Vision of Jesus

⁹ I, John, am your brother and your partner (companion) in suffering and in God’s Kingdom and in the patient endurance to which Jesus calls us. I was exiled (banished) 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 worshipping in the Spirit. Suddenly, I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet blast. ¹¹ It said, “Write in a book (scroll) everything you see (your vision), 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, “Do not 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 (messengers) of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.” Revelation 1:9-20 (NLT)

John wrote the book of Revelation to seven churches in Asia Minor, which is modern day Turkey. John identified himself as “your brother and your partner in suffering” (Revelation 1:9, NLT). Sadly, John and the churches were fellow sufferers of severe persecution from harsh Roman emperors such as Nero and Domitian because of their belief in “the word of God and the testimony of Jesus” (Revelation 1:9, NIV). For John, the “word of God” and “the testimony of Jesus” are synonyms or the same. John encouraged the churches patiently to endure all suffering and persecution for the Lord Jesus Christ’s sake because they too will share His Kingdom (Revelation 1:9).

Most likely, John was exiled or banished to the island of Patmos because he refused to stop preaching the word of God and for telling what he knew about Jesus Christ (Revelation 1:9). Early church traditions say that Roman Emperor Domitian banished John to the island of Patmos, a Roman penal colony off the coast of Asia Minor. If this John were one of the Twelve Apostles, John would have been the last living eyewitness of Jesus. Placing John in exile would have been appropriate for a Roman ruler like Domitian to stop the spread of the Gospel (Good News) about Jesus Christ. To prevent any movement, authorities always separate the leaders from the group.

At Revelation 1:10, John said he was worshipping “in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day” when suddenly he heard a great or mighty voice behind him, a voice that sounded like a trumpet blast (Revelation 1:10). Jesus Christ was speaking! The voice told John, “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea” (Revelation 1:11, NIV). These seven churches received the seven letters from John in Revelation chapters two and three. These seven churches represented prominent cities in Asia Minor. The book of Revelation was born out of John’s profound spiritual experience while exiled on Patmos.

John says he was “in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day” on the day of his revelation (Revelation 1:10). The phrase “in the Spirit” was common among writings of the Old Testament prophets and apocalyptic literature. “In the Spirit” means the prophet or the apocalyptist experienced an ecstatic experience or revelation from God (see also e.g., Actos 10:10; Acts 22:17). Both Isaiah and Ezekiel began their ministry also with a great vision of the glory of God (see Isaiah 6; Ezekiel 1). Now, John tells readers of his calling or commission to pass on to the churches this revelation of Jesus.

Moreover, John’s uses the phrase “the Lord's Day” at Revelation 1:10. In the early church, the “Lord's Day” was Sunday or the first day of the week. The Lord's Day is not the Sabbath. The early Christians moved the worship day from Saturday (the Sabbath) to Sunday (the Lord’s Day) to accommodate Jewish Christians so they could participate in both communities of faiths on Saturday with Jewish activities at the synagogue and Sunday for Christians. More likely, scholars believe the Lord’s Day became a celebration and reenactment of Easter to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection. Sadly, the Roman government also considered Sunday the “lord’s day” to worship their Roman emperors. Rome sometimes called their emperors “our lord and our god.” John wanted to emphasize in Revelation that the true “Lord and God” that deserve our wholehearted worship and allegiance was God the Father and His Son, Jesus Christ (e.g., see Revelation 1:6; Revelation 4:11; Revelation 5:12; Revelation 11:15-17).

In the opening chapter of Revelation, John saw a glorious vision of the reigning and ruling Jesus! The entire Holy Bible speaks of Jesus, the living Word of God (Revelation 19:13; see also John 1:1-5); but the book of Revelation especially magnifies the greatness and glory of Jesus. Revelation, after all, is a revealing or unveiling of Jesus Christ and not simply the revelation of future events.

