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I. "The Things Which You Have Seen" — (ch. 1)
А. Introduction — vv. 1-3
B. Greeting and Blessing — vv. 4-5
C. Exultation — vv. 5-7
D. The Testimony of God — v. 8
E. John on the Island of Patmos — v. 9
F. The Vision of the Glorious Christ — vv. 10-16
G. The Commission of the Lord — vv. 17-20
Verse 1: "The revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave to Him to show to His slaves the things that must quickly take place; and He made it known by signs, sending it by His angel to His slave John."
"Revelation" is the opposite of concealing. It means to open a curtain. Revelation is God opening the curtain of the future to reveal to men the truth behind it. This really convicts many people! God points out the subject in order to encourage those who read and hear. Yet, how men despise this book! Revelation means unveiling. After all, is a revelation an unveiling or a concealing? Can the things which God reveals as a guide for our daily living and for our keeping (v. 3) leave room for any doubt, that we may not know how to follow them? If you do not read Revelation, there is really no excuse!
Many people make the mistake of taking the "revelation of Jesus Christ" to be the coming again of our beloved Lord. Indeed, many times the Bible considers His revelation (His manifestation) as His coming again. Here, however, it clearly refers to this book because it is the "revelation...which God gave to Him to show to His slaves." This book, Revelation, is not only inspired of God (2 Tim. 3:16), but is also revealed by God. There is a difference between revelation and inspiration. Revelation is what God gives to men directly, without which no one has the ability to know the truth within it. Inspiration is God keeping men from making mistakes and causing what they write to be absolutely true and dependable that others may gain benefit and blessing. The revelation here is the same as "revelation" in 1 Corinthians 14:26. It is what God reveals; it is not concerning the coming again of the Lord Jesus.
"The revelation of Jesus Christ"! This revelation is of our Lord. When we hear His name, are not our hearts burning like fire? This book speaks forth the special value of our Lord. It reveals our Lord, and without it we cannot know Him. This is the revelation "which God gave to Him." Those Christians with spiritual knowledge can see the peculiarity of this word. Even though this revelation is of Him, God gave it to Him. He Himself did not have it! This book comes from God as God. It is not God as the heavenly Father revealing this revelation of His Son in His house. Here our Lord is not acting as the only begotten Son in the bosom of the Father, enjoying an intimate Father-Son relationship. Rather, it is God on the seat of the universal government instructing His slave Jesus Christ. The sense here is the same as that which is mentioned in Mark 13:32: "But concerning that day or hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father." In the Gospel of Mark, He is the Son of God to be a slave. The slave does not know what the master will do; he only knows what the master has told him. In this book, the position of God is neither the Father of the Lord Jesus nor the Father of Christians. In this book the Lord Jesus is a man and a slave of God exalted by God. He did not exalt Himself. This is really an example for all His slaves! He orders them to walk the path He walked. It is only there that they can have fellowship with Him. It is even more remarkable that there is no other inspired writer in the New Testament who exalted the incomparably great divine glory of the Lord Jesus higher than John did in his Gospel. Yet, it is also John who in Revelation described in detail His glory as a man, having, of course, not concealed His deity.
Revelation is also what the Lord Jesus showed unto "His slaves." This book is a book for slaves. He did not show Himself as the Head of the Body to His disciples or as their friend to disclose to them what was in His heart. Rather, as their Master He shows His slaves the things which "must quickly take place." How different this is from John 15:15: "No longer do I call you slaves." In the Gospel of John, the sole purpose of the Holy Spirit is to point out that those who believe in the Lord Jesus are children of God. John 1:12 says: "But as many as received Him, to them He gave the authority to become children of God, to those who believe into His name." After the Lord resurrected from the dead, He said, "Go to My brothers and say to them, I ascend to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God" (20:17). Here, however, we stand on a different ground. What is said here is not in the relationship of an individual with the family of God, but the responsibility of an individual in the administration of God. Although this book mentions God's wonderful redemption, the Holy Spirit does not refer to God as the Father, except in five places where it refers to Him as the Father of the Lamb.
There is a big difference between a son and a slave. The saints are not slaves first, then sons. We do not become His sons by serving Him but by believing in His only begotten Son. This does not, however, annul our responsibility of serving God. After we become His sons, we should consider Him as our Master and should obey Him in everything. This is God's arrangement. The meaning of slave here is the acknowledgment of the legal right of the Lord. In the original text this word should be translated "slave." Paul (Rom. 1:1), Peter (2 Pet. 1:1), James (James 1:1), and Jude (Jude 1) all called themselves slaves. If we are not slaves of the Lord, we are not free men! We were sold to the Lord because He purchased us with His precious blood. Therefore, according to legal right, we belong to Him forever and are His slaves. We should pay attention to one thing: our salvation is accomplished completely by the Lord Jesus. As soon as we believe in Him, we are forever saved. However, this is not the end. It does not mean that once we are saved and become the children of God, that is the end. On the contrary, it is the beginning of our life. From the day we were saved, we have been the children of God positionally, and this position will never change. At the same time, we are His slaves to serve Him in works. The children of God who sincerely obey Him are His slaves. Much serving in works without obedience will not touch God's heart. Obedience will be a test before the judgment seat.
Let me say a further word here. To serve God and to work for Him is indeed the responsibility of every child of God. However, is there not much self-righteousness and disobedience in man's works? Perhaps many works will completely disappear before God's light! Many people may be able to say, "Behold, so many years I have been slaving for you and have never neglected a command of yours" (Luke 15:29), but they are outsiders to the sound of joy in their Father's house! Many people can pray, "I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of all that I get" (Luke 18:12). Our loving Lord, however, said that the sinner who smote upon his breasts saying, "God, be propitiated to me, the sinner" (Luke 18:13) is more justified by God than they are. Let us serve the Lord, not because of duty, nor because of the praise of men, but because of our love to Him. The service of a slave should be based on one's position as a son. "He died for all that those who live may no longer live to themselves but to Him who died for them and has been raised" (2 Cor. 5:15). How different are those who serve due to fear of future chastisement, from those who labor due to love of the present Lord! Though labors of love require in many instances the denial and humbling of ourselves, we do not murmur or complain. There is only rejoicing; there is nothing else. The book of Revelation is for such persons. "Show to His slaves." Only when we stand in the position of slaves is there a possibility for us to understand this book. Therefore, if we are not worthy of such a title, we cannot expect God to show it unto us.
The word slaves means all the slaves. Some are very lowly; others are very noble. Some are very manifest; others are very hidden. Apart from the eyes of the Lord, no one can see them. Thank the Lord, if we are faithful to serve Him, He is pleased to accept us no matter where we are. He does not care for our position. He only cares how we are in our position. Lowliness and seclusion cannot prevent us from having fellowship with God and His Son. Exaltation and manifestation, on the other hand, without real experience to match them before the Lord, is very dangerous. Mere outward glory without inward dying with the Lord will cause spiritual bankruptcy. No matter where we are or what we do, we should all receive encouragement and reminding from Revelation. Since the Lord is so loving as to show this book to His slaves, may the Lord cause us not to neglect His gift.
After reading the phrase, the things which "must quickly take place," we must not think that since the word spoken then was to "quickly take place," it should have been fulfilled by now. God's wisdom is clearly seen here, because if God told His slaves that there would be twenty more centuries before Christ would come back, it would cause people to slumber. It was possible that Christ could have come back then. According to the God of patience, one thousand years are just as one day. The prophecy here has just such a spirit. The word "shortly" in Romans 16:20 is the same as the words "must quickly take place" here. The promise in Romans 16, like that in Revelation, is also yet to be fulfilled. When we read on, we will see that there are indeed many things which have already been fulfilled (cf. chapters two and three). At that time the church age was still unsettled. That is why the Lord Jesus Himself said, "Behold, I come quickly." Accordingly, His saints should have their loins girded, their lamps burning, and they themselves like men waiting for their own master (Luke 12:35-36). May we be prepared for the Lord's coming today!
According to the spirit and nature of this book, we can see that this book is not the Lord's direct instruction to His slaves. Neither is it the Lord's direct instruction to John. Rather, "He made it known by signs, sending it by His angel to His slave John." Here, John was not the disciple who was "reclining on Jesus' bosom" "whom Jesus loved" (John 13:23). Rather, he was His "slave." What a responsibility this is! Stephen said that the law Israel received was by the ordinances of angels (Acts 7:53). The book of Hebrews makes a contrast between "the word spoken through angels" and that which was "spoken to us in the Son" (the Lord Jesus) (2:2; 1:2). Here, the Lord Jesus also spoke to John by His angel. By this we know that this book goes back to the realm of the children of Israel in the Old Testament. This book shows how the Lord deals with the worldly people and how He takes care of Israel, His people. This book does not speak of the particular rights of the church. It only speaks of her responsibility to Christ. She is a branch grafted onto the true olive tree; if no fruit is borne, she will be hewn down. If one does not understand this characteristic, it will be difficult to understand Revelation.
The angel who spoke to John was clearly mentioned again in chapter twenty-two: "And I John am he who hears and sees these things. And when I heard and saw, I fell to worship before the feet of the angel who showed me these things. And he said to me, Do not do that! I am your fellow slave and a fellow slave of your brothers the prophets and of those who keep the words of this scroll. Worship God" (vv. 8-9). He was not jealous of the worship of men! He was a "fellow slave." A true slave of God must be like this slave. To be jealous for men's praise is to rob God of His glory. How good it would be to cause someone to worship God while keeping oneself hidden.
We should pay attention to one more point: What the angel signified to John was the things which "must quickly take place." The words "quickly take place" mean "to be accomplished in a short time." Hence, in this book whatever was signified by the angel was to be fulfilled in a short time. Anything else was not to be fulfilled shortly. Chapters one through three cover what the Lord Himself said. Therefore, they were not fulfilled in a short time. What the angel signified are the words after chapter four. To make "known by signs" means to point out clearly. Compare John 21:18-19 and Acts 11:28 and 25:27. To "signify" also carries the sense of "to perform." God "performed" the coming acts to John through the many visions.
Since this book is given by God, sent out by Christ, signified by the angel, and written by John, we should receive it. How wise the Lord is! He solemnly proclaimed to us the importance of this book beforehand in order that we would receive it attentively. What a pity that though it is so solemn, there are still many who despise this book! How different are their thoughts from God's!
Verse 2: "Who testified the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ, even all that he saw."
What John saw was "the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ." Here we have only the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. John did not see a third thing. He did not testify something besides the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. He only wrote what he saw. "All" includes the word of God and the testimony of Jesus, which are the things John saw. The "word of God" is the revelation given by God to Jesus Christ; it is the many visions the angel signified unto John. The "testimony of Jesus Christ" is the testimony He (Christ) testifies to the churches of the "word of God." Here we see the whole book of Revelation. Here it does not say "the testimony on behalf of Jesus Christ." Rather, it is He Himself who testifies of the word of God. God gave the revelation, and He testifies of this revelation. Therefore, 22:16 says, "I Jesus...testify to you (the churches) these things." Verse 18 says, "I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll." This is God's view of this book! This is the thought of the Lord Jesus toward this book!
What a difference there is between the revelation of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ in this book and what is recorded in the Gospel of John! There the Lord Jesus is the Word of God, who is full of grace, and He testifies of the Father. Here, in Revelation, "the word of God" is "the revelation of Jesus Christ." When He is clearly called "the Word of God," there is no reference to grace. "And He is clothed with a garment dipped in blood; and His name is called the Word of God" (19:13). Here, what He testifies is not the Father because the name of the Father seldom appears. (The Father mentioned in 1:6; 2:27; 3:5; 3:21; and 14:1 all refer to the Father of the Lord Jesus.) Rather, He testifies of the God of judgment and of the power of His kingdom.
John bore witness of what he had heard and seen. Here the Holy Spirit of God did not speak His thoughts to the churches. Rather, He entrusted the revelation of the prophecy to John. This prophecy concerned the churches in the world; it also concerns the world itself.
Verse 3: "Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy and keep the things written in it, for the time is near."
