Revelation 1:9 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.

10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet,

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.

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.

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.

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.

19 Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter;

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.

MEMORY VERSE: 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. —Revelation 1:18

CENTRAL THOUGHT: John describes the voice and the vision of the glorified Christ, Who gave him instructions and explanations concerning the things he would see.

WORD DEFINITIONS

Revelation 1:9 “Brother”: from the same womb; begotten again by a common Father, God; “Companion”: partaker with; co-partner; joint sharer.

Revelation 1:10 “On the Lord’s Day”: the day the Lord rose from the dead, which is the first day of the week. This was the day the early Christians met for worship, commemoration of the Lord’s Supper, singing of hymns, reading of God’s word, prayer and service (almsgiving). The Jewish Sabbath had never been called “The Lord’s Day”; this was only a New Testament term.

Revelation 1:12 “Candlestick”: lamp stand.

Revelation 1:13 “Paps”: the breast or chest of a man.

Revelation 1:18 “The keys of hell and of death”: “The ever-living One entered death’s domains and permitted Himself to be bound with chains; but at His pleasure He broke them asunder, conquered death, and rose triumphant, carrying with Him the keys of hell and of death; and He has ascended on high, alive forevermore; and at His voice all the dead will arise at His appearing, for the grave can no longer hold its victims” (Revelation Explained).

LESSON BACKGROUND

The vision John saw of the glorified Lord Jesus makes us think back into the Old Testament when He appeared to different individuals in a majestic form.

Moses, Aaron, Nadab, Abihu and the seventy elders “saw the God of Israel,” but only what was under His feet, which Moses described as “a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness” (Exodus 24:10).

Isaiah saw the Lord “sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple” (Isaiah 6:1-5). Mostly he described the seraphim and the smoke which filled the house. He doesn’t mention details about the Lord’s head, eyes, mouth, feet or clothing. Yet the awesome glory caused him to respond, “Woe is me! For I am undone!”

Ezekiel saw visions of God. He saw a throne “as the appearance of a sapphire stone,” and upon it was “the likeness as the appearance of a man above upon it.” He saw the color of amber and fire round about within it, both upwards and downwards from the loins of the man; fiery glory and brightness that resembled a rainbow. He heard the voice of the Almighty, as the noise of great waters, but he mentions no physical features; yet the glory and brightness affected him as it did John, Isaiah and others. He fell upon his face in awe and fear (Ezekiel 1:26-28).

Daniel saw and described “The Ancient of Days.” He spoke of the fiery stream, fiery flame, and burning fire (Daniel 7:9-10). He did relate details about his garment, which was “white as snow,” and his hair, which was “like pure wool,” but again, there were no facial features which he could describe.

John had been with his Lord in the Mount of Transfiguration. He had seen the dazzling brightness, raiment which was “white and glistering” (Luke 9:29), “white as the light” (Matthew 17:2), and “shining, exceeding white as snow, so as no fuller on earth can white them” (Mark 9:3). Truly that was a glimpse of the glory that would follow Jesus’ death and resurrection; now as he turned around to see the Person of the Voice there could be no doubt. It was his Lord clothed in all of His glory. No man had ever seen Him as John was seeing Him. No wonder he fell at His feet as one with no life left in him!

—Sis. Angela Gellenbeck

DISCUSSION:

1. Your Brother: John identified himself as just one of the brethren in what three ways?
2. The Place: Where was John when he received the Revelation and why was he there?
3. The Voice: John compared it to two different things. What were they?
4. The Churches: List the seven churches of Asia.
5. ThePerson: Describe the characteristics seen by John.
6. The Candlesticks: Jesus explained their meaning; what was it?
7. TheStars: What do they represent?

COMMENTS AND APPLICATION

I’m glad Jesus got right to the point here and told us that the stars represented the angels—messengers, pastors, ministers—of the different congregations, and the candlesticks, or lampstands, represented the churches or congregations themselves.

The Lord in the midst of the lampstands corresponds with verses throughout the scriptures saying that the Lord is in the midst of Zion, His people. He is a light shining out; a burning fire, like the pillar of fire, the Shekinah glory. Zion is composed of the redeemed ones and in the midst of each individual is the presence, the Spirit, of God; each of them are lights in the world, shining in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation. They are also “builded together”; together they compose a building which God inhabits and a city that is set upon a hill that cannot be hidden, out of which God shines. What happens when my lamp has gone out? The oil that fuels it is gone and I walk in darkness? And if that happens to you, and you, and you? What a dark hole is left in the world!

In His right hand He had the stars—those who preach the Word, provide an example and pattern by the lives which they live and give courage and guidance to those seeking to know the way. Daniel said, “They that turn many to righteousness [shall shine] as the stars for ever and ever” (Daniel 12:3). In reference to the light that we have shining out of us, a star is no different than a lampstand. But a special calling—to preach the word, evangelize souls, be a watchman, overseer, and shepherd of souls—that is a greater responsibility. A fearful one! The comforting thing is that the stars are in His right hand. “That strong grasp of that mighty hand—for the word in the original conveys more than ‘holds;’ it implies a tight and powerful grip—sustains and guards His servants whose tasks need special grace, and whose position exposes them to special dangers. They may be of good cheer, for none shall pluck them out of His hand” (MacLaren’s Expositions).

But what if I go away from God’s hand? Then I’m a star on my own, a rogue star; a wandering star. Off in the blackness, alone, not used, tempered or stabilized by God’s own hand, I will finally burn out. My desire is to stay in God’s hand.

—Sis. Angela Gellenbeck

REFLECTIONS

The revealed glory of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is vital for overcoming grace. Jesus once asked his disciples, “Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?” Then following this question He asked them personally who they thought He was. Were they simply following or believing the conservative bloc of public opinion or did they have something deeper? Christ went on to explain that flesh and blood had not revealed this to them, but it was the Father; and the solidity of this revelation is where the Lord would build His church and the gates of hell should not prevail against it.

I am also reminded of John 14:21. “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.” “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed…” (II Corinthians 3:18).

Stephen, on the great day of his trial, “being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God” (Acts 7:55). Whether our trials be great or small, let us fasten our gaze heavenward in faith and sincerity. The Lord can be revealed to us in so many different ways; let us not limit Him!

—Bro. Bob Wilson