Images of the living Jesus abound in Revelation. John reveals Jesus as a King (Revelation 17:14), a special Child (Revelation 12:1-6), a Warrior on a horse (Revelation 19:11-16), the Lion of Judah and Root of David (Revelation 5:5) and the Judge (Revelation 19:11). Revelation 1:13-16 gives the first glorious appearance of Jesus. Then, the second greatest image of Jesus comes in Revelation chapter 5. In Revelation 5, John sees a “Lamb, looking at if it had been slain” (Revelation 5:6-13). This powerful image of Jesus as Lamb often resurfaces in Revelation (see e.g., Revelation 6:1; Revelation 7:9-10). Jesus the King is also the sacrificial Lamb who died and redeemed us to take away our sins (Revelation 5:9-14). Jesus’ sacrificial death, seemingly a great defeat, actually ushered in a decisive victory, for Him and all faithful believers. Jesus’ sacrificial death destroyed and triumphed over evil. Definitely, Revelation is a book of victory and faithful believers are seen as “overcomers” (see e.g., Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 26; Revelation 3:5, 12, 21; Revelation 11:7; Revelation 12:11; Revelation 15:2; Revelation 21:7). Although through the eyes of unbelief, Jesus and His church are defeated in this world. However, through eyes of faith, Jesus and His faithful people are the true victors and overcomers (see also 1 Corinthians 15:42-57).

When describing Jesus in Revelation, John often takes attributes from the Old Testament book of Daniel attributed to God and applies these same attributes to the ruling and reigning Jesus. In John’s vision, the ruling and resurrected Jesus is God. Throughout the book of Revelation, John refers to God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit interchangeable. To hear God, Jesus, or the Holy Spirit speak is to hear God.

In the first vision, John saw the living Jesus standing among the seven golden lampstands (Revelation 1:12-13). The Lord Jesus Christ was dressed in a robe reaching down to His feet and with a golden sash around His chest (Revelation 1:13; see also Daniel 7:13; Daniel 10:5). John also noticed that Jesus’ hair was white as wool or snow, and His eyes flashed like flames of fire (Revelation 1:14; see also Daniel 7:9). Moreover, Jesus’ feet gleamed like burnished bronze, and His voice thundered like the waves against the shore (Revelation 1:15; see also Daniel 10:6). In His right hand, Jesus held seven stars (Revelation 1:16, 20). From Jesus’ mouth, there came a sharp, double-bladed sword. Most importantly, Jesus’ face shone like the power of the sun in unclouded brilliance (Revelation 1:16). Jesus’ shining face reminds us of His transfiguration (Matthew 17:2; see also Matthew 28:3; John 1:4-5) and the prophecy of Malachi 4:2 (“the Sun of righteousness [shall] arise”).

When John saw Jesus, he fell at Jesus’ feet as dead (Revelation 1:17). However, Jesus laid His right hand on John and said, “Do not be afraid!” (Revelation 1:17, TLB). Jesus announced to John, “I am the First and the Last. 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” (Revelation 1:17-18, NLT). As faithful believers in Jesus, we need not fear life or death, because Jesus is “The Living One” and He is always with us (Matthew 28:20; see also Romans 8:35-39).

Perhaps, the most important part of John’s vision is the ever-living and exalted Jesus in the midst of the seven lampstands (Revelation 1:12-13; 20). The seven lampstands represent the seven churches in Asia Minor (Revelation 1:11, 20) and the seven stars in Jesus’ hand represent the angels (messengers or perhaps pastors) of the seven churches (Revelation 1:16, 20). John wanted to encourage the churches that the glorified Jesus stands in the midst of their suffering and persecution. John sees a vision of Jesus not as a lowly Lamb but as the ruling, reigning, and resurrected Jesus present with His people to provide and protect them with His all-encompassing love and reassuring power. Through His Spirit, Jesus Christ is still among the churches today. When any faithful believer faces persecution, Jesus is in the midst with God the Father and His deep love and compassion through the Holy Spirit (see 1John 4:4).

References

Life Application Study Bible (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Pub., 2005).

New Student Bible (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1992).

Loyd, Melton, Ph.D., Senior Professor of New Testament (Due West, SC: Erskine Theological Seminary, 2016).

Wiersbe, Warren W. Bible Exposition Commentary –New Testament (Victor Books, 1989).