After reading this word, who can say that this book is not profitable? One who does not read it because it is hard to understand, or one who understands it but thinks it has nothing to do with spirituality, cannot help but suffer loss. It seems the Lord foreknew that His slaves would forget this book, so at its beginning He especially extols it. What a pity that many people do not even see such a praise. It is not only so at the beginning of the book, but also at the end of the book, where the Lord also said, "These words are faithful and true; and the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent His angel to show to His slaves the things which must quickly take place. And behold, I come quickly. Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this scroll" (Rev. 22:6-7). The Lord tried His best here to encourage all those who contact this book. Not only the one who reads is blessed, but also those who hear and keep the words are blessed. The one who reads is singular; the ones who hear are plural. This is to encourage those believers who are illiterate! Those who hear are also blessed because there is also an opportunity to keep this prophecy. We should take note of the difference between the blessing at the end of the book (22:7) and the one at the beginning of the book. At the end of the book there is the omission of the one who reads and of the ones who hear, because at the time of the end of the book, the one who reads already has read and the ones who hear already have heard. Now the problem is the keeping. Those who have opportunity to keep the prophecy of this book will have the blessing of keeping it, which is the blessing for those who read and hear. The Holy Spirit knew this book would be neglected by people, so He gives special blessing to those few who are willing to read and to hear. In 22:19 the Lord Jesus prohibited man from taking away from the words of this book, but some even take away the entire book!
This book is for practicing. It is not merely for people to ponder and consider. We can see this from the word "keep." He who keeps is blessed. Prophecy can be kept. Many people think to study prophecy is not important. Of course, prophecy is not related to our salvation, but after we are saved, are we not to please God? Can we stop at merely getting saved? May God save us from being so selfish! In addition, the judgment at the coming back of the Lord Jesus Christ often causes unbelievers to fear and thus turn to the Lord. To us it is the hope of blessing; to them it is the inevitable judgment. To study prophecy is not to stir up the curiosity of the unbelievers, but to cause them to be fearful and trembling before the Lord. Not only so, to study prophecy will make us desirous of the glory of Christ and of the joy and blessing of the future. To look down upon prophecy is to look down upon His glory and grace and to lose the motivation for our good works. This word "keep" means to obey and follow this book until our daily walk is fully governed by this book. We should "buy" it, pay the price. People in the world will see it as a useless sacrifice. If we really want to gain it, we should "count the cost." All truth requires this of us. Obedience is the first important thing. We should not put restrictions on the word of the Lord and fix the limit in which we will obey. How deeply such a heart is hidden within! We should not invent a kind of evil explanation to cover our nakedness because we are not willing to obey the truth. If we really want to understand this book, our spiritual condition before the Lord must be without fault. Wholehearted obedience of the truth and unconditional obedience will cause us to be completely prepared, waiting for that day.
The book of Revelation really demands us to keep its words. It is not vain to keep them. Rather, it is a blessing. This book demands a great deal, but the blessings it bestows are also great. Although it sometimes seems very difficult to keep according to the flesh, is not the yoke of the Lord easy? Is not the burden of the Lord light? (Matt. 11:30). He who knows the Lord will not consider the Lord a "hard man" (Matt. 25:24), much less the "taskmasters" of Egypt (Exo. 1:11). Our sacrifice now will be for our eternal benefit. The loss at the present time is for a real gain. The more we lose, the greater our joy will be. He is worthy of our obedience. Therefore, in order to please His heart and in order for us to gain the blessing, we must examine the hidden parts deep in our hearts to see if our love and goal are solely for Christ. Are there, perhaps, still many things you would "spare" (1 Sam. 15:9)? Blessed are those who can say as the psalmist, "Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way" (Psa. 119:128)!
Now let us look briefly into why those who read and hear this book have special blessings. If we read the words of God with a heart for them, then to read the words of God is a blessed thing. There is, however, only this one book in the Bible in which God explicitly promises blessings to the readers. Why? Let us expound a little. When we see how the Lamb suffered and endured in the world, our hearts are drawn toward Him in love. This book shows us His glory so that we come to realize the greatness of the Lamb's glory which He obtained through His humiliation. Not only does it speak of the Lamb's glory, but the glory of those who follow the Lamb as well. This turns our dark and cloudy sky into sunshine. What a hardship there is now for those who really love the Lord! They are impeded in everything, and for the Lord's sake they tolerate and even suffer silently. However, this book tells us that the Lord will wipe away their every tear and satisfy their hearts with the Lord. What a blessing this is! Knowing this will strengthen the power of our endurance. Moreover, this book clearly tells us things that are going to take place in the future. Everyone likes to know about the future so that they will know the way to prepare themselves and the principle to follow in their daily walk. Worldly people, however, have no way to find out about the future, but our God has not kept the future in the dark. In Revelation He tells us of future events in order for us to walk now in the light of the future so that we will not err or work in vain. He tells us the coming end of all worldly things so that we would come to realize that "the world is passing away, and its lust, but he who does the will of God abides forever" (1 John 2:17). In this way we will not build our hope on this temporary world. Furthermore, this book tells us the hope of Christ's coming again so that "everyone who has this hope set on Him purifies himself, even as He is pure" (1 John 3:3). The coming again of the Lord is the greatest motivation for the believers' sanctification. The truth of the coming again should govern us in our conduct. Those who do not know the power of God's word think that the knowledge of the Lord's soon coming makes people lazy, but no clear understanding of the truth will lead men to do things that displease God. First John 3:3-4 shuts up man's vain mouth. Thank the Lord that there is such a blessing for those who read Revelation!
Many people admit that the epistles sent to the seven churches are very useful, but they look down on the other portions on prophecy. The Lord, however, blesses particularly what man despises — "this prophecy." Although the Lord did not speak to the churches directly in the portion on prophecy, His will is that the churches would benefit from the entire book. The Lord's intention is to use this book, while it is yet a prophecy and before it has become history, to open our understanding and to stir up our love. While the time is near but has not yet come, we should all the more listen to, read, and consider this book. Revelation is a timely book for the present! However, since Revelation is a book of blessing to its readers and hearers, man begins to cultivate a selfish heart in thinking that everything in the book, including the seals, trumpets, bowls, and so forth, refers to the church! Still, the word of the Holy Spirit is very clear! We should pay attention to this book, not because we are within the sphere of this prophecy, nor because these things have already come to pass, but because "the time is near." It is not yet, but it is near. We should remember that the church is standing on grace. We should not move the foundation of the church of Christ away into the fearful sphere of this book. God gave this book to us for the purpose that we may escape all these things. It is only when we do not receive its warnings that there exists the possibility of being caught in the tribulation. To go through the tribulation is not a blessing; to escape the tribulation is indeed a blessing. We should not consider all the prophecy in this book to be the history of the church. If the saints at the apostolic age, who were not in the tribulation, could benefit from this book, surely it can also benefit us. The Bible does not teach us that we will benefit from a prophecy after its fulfillment, that is, after the prophecy is over. Rather, it says "Blessed...for the time is near."
What time is at hand? If we compare verses 6 and 7 in chapter twenty-two with verse 3 which we just read, we will see they are almost the same. "I come quickly" seems to have the same meaning there as "the time is near" here. Because the Lord is coming soon, those who read, hear, and keep the prophecy are blessed. Because the Lord is coming quickly, the things related to Him will also come quickly. Those who do not read this book will find that they will miss something while caught in other things. The "hour of trial" is near (3:10); we should "watch and pray" that we will not be caught in it. The time of "harvest" is come (Mark 4:29); the ripe ones will be gathered into the barn, and the green ones will be left on earth. The time of "judgment" is come (1 Pet. 4:17); will we gain the prize or will we suffer loss? The time of "restoration" is come (Acts 3:21); the promises given by God through the prophets are soon to be fulfilled. Can we go in with the Lord to be kings together with Him? May we have only one goal, which is to please the heart of the Lord, so that we will not suffer loss in that day.
"The time is near." Was the time near even twenty centuries ago? It seems that God did not set a definite time for the coming again of His Christ. The reason why He still has not come even until today is not His delaying, but His long-suffering (2 Pet. 3:8-9). Notwithstanding, this "time" is still "near." He intended that all the saints, from the ancient times until now, watch and be ready while they are alive for the coming of His Son. Paul was such a one at his time. It is very strange that Satan will cause people to think that since the Lord did not come back, He will never come back again, or that we will have to wait for ten million years before He will come back! Is this not absolutely contrary to the Lord's words: "I come quickly"? When we look at the situation now — the situation of the church and of the world — we cannot help but repeat the words, "The time is near." We should know that the Lord Jesus could have come back at the time of John. He did not have to wait for these twenty centuries to pass by and for any other prophecies to be fulfilled. As we have said before, it is the wisdom of the Holy Spirit to select seven churches that existed simultaneously at that time to show that there was actually no need to wait and that the Lord could have come back even then. After this, however, the Lord delayed, and these seven churches became effectively a picture of the history of the churches throughout the generations. This is similar to the Lord's word to Peter concerning John, "I want him to remain until I come" (John 21:22). Oh, how I hope that I could be like Simeon: "And it had been divinely communicated to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ" (Luke 2:26). How I long to see His face!
Verses 4-5a: "John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is coming, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne. And from Jesus Christ, the faithful Witness, the Firstborn of the dead, and the Ruler of the kings of the earth."
After we have read the previous three verses, we are clear about the special characteristics of this book. Now we come to the book itself. The style of the book is a letter from the dear apostle "to the seven churches which are in Asia." The Asia here is not the continent of Asia but a Roman province in Asia Minor. We should distinguish what is said here, "John to the seven churches which are in Asia," as different from the seven letters in chapters two and three. What is in chapters two and three is what the Lord instructed John to write in seven letters to the seven churches in seven localities. Each church received only the letter which was sent to herself. The letter here "to the seven churches which are in Asia" is not merely chapters two and three, but the whole book. The whole book was a letter from John to these seven churches. What is in chapters two and three was the Lord's own letter to the seven individual churches. What each received was different from the other. Here it was John's letter to the seven churches; it includes the whole book, which also includes chapters two and three.
These seven churches were "in" the province of Asia. John did not call them the "the church of Asia." All those in Asia did not become one church. There is absolutely no such thing as the people of a whole country being incorporated into one church. The church is in a sinful world, but she is not of the world. Asia does not have a church. However, there are churches in Asia.
Furthermore, here it does not say "the church which is in Asia," but "the seven churches which are in Asia." There is no "Associated Church" or "United Church" in the Bible. The individual churches in Asia did not unite to become one large church in Asia. They were still individual. They administrated on their own according to their localities. They bore their own responsibility directly to the Lord. Although they were all in Asia, the Bible distinguishes them and calls them the church "in Ephesus," "in Smyrna," and so forth. Perhaps they were willing to labor together and to confer with one another in those days. In spite of this, John only knew them as individual churches. Here we can see the error in uniting many churches together and calling it "The Church of Christ in China." Moreover, when we read verse 11, we see no names for any of these seven churches. Ephesus, Smyrna, and so forth are the names of localities. The Holy Spirit says only the church in a certain locality; He does not say a certain church in a certain locality. From the Lord's viewpoint His children cannot be divided because of the names of a church. The Lord uses a locality, such as Ephesus and Smyrna, as the unit of a church. Nowadays there are many churches in one locality. This actually is not the Lord's intention.
Brothers, if we know the truth, yet our conscience is not touched, the result will be dryness in our spiritual life. Every truth is for us to put into practice. Many people want some truth, but they are afraid of all the truth. If we obey the Lord in all things but rebel against Him in one thing, His heart will not be pleased. To violate one is to violate all. Concerning the church, all of God's children know that it is wrong to have denominations. Nevertheless, how many have left the denominations because of this? Truly, how easy it is to accept the truth on our lips! It is vain to hope that the whole church will obey the Lord and be changed. If a sinner were to wait until the whole world believes in the Lord before he would believe, I am afraid there would be no time for him to believe. Why are we the same way? Now, at the end times, every day the church and the world forsake the Lord yet more and more. We should not hope for them to change because the Bible tells us they will not change. They will become worse day after day. Now man has all kinds of problems concerning the church, but if we were willing to obey the Lord in a simple way, where would all the problems be? The most pitiful thing is that men are not willing to listen to the Lord, but plan and organize many groups to substitute the simple way the Lord has set up in the Bible. We know deeply that confusion will increase in the future, but may the Lord strengthen the ones that really belong to Him so that they may be bold to obey the Lord and not be deluded. If we are willing to submit to the Lord and seek Him with a humble heart, the Lord will surely show us what we should do. May the Lord's word not fall upon stony places!
Now we come back to the main subject. These churches in Asia had lost the Christian faith and the spiritual power. We will come back to this point later. Paul said in 2 Timothy, "This you know, that all who are in Asia turned away from me" (1:15). From this we know that the churches in Asia had already forsaken the "apostles' teaching" and were far away from the situation of Pentecost! Since this was the condition of the churches, this book was not written with the purpose of building up the church, nor does it say much about God's mercy toward men. Here we see God judging evil in the church and in the world. "It is time for the judgment to begin from the house of God" (1 Pet. 4:17). Therefore, the Lord talks first about the judgment of the church, then about that of the world.
