Rev 1:9 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.
Patmos is a
small island near Turkey
which is about 8 miles long.
It is 25 miles away from the
main coast and is
essentially a mining
township. Most of the
workers in the mine were
political prisoners. John
being very old - nearly 100
- probably was not forced
into the mine work and was
left alone. Yet John was a
political prisoner, a threat
to the Rome - its integrity
and stable social system.
Probably he was chained to
the prison walls. But we do
not really have anything
about the way he was treated
in exile. John was exiled to
this island by Emperor
Domitian who ruled Rome from
A.D. 81 to 96. Iraneus who
wrote about this in A.D 170
declares that John saw this
vision "towards the end of
Domitian’s reign." Hence we
may date the vision at
around A.D 96. Like most
Roman emperors Domitian
claimed to be God. He
rebuilt many shrines for
Jupiter, Juno and Minerva at
enormous costs. His own
image was excavated from
Ephesus Temple where people
probably sacrificed to
Domitian. We can therefore
understand that Christians
who refused to sacrifice to
their emperor were
considered unpatriotic and
aliens. Legend has it that
John was finally released
from Patmos prisons and
returned to Ephesus, his own
parish and died of old age
in the year A.D 100. John
was the last of the Apostles
and the year A.D 100 brought
to a close the Apostolic era
of the church. It is
interesting that John was
the only apostle who died of
old age and a natural death.
This echoes the prophecy of
Jesus in John 21:22
John 21:22
Jesus answered, "If I want
him to remain alive until I
return, what is that to you?
You must follow me."
John 21:23
Because of this, the rumor
spread among the brothers
that this disciple would not
die. But Jesus did not say
that he would not die; he
only said, "If I want him to
remain alive until I return,
what is that to you?"
I presume
that the implication is that
if the intermediate church
age was not ushered in Jesus
would have been on the earth
by A.D. 100.
John could
have certainly written,
"I, John,
the Apostle of Jesus, whom
Jesus loved most and
Rt. Rev.
Yohannes, The Arch Bishop of
the Great Bishopric of Asia
Minor."
No. He
writes "I John, your
brother."
This
difference shows how early
church was built not on
human authority or clerical
autocracy. Christians as a
whole was under a severe
persecution and there was no
special credence for a
Bishop as there were no code
of behaviour in war in this
battle. As in the times of
John we are all partakers of
three things.
1.
Tribulation. All Christians
will have tribulation.
John 16:33
"I have told you these
things, so that in me you
may have peace. In this
world you will have trouble.
But take heart! I have
overcome the world."
2. Kingdom.
We all have the citizenship
of a Kingdom which is not of
the World, but in this
world.
Luke 12:32
"Do not be afraid, little
flock, for your Father has
been pleased to give you the
kingdom."
3. Patience.
This is the result of the
first two:
James 1:2
Consider it pure joy, my
brothers, whenever you face
trials of many kinds,
Having
identified the visionary,
the circumstances of the
vision is presented now:
Rev 1:10 On
the Lord's Day I was in the
Spirit, and I heard behind
me a loud voice like a
trumpet,
This is a
double-edged sword. It has
two possible meanings at the
same time:
1. John was
on Lord’s Day - on a Sunday
"In the
Spirit" is a typical word of
the Prophets who saw
visions. Thus we have
2 Chr 24:20
Then the Spirit of God came
upon Zechariah
Ezek 11:5
Then the Spirit of the LORD
came upon me, and he told me
to say:
2 Pet 1:21
For prophecy never had its
origin in the will of man,
but men spoke from God as
they were carried along by
the Holy Spirit.
On the first
day of the week Christians
meet to worship and break
bread together and have
fellowship. Prayer times are
times of visions because God
gives his people prophecy in
the spirit. This is shown in
Old and the New Testament
periods.
Dan 9:21
while I was still in prayer,
Gabriele, the man I had seen
in the earlier vision, came
to me in swift flight about
the time of the evening
sacrifice.
Acts 10:9
About noon the following day
as they were on their
journey and approaching the
city, Peter went up on the
roof to pray.
Acts 10:10
He became hungry and wanted
something to eat, and while
the meal was being prepared,
he fell into a trance.
Acts 10:11
He saw heaven opened.
The
experience of trance and
visions were common in the
Old and the early New
Testament periods. Later in
the church age these
experiences were lost.
Trances are common in all
religions, especially in the
eastern and mystic
religions. But that is no
reason to throw the baby
with the bath tub. Evidently
prophetic experience can be
under the possession of Holy
Spirit, Good spirits and the
evil spirits. Discernment
and not denial that is
necessary here.
