed to being “in the flesh” in the sense Paul means inGalatians 5:16. The idea isn’t simply that John was walking in the Spirit, but that he received unique revelation from the Holy Spirit. This was a unique spiritual experience for John, what some might call an out of body experience - though of course, without the occult or spiritism such experiences are associated with today.
i. Walvoord defines in the Spirit like this: “Carried beyond normal sense into a state where God could reveal supernaturally the contents of this book.”
ii. There are four references to John being in the Spirit in the Book of Revelation. First at Patmos (Revelation 1:10), then in heaven (Revelation 4:2), than in the wilderness (Revelation 17:3), and finally on the mountain of God (Revelation 21:10).
b. On the Lord’s Day: When is the Lord’s Day? Among the pagans of the Roman Empire, the first day of each month was called “Emperors Day” in honor of the Roman Emperor. Perhaps Christians proclaimed their allegiance to Jesus by honoring the first day of the week as their own Lord’s Day.
i. This is not the same term used for The Day of the Lord in the Old Testament, nor is it the same idea. The Book of Revelation will definitely deal with the idea of The Day of theLord, but it doesn’t do it here.
c. I heard behind me a loud voice: The loud voice John heard was clear and striking as the sound of a trumpet. The loud voice belongs to the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, who is the beginning and the end of all things. Since Jesus introduced Himself with these titles in Revelation 1:8, we know this was the loud voice of Jesus.
i. Clarke on the voice as of a trumpet: “This was calculated to call in every wandering thought, to fix his attention, and solemnize his whole frame.”
ii. The First and the Last is a title that belongs to the Lord, Yahweh, the covenant God of Israel (Isaiah 41:4; 44:6, and48:12). The title Alpha and the Omega has the same idea asFirst and the Last. This is one of the New Testament passages where Jesus clearly claims to be God.
d. What you see, write in a book: Here, John is commanded to write what he sees. He will be commanded to write eleven more times in the Book of Revelation. We get the sense that unless John was commanded to write, he would have just kept it to himself. It’s always best to keep visions and revelations one’s self unless commanded otherwise.
e. Send it to the seven churches which are in Asia: John is commanded to write to seven churches in seven cities. Each of these churches is in the region of the Roman province of Asia. But these were not the only cities with churches in this region. For example, there was a church in the city of Colosse (to which the Apostle Paul wrote the letter of Colossians), but the city of Colosse isn’t included in this list of seven churches. Why were these specific seven churches chosen?
i. Some have suggested that it is because they are arranged in a roughly circular pattern. Others have thought it was because these were postal districts in the Roman province of Asia. Many believe seven churches were chosen because in the Bible, the number seven often represents completeness, and these letters - and all of the Book of Revelation - are written to the complete church, not only these seven churches. Seiss writes, “The churches of all time are comprehended in seven,” and quotes many modern and ancient commentators that agree with this perspective.
ii. “It is the opinion of very learned writers upon this book, that our Lord, by these seven churches, signifies all the churches of Christ to the end of the world; and by what he saith to them, designs to show what shall be the state of churches in all ages, and what their duty is.” (Poole)
iii. Interestingly, the Apostle Paul also wrote to seven churches: Rome, Corinth, Galatia, Ephesus, Colosse, Philippi, and Thessalonika.
D. John’s vision of Jesus.
1. (12-13) Jesus in the midst of the lampstands.
Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band.
a. I turned to see the voice: We can only imagine what went through John’s mind as he turned. The voice he heard was probably not exactly the same sound as he remembered Jesus’ voice to be (John described it as of a trumpet, Revelation 1:10). Yet he knew from the voice’s self-description (Alpha and Omega) that it was Jesus. This was John’s opportunity to see Jesus again, after knowing Him so well during the years of His earthly ministry.
b. First, John didn’t see Jesus. He saw seven golden lampstands. These were not candlesticks, they were not menorahs, but they were free standing oil lamp stands. The lamps set on these lampstands.
i. There were seven separate lampstands. This is an image that reminds us of the golden lampstand that stood in the tabernacle and the temple (Exodus 25:31-37). Yet this is different. The Old Covenant lampstand was one lampstandwith seven lamps on it. Here in the New Covenant, we seeseven lampstands. “In the Jewish tabernacle there was on golden candlestick, and seven lamps, to give light . . . John here seeth seven. God had but one church of the Jews, but many among the Gentiles.” (Poole)
ii. The light doesn’t come from the lampstands. The light comes from the oil lamps themselves. The stands merely make the light more visible. Therefore, the lampstands are a good picture of the church. We don’t produce the light, we simply display it.
