God's Final Word
Understanding Revelation
by Ray C. Stedman
with
James D. Denney
God's Final Word
Understanding Revelation
Copyright @ 1991 by Ray C. Stedman
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Stedman, Ray C.
God's final word: understanding Revelation / by Ray C. Stedman with James D. Denney.
p. em. Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 0-929239-52-0
1. Bible. N.T. Revelation-Commentaries. I. Denney, James D.
II. Bible. N.T. Revelation. English. New International. 1991. III. Title. BS2825.3.S686 1991
228'.077-dc20 91-33778 CIP
Unless indicated otherwise, Scripture is taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright @ 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.
Discovery House Publishers is affiliated with RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49512.
Discovery House books are distributed to the trade exclusively by Barbour Publishing, Inc., Uhrichsville, Ohio 44683.
Printed in the United States of America.
04 05 06 / CHG / 14 13 12 11
Other books by Ray C. Stedman
Authentic Christianity
Body Life
From Guilt To Glory (2 volumes)
How To Live What You Believe
Is This All There Is To Life?
Man Of Faith: Learning From The Life Of Abraham
Psalms Of Faith
Spiritual Warfare
Talking To My Father
Waiting For The Second Coming
Contents
Chapter 1 Behind the Scenes of History
Revelation 1
Chapter 2 Seven Letters to Seven Churches
Overview: Revelation 1:19, chapters 2 and 3
Chapter 3 The Church That Lost Its Love
Revelation 2:1-7
Chapter 4 A Church under Pressure
Revelation 2:8-11
Chapter 5 The Church That Compromised
Revelation 2:12-17
Chapter 6 The Worldly Church
Revelation 2:18-29
Chapter 7 The Church of the Zombies
Revelation 3:1-6
Chapter 8 The Little Church That Tried
Revelation 3:7-13
Chapter 9 The Rich/Poor Church
Revelation 3:14-22
Chapter 10 Supreme Headquarters
Revelation 4
Chapter 11 The Great Breakthrough
Revelation 5
Chapter 12 The Riders of Judgment
Revelation 6
Chapter 13 To Jew and Gentile
Revelation 7
Chapter 14 Angels of Doom
Revelation 8
Chapter 15 All Hell Breaks Loose
Revelation 9
Chapter 16 The End of Mystery
Revelation 10
Chapter 17 The Last Warning
Revelation 11
Chapter 18 The Woman and the Serpent
Revelation 12
Chapter 19 When Men Become Beasts
Revelation 13
Chapter 20 The Time of Harvest
Revelation 14
Chapter 21 Earth's Last Trial
Revelation 15 and 16
Chapter 22 The Dragon Lady
Revelation 17:1-19:5
Chapter 23 The Rider on the White Horse
Revelation 19:6-21
Chapter 24 One Thousand Years of Peace
Revelation 20
Chapter 25 The City of Glory
Revelation 21 and 22
Notes
Chapter One
Behind the Scenes of History
Revelation 1
The book of Revelation is the scariest book in the Bible. Yet it is also one of the most comforting, reassuring, and exhilarating books in the Bible.
Why is it scary? Well, just imagine having your home shaken and broken to splinters by a devastating 8.0 earthquake. Then imagine huddling in a shelter as bombs rain down upon your city with deafening explosions, lung-searing smoke, and blistering fire. Imagine the horror of being surrounded by plague, of watching friends and family falling sick, moaning, dying. Imagine the eerie sight of strange creatures descending from the sky, settling over the whole earth, killing people by the hundreds and thousands.
Now imagine experiencing not just one but all of these horrors at the same time. That is just part of the terrifying, electrifying, awe-inspiring swirl of events that make up the book of Revelation.
And yet, as I said, the book of Revelation is also one of the most comforting and exhilarating books in the Bible. It pictures a time when there will be a glorious new heaven and a new earth, a time when God will dwell with human beings, when there will be universal peace and an end to all sorrow. Jesus will wipe every tear from our eyes, and there will be no more death, nor mourning, nor crying, nor pain.
As we attempt to place ourselves amid this dizzying vortex of terrors, miracles, and wonders that are prophesied for the end of this age in the book of Revelation, we have to agree with Dr. Earl Palmer, who observed, "This remarkable book is both hard to understand fully and impossible to forget."l
Perhaps the most striking and profound aspect of this book is its relevance and importance to our lives in these closing days of the twentieth century. The book of Revelation is not just a musty piece of parchment from a bygone age, nor is it merely a collection of mysterious, symbolic images for some future age. The book of Revelation is vibrant, alive, and profoundly applicable to the times in which you and I live.
The "Bookends" of the Bible
It is no accident that the book of Revelation appears as the last book of the Bible. Revelation gathers all the threads of theme and historic events contained in the rest of the Bible, weaving them into a seamless whole. The entire scope of human history--and of eternity itself--comes into brilliant focus in the book of Revelation.
Someone has rightly observed that the book of Genesis and the book of Revelation are like two bookends that hold the entire Bible together. In Genesis we have the story of the origin of human sin; in Revelation we have the complete and final victory over sin. Genesis presents the beginning of human history and civilization; Revelation presents the end of both. In Genesis we learn the beginnings of God's judgment and His grace toward mankind; in Revelation we see the awesome result of His judgment and the triumph of His grace. The great themes of these two books are intricately intertwined.