The name of our God here also matches this point. "Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is coming, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, and from Jesus Christ, the faithful Witness, the Firstborn of the dead, and the Ruler of the kings of the earth." Here we see that grace and peace are from the Triune God. How different is this book from the Epistles! Here it is still "Grace to you and peace." However, it is no more "Grace to you and peace from God our Father," nor is it "Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." (Please compare the first chapter of each Epistle.) Now grace and peace are from Jehovah who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne, and from Jesus Christ. We may notice that it is different from the other Epistles not only in tone; the names are addressed in a very different way. Let us look at this in detail.
God's name is "Him who is and who was and who is coming." This is the "Jehovah" in the Old Testament — the "I am that I am." "Him who is" is the name of Jehovah. Hence, it is spoken first. "Who was" declares how He dealt with the earth, with men, with Abraham, and with Moses. "Who is coming" indicates that He will still be administrating in the coming eternal age. He incorporates into His name the eternal past and the eternal future. This is the covenanted name of the God of Israel. In the Gospels and the Epistles, He is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now He does not use that name, but He returns to the name that He used to establish the covenant with the Israelites in the Old Testament. Does this not shame the ones who think that they are more loving than God? They think that the concept of God in the Old Testament is incomplete because the Old Testament says that God is a righteous God and is the God of Israel. Here they are reprimanded by the word of God. God is now in the New Testament using the Old Testament name! This God has never changed. He combines two eternities in Himself. After all, the New Testament does not create another God for us, nor does it remake the old God of Israel! What the New Testament exalts is the One who never changes. Thank God, He exists from the beginning to the end. He does not change amidst all changes. His kingdom is eternal. This is what we rest our faith on! Now God returns to grace Israel. Therefore, even when He speaks to the church, He uses the Old Testament name. Before He returns to Israel, He should judge those who call themselves His church. After He gives up the church that exists in name only, He will give grace — not law — to the tribes of Israel. Because of the substitutional death of the Son of God, God's grace flowed to the Israelites. The use of this name is to prove this fact. Although this is so, now is still the time of His patience, and grace and peace are still coming to us from Him. May we be faithful!
Grace and peace not only come from that eternal One, but also from "the seven Spirits who are before His throne." We know this indicates various kinds of works of the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, chapter four verse 5 uses the seven lamps of fire burning before the throne to represent Him: "which [lamps] are the seven Spirits of God." Again, chapter five verse 6 uses the seven eyes of the Lamb to represent Him: "which [eyes] are the seven Spirits of God." Here it says "seven Spirits." It does not mean that there are seven Holy Spirits. Paul in Ephesians clearly says that there is "one Spirit." There, the church before the Lord is also "one Body" (Eph. 4:4). However, here we see that the Lord uses the seven churches to represent the whole church. Likewise, the Lord says "the seven Spirits" to indicate one Holy Spirit. Ephesians indicates the oneness of His person in the heavens. Revelation indicates the diversity of His works on the earth. "The seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth" (5:6). Moreover, when we read Isaiah 11 we clearly see how He is related to Christ in the future kingdom. There it also speaks of His seven kinds of power. The seven Spirits are before the throne of God. The throne is the place where God administrates His government. We see how the Holy Spirit here is connected to God's government and is not for building up the church. To be before the throne is to work for the throne. In addition, grace and peace come from Him! All of God's administration on the earth is to give us grace and peace. If we believe this, how restful and bold we will be!
Usually, grace and peace are from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ to the church. Here not only the style of the writing is different, but the order is also different. Grace and peace come first from Jehovah, then from the seven Spirits, and then from Jesus Christ. I believe the reason for this is that in this book, Christ is not expressing His own glory in the Godhead nor His own relationship with the church. In this book Christ is the God-man exalted by God. That is why He is mentioned after the Holy Spirit. The reason the Epistles only mention God the Father and Christ in reference to grace and peace without mentioning the Holy Spirit is that in the age of grace the Holy Spirit is from the Father and testifies for the Son; He does not speak anything of Himself (John 16:13).
Now let us come to our Lord Jesus Christ. Here it says He is: (1) the faithful Witness, (2) the Firstborn of the dead, and (3) the Ruler of the kings of the earth. Here it speaks of Him as the Son of Man and not as the Son of God. At least, the latter is not mentioned. Here it does not mention His incarnation, which shows His status as a God-man, nor does it mention His ascension and Headship over the church, which indicate His divine power. Here it mentions only His past works on earth and His future glory on earth.
Our Lord is "the faithful Witness." Isaiah 55:4 says that God has "given him as a witness to the peoples." When our Lord was judged, He Himself also said, "I have come into the world, that I would testify to the truth" (John 18:37). Later, Paul spoke to Timothy concerning this matter: "I charge you before...Christ Jesus, who testified the good confession before Pontius Pilate, that you keep the commandment spotless" (1 Tim. 6:13-14). Since the Lord witnessed a good confession, we should follow His example. Many people who witness for God have failed in varying degrees, but our Lord is faithful. "Who was faithful to Him who constituted Him" (Heb. 3:2). The Holy Spirit mentions specifically the word "faithful" here to alarm the unfaithful and the disloyal churches. God does not speak of His success but of His faithfulness. Oh, how the church differs from the Lord! Nowadays, most people pay attention to the outward success and despise or even forget the inward faithfulness! God says that the Lord Jesus is the witness because He witnesses faithfully. If our hearts are not faithful to the things of the Lord, though we may have many successes, the Lord is not concerned. We should search our hearts lest we vainly toil and labor. This will be a great help to those who think they are a failure. Because they have failed, many people have been tempted to give up the Lord's pattern. On the one hand, we should remember that we are not the master but the slaves, and we are not free to do whatever we want. On the other hand, the Lord we serve is faithful, and all He asks is that our hearts be pure, single, and faithful. He is not concerned about our success. Our Lord faithfully witnessed unto death. From the world's view, Calvary was His failure. Actually it was not Him who failed, but the prince of the world. Indeed, the outward death is easy, but the inward death is very difficult. Without the inward death, what we witness will not be from the heart; it will not be true. We should die witnessing and witness dying. The Lord was very willing to be defeated outwardly in order to gain the victory in reality. If this is the way of the cross, the victory of victories, then what about our works?
Our Lord is the victorious One after all. He never failed, and He will never fail. Although He died, He was "the Firstborn of the dead." He was the first One who, though dead, did not allow corruption to touch Him. There is no one like Him. Therefore, He is not only "the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep" (1 Cor. 15:20), but also the One who has "the first place in all things" (Col. 1:18). Because He had faithfully witnessed, He became the Firstborn of the dead. Because He is the Firstborn of the dead, He obtains all things as His inheritance and is the Lord of both the dead and the living. This is His victory.
When the time comes, He will come again and be "the Ruler of the kings of the earth." This resembles the word in Philippians 2. The Lord Jesus as a man humbled Himself unto death. Therefore, God has highly exalted Him. These are all related to the person of the Lord Jesus as a man. Because He was so perfect as a man, He obtained all the promises and gifts that God gives to man. Not only is our Lord like this; He desires that we also be like Him in these three things: we are to be His witnesses, our hope is to attain unto the out-resurrection (Phil. 3:11), and we are to desire after the reigning together with Him as kings in the future. The future things have not yet come. What will be in the future all depends on what is now. If we do not witness faithfully, though we will not lose our salvation, we will lose the glory of reigning with the Lord in the future. May the joy in the future attract us now, so that wherever we are, we will witness faithfully for the Lord in words and deeds — faithful in purpose and also in means.
"Grace to you and peace," from the faithful Witness, the One who has overcome death, the future Ruler of the kings, unto us! May we all not look down on this. There is one passage in the Old Testament that speaks of these three names of our King: "His throne...as a faithful witness in heaven...Also I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth" (27, Psa. 89:36, 37). We see that this prophecy of the Son of David is fulfilled in our Lord. Glory be to Him!
"Grace and peace!" We should not forget what these are. Grace is first, then peace. Peace is according to grace. It is ignorance to try to have peace with God without first obtaining the grace of God! While the world was in enmity with God and had lost its peace, God graced it in sending His Son to die on the cross in its stead, shedding His precious blood, thus making peace. Now, whoever is willing to accept God's grace will obtain it and have peace with God. Grace and peace are not given to us once for all when we first believe. Rather, they are an unceasing supply. The Triune God's grace and peace are always unto us. The grace here is in opposition to the coming law, and the peace is in opposition to the future battle. When God actually forsakes the church, which up until now is only planned but not realized, grace and peace will cease. He will again execute His law and will declare war with the world. This is the word of the apostle John's greeting and blessing. How kind and loving it is! In man's eyes, though He is the loftiest One, He still does not forget the tender and kind word. There is no place for coarseness in godliness.
Verses 5b-6: "To Him who loves us and has released us from our sins by His blood and made us a kingdom, priests to His God and Father, to Him be the glory and the might forever and ever. Amen."
Such is the way we have received God's grace, enjoyed God's peace, and are prepared for the works set before us! We are in the presence of the everlasting and omnipresent God. We are supplied by the Holy Spirit with the power we need. We are encouraged by the Lord. We see the victory that is sure! Now, we cannot help but be impressed by how much He has accomplished for us! Now, our hearts cannot help responding to Him! If our hearts are not in tune with that of the Lord, the result will be shame on the battlefield. In ancient times there were psalmists singing before Jehoshaphat's army. Now, there should be the same in the Lord's camp. In this way we will definitely be victorious (cf. 2 Chron. 20:21-22). When a person who is intimately related to the Lord hears about the glory of the Lord, he will surely be reminded of his relationship with the Lord. When the saints hear about the Lord Jesus' testimony, resurrection, and reigning, they cannot remain silent. If they do, even the stones will raise their voices. Thus, at this point they burst into singing:
To Him who loves usAnd has released us from our sins by His blood,And made us a kingdom,Priests to His God and Father,To Him be the glory and the mightForever and ever. Amen.
This hymn of praise of the faithful saints suddenly broke out from John's mouth. It is our confession of His name and of our indebtedness to His redemption. Confessing Him in this way will cause us to be separated from the world which has rejected Him. This will also join us unto Him and make us His disciples and His testimony. "Through Him then let us offer up a sacrifice of praise continually to God, that is, the fruit of lips confessing His name" (Heb. 13:15). To confess His name and to praise the Lord are the most excellent works of the saints. Even though what is described here is not the intimate relationship between the Lord Jesus and the church but rather His glory as the Judge, nevertheless, those who really love the Lord cannot but raise their voices to praise Him. This is because we are not afraid of judgment. We know that He "loves us and has released us from our sins by His blood."
He "loves us!" Yes, He loves us. In the original text "love" is in the present tense, meaning that He now loves us. "Released" in the original text is in the past tense, meaning that He has released us from our sins. How do we know that He loves us now? We know because He has washed away our sins by His own blood. His present love is measured by His past work — the shedding of blood and the washing away of sins. We all have to measure in this way! Any other method is not dependable! Do not use your changing feelings and experiences to measure the love of the Lord! We know that He loves us now, for no reason other than that in the past He has shed His own precious blood to wash away our sins. Who can comprehend all the worth of the precious blood of the Lord? We have to remember this always. If one is "idle" and "unfruitful," it is because he has "forgotten the cleansing of his past sins" (2 Pet. 1:8-9). Remembering the grace we have obtained when we were saved enables us to grow in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. May the Lord cause us to realize this: all that we have are but sins. Yet, He loves us and He cleansed us. Thank God for the washing in the past and the unceasing love in the present! We thank the Lord because He loves, because He shed His blood, and because He loved us unto the shedding of His blood!
We can see His love not only through the shedding of His blood and the washing away of our sins, but also because He "made us a kingdom, priests to His God and Father." Formerly, God promised the Israelites, "And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests" (Exo. 19:6). This promise, however, had a condition. If they were obedient, then they would be such. However, they failed. Therefore, only the Levites became the priests. Yet, even their priestly service could not pass the veil. The grace of God now enables us to be joined together as one kingdom, a kingdom of priests. It enables us to enter into the Holy of Holies to have fellowship with God. The Lord Jesus, who expresses God, has already put us before Him — a place of joy, praise, and intercession. This is our present position. Every one of us is a priest of God. We give praise to God, intercede for other people, and rejoice in ourselves. It is very pitiful, however, that even though we have this kind of position, many of us do not have the experience of being God's priests now. If we are asked to take care of some business, we might be able to handle it, but if we are asked to serve the Lord, we become helpless. However, those who cannot serve the Lord within the veil will never suffer without the camp.
