Over the last several weeks we have been working our way
through the preface of the Apocalypse of John (found in chapter 1 of the Revelation
of Jesus Christ). In this preface John has successfully introduced the book (1:1-3),
the seven churches (1:4-8), and the Revealer (1:9-16). In our study we have been
impressed not only with the sophistication and aesthetic beauty of this work
but hopefully we have become even more enamored with its principle subject—Jesus
Christ. In Revelation 1:17-20, one more introduction is made that successfully leads
to the next major section of John’s Apocalypse—the introduction of the message
to the seven churches. As we examine the four parts of this final introduction
in the preface, we are going to gain an even better appreciation of the Revealer
and understand more about how what is revealed is organized and for whom. As a
whole, this last passage in Revelation 1 will inspire reverence before our
unique and holy God who sends Jesus to encourage us as we endure our world.
1. The Precursor to
the Message-1:17a
Though many in our culture (even “Christian” culture) would
love to tame down our understanding of Christ and reduce him to “homeboy”
status, it is instructive to observe John’s response upon seeing the Ancient of
Days described in 1:9-16—“When I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man.” Remember,
this is the same John who calls himself “the beloved” throughout his gospel and
the same John who is tasked with taking care of Jesus’ mother at the foot of the
cross. If anyone could claim a “tight” relationship with Christ, it would have
been him. And yet, no matter how close they proved to be while Jesus walked the
earth, upon seeing him again, John falls prostrate on the ground as if dead
before this glorious figure. This posture of humility, reverence, and fear is
similar to what is seen in Isaiah and even Daniel when these prophets, in their
respective experiences, are ushered into heaven or gaze upon someone glorious.
Isaiah 6:5-“Woe is me, for I am ruined!...”
Daniel 10:8-9-“So I was left alone and saw this great
vision; yet no strength was left in me, for my natural color turned to a
deathly pallor, and I retained no strength. But I heard the sound of his words;
and as soon as I heard the sound of his words, I fell into a deep sleep on my
face, with my face to the ground.”
As will prove to be the case in chapter 5, one wonders how
John is going to be able to pick himself up after this. Who/what is going to be
able to settle him down so that he can observe what needs to see and report on
it accordingly? In this instance, it is Jesus himself who provides the comfort John
requires—“and He placed His right hand on me saying, ‘Do not be afraid’”
(1:17b). This statement is made by other divinely-appointed messengers when
they appear to humans throughout the Scriptures. It is the familiar statement
of Gabriel to Mary (Luke 1:30) and Joseph (Matthew 1:19-25), and the angels to
the shepherds (Luke 2:8-20), etc. Similar reassurances exist in the Old
Testament (Deuteronomy 3:2; Joshua 8:1; and Jeremiah 1:8). Even in Daniel, it
is only after the revealer touches the writer than he can proceed to do his
writing.
Daniel 10:10-“Then behold, a hand touched me and set
me trembling on my hands and knees.”
2. The Personality
Bringing the Message-1:17c-18
After reaching out to John, Christ reveals who he is and
why, at least for the apostle, he ought not be afraid. First, Christ reveals
that he is “the first and the last” (1:17c). This particular title was originally
used of God the Father in Isaiah 44:6 and later in Isaiah 48:12. Now that it is
applied to Christ, this shared title emphasizes the divinity of Jesus and his
equality with the first member of the Trinity. The apostle John has already
made a case for Jesus’ preexistence before creation in John 1 (“In the
beginning was the Word and the was with God and the Word was God. He was in the
beginning with God”). In John’s report in Revelation 1:17, Jesus establishes
that not only is he the Lord of the Beginning, but he is also the Lord of the
end. Also, the Greek word for last (escatoV)
acts as the root for our word eschatology which refers to the theological study
of last things.
Next, Jesus describes himself as the “living One, and I was
dead, and behold I am alive forevermore” (1:18). In this way, Jesus sets
himself apart from all other deities. Christianity is the only worldview that
believes that God himself came down out of heaven to save humans. It is also
the only belief system to argue that to do this God gave up his life. Therefore,
Christians are also the only ones who believe that once dead, God has been
resurrected to life forevermore. When added to “the first and the last,” this
second descriptive phrase identifies Christ’s entire ministry and therefore the
heart of the gospel—deity, death, and resurrection. Anything less than this cannot be called the
good news. A gospel of death and resurrection without deity would not have the
power to save. A gospel of deity and death without resurrection is not good
news. And a gospel of deity and resurrection without death does not make sense.
As the divine one alive from the dead, Jesus also identifies
himself as the one who has “the keys of death and Hades” (1:18c). In the Old
Testament (Ps. 9:13; 107:18) and in Jewish Literature “the gates
of Hades” referred to the realm of the dead and to the power of death. Therefore,
the one who holds the keys to these realms (the gates) rules over them (Keener,
IVP BBC, 730). The only other New
Testament text to use “hades” and “keys” together is Matthew 16:18-19.
Matthew 16:18-19-“…I also say to you that you are
Peter, and upon this rock I will build
My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. I will give you the
keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been
bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.”
Here, Jesus affirms that the power of death cannot prevail
against the church and that he has given the church the authority to allow or
forbid entrance into the kingdom. As Jesus is resurrected and now served as the
head of the church, he has the power over death and the grave.
In this reassuring statement, Jesus identifies his equality
with God, his ministry of death and resurrection, and his subsequent authority
over death. Who better to provide John
the comfort he would need in this moment? Who better to reveal the message
intended to the seven churches?