Have you ever been to a major airport and watched the people get off the planes? You may see a crowd of people wearing shorts and flowered shirts, with leis around their necks. Aha, you think, these people just arrived from Hawaii. You may see another crowd of people lugging raincoats and umbrellas, with faces wreathed in gloom like an overcast day. They are just off the plane from Seattle.
In much the same way, as you work your way through the book of Revelation, you recognize the identifying features of the great themes of the Bible, and it is easy to tell in which Old Testament books those themes originated. Here we catch an echo of Daniel, there an aroma of Joel, and elsewhere we find nuggets from Isaiah and Ezekiel. In Revelation, we see very clearly the organic unity of the Word of God.
A "Sign-ificant" Book
The first three verses of Revelation form a prologue or preface which tells us the purpose of the book, the importance of the book, and the spirit or attitude in which it is to be read:
1:1-3 The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who testifies to everything he saw--that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.
There are two words in this paragraph that reveal to us the special nature of this book: it is called a revelation and a prophecy. The Greek word which is translated "revelation" is apokalupsis, which literally means "an unveiling." A revelation removes the veil which obscures our understanding, it unravels the mystery, it makes the meaning plain.
Accordingly, as we move through the book of Revelation, we will find many mysteries made clear. We will learn why evil persists on the earth, and what the ultimate fate of evil will be. The mystery of godliness will also be explained, so that we can discover how to live a godly, righteous life in the midst of a broken, evil world. Many other mysteries will be unveiled in this book of apokalupsis, of revelation.
And then there is the other word used to describe the book of Revelation: "Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy." This is a book that deals in predictions. It deals with people and events which lie in the future. Powerful personalities are waiting to make their entrance on the stage of human events. Extraordinary circumstances are waiting to unfold as the juggernaut of history rumbles toward its fateful consummation. We will meet these personalities and witness these events in the book of Revelation.
The book is called the "revelation of Jesus Christ," and John says that Jesus Himself "made it known by sending his angel to his servant John." The English phrase "made it known" actually has a deeper meaning in the original Greek, where instead of three words there is just one Greek word, semaino. This word should be translated "signified"--or, if you want to really get the true sense of this word, pronounce it aloud: "sign-ified." In other words, Jesus made His revelation known to John by signs or symbols. Once you grasp the symbolic "sign-ificance" of this book, you can begin to understand and apply the book of Revelation.
Revelation is a book of symbols, and these symbols are important. Symbols help to simplify difficult concepts and to clarify things which are baffling or murky. I once heard of a boy who tried to explain to his little brother what radio was like. He said, "You know that a telegraph is a long wire that runs between two cities. It's like having a big dog with his tail in Los Angeles and his head in San Francisco. If you step on his tail in Los Angeles, he barks in San Francisco. Now a radio is the same thing--only you don't have no dog!" This boy tried his best to clarify an idea with the use of symbols--though I doubt his brother was any more enlightened as a result.
The book of Revelation, however, uses symbols with great precision and clarity. The weird beasts and strange persons of Revelation are all symbols of things which are real and literal. As we journey together through the pages of this book, I think you will be surprised to see how many seemingly difficult images and events in the book of Revelation become clear.
The key to understanding the symbols of Revelation is recognizing that almost all of these symbols have been given to us elsewhere in the Bible. If you try to read Revelation without any understanding of the rest of the Bible, you are doomed to confusion. But if you use the rest of the Bible as a guide and interpreter of the symbols of Revelation, most of these symbols immediately become understandable.
A Book from the Mind of God
Who is the author of the book of Revelation?
At first glance, the answer might seem to be John. But look again. John writes that this book is "the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him," and which Jesus in turn made known to John. The author of Revelation is God Himself! John was certainly involved in the process of producing this book, but it truly had its origin not in the mind of John, but within the Godhead, in the mind of God the Father. The Father revealed it to the Son, who in turn made it known to a human being named John.
Why did God the Father have to give this revelation to Jesus the Son? Remember that in Matthew 24:36 Jesus said that though He understood many of the events of the last days of the age, He did not know the time when these events would happen. This knowledge, He said, belonged only to the Father. Now, of course, since Jesus is risen and glorified, He knows all that the Father knows, but while on earth the timing of these events was unknown even to Jesus Himself.
So God the Father gave this revelation to Jesus, who in turn entrusted it to John by means of an angel. Thus, while all Scripture is inspired by God, the book of Revelation occupies a unique place in the Bible, because no other book of the Bible has been given to us in this way. John's role in the writing of this book is virtually that of a secretary taking dictation John is the writer, but God is the Author of the book of Revelation.
But who is this man John, whose pen has preserved for us this awesome and powerful vision of the future? In verse 4 he simply identifies himself as "John." By comparing Revelation with other Scriptures and by examining the traditions of the early church, we can be reasonably sure that the author is John the apostle, the brother of James, the son of Zebedee, the beloved friend of Jesus, author of the gospel and three letters that bear his name. Certainly, there are Bible scholars who disagree, but when we compare the style, content, and structure of Revelation with that of the other writings of the apostle John, it is difficult to come to any other conclusion.
John probably wrote this book near the end of his life, at around A.D. 94 to 96. He was an old man, likely in his eighties, when this vision was given to him. The book is addressed to seven selected churches located in the Roman province of Asia, which today is part of the nation of Turkey.