Why did He make us "a kingdom, priests"? This refers to the future. In the coming kingdom, the Lord will make us a kingdom of priests. At that time we shall not only be priests individually, but we shall be joined together to be a priesthood, as a kingdom. This means we shall all be priests. We are "a royal priesthood," "to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ" (5, 1 Pet. 2:9). "Royal" means kingly. When the kingdom comes, we shall not only be priests, but we shall also be kings and priests. We shall be kings. This, however, refers to the future and not to the present. In the future, we shall reign with the Lord and receive the incomparably great glory. This will be realized in the kingdom. As for now, we are joined together with God's High Priest to be priests in the Holy of Holies. We ought to serve the Lord with all of our heart and forget about the gain and loss in the world. We should not seek after the transient world. Our hope is in the future. May the Lord discipline us so that we will discipline ourselves not to covet or to envy the vanity under the sun. Let people look down on us, ridicule us, hate us, and ill-treat us! We have the brightest future! Now we are hidden by the veil; we are small and unnoticed. The day will come soon, however, when we shall have the authority to rule, whose sphere will be the whole earth, and whose duration will be eternity. May we receive more grace to be the priests to serve God and the kings to carry out God's will on the earth. May we be absolute for God.
Here, we ought to pay attention to one thing. Our being kings and priests is based on the precious blood of the Lord Jesus. Because of the shedding of His blood, our sins are forgiven. It is because of the shedding of His blood that we can be kings. Why did He shed His blood? Because He loves us. Our being kings is based completely on His love and grace. If this is the case, does it mean that all the saints will be kings in the millennial kingdom? There are many places in the Scripture which answer, "No." If to be kings is a matter of grace, why cannot all believers be kings? We have to realize one thing: God's grace has prepared salvation for all men, but are all the people on the earth saved? No. Why is this so? It is because some of them do not believe. They do not accept God's grace by faith. In the same way, God's grace has prepared a glory, that is, a kingship, for the entire church. Yet, because the saints do not have the act of faith to receive God's grace, they cannot all be kings. Not all men on earth are saved; not all saints are granted to be kings. Therefore, we all need to be very careful. We should not go to extremes. It is fully the Lord's grace that believers are made kings. We have no merit in this at all. Yet it does not mean that because of the Lord's grace the responsibility of the saints is annulled. Our responsibility is to receive this grace by the act of faith. If we believe that we shall obtain glory in the future, can we still covet the present glory? If we believe that we shall be kings in the millennial kingdom, can we still admire the great men of this world? Therefore, our being kings is by grace and is also by works. Without suffering we cannot be kings. Our suffering is the means through which we receive the glory. For the sake of the glory to be manifested in the future, may we once again guard our hearts from being attracted by the world!
"To Him be the glory and the might forever and ever!" When the saints hear the name of the Lord Jesus, they are reminded of His works. It is when we consider how He loves us and how in love He shed His blood for us that we may receive the glory, that we cannot refrain from raising our voices in singing: "To him be the glory and the might forever and ever!" Our praising the Lord is not because we have strong feelings or special experiences. We praise because of His unchanging love. Our voice of praise should not be uttered according to our wavering feelings and poor experiences. We should praise the Lord because of the Lord Himself. We should see how He has saved us in the past, how He will glorify us in the future, and how He loves us now. We should consider Him, His works, His person, and Himself. This will make us able and willing to praise Him regardless of our condition, and in this way we will certainly give all the glory and might to Him. Even in eternity this will be the way we praise Him.
Here, the "Amen" is added so that our individual voice can echo with the churches' voice. It is indeed a blessing to be able to share a place among the innumerable multitude, having the same theme and the same joy. Yet it is equally a blessing if we can utter with our own voice and express our own joy individually. The apostle said He "loved me and gave Himself for me." Is there not a difference between this and He "loved us and gave Himself for us?" Our individual voice should not be lost in the multitude. Each one of us should have things which we can praise the Lord for. A particular experience results in a particular song. May we all have our own "Amen" to harmonize with the joyful noise of the multitude. When one's heart responds to the love of the Lord, he is ready to testify for the Lord. When one receives grace, he sings praise, and after he sings the praises, he should tell the world of what he has. If one is with Christ, he will want to bear witness for Him in the world. One who has the same kind of life as Enoch's will undoubtedly have the same testimony as Enoch's. "And Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God took him" (Gen. 5:24). This is he that testified, "Behold, the Lord came with myriads of His saints." The saints of God living in this world should be like Enoch, walking with God and witnessing for God. If we read the following verse, we will see how the faithful saints raised their voices for the Lord.
Verse 7: "Behold, He comes with the clouds, and every eye shall see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the land will mourn over Him. Yes, amen."
Although verses 5 through 7 are all exultations of the saints, verses 5 and 6 are their praises while verse 7 is their testimony toward the world following their praising of the Lord.
Here we see two matters: first, the fellowship between the saints and the Lord; second, the testimony of the saints toward the world. The most joyful thing in a Christian's life is to have fellowship with the Lord. It is through seeing Christ and through realizing the blessings we have in Him that we are drawn to fellowship with Him and to worship Him. Because of this union with God, the saints are brought to a knowledge of the future of the world. This is a part of our testimony; it is not something we pursue after day and night. If a man studies prophecy, surely he will discover many wonderful and interesting matters, but he will hardly have a heart to fellowship with the Lord. Prophecy has its place, but to pay too much attention to it will nourish one's mind and starve one's spirit. No matter how capable a man is in interpretation and analysis, only God's grace is able to lead us to have fellowship with Him. Only when we consider the cross of the Lord and recall how He expresses His love, washes away our sins, and puts us in a high position are we able to have a sense of gratitude which results in worship and a worship which results in fellowship with the Lord. It is of course wrong for one to look down on prophecy. This will surely put one into snares. However, if the believers pay attention only to the key passages of the prophecies without touching the love of the Lord, they will not be able to worship the Lord. Furthermore, they cannot lead people to forsake the world. True godliness is borne out of worship. One should first have the fellowship in the heavens before he is able to give effective testimony on the earth. It seems, however, that fellowship, worship, and praise are lost skills among Christians today! If our hearts rest in Christ and if we see in prophecy the Lord whom we love, then prophecy will provide a background to enhance our worship.
"Behold, He comes with the clouds." Do we have this kind of testimony? Those who know the Lord's coming judgment on the world will definitely make those who drift along with the world very uncomfortable. Nevertheless, the saints will rejoice because the time of their glorification is at hand. The saints, because of their own joy and the world's sorrow, cry out, "Behold, He comes with the clouds." Because of his earnestness in longing for our Lord Jesus Christ's glorification, John seemed to have seen the advent of the Lord already. For this reason he cried out, "Behold!" May the coming again of the Lord be as real in our hearts as this.
"He comes." The word "He" deserves emphasis. This is no one else but He Himself. "This Jesus" was taken up into heaven, and later He "will come." This is the testimony of the Bible (Acts 1:11). The coming of the Lord Jesus Christ is neither the coming of the Holy Spirit, nor the destruction of Jerusalem, nor the death of Christians. Even more, it is not the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ now. "He comes" means He Himself shall come. The Son of Man shall come. The Lord they love shall come. Anything else cannot be counted as His coming.
"He comes." This is neither His receiving of the overcoming saints before the seven years of tribulation nor His receiving of the saints to the air who have gone through the tribulation or who have been resurrected from death at His coming at the closing of the seven years of tribulation. This is the coming of the Lord to the earth with His saints after the seven years of tribulation and before the millennium. We know the overcoming believers shall be raptured to the heavens before the start of the seven years of tribulation. Just before the seven years of tribulation end, the Lord Himself shall come from the heavens to the air to receive all the saints who will be resurrected from death or who will still be living on the earth. Afterward, He will bring all the saints to the earth. If we want to understand prophecy, we need to differentiate these three events and not mix them together.
The Lord's rapture of the overcoming saints to the heavens is a special matter. It is according to the Lord's promises in Luke 21:36 and Revelation 3:10. Not all the regenerated and saved saints shall escape the tribulation on the earth unless they watch and pray always, setting their minds in the heavens while having their bodies on earth. The saints should not only have life, that is, be saved, but should also have the sanctified life, that is, they should overcome. To many saints rapture is too strange a thing. It involves too much of a change from their present living! This is not right. The will of the Lord is that we would possess the life of ascension now. He wants us to have the real experience of our life being hidden with Christ in God now (Col. 3:3). It is nothing strange for us to have our spirit first taken up to the heavens, then our body raptured. (Of course, in reality there will be many changes.) Our ascension in life is based on the accomplishment of the Lord Jesus on the cross: He joined us to Himself in His death, in His resurrection, and in His ascension. All these are related to the spiritual aspects. His rapturing of the saints is an ascension in their bodies as well as in their spirits. Our spiritual problems are dealt with at the cross. The rapture to the heavens is just a redemption of the body and not the perfection of the spiritual life. Therefore, those saints who are not joined to the Lord in the experience of His death, resurrection, and ascension will be left behind on the earth to suffer the tribulation. They will not be raptured. We will speak more about this point later.
Why does the Lord allow them to go through the great tribulation and to suffer? He wants to use the suffering to discipline them. The Lord rebukes and chastens them because He wants them to "partake of His holiness" (Heb. 12:10). If God does not receive His children's response when He calls them with love in grace, He will have no other course but to refine them with rebukes in grace. Unripe wheat cannot be gathered into the barn. Likewise, immature saints cannot be raptured! If the love of the Lord cannot draw their spirits to the heavens, He will, for their benefit, use suffering to turn their spirits to the heavens. This is why so many saints will have to enter the great tribulation. When they are ready, the Lord Himself will come to the air to receive them. At that time, 1 Thessalonians 4 and 1 Corinthians 15 will be fulfilled. Therefore, may the Lord grant us grace and make us willing now to allow His Holy Spirit to work the cross deeply into us through the constraint of Christ's love, so that we will have the genuine experience of being crucified, resurrected, and ascended with the Lord, and that we will gain His pleasure and be raptured.
After all the saints are raptured and right before the beginning of the millennial kingdom, the Lord will come with the clouds from the air to appear together with the saints. Here, we see the complete union of Christ and the Christians: having died together, resurrected together, ascended together, and appearing together. "When Christ our life is manifested, then you also will be manifested with Him in glory" (Col. 3:4). This appearing is the coming to earth for the judgment of the Gentile nations that are still alive on earth.
In our study of prophecy we should carefully differentiate these three points: the special rapture of the overcoming saints, the coming of the Lord to the air to receive all of the saints, and the coming of the Lord with the saints to the earth. The verse presented here is not a confession by the church of her expectation, but an announcement by the saints of the judgment on all men. It is their testimony to all men. Therefore, this verse speaks about the Lord Jesus coming to the earth. This is in complete agreement with the scenes that follow.
The Lord Jesus will come "with the clouds." This agrees with the words of the prophet Daniel, when he said he "watched in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven, One like a Son of Man was coming" (7:13). This is also the same as the testimony in Acts: the Lord Jesus "was lifted up, and a cloud took Him away from their sight...Behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them, who also said,...This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you beheld Him going into heaven" (1:9-11). The same way He went up with the clouds, He shall come with the clouds. This also agrees with what Jesus said to Caiaphas, "I say to you, From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven" (Matt. 26:64). "Every eye will see Him." How different this is compared with His ascension! This will be the time for Him to receive authority and power. Whether dead or alive, Gentiles or Jews, one day all shall see His face! This is not the Lord's coming to receive His saints! At that time no one can see Him except the saints. The coming again at this time is with form and body. Therefore, "every eye will see Him." Not only so, "even those who pierced Him" will also see Him. The one who pierced the Lord Jesus was a Roman soldier (John 19:34). In reality, however, it was the Jews who pierced Him (John 19:37; Zech. 12:10). Therefore, "even those who pierced Him," although referring to the Jews, includes not only the Jews but also the Gentiles. The word "every" in "every eye" denotes both the Jews and the Gentiles.