3. The Perspective of
the Message-1:19
Now that John is off the ground and can perceive what is
going on, now that Jesus has revealed his glory and, in so doing, has reflected
on his credibility to reveal the coming message, Christ continues by revealing
the perspective of the message John will be used to write down saying,
“therefore, write the things which you have seen” (1:19a). In other words, John
needs to quickly catch up and begin writing what he has seen/experienced. I
imagine once John collects himself, Jesus looks at him and says, “aren’t you recording
this down yet?” This would include everything form the beginning of this book
(chapter 1).
In addition to what John has already seen, the apostle is
directed, nay, commanded to write “the things which are” (1:19b). This does not
only refer to what John saw at present (what the apostle was presently viewing
before him), but also the events/situations connected to the church in the
world in which he lived—i.e. his sitz em
liben or current context. In the letters to the churches, John would be
writing about what was in his field of vision—i.e. his present world and the
congregations therein. Applied to the
organization of Revelation, “the things which are” would include everything
contained in chapters 2-3 (Jesus’ message to the seven churches).
Rounding out yet another triad—this time as it pertains to
the three-fold perspective of the message being revealed—Jesus says that John
is also to write down “the things which will take place after these things”
(1:19c). This predictive future verb “will take place” implies that what is
about to happen will be different from a previously existing state (either in
time or place or nature). This future perspective includes the message that
John will be given later, beginning in chapter 4 and covering all the way to
chapter 22. In fact, John seems to indicate a shift from the things which are
to the things that will take place when in verse 1 of chapter 4 he says, “After
these things…” (4:1) and then proceeds
to describe an entirely new set of scenes both in heaven and in a very
different world (different that is from the world described in chapters 2-3).
In other words, John’s entire book might be divided as
follows: (1) the things which were found in chapter 1, (2) the things which are
and pertain to the first century condition of the seven churches in chapters
2-3, and (3) the things that will soon take place in the future that are
described in chapters 4-22. The message that is revealed by Jesus to John and
distributed to the churches endorses this three-fold perspective.
4. The Players
Involved in the Message-1:20
In an effort to move from the things which were (in chapter
1) to the things which are currently underway in John’s first century world (in
chapters 2-3), the Revealer identifies some of the players involved in the
coming message. First, Jesus identifies the identity of the seven stars that
were first introduced in 1:16 (“In His right hand He held seven stars,…”)—“as
for the mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the
seven lampstands: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches”
(1:20a). As we will soon see in Revelation 2-3, these angels are addressed
first in each of the seven messages. The view that believes that these are
actual angels and not human pastors/bishops is best, especially when one
considers that in the early church the presence of angels was assumed at the
assemblies (see 1 Corinthians 11:10), and, as was the case in Revelation1:1,
angelic messengers were integral to the transmission of the message from the
beginning of this work (Wilson, ZIBBC, 259).
Revelation 1:1-“The Revelation of Jesus Christ which
God gave Him to show to His bondservants, the things which must soon take
place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel”
Consider this: like people’s popular perception of personal
guardian angels, this verse suggests that, at the very least, these seven
churches had angelic beings assigned to their congregations. One of the hallmarks of apocalyptic
literature involves both the division and connection between the natural and
supernatural worlds. There is both a cosmic dualism and cosmic conflict between
these two worlds that is present now but will one day be made more obvious as
the climax of history is reached.
Though typically we consider angels in another
realm (and demons), here, Jesus describes that although invisible to us now,
angels are in fact active in the well being of God’s people in their world. As the
church perseveres the battles and persecutions it experiences, much activity is
also going on in the spiritual realm that directly supervenes on the outcomes
and goings on in the physical world.
Among the other players identified in verse 20 are the seven
lampstands—“and the seven lampstands are the seven churches” (1:20b). Though a
comment has already been made about the symbolism of the lampstand in 1:12, it
is worth expounding on this familiar image here. The lampstand, or menorah, was
a fixture first presented in the desert tabernacle (Exodus 27:21; Leviticus 24:2-4).
Later it was seen in the first and second
temples (2 Chronicles 4:20). The latter-most lampstand in the temple was
permanently extinguished when Titus destroyed Jerusalem in A.D. 70 and carried
it off to Rome as booty. Evidence of this stolen property was scratched into
the triumphal arch of Titus erected in Rome a decade later. Another emblem of a
lampstand appears on some steps of the library of Celsus that can still be seen
in Ephesus to this day. It is one of the few evidences of a Jewish presence in
this city (which housed the first church mentioned in chapters 1 and 2 of
Revelation). John transforms this traditional image of a single menorah with
seven bowls to an image of seven individual lamps, indicating that each of the
Asian churches are holy vessels of spiritual light in their respective
communities (Wilson, ZIBBC, 259).
So What?
When this final introductory passage began, John was lying
on the ground as if dead, overwhelmed by the glorious visage he beheld. When we
end this passage we see John poised with a pen in hand ready to write down the
message to the churches (chapter 2-3) and then the prophecy that will be
revealed later (chapters 4-22). What made the difference? Christ, who reaches
down to bring us the reassurance we need to be about his business, makes all
the difference. It is an amazing phenomenon to consider, that the same one who
is equal with God the Father, who died and was resurrected, and who holds the
power of death and the grave, can touch our lives so as to prepare us for
whatever he has in store. In John’s case, Jesus was preparing him to write an
important message. What is it that you need to be prepared for today? Are you
overwhelmed, confused, lying face down, unable to process what is going on? The
only one who can take us from reeling to ready is the same Christ we read about
in these verses. After all, if he possesses the keys to death, if he is alive from
the dead, and if he is God, surely when he calls us to a task, he will see us
through. This very personal lesson for John no doubt foreshadows some of the
messages we will see in the next few weeks. The same Christ who encourages
John, and will encourages the churches in chapters 2-3, is the same Christ who
is with believers today—providing necessary endurance for the incredible call
he has placed on them.
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