As we begin our journey through the vision God gave to John, notice the inspiring promise we find at the outset: "Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it." God has promised all the readers of this book--including you and me--a special blessing if we read, hear, and take to heart the words of this prophecy.
What kind of blessing? I believe the Lord is promising that we will find comfort, guidance, and assurance, even through such times of upheaval and fear as described in Revelation. The 1990s are troubled, confused times, filled with temptations, pressures, and anti-Christian philosophies--and the days will grow darker as we near the conclusion of history. But the person who understands the book of Revelation will have a faithful guide through the tumult and confusion of this dying age.
The Key Number of Revelation
Once, during a trip to England, the renowned Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan was visited at his hotel by the English mathematician J. E. Littlewood. As the two men settled into their chairs to share tea together, Littlewood remarked, "You know, on the way over here, I happened to notice the number of the taxicab was 1729. I thought to myself, 'That is certainly a dull number.' I hope it's not an unfavorable omen for our visit."
"Oh, but you're quite mistaken, my friend," said Ramanujan. "In fact, 1729 is quite an interesting number! It is the smallest number expressible as the sum of two cubes in two different ways!"
Numbers which would escape the notice of you and me hold a strange fascination for mathematicians. Similarly, we find there are certain numbers which hold a fascinating significance in the book of Revelation.
1:4-8 John,
To the seven churches in the province of Asia:
Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father--to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.
Look, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him. So shall it be! Amen.
"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty."
Note, first of all, the greeting, "Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come." These words describe God the Father as the Lord of all time and all eternity. His name in Hebrew, Yahweh, means "I Am." In English, "I Am" sounds like a statement in the present tense, but in Hebrew it contains all the tenses used in Revelation 1:4--in effect, "I am he who is, and he who was, and he who is to come."
Next we come to the key number of Revelation, the first of a series of sevens: "and from the seven spirits before his throne." Why is the number seven significant in Revelation? Because, whenever you encounter seven of anything in this book, it is a symbol of completeness and perfection.
Who is signified by the "seven spirits before his throne"? Here we find the first of many echoes from Old Testament prophecy. In Isaiah 11:2, the prophet speaks of the Spirit of God coming upon the Messiah:
The Spirit of the LORD will rest on him--the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of power, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD. . . .
In this passage the Spirit of God is described in a sevenfold way. He is (1) the Spirit of the Lord, (2) the Spirit of wisdom, (3) the Spirit of understanding, (4) the Spirit of counsel, (5) the Spirit of power, (6) the Spirit of knowledge, and (7) the Spirit of the fear of the Lord. So the "seven spirits" of Revelation 1:4 are a symbol of the Holy Spirit in His sevenfold completion, perfection, and fullness.
This greeting of grace and peace comes from God the Father, the eternal "I Am"; from the Holy Spirit; and from Jesus Christ, the central figure of Revelation, who is introduced in threefold fashion as (1) the faithful witness, (2) the firstborn from the dead, and (3) the ruler of the kings of the earth.
He is called "the faithful witness" because what He says is true and reliable. When He speaks, He utters absolute, trustworthy reality. In a confusing, chaotic, dying world, Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He is the truth-teller.
He is called "the firstborn from the dead" because of the resurrection. Though there were others (such as Lazarus, whom Jesus called forth from the tomb at Bethany) who died and were raised again, they were merely raised to the same earthly life they had before. Eventually, they died again and were buried. Only Jesus was raised to eternal, incorruptible glory. It is this same eternal, incorruptible life that Jesus gives to those who believe in Him. He is the life-giver.
He is called "the ruler of the kings of the earth" because He has ultimate sovereignty over the whole world. There are many rulers and leaders who claim to be sovereign in their own countries, but Jesus exercises ultimate authority over them all. He is the great law-maker, the king of kings.
So, in this passage, Jesus is introduced in threefold fashion as the truth-teller, the life-giver, and the law-maker.
The First Doxology
This introduction is followed in verses 5 and 6 by a threefold doxology to (1) "him who loves us," (2) who "has freed us from our sins by his blood," and (3) who "has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father." This is the first doxology of the book of Revelation, a paean of praise to God, which concludes, "to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen." This is a powerful declaration, and its three essential themes deserve closer examination.
First theme: He loves us. This is a statement in the present tense. It's an amazing fact. Despite all our foolishness, waywardness, selfishness, and sin, the Lord Jesus loves us. He is always on our side.
Years ago, while I was traveling in the state of Virginia with Dr. H. A. Ironside, we met a man who was rector of an Episcopal church. This man told us the story of his conversion to Christ. I've never forgotten that story.
He was a student at England's Cambridge University when D. L. Moody was invited to speak to the students. He and a number of other students were furious that such a distinguished institution as Cambridge would invite Moody--an unschooled American preacher--to give a lecture. Moody murdered the king's English so badly that he is said to have pronounced the word "Jerusalem" in only one syllable!
The night of Moody's appearance, the group of rebellious students sat in the very front row, waiting for just the right time to humiliate Moody with jeers and mocking. Just before Moody was to speak, the great gospel singer and composer Ira B. Sankey stood and sang. As he sang, the restless audience grew quiet and respectful. Immediately after the song and without introduction, Moody stepped up on the platform, pointed his finger at the young men in the front row, and said, "Young gentlemen, don't ever think God don't love you, for He do!"