"And all the tribes of the land will mourn over Him." In the original text "the land" can refer to Palestine. Those who shall wail are the Israelites. Zechariah records that the Israelites shall mourn after looking upon the pierced Lord. Please read chapter twelve, verses 12-14. There, only the tribe of Judah (the houses of David and Nathan) and the tribe of Levi (Shimei, Num. 3:18) are mentioned. Perhaps there will only be those two tribes in Jerusalem at that time. Perhaps they were singled out because those two tribes are the tribes of kings and priests. However, "the land" can also mean the whole earth and "all the tribes" can denote all races. Therefore, here it not only speaks of the wailing of the Israelites, but of the wailing of all men. The wailing in Zechariah denotes only the repentance of sins. The wailing here, in the case of the remnant of the Israelites, is for repentance, and in the case of all others, for disappointment and fear. "And at that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the land will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory" (Matt. 24:30). At that time, the age of grace having completely passed away, God shall favor the Israelites according to His righteousness, and He shall also judge the nations according to righteousness. Rather than wailing at that day, why not wail today! Sinners of the world, why not come to the cross of the Lord today to mourn for your sins? Accept the Lord Jesus as your Savior, and ask God to forgive your sins. Do not wait for that day. On that day, you, a Gentile, shall wail, but it will be too late! Come now quickly!
Now let me say some more concerning the Lord's coming again and the order of events here. We should read Zechariah. At the end of the seven years all the nations shall gather together to fight against Jerusalem (Zech. 14:2), at which time the Jews shall flee to the Mount of Olives (v. 5). The Lord Jesus shall come with His saints in the clouds and in the glory. The Lord's feet shall stand upon the Mount of Olives (v. 4), fulfilling the prophecy spoken by the two men in white clothing (Acts 1:11). The mount will be split at its middle, and there shall be a very great valley. The Israelites shall flee to the valley of the mountains (Zech. 14:4-5). Afterward, they shall look upon the Lord Jesus whom they pierced (12:10). Someone will ask the Lord what these wounds in His hands are, and the Lord will answer, "Those with which I was wounded in the house of those who love me" (13:6). Then the Israelites shall know that Jesus whom they despised is the Christ. Then they shall mourn and repent (12:10) and shall accept the salvation accomplished for them on the cross by the Lord Jesus (13:1). On the other hand, the Lord Jesus shall judge all the Gentile nations on the earth. At that time, those who treated the Jews kindly in the tribulation will be sheep and shall become the citizens in the millennial kingdom and shall enter into eternal life. Those who ill-treated the Jews will be the goats and shall enter into eternal fire. After these things, the millennial kingdom will begin.
Let us come back to the text. "Yes, amen." According to the Greek text, the expression "yes" is only one word. The meaning of this one word is exactly the same as "Amen." The only difference is that this one word is Greek, whereas "Amen" is Hebrew. Here the apostle had only one meaning in mind but used two different languages to repeat it. What is the reason? What is recorded in this verse was the testimony of the saints to the world. The apostle ends the verse with these two words, indicating: (1) the church is looking forward to the coming of the Lord "wholeheartedly"; (2) the church testifies to the Gentiles — Greeks; and (3) to the Jews — Hebrews. These two words are the response concerning the Lord's coming again by the saints who love the Lord's appearing. In the Epistles the apostles of the Lord expressed the coming again of the Lord Jesus as the blessed hope of the saints. All those who truly love the Lord long for the appearing of the Lord. Therefore, after testifying to the world that the Lord will come, the apostle spoke these two wholehearted expectations in order to express his earnest desire for the Lord's coming. Although the Lord's coming is to judge all men, to cause all men to wail and to suffer, the apostle said, "Amen." He would not delay the Lord's coming by his compassion toward all men. There is nothing wrong with that because this is allowed by the Holy Spirit and is pleasing to God. Therefore, it is recorded here so that when we read it, we will also say, "Amen" once and twice. We love all men because the Lord loves them. We should not love our work more than the appearing of the Lord. Our hearts have to be attracted by the Lord to the extent that nothing stands between us and our Lord. Indeed, we should love the souls of men and be faithful to our work. We should, however, rest in God because He also loves sinners — much more than we do. He treasures His own work much more than we do. Since He considers that His Christ should come again, we should not question His wisdom, grace, and mercy one bit. His thoughts are the best. At any rate, what we love should not just be men but should be God. What we long for is not our work but rather the Lord who grants us work. He is coming. Are our hearts not joyful? May there be a deeper love and longing between us and the Lord. Here, two Amens were used in verses 6 and 7. Just as a saint desires to see the Lord Jesus glorified and rejoices because He Himself shall have a beautiful future, in the same way he should love the Lord's second coming for the judgment of all those who do not obey Him.
The church has already testified to the world. Christ is coming soon. The age of grace is drawing closer to an end day by day. God's judgment in wrath is coming nearer day by day. Are there those who listen to this testimony? No. On the contrary, many who love to mock begin to say according to their lusts: "Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue in this way from the beginning of creation!" (2 Pet. 3:4). Therefore, God shall come and testify.
Verse 8: "I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, He who is and who was and who is coming, the Almighty."
According to F. W. Grant, a Bible scholar, the phrase "Yes, amen" in the previous verse can also be included in this verse. This means that this phrase, "Yes, amen" was spoken by "the Lord God." Because of men's unbelief, He argued with men and refuted their unbelief. He has proved in the past that the Lord Jesus will be coming soon. He is also proving this now. In these days is He not indicating through politics, religion, morality, and spirituality that Christ is coming again soon? Who can deny that these are the signs? No matter how unbelieving men are, these are still God's midnight crying.
Here we see John putting God and Christ together. In chapter twenty-two, verse 13, the Lord Jesus also introduced Himself in the same way as here. This shows us that Christ and God are distinguishable yet inseparable.
"The Lord God" is the name used for God in the garden of Eden. This book tells us how the Lord will recreate a new garden of Eden where man will never fall again. Therefore, when mentioning the new garden of Eden, He is again called "the Lord God" (22:5, 6). Here the two names are combined. "The Lord," which means Jehovah, is the name He used when He established the covenant with Israel. "I am Jehovah...I have also established my covenant with them" (Exo. 6:2, 4 ASV). "God" is His common name, indicating He is greater than any man. "The Lord God" is a very appropriate name, because this name combines all the names God used in past generations, showing that God is the God of all. The One who speaks here is this God. All His promises and warnings are completely true.
One thing should be remembered: a man's name changes according to place, time, and person. At home two can call each other brothers, but in political organizations they cannot call each other brothers. Therefore, each name God uses for Himself in the Bible has its own independent meaning. God reveals His own name based upon the person and the times. How regrettable that unbelievers do not know this. Consequently many doubts arise about the source of the Bible.
"I am the Alpha and the Omega." Alpha is the first letter of the Greek alphabet and omega is the last. This shows that He is the beginning of the beginning and the end of the end. He is the One without beginning and without end, who also is the beginning of all things and the ending of all things. Words are for speaking. His word is the beginning and the ending of all speakings. When He speaks, all that must be said is said. In the beginning, all things came into being at His speaking. Since that time He has spoken again, and all things are in place according to His command. The One who is speaking and testifying now is also this One. He is the everlasting God. What He testifies is completely true. He has not only proven the past truths, but He is also proving all the later warnings.
"He who is and who was and who is coming, the Almighty." "The Almighty" means "the Lord of hosts" showing that He is the Lord of the universe. "The Almighty" was the name He used to establish the covenant with Abraham. "And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am Jehovah: and I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, as God Almighty; but by my name Jehovah was I not known to them" (Exo. 6:2-3 ASV). Here we see that the names of God are names that He used in different ages in the past. The name "Father" of the age of grace is not mentioned. He who testifies is this One, the Almighty who has the ability to fulfill His plan. It is He who is testifying for the Lord Jesus, who was crucified in weakness in the past, but will be worshipped in power in the future. Therefore, His testimony is true.
Verse 9: "I John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and endurance in Jesus."
John did not call himself a member of Christ nor did he call himself an apostle. He called himself their brother and joint partaker. How gentle and sweet this is! Even though he was alone on the island of Patmos at that moment, his spirit was with his brothers, suffering together with them, enduring with them, and waiting with them for the coming of the heavenly kingdom. This is the wonderful work of the Holy Spirit, which enables us to suffer together with the saints in every place. Because he had a very deep sympathy with them and a very intimate union in life with them, their suffering was like his own suffering. When they suffered, he was even by their side as their joint partaker. May the Lord give us a bigger heart to receive all the brothers in the Lord so that they will know that we are always joint partakers with them in all things. Those who truly have the work of the Lord's cross in them will surely know how to be united with all the children of the Lord. The cross unites sinners with God the Father. It also unites all Christians who trust in Him. The cross separates us from sinful living, but unites us with those having God's life.
Tribulation, kingdom, and endurance — these three things indicate the present and future journey of the saints. This kingdom is the millennial kingdom in chapter twenty. However, it does not refer to the citizens in the millennial kingdom but to those who will reign together with the Lord Jesus Christ for a thousand years. In the future, the saints will have no other kingdom except their reigning together with the Lord. Reigning with the Lord is the purpose for the coming heavenly kingdom. This kingdom is the believers' common hope and reward. This kingdom is the believers' future glory and honor. God has called all the believers into His kingdom to gain His glory (1 Thes. 2:12). Have all the believers, however, heard this calling? Are they all able to meet God's demand? I dare not judge, but I am afraid many will lose God's reward!
The kingdom is indeed glorious, but what comes before the kingdom? It is tribulation. The way to the kingdom is tribulation. Tribulation paves the way to glory! "Blessed are those who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of the heavens" (Matt. 5:10). If we take sides with the world, how can there be persecution? If we were "of the world, the world would love its own" (John 15:19). If you leave the world, not only the world's "world" but also the Christian "world" will persecute you. However, it is by this way that we walk to the realm of glory.
"If indeed we suffer with Him that we may also be glorified with Him" (Rom. 8:17). The present suffering will be the determining factor of the future glory. The more we suffer, the better prepared we will be to gain the glory, because "if you are reproached in the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you" (1 Pet. 4:14). The Holy Spirit prepares us for the glory of the kingdom through tribulation. Before things come to pass, He forewarns us. He will not let us suffer tribulation without warning. He wants us to be willing. He wants us to sit down and count the cost. He told us long ago, "In the world you have affliction" (John 16:33), but by granting a reward He comforts our hearts. He told us, "He who overcomes, to him I will give to sit with Me on My throne" (Rev. 3:2) — to reign together in the kingdom. Oh, may the future glory be displayed before us! May the Lord help us to realize that we are "granted on behalf of Christ not only to believe in Him but also to suffer on His behalf" (Phil. 1:29). Nevertheless, this suffering is not in vain because the one who suffers will have the reward.
Although "through many tribulations we must enter into the kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22), if we follow "Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame" (Heb. 12:2), in the future we will be able to sit together with Him on the throne. The more we think about the joy of the coming kingdom, the less we will care about today's small cross. "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the coming glory to be revealed upon us" (Rom. 8:18). God makes glory the strength of our suffering. May the Lord grant us spiritual insight so that we can see the future glory.
"A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above his master" (Matt. 10:24). Our Lord Jesus Christ gained the glory through tribulations. Ascension to the throne is from the cross. The Lord expects us also to walk in His way. What a pity that today there are not many people who will bear the cross. Even sometimes we ourselves see the cross but go around it! Very few people are glad to take up the cross! The Lord is now preparing us to be kings, so He takes us through many fiery trials. If we are not willing, we will lose the kingdom. The Lord is now training us by the cross so that we will learn to obey through suffering. The result is that the kingly nature will be formed in us. The cross is a suffering, but we should not be mistaken in thinking that all sufferings are the cross. When we endure a suffering by the Spirit of the crucified Lord Jesus with the result that the Lord fulfills His purpose and nullifies our intentions, our suffering is indeed the cross. Oh, there are not many kings on this earth! We do not know how many will be kings in the millennial kingdom. Nevertheless, those who bear the cross today will surely be kings in the future because only the one who is a king can bear the cross.
Tribulation, kingdom, and endurance — we have already seen how the Word of God testifies that we should gain the kingdom through tribulation. Here the apostle also mentions endurance. To those who know the future glory and who for its sake are willing to endure the tribulation, the most important thing is endurance. We know that to enter into the kingdom we must go through many difficulties. If we do not persevere with endurance, we may become those who put their hands on the plow but look backward. We may be counted unworthy by the Lord to enter into the kingdom of God. If by the Holy Spirit of God we would endure tribulation, ever accepting that which is new after that which is old is over, and faithfully allowing tribulation to treat us harshly, to hurt us, to afflict us, and to break us so that God can accomplish His perfect will, our next tribulation will find us with more strength to endure than before. This is because "tribulation works endurance" (Rom. 5:3).
