‘When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the First and the Last, the living one. I died, and behold I am alive for evermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades”’ (Revelation 1:17-18).

Just put yourself in John’s shoes: you have been faithfully ministering the Gospel for many years, but now you find yourself imprisoned on a small desolate island for that very reason!  It is Sunday, and you are on your own, engaged in worship. In your heart you are concerned that what has happened to you could easily happen to the Churches where you have ministered!  What is going to happen to the Church?  That is a question believers have asked down the ages in tough times.  But what happens next changes everything!

John hears a loud voice behind him which he describes: ‘like a trumpet’ (v10).  No doubt, this would have given him quite a shock, and got his mind racing! As a Jew, John knew that before the Law was given to Moses, at Mount Sinai, there had been: ‘a very loud trumpet blast, so that the people in the camp trembled’ (Exodus 19:16).  Therefore, John would have recognised that the command for him to: “Write” what he sees, “and to send it to the Seven Churches”, (11) was very important indeed!

No doubt this was impressive, but what happens next is truly astounding!  Indeed, John can only describe it by using the word: ‘like’, as he is at a loss to describe the splendour he is seeing (vs12-16).  There is much Old Testament symbolism here (see Daniel 10:4-6) and many commentaries will happily indulge us.  But the key thing we should note is how John introduces what he sees with the words: ‘one like the son of man.’  This is a reference to Daniel 7:13-14 when, in a vision: ‘one like the son of man’ approaches the Lord and is: ‘given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations and languages should serve him’.  John is conveying this is not the Jesus he spent three years with – who embraced full humanity – but Jesus glorified, something John had only seen once before, when he had seen Jesus wonderfully transfigured (Matthew 17:1-3)!  Not surprisingly John is overwhelmed and falls on his face like the prophets who encountered the Lord in the past.

Two things are worth noting.  Firstly, Christ is walking amongst the seven lampstands which represent his Church (v20).[1]  Secondly, he places his ‘right hand’ (a sign of favour), on John, and speaks the most encouraging words he could have imagined. The phrase: “the first and last” (v17) is found several times in Isaiah, demonstrating the Lord’s authority over people and nations.[2]  Secondly, he is: “the living one” (v18) who died and now lives forever, and who holds the keys of death and Hades.  That makes Jesus the centre of history, and therefore the reason for the book!  What an encouragement and reassurance to anyone, who like John at the time, may feel worried about the future of the Church, or is facing persecution!  The all-powerful and glorified Jesus is present among his Churches!  This indicates these seven letters have something important to say to the Church in every day and age.  So next month, we will start to look at the various warnings and encouragements Jesus has for to each of these Seven Churches…

Want to listen to a sermon on this passage? Jesus Christ, the Reason for the Book.

[1] Who are the angels of the Churches mentioned in verse 20?  Some commentators think it is those who took the letters to the Churches as angel means ‘messenger’, others, the Pastors of the various churches.  I personally prefer John Richardson’s take on this: ‘On balance however, especially given the way John refers to angels in the rest of Revelation, it probably refers to a spiritual being.  We needn’t understand from this that every congregation has a ‘guardian angel’, but rather we are reminded that the life of each earthly church involves an intimate connection with heavenly realities (1 Corinthians 11:10 and Hebrews 12:22).’ John Richardson, Revelation Unwrapped, Revealing the Blessing of John’s Vision (London, Matthias Press 1996), 18.
[2]Isaiah 41:4, 44:6 and 48:12.