It was perhaps the most ungrammatical sentence ever uttered on the Cambridge University grounds. Yet there was such power in Moody's face, in his voice, and in his straightforward declaration of God's love that the young men in the front row dared not jeer and mock as they had planned. Moody went on to speak of the love of Jesus for a lost human race--a love that compelled Jesus to go to the cross and die an agonizing death in our place. In the course of his talk, he repeated those ungrammatical but awesomely powerful words, "Young gentlemen, don't ever think God don't love you, for He do!"
Concluding his reminiscence of that meeting, the Episcopal rector looked first at Dr. Ironside, then at me, and he said, "In those moments, I saw myself in a different light. By the end of that meeting, I gave my heart to Jesus Christ."
That is how John wants us to see ourselves in relationship to Jesus Christ: He loves us, in the present tense, despite our rebellion and sin. When the truth of this statement begins to seep into our hearts, then our lives--like the life of this Episcopal rector--can be transformed.
Second theme: He has freed us from our sins by His blood. Jesus breaks the shackles of sin and destructive habits in our lives. He sets us free from the addictions and dependencies which harass us, enslave us, and chain us down. It is true that many Christians continue to struggle with evil habits even after coming into a relationship with Christ. Some struggle with drug or alcohol dependency, some with selfish attitudes or sexual temptations, some with an angry temper or a malicious tongue. But the blood of Christ gives us the power to break the chains of sin--if we will but turn the control of our lives over to Him. As in the words of the old hymn,
He breaks the power of cancelled sin,
He sets the prisoner free;
His blood can make the foulest clean;
His blood availed for me!
Third theme: He has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve His God and Father. We are all sinners, estranged from a holy and just God because of our sin. The role of a priest is to bridge the alienation between the people and God, to bring the people near to God again. In the Old Testament, priests explained the meaning of sacrifices, called the people to repentance, and thus brought the people near to God.
Today, all believers are called to perform the function of a priest. Do you ever think of yourself as a priest? It's a high and holy calling, given to us by Jesus Himself.
We are to reach out to others in their pain and lostness. We are to explain to them the sacrifice that Jesus has made on their behalf. We are to share with them the fact that God loves them and longs to draw them to Himself, to heal their loneliness and alienation. For this reason, Jesus has made all believers, including you and me, to be a kingdom of priests.
The Splendor of His Coming
Some years ago, I was visiting with a number of rabbis in Southern California. The subject of our discussion was the differences between Judaism and Christianity.
"You know," one rabbi said to me, "when the Messiah comes, we Jews will say, 'Welcome!' But you Christians will say, 'Welcome back!'
"And what will the Messiah say?" I asked.
"I think," the rabbi replied without missing a beat, "He will say, 'No comment.'"
In Revelation 1:7, the Lord is introduced to us not only in terms of who He is, His attributes and His glory, but also in terms of what He will do in the future: "Look, he is coming with the clouds." This is the focal point of human history, the single event toward which all human events--and heavenly events as well--are moving. One day Jesus Himself will break through the skies, and He will appear again in glory, just as when He left the earth. His coming will have planet-wide impact, for, as Revelation 1:7 says, "every eye will see him."
This account of Jesus' return accords with that of Matthew 24:30. There, Jesus said, "At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory."
No one will miss this spectacular event, not even those without televisions. He will appear everywhere, and He will be visible to everyone in the world at once. In 2 Thessalonians 2:8, Paul calls this event "the splendor of his coming," or, more literally, "the outshining of his parousia" (parousia is the Greek word which describes the future presence of Jesus on earth).
Jesus' appearance will be so unmistakable that even the Jews will recognize Him. John tells us, "even those who pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him." This is a reference to the prophecy in Zechariah 12:10-13:6, where we are told that when the Messiah appears, those who pierced Him shall look upon Him and mourn greatly. The Jews shall ask Him, "What are these wounds on your body'?" and He will say, 'The wounds I was given at the house of my friends."
From these passages, I have to conclude that my rabbi friend was mistaken when he said the Jews would say, "Welcome!" when Messiah comes. I am convinced that even they will say, "Welcome back!" because they will see Him, they will know Him, and they--along with all the peoples of the earth--will mourn, knowing that the Messiah has visited this planet once before, that He was despised, rejected, and crucified.
One of the great puzzles of history is the fact that the Jewish people have so resolutely turned their backs on the evidence that Jesus is their promised Messiah. At the beginning, of course, the early church was almost entirely Jewish, but over time, increasingly more non-Jewish converts came into the church, while the number of Jewish converts dwindled to a trickle. Why? Because the Jewish people are "blinded" (as Paul so convincingly argues in Romans 9 through 11) by long-standing unbelief.
But Jewish unbelief will not last forever. The day will come when the Jewish people will recognize--and mourn--their Messiah. They will mourn, just as all the peoples of the earth will mourn, because of the tragic and terrible way they have treated Jesus and His work for all mankind upon the cross.
The Alpha and the Omega
The nineteenth-century English clergyman William Lisle Bowles was a prolific and much-admired poet. He was often asked to autograph copies of his poetry collections. On one occasion, while visiting in the home of his friend Tom Moore, he presented a Bible to Mrs. Moore as a gift. She was so pleased with the gift that she asked Bowles to inscribe it, which he did. After the poet left the house, Mrs. Moore opened the Bible to the flyleaf and was surprised to discover that he had absentmindedly written, "To Mrs. Moore, with cordial wishes, from the Author."