If one grieves in his suffering, this suffering is in vain. Saints should be like the Lamb of God, who endured without a sound under the hands of the shearers. Our portion now is to suffer. Do not hope for something better than this. The virtue of a Christian in tribulation is endurance. If we endure, we will inherit the kingdom. "If we endure, we will also reign with Him" (2 Tim. 2:12). For this reason we should hold fast to what we have, that is, to endure, so that no one will take away our crown, that is, the future kingdom. "Therefore be long-suffering, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. Behold, the farmer eagerly awaits the precious fruit of the earth, exercising long-suffering over it until it receives the early and late rain. You also be long-suffering; establish your hearts because the coming of the Lord has drawn near" (James 5:7-8). Oh, many people have already lost this! At the beginning of the journey to the heavenly kingdom, were there not many people? What about now? I am afraid many have gone back to the world! At the beginning of the way of the cross, because of the future earnest hope of glory, many charge forward courageously. However, because of the Lord's delay, the change in time and environment, the attack of Satan, and the delusion of the world, the cross becomes heavy, the old flesh rises and falls, and finally they compromise with the people in the world and leave this narrow way. Truly, if the Lord were to come back earlier, would not all ten virgins have brightly shining lamps? However, the bridegroom delayed. Because of this delay, the line between the wise and the foolish was drawn. "Time" will manifest who has served the Lord faithfully and in whose life the work of the cross has been deeply wrought. Therefore, brothers, endure until the Lord comes. On the one hand, if we look at the signs now, we know the Lord is surely coming soon, but on the other hand, maybe the Lord will not come within ten years or a hundred years. If the Lord delays, can you endure suffering for Him that long, awaiting the manifestation of His kingdom? May we all keep the word of the Lord's endurance (Rev. 3:10).
Truly the kingdom is real, and the tribulation will be severe. Without endurance we will fail. The apostle put both things together. How meaningful this is! What God delights in is the saints' heart of endurance through their suffering for the kingdom. This matches what Paul said: "We ourselves boast in you...concerning your endurance and faith in all your persecutions and the afflictions which you bear, a plain indication of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be accounted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which also you suffer" (2 Thes. 1:4-5). Endurance in suffering will definitely bring us the kingdom. Nevertheless, we should also remember that tribulation, kingdom, and endurance are "in Jesus." Suffering is not to secure one's own reward but is for the Lord Jesus Christ. Whatever is less than this standard will not gain God's delight. It is not up to us to choose how to suffer or what kind of suffering we should have. Everything is for the Lord Jesus! Everything is for the Lord Jesus! Besides Him, we have no interest. Only when the Holy Spirit works in our hearts, causing us to be filled with the will of and desire for the Lord Jesus, are we able to endure suffering for Him with joy.
Now is the time of "kingdom and endurance." In the future it will be the time of "power, kingdom, and authority." Before the Lord appears in glory, we must pass through suffering in endurance. Once the Lord appears in glory, our sufferings and endurance will cease. Oh blessed hope! Now Christ is waiting for the manifestation of His kingdom. He is waiting for God to make His enemies His footstool. We are enduring with the Lord, waiting for the fulfillment of this hope. Christ together with the Christians are rejected by the world; they hope and endure together and work together!
The church, however, has already left her position of endurance of tribulation. She desires to seek a place in the world and in society. She loves the glory and power of this life and despises the narrow way of the cross. The blessing of this world should be for the Jews and, consequent to their fall, for the Gentile world. However, here the church is also seeking after the greatness of the flesh. In the present time while many people fail, those who faithfully serve the Lord should all the more be sober. If we forsake sins, we should all the more be humble, for the one who suffers for the Lord, if he does not continue to rely upon Him, may think, "I serve the Lord this way, but no one else does!" If this is so, how can we say it is all by the Lord's grace? Here lies our danger. If one has God's grace to leave everything of the world but does not have the same grace to humble himself, the result is that his separation will become a source of boasting. Now we see the children of God failing on every side. On the one hand, we should depart from sin. On the other hand, we should recognize our failure and confess our sins before the Lord (Dan. 9). Being in an age where Satan constantly attacks God's children, now is not the time for us to boast of ourselves.
When the apostle addressed himself as "I John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and endurance in Jesus," was not his intention for us to be partakers in all these three things? Unless we do partake in them, we will probably not be able to understand the spiritual meaning in this book. If we befriend the world, how can we sympathize with John on the island of Patmos? Since we are brothers together, we should suffer together, hope for glory together, and endure in waiting together. Many of our brothers are still fighting fierce warfare in the battlefield. How can we retreat to enjoy comfort alone? "Shall your brethren go to war, and shall ye sit here?" (Num. 32:6). To have present gain is to suffer future loss. On the contrary, the present suffering is a future gain. Where there is suffering, there is glory. Where there is no suffering, there is no glory. The more suffering there is, the more glory there is. The less suffering there is, the less glory there is. God is willing to glorify us, but are we willing to receive His glory? Are we willing to take the proper course of suffering to enter the kingdom of glory? Can it be that Christ alone bore the cross and we are left in ease? Can it be that my brothers bear the cross and I go completely unaffected?
We should make a distinction here. Eternal life is obtained by faith; it is free. "He who believes into the Son has eternal life" (John 3:36). For us, eternal life is assured. We have believed in the merit of the cross of the Lord Jesus and have received Him as our Savior. According to His Word, God has given us eternal life. Hence, we can never perish. Our salvation is fully assured, for the precious blood of the Lord is strong to save us. However, what about the kingdom? "The kingdom of the heavens is taken by violence, and violent men seize it" (Matt. 11:12). This is very different from the qualification for eternal life. This is not free faith. There is the need for work on the side of the receiver. However, this is not the dead work of the old self under the law. Rather, it is the righteous work of the new man under grace. The problem of our eternal life is solved, but the question of the kingdom depends fully on the way we employ the Lord's grace, how we behave as saints, and how we suffer for the Lord. We should praise the Lord because we have eternal life already, but we must still go on to receive His promised kingdom. Do not think that there is any place for our self-work here. All these works are the result of our drawing our supply from the Lord's grace.
"I...was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus" (Rev. 1:9). The word of God and the testimony of Jesus here refer to the testimony of John. Because he was faithful to God's truth, he was exiled to the island of Patmos. He believed in another king, the Lord Jesus. He looked for another kingdom, the kingdom of the heavens, which is far better than the Roman Empire. That was the reason he was put into his present state. The island of Patmos was a very deserted place. To the east were the seven churches. Beyond that was Babylon, the great river Euphrates, and Mesopotamia. To the west were Greece and Rome. To the north was Gog. To the south was Palestine and Egypt. This island was in the middle of a vast ocean. Jagged rocks surrounded the whole island. There was no arable land at all. There was no river, no trees. It was a desolate scene. Other than the sound of the wind and the water, there was no sign of life. Because John was faithful to the word of God, he was sent to such a place. If we would not go along with the world and would fight the good fight for the truth, we will also have to go to the island of Patmos. This is the reward in this life for the faithful. The world has not improved from the time of John until now. On the contrary, it has turned worse day by day. If we are strict and unyielding as John was for the testimony of the Lord Jesus and His salvation, how can we expect lesser persecutions than the island of Patmos. I am afraid that the persecution will be more severe! However, Satan tempts many to skillfully avoid sufferings. Some have been spared through compromising with the world. Others have been protected through seeking refuge in rulers. We know that the Lord can protect us. Many times the Lord will not allow us to go through sufferings, but how different is the peace that is obtained through compromise and trust in the world from that given by the Father. Although we are not now at the stage where we crave after suffering, at least we should not lower our standard because of the persecutions and try to please men as a result of this. At any rate, one thing is sure: the minute we disassociate ourselves from the sins and organization of the world, our life in Patmos begins. Still, praise and thank the Lord, for "who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation or anguish or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword?" (Rom. 8:35). Thank and praise the Lord, for "in all these things we more than conquer through Him who loved us" (Rom. 8:37).
The phrase "on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus" may mean that God had again entrusted to John the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. To those who have, there shall be added more. There is no one who has the experience of Patmos who does not have the revelation of Patmos. Did not the Joseph in the prison, the Moses in the wilderness, the David in suffering, and the Paul in chains all have fresh revelations? John was following in their footsteps. Although the Word of God is now complete and there is no need for newer revelations, do not those who follow in the footsteps of the servants of God receive the opening up of God's word and the companionship of the Lord Jesus? This is the reward of suffering. The reward of suffering is the unveiling of the loving face of the Lord. Those that seek after worldly comfort, blessing, and glory may not have the suffering of Patmos, but neither will they have the revelation of Patmos. A fleshly person considers the Lord's cross as a fearsome pathway, but those who love the Lord take the cross and their glory.
Verse 10: "I was in spirit on the Lord's Day and heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet."
The "Lord's Day" here is the first day of the week, which we commonly call Sunday. The ancient church called the first day of the week the Lord's Day. This is different from "the day of the Lord" in both the Old Testament and the New. The words "the Lord's Day" are different from "the day of the Lord" in the original language. The day of the Lord refers to the long period from the descending of Christ in glory to the renewing of the heavens and the earth by fire. The Lord's Day refers only to the first day of the week, that is, Sunday. If the Lord's Day were to refer to the day of the Lord, then what is recorded in Revelation could only be things happening at the day of the Lord. However, this is not so. The things concerning the seven churches in chapters two and three were all things before the day of the Lord. Therefore, it is very inappropriate to consider the Lord's Day as the day of the Lord. (The Lord's Day is fully a thing of the New Testament. It has absolutely nothing to do with the Sabbath of the Old Testament. The Lord's Day is not the "Christian Sabbath." Christians should not keep the Lord's Day in the way of the bondage of the Old Testament regulations regarding the Sabbath. We should never mix together the Lord's Day with the Sabbath. If we mix the two together, we will bear our yoke in vain!)
The apostle heard the voice of God's revelation in spirit on a certain Lord's Day. The translation in some versions, "I was in the Spirit," is not a proper rendering, because in Greek there is not a definite article before the word "spirit." This shows that the spirit here does not refer to the Holy Spirit but to the human spirit.
Man is tripartite, composed of spirit, soul, and body (1 Thes. 5:23). The spirit is the organ for us to worship God; it has the God consciousness. The soul is our whole personality; it has the self consciousness. The body is our outer shell; it has the physical consciousness. When believers are regenerated, though they have a new life, they are nevertheless still of the flesh and are affected by the body. When they progress to serve the Lord and to grow in grace, they gradually enter the realm of the soul. When believers are in their soul, their actions are mostly determined by their own mind, emotion, stimulus, and feelings. Their life is not a stable one. They are unsteady and lacking in soberness. They cannot serve the Lord and work for Him unless they are burning in heart or feel inexplicable joy. Only if they have a presence of God that can be "felt" will they be able to pray, praise, or read the Bible. If they feel dry in heart, they will not be able to live normally. In the believers' experience, the most important thing is to allow the Holy Spirit to divide the soul from the spirit through the Word of God. In this way they will not be affected by the soul anymore and can be fully spiritual, and their daily life will not be altered by their emotions, feelings, thoughts, and stimulations.
Here we see how free and unbound by anything was the spirit of John. He had the ascended life (Eph. 2:6). His spirit had left the blockade of the soul and was soaring in the air. Although he was alone on a deserted island under the mistreatment and suffering of the Romans, he was not inflamed by the soul because of this, and this did not result in a confused or bitter heart. The believers should ask for grace in the Lord to separate the soul from the spirit in their experience so that in all circumstances, whether it be the deserted island of Patmos or other harrowing environments, their spirits will not be bound from fellowshipping with the Lord and receiving revelation from Him. Oh, the world may bind us, chain us, and separate us from our friends and relatives. It may deprive us of the needs of the body so that our natural life cannot go on in a normal way, but it has no way to imprison our spirit from ascending to the heavens. On the contrary, in all the trials our spirit ascends day by day until we reach the throne of God. It may seem that the things that surround us have driven us to exhaustion. However, the world cannot cut off the heaven from above our heads. The island of Patmos is an excellent place to lead our spirit into ascension. It is a pity that God's children have often misused and misunderstood God's Patmos!
Here John was not like an ordinary person. He had some strange experiences. It seemed as if he had lost all sensation of the world and was drawn by the Holy Spirit to separate from his own feelings. The world was left behind, and he was brought into the realm of the spirit to listen to God's word. Originally, he was looking forward to the future glory. Now God would have him to first pay attention to the present condition of the church. Hence, he was turned back (v. 12). He heard behind him "a loud voice like a trumpet." This voice was heard again in 4:1. The meaning of trumpeting is to gather people and to manifest God's holiness (1 Thes. 4:16-17; 1 Cor. 15:52; Exo. 19:16, 19).
