📖 Revelation Intensive — Unit 2: Son of Man Among the Lampstands

Text: Revelation 1:9-20

A Brother and Companion in Tribulation

John does not write as a lofty figure standing above the churches, but as one of them. "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" (Revelation 1:9). He calls himself their brother and companion — their fellow-sharer — in three things at once: tribulation, kingdom, and patience. These belong together. The believer shares Christ's kingdom even now, yet he comes to it through tribulation, and the road is walked with patient endurance. Patmos was a small, rocky island in the Aegean Sea that Rome used as a place of exile. John was banished there for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ — that is, for preaching the gospel and bearing faithful witness to his Lord. So the book that unveils the final victory of Christ was written by a prisoner, on a prison island, to congregations about to suffer. From the very first verse the reader learns that the glory this book promises is reached by the path of faithful endurance, not around it.

In the Spirit on the Lord's Day

"I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet" (Revelation 1:10). The phrase "in the Spirit" is one to watch closely, for it marks the great visionary moments of the book; John will be "in the Spirit" again when he is caught up to the throne in chapter four. To be in the Spirit is to be lifted by the Holy Spirit into a state in which God grants what the natural eye could never see. This came to John on the Lord's Day, the first day of the week, the day of Christ's resurrection, on which the early church gathered to worship. Even in exile, cut off from the gathered congregation, John was worshiping, and it was then that heaven opened to him. The first thing he hears is a voice like a trumpet — loud, commanding, impossible to ignore — telling him to write what he sees and send it to seven churches, which are then named: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. These were seven real congregations in the Roman province of Asia, and the Lord will address them one by one in the two chapters that follow.

The Seven Golden 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" (Revelation 1:12-13). John turns toward the voice and sees first seven golden lampstands. Verse 20 will tell us plainly what they are: the seven lampstands are the seven churches. The image is rich. A lampstand does not make its own light; it holds up a light given to it, so that the light can be seen by all in the house. This is the calling of the church in the world — not to shine with its own glory, but to lift up the light of Christ. And the lampstands are golden, because the church is precious to God, costly in His sight. Most striking of all, the One like the Son of Man stands in the midst of them. The risen Christ is not far away in heaven, indifferent to His people; He walks in the midst of His churches, present with them, knowing each one intimately. That nearness is both a comfort and a warning, as the letters that follow will make plain.

One Like the Son of Man

John now describes the glorious figure, and every feature carries meaning. He is "One like the Son of Man," the very title the Lord Jesus used of Himself and the title given to the heavenly King in Daniel 7:13-14. He is clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded with a golden band about the chest, the dress of a priest and a king. His head and hair are white like wool, as white as snow — the same description Daniel gives of the Ancient of Days, marking out the eternity and spotless purity of Christ and pointing to His deity. His eyes are like a flame of fire, a searching, all-seeing gaze from which nothing can be hidden. His feet are like fine brass, refined in a furnace, speaking of strength and steadfast judgment. His voice is like the sound of many waters, overwhelming in majesty and authority. In His right hand He holds seven stars, and out of His mouth goes a sharp two-edged sword — the word of God that both saves and judges (Hebrews 4:12). His countenance is like the sun shining in its strength, unveiled glory too bright to gaze upon. This is no longer the lowly carpenter of Nazareth in His humility, but the risen, exalted Lord in His glory, standing among the lampstands and holding the stars.

Do Not Be Afraid: The First and the Last

"And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead" (Revelation 1:17). The sight was more than any man could bear; even John, the beloved disciple who had once leaned on Jesus' breast, falls down as though lifeless. But then comes grace. "He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, 'Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death'" (Revelation 1:17-18). The same hand that holds the seven stars reaches down to steady His frightened servant. He calls Himself the First and the Last, a title God claims for Himself in Isaiah, and the Living One who was dead and is now alive forevermore. And He holds the keys of Hades and of Death — full authority over the grave and the realm of the dead. To a church facing martyrdom, this is the deepest comfort imaginable. The One who speaks to them has Himself passed through death and conquered it, and He carries its keys on His belt. They need not be afraid of the worst their enemies can do.

Write the Vision: Past, Present, and What Is to Come

Christ then gives John the commission that shapes the whole book: "Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this" (Revelation 1:19). Many readers have seen in this single verse a simple threefold outline of the book. The things which John has seen are the vision of the living Christ just given in chapter one. The things which are describe the present state of the seven churches, addressed in chapters two and three. The things which will take place after this are the visions of chapters four through twenty-two. Not every interpreter presses the outline in exactly the same way, and the course does not insist on a rigid scheme; but this threefold division is a natural and helpful way to feel the shape of the whole book — the vision of the risen Lord, His word to His present churches, and the unveiling of things still future. It is worth adding that the great interpretive approaches all accept this threefold frame of what was, what is, and what is to come; where they differ is on which parts are which. Those who read the book against its first-century setting see most of what follows as the things that were then near, unfolding in an age when Christians were under heavy persecution, while those who read it as chiefly future place most of chapters four through twenty-two in the things which will take place after this, still ahead of us.

The Mystery of the Stars and the Lampstands

Finally Christ explains His own symbols, and the reader does well to listen, for here the book interprets itself: "The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches" (Revelation 1:20). The seven lampstands are plainly the seven churches. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches. The word translated "angels" means "messengers," and Christians have understood it in two main ways. Some take it to mean heavenly angels appointed to watch over the churches. Others take it to mean the human messengers or leaders — the pastors — who carry Christ's word to each congregation. Either way, the great point stands: Christ holds these messengers in His own right hand, and He walks in the midst of the lampstands. He upholds and governs His church, and He sees it exactly as it truly is. The seven letters that follow flow directly out of this vision, for each one opens by recalling some feature of the glorious Christ who has just been revealed — the Lord who knows, judges, and pours out His love upon His church.

Submit Exam & Check Pass Reset Unit