In these opening verses--the "flyleaf" of the book of Revelation--God takes the pen in His own hand and signs the book with His own signature: "I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God," using the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet to symbolize the beginning and end of all things. He continues, describing Himsclf in this inscription as the One "who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty."
In no other book of the Bible do we find this wonderful imprimatur of God. When we read these words, we are reading a copy autographed by the Author Himself!
The Prisoner of Patmos
The first chapter of Revelation concludes with John's explanation of how and where he received this prophecy from God.
1:9-20 I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. On the Lord's Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, which said: "Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea."
I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone "like a son of man," dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.
When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: "Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever' And I hold the keys of death and Hades.
"Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now, and what will take place later. The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches."
Here, even in the first chapter of Revelation, we discover truth imparted in the form of symbols. Jesus is described in a way that is not intended to convey His actual physical appearance but various aspects of His character, His attributes, and His role.
The setting for the vision John received is a tiny island in the Aegean Sea. This island, called Patmos, is only about four miles wide and six miles long, located just off the coast of Turkey. It was a dreary little place in John's day, containing a stone quarry, some mining excavations, and very little else. John had apparently been banished to Patmos by the Romans in order to silence his preaching--hence his statement that he was there "because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus." John was a prisoner on Patmos.
On one Sunday morning (or "the Lord's Day," as John calls it), John was "in the Spirit." This does not mean that John was in some state of religious ecstasy, but rather that he was worshiping God and meditating on God's greatness and majesty. It is the state of mind and spirit that Jesus described in John 4:24 when He said, "God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."
While John was in this worshipful attitude, a voice like a trumpet said, "Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches." Upon hearing this voice, John did what you or I would have done: he turned to find the source of this powerful, trumpetlike voice. What he saw was the Lord Himself, standing among seven golden lampstands, holding seven stars in His hands. Note the significance of the number seven again, the number of completeness.
John's Encounter with the Lord
Now let's look at each of the symbols which characterize John's vision of the Lord Jesus:
1. Jesus is dressed in a long robe, bound across the chest by a golden sash, a priestly garment symbolizing His role as the Great High Priest. In Scripture, gold symbolizes deity. This robe with its golden sash speaks of the fact that Jesus is a priest who is Himself God. He is the Lord, sovereign over all of history, healing the breach between God and man.
2. His head and His hair are white. These are symbols used in the book of Daniel to denote wisdom and purity.
3. His eyes are like blazing fire, from which nothing can be hid. Fire speaks of judgment.
4. His feet are like bronze, glowing in a furnace. Again, the image of furnace-hot fires of judgment.
5. His voice is like the sound of rushing waters, like the roar of the surf as it dashes against the rocks. The sound of His voice is the sound of power, inspiring our awe.
6. The sword which comes out of the mouth of Jesus is clearly the Word of God, by which Jesus reveals truth to us.
7. His face is like the sun shining in its strength. The brilliance of the sun symbolizes the burning intensity of truth.
Perhaps as John looked upon the brilliant face of the risen Lord, he recalled a time during the Lord's earthly ministry, when John, Peter, and James stood together with Jesus on a high mountain in northern Israel.2 There, as they prayed together, the face and garments of the Lord suddenly shone with a whiteness like nothing ever seen on the earth. This is the event which theologians call the transfiguration of Jesus. In 2 Peter 1: 16-18, Peter recalled the transfiguration and said that it was a preview of the future coming of Jesus.
Perhaps this vision of Jesus in Revelation 1 explains an interesting episode at the end of the gospel of John. In John 21, Jesus commissioned Peter with the words, "Feed my sheep," then prophesied that Peter would one day die a martyr's death. At this point, Peter indicted John, and said, "Lord, what about him?" Peter wanted to know what sort of death was prophesied for John. And Jesus replied, "If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me." Because of a misunderstanding of this conversation between Peter and the Lord, word went out among the disciples that John would never die until the Lord returned.
Here, in Revelation 1, is the explanation: John did remain alive to see the coming of the Lord. He foresaw the Lord's coming as an event in history, but he saw it in the form of a vision from God. Though historical tradition holds that John died at the age of ninety and was buried in Ephesus, he did live to see the coming of the Lord. He saw the Lord's coming in symbols of priestly garments, of brilliant light, of blazing fire, of thunderous sound, of supreme power, purity, wisdom, and holiness.
Throughout the remainder of Revelation, we will see other symbolism employed to describe various aspects of Jesus' character, power, and position. In chapter 5, He will appear as a lamb--and also as a lion. In chapter 19, He will appear as a rider on a great white horse. He is a bridegroom coming for His bride in chapter 21. But it is the image of Jesus which John describes in chapter 1 that is the most startling and graphic of all.
Before such an awesome sight, what could John do, what could any human being do, but fall at the feet of Jesus as though dead? Who could remain standing before such a vision? This, indeed, is the reaction of every human who experiences the kind of profound encounter with the living God that John experiences in Revelation 1. John's reaction is identical to that of Isaiah when he sees the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, with the long train of His robe filling the temple.3 John's reaction is the same as that of Job when he is awed and humbled in the presence of God.4
And as John lay prostrate before the feet of Jesus, the Lord did something that was completely typical and characteristic of Him: He reached down and touched John! He placed His right hand on the trembling shoulder of the beloved disciple.