2. The
second meaning arise out of
the fuller and wider meaning
of the phrase, "The Lord’s
Day". The Day of the Lord is
the end of the ages after
the period of gentiles. Thus
we have Isaiah speak of a
day:
Isa 2:12-17
The LORD Almighty has a day
.......... the LORD alone
will be exalted in that day,
Isa 13:9
See, the day of the LORD is
coming --a cruel day, with
wrath and fierce anger--
Jer 46:10
But that day belongs to the
Lord, the LORD Almighty--
This Lord’s
day is referred to in Jer.
46.10, Ez 7.19, Joel
1.15-2.31 etc
Thus we have
the clear picture now. On a
Sunday John was in a trance
and the Spirit of the Lord
came upon him in a mighty
way. He was transported in
time and space to the end of
the gentiles into the Lord’s
Day, where he heard a sound
behind him. He turns back
into time and sees the
vision - the history of the
church period spread before
him starting from the
Apostolic Age to the end of
the Ages.
This
experience of being
transported in space and
time was experienced by
prophets through the ages.
Ezek 3:14
The Spirit then lifted me up
and took me away, and I went
in bitterness and in the
anger of my spirit, with the
strong hand of the LORD upon
me.
Ezek 3:15 I
came to the exiles who lived
at Tel Abib near the Kebar
River. And there, where they
were living, I sat among
them for seven
days--overwhelmed.
Ezek 3:16 At
the end of seven days the
word of the LORD came to me:
Acts 8:39
When they came up out of the
water, the Spirit of the
Lord suddenly took Philip
away, and the eunuch did not
see him again, but went on
his way rejoicing.
Acts 8:40
Philip, however, appeared at
Azotus and traveled about,
preaching the gospel in all
the towns until he reached
Caesarea.
2 Cor 12:2 I
know a man in Christ who
fourteen years ago was
caught up to the third
heaven. Whether it was in
the body or out of the body
I do not know--God knows.
2 Cor 12:3
And I know that this
man--whether in the body or
apart from the body I do not
know, but God knows--
2 Cor 12:4
was caught up to paradise.
He heard inexpressible
things, things that man is
not permitted to tell.
Such intra
dimensional travel seem to
have been a regular feature
of the Prophets and is done
in the Spirit. If
dimensional jumps space and
time travel cannot be
achieved in nature by man it
is because our sciences are
limited to the four
dimensional continuum.
Rev 1:11
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."
John is now
ordered to write all that he
sees and send it to the
seven churches named.
These
churches are in Asia Minor
and formed the various
parishes of John. It
probably is given in the
order in which John visited
them in a circuit as can be
seen from the map below:
MAP
There were
however four other townships
where there were flourishing
churches at that time -
Milletus, Magnesia,
Herapolis and Collosea.
(These were also visited by
Paul in his circuit) But
these are not included in
the list. Why were these
omitted and only seven are
mentioned.? On the nature of
revelatory symbolism, it
indicates the special
prophetic meanings of the
number 7 which are used in
abundance through out the
Bible. This will merit a
special series of study.
Rev 1:12 I
turned around to see the
voice that was speaking to
me. And when I turned I saw
seven golden lampstands,
The seven
lampstands evidently
represents the seven
churches. Jesus is in the
midst of them. Lampstand
represents the churches whom
he has left behind as
witnesses.
Mat 5:16 In
the same way, let your light
shine before men, that they
may see your good deeds and
praise your Father in
heaven.
Acts 1:8 But
you will receive power when
the Holy Spirit comes on
you; and you will be my
witnesses
In the Old
Testament the lampstand in
the Temple was a seven
pronged stand. Now the
lampstand has split into
seven different stands so
that it will fill the earth.
Israel was meant be the
light to the nations. It was
therefore concentrated as
one lampstand in the temple
in Israel. But Israel failed
to evangelize and when the
new Israel was formed, the
lamp was no longer a seven
pronged single stand, but
seven different stands -
indicating a scattered
church in the midst of the
gentiles. Early church had
the tendency of remaining
concentrated in Jerusalem.
They formed a community of
self help. But that was
defeating the purpose and so
Lord scattered them into all
parts of the world by
bringing in persecution.
Rev 1:13 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.
Rev 1:14 His
head and hair were white
like wool, as white as snow,
and his eyes were like
blazing fire.
Rev 1:15 His
feet were like bronze
glowing in a furnace, and
his voice was like the sound
of rushing waters.
Rev 1:16 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.
But Jesus is
still in the midst of them.
He is the Lord of the
Church. He did promise his
presence till the end of the
age.