iii. “A lamp is not light in itself, it is only the instrument of dispensing light, and it must receive both oil and fire before it can dispense any; so no Church has in itself either grace orglory, it must receive all from Christ its head, else it can dispense neither light nor life.” (Clarke)
c. And in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man: Jesus is there in the midst of these lampstands, as theSon of Man, a figure of glory looking back to Daniel 7:13-14. Though the title Son of Man sounds like a humble title, in light of the Daniel passage, it is not a “humble” title at all.
d. Clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band: The clothing of Jesus indicates that He is a person of great dignity and authority. Long garments were only worn by those who didn’t have to work much, so they were a picture of great status and authority. Thegolden band around the chest probably hints at the garments of the high priest (Exodus 29:5).
i. Exodus 39:1-5 says that there were golden threads in the band that went around the chest of the high priest of Israel. Jesus’ band has more than a few golden threads. It is all gold! How much greater is the eternal, heavenly priesthood of Jesus!
ii. One of the duties of the Old Testament priests was to tend the golden lampstand in the tabernacle. Every day they had to fill the oil, clean the soot, and trim the wicks. They had to closely inspect and care for the lamps so they would burn continually before the Lord. Here is Jesus, our High Priest, in the midst of the seven lampstands, carefully inspecting and caring for the lamps, helping them to always burn brightly before the Lord.
2. (14-16) John describes Jesus.
His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters; He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength.
a. His head and hair were white like wool: The white hair speaks of old age, and is therefore in that culture was connected with the idea of great wisdom and timelessness. The phrase white as snow also emphasizes the idea of purity (Isaiah 1:18).
i. The white hair and head also connect Jesus with the Ancient of Days in Daniel 7:9. “The term of Ancient of Daysbelongs to God the Father, yet it also agreeth to Christ, who is equal with the Father as to his Divine nature.” (Poole)
ii. “When we see in the picture his head and his hair white as snow, we understand the antiquity of his reign.” (Spurgeon)
iii. “This was not only an emblem of in antiquity, but it was evidence of his glory; for the whiteness of splendour of his head and hair doubtless proceeded from the rays of light andglory which encircled his head, and darted from it in all directions.” (Clarke)
b. His eyes like a flame of fire: Fire is often associated with judgment in the Scriptures (Matthew 5:22; 2 Peter 3:7). Jesus’ eyes display the fire of searching, penetrating judgment.
c. His feet were like fine brass: Since fire is connected with judgment, these feet like fine brass, as if refined in a furnacespeak of someone who has been through the fires of judgment and has come forth with a refined purity. Jesus has been through the “Refiner’s Fire.”
i. Brass is a metal connected with judgment and sacrifice. Israel’s altar of sacrifice was made of brass (Exodus 27:1-6), and it was called the “brazen altar.”
ii. Brass is also a strong metal, the strongest known in the ancient world. Therefore feet . . . like fine brass are “An emblem of his stability and permanence, brass being considered the most durable of all metallic substances or compounds.” (Clarke)
d. His voice as the sound of many waters: This means that Jesus’ voice had the power and majesty of a mighty waterfall.
e. He had in His right hand seven stars: The seven starsspeak of the leaders or representatives of the seven churchesmentioned in Revelation 1:11 (Revelation 1:20). The stars are securely in the hand of Jesus. Since seven is the number of completion, we can say that “He’s got the whole church in His hands.”
f. Out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword: This is a heavy sword (rhomphaia), used to kill and destroy. Sometimes the New Testament speaks of a smaller, more tactical sword known in the ancient Greek language as the machaira. Hebrews 4:12 uses the term for this smaller, more precise sword.
i. The idea of it coming out of His mouth is not that Jesus carries a sword in His teeth. The idea is that this sword is His word. His weapon is the Word of God, and our weapon is Word of God (Ephesians 6:17).
ii. Barnes says that John didn’t necessarily see a sword coming out of Jesus’ mouth. “He heard him speak; he felt the penetrating power of his words; and they were as if a sharp sword proceeded from his mouth.”
iii. It is a sharp two-edged sword: “There is no handling this weapon without cutting yourself, for it has no back to it, it is all edge. The Word of Christ, somehow or other, is all edge.” (Spurgeon)
g. His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength:The glory of Jesus is so great, so shining, that it is hard to even look upon Him. Jesus has the same glory as in His transfiguration, when His face shone like the sun (Matthew 17:2).
i. “His face was like the disk of the sun in the brightest summer’s day, when there were no clouds to abate the splendour of his rays.” (Clarke)
ii. “What do you see in Christ’s right hand? Seven stars; yet how insignificant they appear when you get a sight