As you read through the gospels, you see that Jesus was always touching people. When He healed a leper, He touched him. When He restored sight to the blind, He put His hands upon their eyes. Now, in Revelation 1, Jesus touches His friend John and reassures him with the words, "Do not be afraid." He is saying to John, in effect, "I am your friend, not your enemy. I am the First and the Last. I set the boundaries of time and history. All people and all events are enclosed within the limits that I have determined in my sovereignty. I hold the keys of death and hell, the keys of both physical death and spiritual death. I am sovereign over all that is, so you have nothing to fear, my friend."
"Write!"
Having reassured John, Jesus then commissions him. "Write, therefore," says the Lord, "what you have seen, what is now, and what will take place later." Notice that Jesus gives him a three-part writing assignment. First, John is to write what he has seen, which is that vision we have just examined, recorded in Revelation 1.
Second, John is to write "what is now." That is, he is to write seven letters to seven churches about existing conditions in those churches. These letters comprise Revelation chapters 2 and 3.
Third, John is to write "what will take place later." This is the prophetic vision of the future contained in Revelation chapters 4 through 22. These are the three divisions of the book of Revelation, as given to us by the Lord Himself. If we will follow these divisions carefully, we will be able to understand God's message to us in this challenging, rewarding, symbol-laden book. That, of course, is our goal as we keep before us God's promise from verse 3, "Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near."
The point of the first chapter of Revelation is to focus our attention on Jesus. He is the central figure of Revelation, just as He is the central figure of all history. Our lives can never be lived realistically, triumphantly, and joyously without reference to Him. We, as Christians, are called to live as though we see Him who is invisible. He is the One we must take to work with us each day. He is the One who will be beside us as we drive our cars, as we go to sleep, as we face our trials, as we experience our joys. He is the source of our courage, our peace, our wisdom, our forgiveness when we sin, our help in time of need.
In this first chapter of Revelation, John takes up the commission given him by Jesus and performs it with dramatic force: he elevates our hearts and focuses our attention upon Jesus, upon who He is and what He is doing in human history. The Lord, through His servant John, has lifted the veil from the obscured face of the future. He invites us to look behind the scenes of history and see the great and awesome things He is doing--and is about to do!--upon the earth, and within each individual life.
So come with me. Let's venture a step closer and look upon the face of Tomorrow.
Chapter Two
Seven Letters to Seven Churches
Overview: Revelation 1:19
Chapters 2 and 3
The Austrian composer Franz Joseph Haydn was a man with a cheerful disposition, despite the fact that he was married to an exceedingly bitter and malicious woman. She continually belittled both Haydn and his music. Several times, purely out of spite, she stole the only existing copies of his musical scores from his desk and destroyed them.
Haydn spent much of his career traveling around Europe--partly because his talents were in such demand throughout the Continent, but also because travel gave him time away from his disagreeable wife. During one extended visit to England, an acquaintance visited Haydn in his rented room in London. This friend noticed a large stack of unopened letters on Haydn's desk and asked the composer why he did not open his mail.
"All of those letters are from my wife," Haydn jovially explained. "We write to each other every week, but I do not open her letters, and I am quite sure she does not open mine."
In Revelation chapters 2 and 3 we find a stack of letters, seven in all, which have largely lain ignored and unopened by the Christian church over the years. As one Bible scholar laments, "Many casual worshipers in Christian churches today who are quite familiar with the Sermon on the Mount are not aware of the existence of these seven messages of Christ."l
I find that many people tend to skip over these seven letters to the churches, so eager are they to hurry on to those juicy, action-packed, blood-and-thunder sections of Revelation. We would rather hear about the great cataclysms of the last days than be confronted with the urgent challenge of our own present moment. How tragic!
These seven letters to seven churches are powerful letters, burning with urgency. Their message is still as vital and timely today as when first written. So many ills of our churches in the 1990s could be cured if we would only listen with attentive ears to the message Jesus gave us through the pen of John nearly 2,000 years ago.
In these letters, our Lord outlines for us His plan for the church. He shows us that He has set His church in the midst of the world. It is His instrument to impact and direct the course of human history. Jesus calls the church "the light of the world" and "the salt of the earth." The apostle Paul calls it "the pillar and ground of truth." That is the mystery and the mission of the church. God intends the church to exert tremendous influence over the affairs of the world.
These seven letters set forth His eternal "game plan." So it's a grievous mistake to slight the crucial importance and timely relevance of these letters. They are filled with both warning and encouragement to churches that are struggling with sin and complacency within, and persecution without. In these letters, our Lord teaches the church how to live as light in a darkening world while also confronting the sin and error that threatens the health and life of the church.
A Sevenfold Pattern
As we approach these letters, two questions occur to us: (1) Why are only seven churches addressed? (2) Why these particular seven?
The only satisfactory answer is that these are seven representative churches. They were carefully selected to represent not only the spectrum of churches that existed in the first century A.D., but the spectrum of churches that exist now, at the close of the twentieth century.
There were many churches in the province of Asia at the time John wrote this letter. Other churches could have been chosen. In fact, many other churches were better known--churches such as Colossae, Tralles, and Manisa. But the Lord chose these seven churches because they represent conditions that have prevailed throughout church history, from the beginning to the end.
In other words, there are seven basic types of churches that exist in any period of church history. Every church that truly knows Jesus as Lord can be recognized as fitting one of these seven models at some particular moment in its history. By either repentance or disobedience, a church may change from one classification to another of these seven basic types--but it can always be found somewhere within this sevenfold pattern.