It is
strange that Jesus retained
his human form even after
resurrection. It shows that
in the totality of the
Kingdom of Heaven, in the
vast inter-galactic,
inter-dimensional
civilization God man has a
special place. The Jesus
whom John knew and described
in the gospel is not the
same Jesus whom John met
now. The Jesus of the gospel
is the forgiving loving
merciful person, but now he
is seen in glory. John had
seed this glory once in the
mount of transfiguration.
But this was much more
awesome. It was difficult
for John to exactly explain
what Jesus looked like. This
was therefore given in such
terms as "like" "was like"
etc. An abstract
impressionistic painting is
given to us. If you would
try to paint this picture on
a canvass, it will be an
impossible task and will
result in a figure far
different from the figure of
man - yet he was "like a son
of man". Here is the
picture:
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.
His dress
The total
picture of Mesia the King.
Clothed with a gown of
royalty, girded in gold. He
is also represented as the
ancient one with hairs white
as wool, white as snow, a
2000 year old man, who has
defied decay and death. This
is the same vision Daniel
had.
Dan 7:9 "As
I looked, "thrones were set
in place, and the Ancient of
Days took his seat. His
clothing was as white as
snow; the hair of his head
was white like wool. His
throne was flaming with
fire, and its wheels were
all ablaze.
His eyes
His eyes
were like fire - searching
and consuming fire. The
tenderness and mercy which
characterized the Jesus on
the cross is gone. The
period of grace is ended.
Jer 17:10 "I
the LORD search the heart
and examine the mind, to
reward a man according to
his conduct, according to
what his deeds deserve."
Heb 4:13
Nothing in all creation is
hidden from God's sight.
Everything is uncovered and
laid bare before the eyes of
him to whom we
must give
account.
His feet
His feet
were like unto burnished
brass, strong and solid to
destroy and to trample as
described in Is. 63:1-6
Isa 63:1 Who
is this coming from Edom,
from Bozrah, with his
garments stained crimson?
Who is this, robed in
splendor, striding forward
in the greatness of his
strength? "It is I, speaking
in righteousness, mighty to
save."
Isa 63:2 Why
are your garments red, like
those of one treading the
winepress?
Isa 63:3 "I
have trodden the winepress
alone; from the nations no
one was with me. I trampled
them in my anger and trod
them down in my wrath; their
blood spattered my garments,
and I stained all my
clothing.
Isa 63:4 For
the day of vengeance was in
my heart, and the year of my
redemption has come.
Isa 63:5 I
looked, but there was no one
to help, I was appalled that
no one gave support; so my
own arm worked salvation for
me, and my own wrath
sustained me.
Isa 63:6 I
trampled the nations in my
anger; in my wrath I made
them drunk and poured their
blood on the ground."
His voice
His voice
was like the sound of many
waters.
Water in the
Bible refers to the Holy
Sprit and the word. But here
the usage is in plural. When
used in plural as Waters, or
sea it refers to the nations
of the world - people of the
world. Here Jesus’ voice was
like many waters, above the
voice of all people gathered
together. The voice of King
of the Worlds. This is the
Law which flows out of his
mouth. It is also shown in
the double edged sword that
proceeds from his mouth.
Heb 4:12 For
the word of God is living
and active. Sharper than any
double-edged sword, it
penetrates even to dividing
soul and spirit, joints and
marrow; it judges the
thoughts and attitudes of
the heart.
From his
mouth procedeth the two
edged sword
Isa 11:4 but
with righteousness he will
judge the needy, with
justice he will give
decisions for the poor of
the earth. He will strike
the earth with the rod of
his mouth; with the breath
of his lips he will slay the
wicked.
Rev 1:17
When I saw him, I fell at
his feet as though dead.
Even John,
who claimed to be the one
whom Jesus loved, one who
leaned into the bosom of
Jesus felled down at his
feet. This is a new
revelation - a new aspect
which he did not know
before. He was told in
parables earlier. When he
met Jesus, the awesomness
was overpowering.
Rev 1:17
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.
Rev 1:18 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.
Yet the
touch of Jesus was the same.
It was reassuring. Then
Jesus explains to him what
he is seeing. This is the
revelation of Jesus.
I am the
First and the Last. I am
God. I am the creator of the
Universe. I am the purpose
of the creation. Everything
finds its ultimate purpose
in Jesus
I am the
Life. Even though I came
down as man and died, I am
alive and because I live all
men may live. The keys of
death and Hades are with me.
The key is simply the faith
in Jesus.
John 11:25
Jesus said to her, "I am the
resurrection and the life.
He who believes in me will
live, even though he dies;
John 11:26
and whoever lives and
believes in me will never
die.