Verse 11: "Saying, What you see write in a scroll and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamos and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea."
This was the word which the voice like a trumpet said to the apostle. Here John was charged to send letters to the seven churches in Asia. Some may ask: "Why was there no letter written to the Judean church in Jerusalem?" At this time (approximately A.D. 95 to 96) Jerusalem had already been destroyed. Perhaps the church there was also dispersed. This might have been one reason. However, why was it that only seven churches were addressed? Other than these seven churches, there were still in Asia the church in Colosse and other churches. Seven is the number for dispensational completion. God chose these seven churches as representatives of the church from the time of the apostles to the end of the age. Seven does not refer to the content of the church, for the church was far from perfection. Seven represents the entire church. There were only seven churches because when God tested the church, she also failed, as did the Jews. The church on earth is merely God's temporal plan. Usually, seven is divided into four and three — four coming first, and then three following. However, in these seven epistles three came first and four followed. In all seven epistles there were God's promises and callings. In the first three epistles, first there were the callings, then the promises. In the last four epistles the order is reversed. I believe there is the mind of God in such arrangement. This shows the degradation of the church: at the beginning there was still God's grace and glory, but in the end she is filled with earthly things.
These seven churches were actual churches in those days. If the Lord Jesus were to have come at that time, what was written in the seven epistles would have been fulfilled in those churches. However, the Lord delayed, and the Holy Spirit took these seven churches as representatives of all the churches since the time of the apostles. We should take note of one thing: the seven epistles in chapters two and three were sent by the Lord Himself through John to the seven churches. They were not made known to John by the "angel." The things made known through the angel were those that must swiftly take place within a short time. These seven epistles were not made known by the angel. Rather, they were sent directly by the Lord. Hence, they were not fulfilled immediately. The fulfillment of them requires some time. Therefore, these seven epistles represent things related to all the churches after the apostolic age. These churches rose up one after another throughout the generations. We should realize that the condition of these seven churches has a double significance. First, they depict the real condition of the various churches at the time. Second, they represent the condition of the outward church in the various ages. Because we are living at the end of the church age, we tend to emphasize the representation of the condition of the outward church throughout the ages and neglect the fact that they also depict the real condition of the churches at that time. It is this bias that blocks us from the understanding of the dispensational change God has regarding the church. If we want to understand the present position of the church, that is, the position since the completion of the book of Revelation, we have to pay attention to the real condition of the churches at that time.
These seven epistles, recorded in chapters two and three, are truly different from the other Epistles of the New Testament. They do not seem to have the closeness and intimacy that characterize the Lord's letters through Paul or John. In these seven epistles, the Lord Jesus was standing in the position of the judge, speaking words of judgment and doing a judging work. He was not the Savior and Head as described in the Epistles of Paul and John. Here He was the magistrate of the church, the judging One. If we see this, we will realize that between the churches represented in the book of Revelation and those represented in Paul's Epistles there was a change, a change in the plan of God's dispensation. It is because of the ignorance, or negligence, of this dispensational change in the church that many denominations proclaim themselves to be the unique church.
Let us now consider a little the history of the church in the Bible. At the beginning God gave His kingdom to the Jews, but the Jews rejected it again and again until they killed God's beloved Son (Matt. 21:38-39). Because of this, God took the kingdom away from them and gave it to the people that would bear fruit, the Gentiles. After Pentecost God raised up Paul to preach the kingdom of God to the Gentiles. The olive branches were broken off (Rom. 11) because of their unbelief. They were broken off for the purpose that we, the Gentiles, the wild olive branches, may be grafted in to partake of the root of the fatness of the olive tree. The Gentiles are able to stand because of their faith. Because God wanted to grace the Gentiles, He revealed to Paul the mystery "which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men." This mystery says "that in Christ Jesus the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the Body and fellow partakers of the promise through the gospel" (Eph. 3:1-10). After this, however, the Gentiles, who made up the church, failed just as the Jews did. We can take a look at the testimony of the apostles.
John said, "Young children, it is the last hour" (1 John 2:18). How strange this word is to man! Was this not written during only the first few pages of the history of the church? Was this not the period of the infancy of the holy religion? I imagine when the apostle John wrote this, he could still remember the glorious state of Pentecost. The evangelical works around him seemed to be advancing undeterred. However, the Spirit of God said through him, "It is the last hour" because "many antichrists have come." Peter spoke the same thing. He said, "But there arose also false prophets among the people, as also among you there will be false teachers, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing upon themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their licentiousness, because of whom the way of the truth will be reviled" (2 Pet. 2:1-2). This warning soon became a fact. Jude said also, "For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who of old have been written of beforehand for this judgment, ungodly men, perverting the grace of our God into licentiousness and denying our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ" (Jude 4). Hence, there is the need to "contend for the faith once for all delivered to the saints" (Jude 3). Paul's testimony was even more clear. He told the elders in Ephesus: "I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. And from among you yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverted things to draw away the disciples after them" (Acts 20:29-30). Not long after, this word also became a reality. When Paul was about to depart from the world, he sent a letter to Timothy saying, "This you know, that all who are in Asia turned away from me" (2 Tim. 1:15). This was Asia, but what about Europe? The end was the same. From Rome Paul sent a letter to the Philippians saying, "For many walk, of whom I have told you often and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ" (Phil. 3:18). "For all seek their own things, not the things of Christ Jesus" (2:21). Concerning the condition of the church then, Paul did not say any appeasing words. He said, "But evil men and imposters will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived" (2 Tim. 3:13). "But know this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money,...lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having an outward form of godliness, though denying its power" (3:1-2, 4-5). "For the time will come when they will not tolerate the healthy teaching; but according to their own lusts they will heap up to themselves teachers, having itching ears, and they will turn away their ear from the truth and will be turned aside to myths" (4:3-4). We have seen the testimonies of the apostles which speak of the condition of the churches then. After we read these words, we will realize how the Gentiles in the east and in the west had both failed and had come short of the glory of God. God had warned the Gentiles through Paul: "For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will He spare you. Behold then the kindness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity;...if you continue in His kindness; otherwise you also will be cut off" (Rom. 11:21-22). Even when the apostles were still alive, the Gentiles were already not continuing in God's kindness!
Did God break them off? This is the crucial question. The seven epistles in Revelation 2 and 3 expressed God's view concerning the Gentile churches who did not continue in His kindness. Although these seven epistles contain words of warning, promise, and encouragement, the most prominent feature is their judgmental nature. This was God's final warning to the church. It was the precursor to the judgment seat of Christ. After reading these seven epistles, one can see that insofar as His plan is concerned, God has forsaken His church. In the church in Laodicea, the Lord was driven outside the door already.
God has rejected the church organization. We can see this from the words on God's gifts: "God has placed some in the church: first apostles..." and "He Himself gave some as apostles..." (1 Cor. 12:28; Eph. 4:11). The most important gift and ministry in the church are the apostles, but where are the apostles now? The Roman Catholic Church considers the pope as the successor of the apostles. However, we know that the "apostolic succession" is a heresy. We have to admit that there are no more apostles now. Why is God not giving apostles to the church anymore? To this I must answer: because God has rejected the church and her organization.
This being the case, what is the age from the time of the churches in Revelation until now? In the old days, God dispersed the Jews all over the world because of their sins, but He still tolerated them again and again. In the same way, although God has rejected the church, in His kindness He still treats the Gentiles with endurance. God desires all men to be saved. Hence, He endures until now. However, we have to know that now, that is, from the time of God's rejection of the church until today, we are in a special period. God's intention at the present time is not to establish the organized church. If it were, He would have given apostles to the church. The fact that He has not given apostles to the church shows that God's intention is not for the organized church. God's intention is to gain more people from the Gentiles unto His name.
"What you see write in a scroll." If Revelation had been handed down to us through oral communication, one wonders how much would be retained until today. God considers this book important. Hence, He would see to it that it be written down. What God considers worthy of writing, we should consider worthy of reading.
Verse 12: "And I turned to see the voice that spoke with me; and when I turned, I saw seven golden lampstands."
Before the apostle was to see the future judgment and glory, he was to first consider the condition of the church. The seven golden lampstands that John saw were a symbol of the seven churches (v. 20). It is God's boundless grace that made Him speak to the churches even then. However, they would soon be rejected.
Hebrews 8:2 and 5 say, "A Minister of the holy places, even of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man....Who [the priest] serve the example and shadow of the heavenly things, even as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to complete the tabernacle; for, `See,' He said, `that you make all things according to the pattern that was shown to you in the mountain.'" The golden lampstand in the tabernacle of the Israelites was but a shadow of the heavenly reality. Scholars studying the book of Revelation often want to ascertain whether or not the lampstands John saw here were the heavenly reality. After careful studying, we will see that they were not. We have to admit that there are similarities between them and the lampstand in the tabernacle. However, we must also realize the difference between the two. The golden lampstand in the Old Testament tabernacle was unique; there was only one lampstand divided into seven branches. The one in the middle was the trunk, with six branches coming off the sides. The golden lampstands that John saw here were different from the one in the Old Testament. In the Old Testament it was one lampstand divided into seven branches. What John saw were seven individual lampstands. That is why the Lord Jesus could stand in the midst of them. The golden lampstand in the tabernacle is a type of Christ. What John saw was a type of the churches. The golden lampstand in the tabernacle is a sign of Israel's union with Christ. That was the reason it could shine in the holy place. What John saw was the condition of individual churches in the world. Every lamp has its own stand. Every church has its own responsibility. The Lord Jesus was standing in the midst of these seven lampstands. He was not joined to them, but was judging them.
There is a lesson for us here. We learned that the Israelites, God's chosen people according to the flesh, were earthly. Hence, for them, there was an outward union. This is the meaning of one lampstand (not seven) composed of seven branches. However, the church, God's chosen people according to the spirit, is heavenly. Her union is not a unity in earthly forms. Rather, they are administered locally and are each responsible to the Lord. That is why in their form the lampstands are not joined as one but are separate as seven lampstands, each responsible for the shining in its own locality. In life and communion, the churches are one like a body, but in their earthly responsibility and appearance, the churches are administrated separately as seven lampstands. When we read chapters two and three, we see how the seven churches at that time were different in their works, circumstances, failures, rewards, punishments, and responsibilities. To deny this fact is to create confusion.
This is God's thought towards the different churches on earth. These seven churches do not have a common or unified name. They are not collectively called a certain denomination. In the original language, they are designated as "the church in Ephesus," "the church in Smyrna," etc. There is only one church in one locality. Furthermore, there is no name to these churches. How different this is from the present sects! In appearance, they are seven churches and not one combined church. How different it is from the present demoninations! Because men are not willing to obey the Bible, and because they consider their own organization better than the Bible, we often hear excuses like: "Churches nowadays are not like those in the time of the apostles. They are ten or one hundred times bigger in size than those then. How can the organization of the Bible be applicable?" However, the Bible does not have the practice of joining all the churches to become one denomination! If these people would remember the Scripture concerning the seven lampstands and the seven churches, they would probably not do such things. May God keep us faithful in this time of apostasy. May we not be sectarian and divide the Body of Christ into pieces. One thing grieves me much: whereas formerly God's children were not one according to God's will and have divided themselves under many names, now, while they have the motive of union, they are still acting contrary to God's will in aiming for a unification in name and in form only. It is not a bearing with one another in love in the uniting bond of peace. Such union only opens up the way for the great Babylon of Revelation 17! How sad this is!
There is much significance to God's use of the golden lampstands as a symbol of the church. Gold is the most precious, glorious, elegant, pure, and holy of all metals. In God's eyes, the church is the rarest treasure in the world. God established the church in righteousness and ordained that she should shine in the world. The church's responsibility is to express God's glory. This is the meaning of gold. However, in reality she may not have this expression. Even though God allotted this privilege and responsibility to her, the church has unfortunately disregarded this entrustment.
The lampstands are seven in number, yet this is not to say that these seven churches are combined into a perfect church. Seven here does not refer to moral perfection because these seven churches are far from perfect. The word seven represents perfection in number, that is, these seven churches typify a whole church.