Moreover, as many Bible scholars have pointed out, these letters also serve as a preview of the entire history of the church, from its beginning to its consummation. They represent seven stages or key periods in church history. This view is suggested by verse 1:3, which calls the entire book of Revelation a "prophecy." This prophecy includes chapters two and three as well as the rest of the book.
As we've previously noted, seven is the number of completeness. These seven letters, then, constitute our Lord's complete overview of the church, stage by stage, from beginning to end.
We must never forget that all of Revelation was written for these seven churches. Each church--not just one particular church from chapter 2 or 3--is expected to know and understand the entire book. As we explore these seven letters we will briefly trace the different historical periods of the Christian church, while also carefully examining what the Lord says to each of these seven historical churches.
Somewhere in this sevenfold list we will find your church and mine.
The Light of Truth
Light has a special significance throughout the Bible. The first words of God ever recorded in Scripture are the words He spoke at Creation: "Let there be light!"2 And the findings of science confirm the significance of light in the created order. Astronomer Carl Sagan says that in the first moments after Creation "space was brilliantly illuminated" and did not become dark as we now see it until much later.3 A science book published by Encyclopaedia Britannica reports that the early universe "was flooded with a light that was denser than matter."4
In Scripture, light appears as a symbol of God's Word,5 of God's truth,6 of God's righteousness and justice,7 of God Himself8 and His Son Jesus Christ.9 In Matthew 5:14 and 16, Jesus used the symbol of light to describe us, His followers, and the impact we are to have upon the world. "You are the light of the world," He said. "Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."
In Revelation 1, light again is used as a powerful symbol. Jesus is described in this passage as holding seven bright stars in His right hand, and He is surrounded by seven golden lampstands. In verse 19 the Lord commands John,
Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lamp stands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
Note that a lampstand is not the light. It is the bearer of the light. A light-bearer holds the light so that the light itself can shine forth, illuminating its environment. The light, of course, is the truth God reveals to the world in Jesus Christ.
The world is full of learned men, of prestigious universities, of libraries that are great repositories of knowledge. Yet, despite the great accumulation of knowledge our race has amassed over the centuries, there are many truths which are unknown to man in his natural state. One place where these truths may be found is in the church, the light-bearer, the lampstand. Only in the church can mankind find the moral and redemptive light which alone can illuminate this darkening world. As members of the church, you and I are called to uphold that light and reflect it into every corner of our society.
The church is not just a holy huddle where we gather to escape the pressures of a hostile world until the Lord returns. The church is called to move out, to penetrate the world with the white-hot rays of God's truth. We have a powerful influence to exert and exercise in the world, and that's what these seven dynamic letters are all about.
Angels in the Church
In his bestselling novel This Present Darkness, Frank Peretti describes a praying, faithful community of believers called Ashton Community Church. Unseen by human eyes, this church is guarded from satanic evil by shining beings in white with swords at their sides, bearing such names as Scion, Krioni, Signa, and Triskal. These beings are angels, guarding and ministering to the church.
And while Peretti's depiction of angels as something out of an Italian Renaissance fresco--winged, clad in flowing white robes, bearing swords--may seem at times a little quaint and melodramatic, the seven
letters of Revelation clearly suggest that churches do in fact have angels. Each of these letters is addressed to the angel of that particular church.
Many Bible scholars struggle over this statement. What is meant by "the angel of the church"?
It is true, as some Bible commentators note, that the word in the original text for "angel" could also be translated "messenger," which some would suggest means the pastor of the church.
In other parts of the New Testament this word in the original language does mean "messenger" rather than "angel"--but it does not have that meaning anywhere else in Revelation. Everywhere this word appears outside of chapters 2 and 3, it definitely refers to an angel--a heavenly being.
Moreover, as you carefully examine the structure of the church in the New Testament you never find a church governed by just one human leader. Leadership in the first-century church appears to have been plural--elders and pastors--and it is only in later centuries that men placed churches under the authority of a single leader. So it seems highly unlikely that these letters in Revelation are directed to a single human "messenger" or pastor.
Remember that in Hebrews angels are called "ministering spirits, sent forth to serve the heirs of salvation"--that is, Christians like you and me. It seems likely, therefore, that in those invisible but utterly real dimensions of spirit, there are angels assigned to each church to help the leaders and the congregation know what is on God's heart.
I am convinced that the "angel" or "messenger" addressed in Revelation 2 and 3 is not a human leader or pastor. I believe these seven letters are addressed to the angels of the seven churches--heavenly beings responsible for guiding the human leaders of each church.
Letters to History
It was Christmastime in 1945 at the White House. President Harry Truman strolled into one of the rooms of the family quarters only to find his wife feeding old letters, one by one, to a merry fire in the fireplace. "Bess, dear!" Harry exclaimed. "What are you doing?"
"Burning some old letters, dear."
"But those are letters I wrote to you over the past thirty years!" Harry protested. "Think of the history!"
"I have," Bess replied with a wink.
When you think of all the letters in the New Testament--the many letters of Paul, the epistles of Peter, James, and John, and these letters from the heart of our Lord to the seven churches in Asia-do you ever wonder if the human writers of these letters stopped to think of the history, the 2,000 years of church history that would follow, the millions and millions of believers who would someday read those words? Perhaps not. But I do know that God, when He inspired these letters, was thinking not only of the moment in which they were written, but of the centuries of history to come. That is why these ancient letters continue to live and breathe and give life to the church in our own era, as in every previous era.
You and I are making history. We are the latest links in an unbroken chain of church history that extends all the way back to the time of Jesus and His disciples. The letters of the Bible, including these seven letters to seven ancient churches, were written with history in mind. Future history. Our history, yours and mine. A history filled with computers and electronic media and space travel--and the unchanging human condition, the age-old problems of the human spirit.
So let us now turn to the first of these seven letters. If we have ears to hear, let us listen to what the Lord has to say to the churches--and to you and me.
Chapter Three
The Church That Lost Its Love
Revelation 2:1-7
When Daniel Webster was but a struggling young lawyer in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, he became acquainted with a lovely, delicate young woman named Grace Fletcher. She was his first love, the first woman he had ever given his heart to, and he was deeply devoted to her. Grace's father, a clergyman, allowed young Webster to call on Grace in their home. Webster spent many hours holding skeins of silk for her while she unknotted the thread so that it could be sewn. It didn't matter to him what they did together, as long as he could be near her.
On one of his visits to Grace's home to help her unknot her silken thread, Webster waited for just the right moment to speak what was on his mind. Finally, the moment came. Grace's father and mother stepped out of the room for a few moments, and Webster knew it might be a long time before they would be alone again. Screwing up every ounce of his courage, Webster said, "Grace, we have been untying these silken knots for many weeks together. I think it is time we tie a knot which will not be untied for a lifetime."
Speechless, her eyes wide, her heart tripping, Grace watched as Webster took up a piece of red ribbon and began to tie an elaborate knot in the middle of it. Then he handed the ribbon to Grace. She took it and added several more intricate loops, completing the difficult knot. This silent act was the ceremony of their engagement.
Soon afterward, Daniel Webster married Grace, a marriage which lasted until her death, 21 years later. Webster eventually remarried and lived on for many years, but he never lost his affection for his first love. Following his own death in 1852, a box was found hidden among his personal effects. Inscribed upon the box were the words "Precious Documents." Within the box were the letters he and Grace had exchanged during their courtship and marriage. They were well-worn, as if they had been often removed from the box, read, then replaced and hidden again.
And there was one other memento in Daniel Webster's box of memories: a length of red ribbon, still tied in an intricate knot.
This is a beautiful story of a man who never lost his affection for his first love. And in many ways, it is a parable of how our love for Jesus Christ should be: devoted, loyal, fond, tender, filled with remembrance, thankfulness, and yearning. Do you remember the first time you fell in love? Do you recall that feeling of always wanting to be near the object of your love, to simply bask in the presence of that person?
In Revelation 2:1-7, we meet a church that once loved Jesus that way. But tragically, at the time that we encounter this church in Revelation, the fondness, the remembrance, the yearning of that first glow of love had faded. Instead of a church that is ardently in love with its Lord, we find a church that has lost its love.
The Ephesian Story
2:1-3 "To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands: I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary."
The first thing the Lord impresses upon the Ephesian church is that He is the Lord of all the churches. He holds the seven stars in His right hand, and He walks among the seven lampstands. He is in control of the angels of the churches, and He is directly observing the lampstands, the churches themselves, as He walks through their midst.
The city of Ephesus was one of the most important cities in the Roman province of Asia, a center of wealth and commerce and a crossroads of travel and trade, much like San Francisco or New York in our own era. Ephesus was a center of worship for the pagan goddess Artemis (also called Diana), and the world-renowned Temple of Artemis was located there. This temple was longer than two football fields, and was considered one of the seven wonders of the world. Its ruins can still be visited today.
The church at Ephesus was planted by the apostle Paul. You can read of its founding in Acts 19. When Paul came to Ephesus on his third missionary journey he discovered a number of disciples living there who had been given a smattering of truth by Apollos, the great orator of the early church. At the time Apollos had been at Ephesus he had known only the ministry of John the Baptist, so when Paul found these disciples at Ephesus the good news of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ was unknown to them.
Paul asked the Ephesian disciples if they had received the Holy Spirit, and they replied that they did not know the Holy Spirit had been given. So Paul explained to them about Jesus, and they believed and were baptized by the Spirit and in water. Thus the church at Ephesus was born.
Some time later Paul spent two years in Ephesus, teaching and building up this body of believers. Later he sent Timothy to the Ephesian church to ground them even more firmly in God's Word. Paul's two letters to Timothy were written while Timothy labored in Ephesus. There is even a tradition (though it is not confirmed in Scripture) that John, after writing the book of Revelation, also went to Ephesus and spent the closing days of his life there.
So the church at Ephesus was rich in church history, having enjoyed the ministering presence of some of the most prominent charter members of the Christian faith.
An Appraisal and an Appeal
This letter to the Ephesians--like the other six letters to follow--consists of both an appraisal and an appeal. There is an affirmation of what is good, plus an admonition against what is wrong. There is also an appeal for those who have fallen away to repent and return to true faith, and a spiritual promise to those who hold fast.
The Lord finds three things to affirm in the Ephesian church. First, they are committed and hardworking. "I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance," He says. The Ephesian Christians are activists, not couch potatoes. They take their faith seriously and put it to work. They tell others about their faith. They mi