Lamps are used only at night. The lamp of the tabernacle in the Old Testament was lit "from evening to morning" (Exo. 27:20-21) before the Lord: "when Aaron lighteth the lamps at even" (Exo. 30:8); the lampstand "of gold with the lamps thereof, to burn every evening" (2 Chron. 13:11); "and ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep" (1 Sam. 3:3). It was in the dark night that the lamp was lit. Spiritually speaking, the present age is an extremely long dark night. The Lord Jesus is the Sun of righteousness, and from the time He was rejected by men and crucified on the cross, the Sun of this world set and the earth fell into great darkness. Our Lord is now dwelling in the heavens. He has established us to be a lamp in the world and charged us to shine. Hence, as the lamp of God, you must now shine. However, our excuses are excessively numerous! "My environment is too poor, so I cannot go on." "The outward opposition is too much, so we can do nothing but hide." "People's hearts are too dark, so we shouldn't waste our efforts." Are these excuses reasonable? Are there hardships? Is there darkness? This is the time for us to shine. If the world were already bright, why should there be the need for us, the lamp? Darkness is the proper time for us to shine.
Naturally, there are difficulties in shining. Perhaps sometimes it leads to persecution. If, while the true light Himself was in the world, it is said that "men loved the darkness rather than the light, for their works were evil," and that everyone "hates the light" (John 3:19-20), how can we, the students be higher than our teacher? However, the time will come, which will not be too long, when we will no longer have the opportunity to suffer and to shine for the Lord. "The night is far advanced, and the day has drawn near" (Rom. 13:12). In this final hour, let us shine faithfully for the Lord in our living and speaking. When the Morning Star arrives, we will be raptured.
However, the lampstand by itself does not have the light. The shining of the lamp is dependent on the oil and the fire. It is most crucial to remember this. If we are to shine for the Lord, we must rely unceasingly on the Holy Spirit of God and partake continuously of His holiness. If at any minute we are without the oil of the Holy Spirit (Zech. 4:1-14) and the holy fire, then immediately we will cease shining. We often seem to hear the terms "Holy Spirit" and "holiness," but have we actually been filled with these? We can speak of shining later; for now let us first search ourselves to see whether or not we actually have the oil and the fire of God. Oh, how thick is the darkness around us! We earnestly hope to "shine as luminaries in the world, holding forth the word of life" (Phil. 2:15-16). How we desire to be "the light of the world" (Matt. 5:14), to reflect "the light of the world!" (John 8:12). Do we not often feel that we cannot make it? We should lay hold of the oil and the fire of God. O Lord, grant these to us!
Verse 13: "And in the midst of the lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment reaching to the feet, and girded about at the breasts with a golden girdle."
"In the midst of the lampstands One like the Son of Man." The Lord Jesus is with His church. This fulfills the promise in Matthew 28:20. The realization of the Lord's presence is an extremely precious thought! However, His presence is not merely a blessing. It is also for searching. If we are faithful, with Him in our midst what is there to fear? If we are not faithful, with Him in our midst, how shall we escape?
"One like the Son of Man." This One is our Lord Jesus Christ. Ezekiel said that He had "the likeness as the appearance of a man" (Ezek. 1:26). Daniel also said that He was "like a Son of Man" (Dan. 7:13). In the Gospels, our Lord often referred to Himself as the Son of Man. Why does it say here again that He was "like the Son of Man?" This shows the divinity of the Lord Jesus. Although He was the Son of Man, He was also the Son of God. He was the Son of Man on the earth, but now He has been resurrected. It is true that He was the Son of Man, but He was more than that. Thus it says that He was like the Son of Man.
The designation of the Lord Jesus as the Son of Man and the expression here "like the Son of Man" is very meaningful. In the messages "Meditations on Genesis," we saw how God in the beginning created the primal heavens and earth, the angels of the heavens, and the inhabitants of the earth. Then the archangel sinned (Ezek. 28), and the inhabitants of the earth followed him. Therefore, God judged them and the land in which they dwelt. Hence, the land became void and without form as recorded in Genesis 1:2. Later, God recovered the land in six days. Because God wanted His will to be done on earth as it was in the heavens (Matt. 6:10), He created man on the earth to have dominion. Unfortunately, man sinned. He lost his right of dominion and came under the control of the sinning angel (Satan). Because man had failed and had become incurable, God became incarnated as a man, accomplishing what man had failed to achieve. This was the beginning of the Lord Jesus as the Son of Man. Before God created man, He already knew that man would fail. Therefore, He prepared a spiritual body for the Holy Son (Gen. 1:27). It was in this body that He later appeared to men (Gen. 18:1, Ezek. 1:26, Dan. 7:13). When the fullness of the time came, He was born of a virgin, taking on a body of blood and flesh (Heb. 2:14). God put on the body of a man to become the Son of Man. The Son of Man is the designation of God when He became a man. Since He had this body of "blood and flesh," He was the same as other men in all respects. Since He became a man, the Son of Man, He redeemed men from their sins, ending the retribution that the first man deserved due to his sin and regaining what men had lost through Adam. Because He gained the victory as a man, fulfilling the conditions that God had intended man to fulfill, which is to carry out His will on the earth and to destroy the devil's will, God then granted to Him what man deserved originally. Originally God wanted the first man to have dominion over the earth (Gen. 1), but man followed the devil's will and did not do the will of God, thus losing this authority. Since the last Adam became a perfect man, "God highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth" (Phil. 2:9-10). The Lord Jesus was a perfect man. He was the last Adam. He became the head of a new race, just as Adam was the head of the old race. Since He is a man, God will hand over to Him the power of judgment and will cause Him to be the King of kings in the millennial kingdom. The glory that the Lord Jesus gains in Revelation is not the glory of Himself as God; it is the glory of Himself as man. After the millennial kingdom, the Son will deliver the kingdom to God the Father in order that the Triune God may be over all things as the Lord of all things (1 Cor. 15:24-28). This is the history between the two eternities before and after our heavens and our earth.
Originally, our Lord Jesus Christ was God. (In eternity past before the heavens and the earth, the terms "Father," "Son," and "Spirit" did not exist. With His appearing to men, such terms came into use.) In order to save mankind and to have God's will done on earth as it is in the heavens, He became incarnated as the Son of Man. His thirty-some years on the earth were the actual period that He was the Son of Man. Before He was incarnated, even though He already had a spiritual body, He was only "like a Son of Man" (Dan. 7:13). After His resurrection, though He still had bones and flesh, He was no longer only the Son of Man. Hence, He was "One like the Son of Man." Thank and praise God that He has saved us by becoming the Son of Man, and He will forever be the Son of Man to save us to the uttermost.
We should understand the way of God's redemption. He wants to destroy Satan's power. Therefore, He wants a will on the earth that is joined to His will in the heavens. We know that He has the power to totally destroy Satan and his army in a flash of time, but God does not want to do it this way; He wants man to co-work with Him. Therefore, He created man. When man failed, He Himself became a man — incarnated. After He won His own victory, He called a group of chosen men to experience His victory. His intention was still the same as it was before creation. Now the Head has ascended. We as His members should join to Him in one spirit in our experience. Although He Himself has obeyed the will of God and has overcome the devilish power, He desires that we would represent Him on the earth, having a determined will to carry out God's will and resisting all the plans and acts of Satan. To enter into a spiritual warfare against the devil by prayer is the work that the Lord has called us to do. This book of Revelation speaks of the warfare between God and Satan, how Christ overcame him, and how the saints of Christ overcame him. Only those who understand spiritual warfare can do an effective work for God. Our every move should be a loss to Satan and a gain to God.
Now we will return to the text. Here we see how this Christ who is like the Son of Man is in the midst of the churches. This is the condition in the New Testament temple. The Old Testament temple with its golden incense altar, which represented the interceding Christ, and the showbread, which represented the twelve tribes of Israel, and the golden lampstand, by which they testified through the power of the Holy Spirit, have all been changed. Now there are only seven golden lampstands and One like the Son of Man: the church and the Lord Jesus. Here there is no one standing between the Lord and His church; the Lord is face to face with her. This Son of Man will soon judge the world. Before He judges the world, He will judge His church because judgment must begin first at the house of God (1 Pet. 4:17).
We should heed this point, that He is not interceding in the midst of the church; He is judging. He is not sitting in the midst of them to receive their worship; He is walking in the midst of them (2:11) to examine their conduct.
The Lord Jesus here is "clothed with a garment reaching to the feet, and girded about at the breasts with a golden girdle." This is the clothing of a priest. However, this is not the clothing of a priest at work. It is what he wears when he is resting, because this garment is very loose, hanging, "reaching to the feet." Furthermore, the waist is not girded with a girdle; the girdle is girded about the breast. The long garment here is what a priest ordinarily wore (Lev. 6:10), and it is different from the garment dipped in blood (Rev. 19:13) because He wears that garment only when He comes forth to judge. Though the judgment had been announced by that time, it had not yet been executed. This dress is also different from the glorious and beautiful dress that the high priest wore (Lev. 16:4) because at this time He is examining the lampstands in the temple and not coming forth to remove sins or to reveal the glory of His millennial kingdom. This garment is what the priest wore when he went out of the camp to examine the lepers.
He is girded with "a golden girdle." The Old Testament high priests were girded with a girdle that was only sewn with golden threads (Exo. 28:2, 4-5). Therefore, even though their ministry was established by God, it was bound to terminate because they were merely men and were bound to die. What our Lord was girded with was of pure gold. Therefore, it never loses its shining; it lasts forever (Heb. 7:23-24). The place where He is girded deserves our attention: "girded about at the breasts with a golden girdle." Ordinarily a girdle is girded about the loin (Matt. 3:4; John 13:4) so that the garment can be brought close to the body for convenience at work. To be girded about at the breasts shows that the work is already finished; there is no longer any need to be girded about the waist. After Aaron, the Old Testament high priest, finished his work, he entered into the Holy Place to change into his glorious dress. Similarly, after our Lord Jesus finishes judging His church in the air, He will be manifested in glory. The golden girdle also represents God's righteousness because when He comes to judge, "righteousness will be that which girds His loins" (Isa. 11:5).
Verses 14-15: "And His head and hair were white as white wool, as snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire; and His feet were like shining brass, as having been fired in a furnace; and His voice was like the sound of many waters."
Not only does the Lord's clothing reveal the nature of judgment, He Himself reveals nothing less than the same. "His head and hair were white as white wool, as snow." In the vision Daniel saw, the Ancient of Days' "clothing was like white snow, / And the hair of His head was like pure wool" (Dan. 7:9). We know that this Ancient of Days is God. Here the description of the Lord Jesus by John matches the one by Daniel. This shows that the Lord Jesus is God.
"His head and hair were white." This reveals the Lord's full wisdom. Proverbs says, "The hoary head is a crown of glory" (16:31), and it also says, "The beauty of old men is the hoary head" (20:29 ASV 1901). Therefore, the meaning of white hair is experience, glory, and age. Paul says, "God is the head of Christ" (1 Cor. 11:3). Therefore, the meaning of the head here reveals the divinity of the Lord Jesus. Our Lord Jesus is the "Father of eternity" (Isa. 9:6, Heb.). "His head and hair were white as white wool, as snow." In Isaiah 1:18 we see that God promised to wash our sins so that they are as white as wool and snow. When we think of our sins having been cleansed to the extent that we are just like the head and hair of the Lord, are we not amazed at the Lord's grace?
However, there is not a crown on His head! The time for Him to become King has not yet come.
"His eyes were like a flame of fire." That is why He can examine man's inward parts. This reveals that in His judgment the Lord is never wrong. Fire causes the good ones to be clean and the evil ones to be destroyed. In the book of Malachi, Christ is "like a refiner's fire" (Mal. 3:2). When the Israelites are restored, the Lord will wash away their filth by "the judging Spirit and the burning Spirit" (Isa. 4:4). In the last day, when Christians stand before the judgment seat, the Lord will also use fire to test man's work, "for the day will declare it, because it is revealed by fire, and the fire itself will prove each one's work, of what sort it is" (1 Cor. 3:13). "So then do not judge anything before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and make manifest the counsels of the hearts" (1 Cor. 4:5). "For we must all be manifested before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done through the body according to what he has practiced, whether good or bad" (2 Cor. 5:10). Although we can now sin in secret and do things that men do not see or hear, yet "there is nothing covered up which will not be revealed."
The Lord's eyes behold the children of men (Psa. 11:4). "There is no creature that is not manifest before Him, but all things are naked and laid bare to the eyes of Him to whom we are to give our account" (Heb. 4:13). Not only so, even today "the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him" (2 Chron. 16:9). Truly His eyes are like a flame of fire! Our eyes are dark within. We can only see things when there is light without, but the eyes of the Lord are not so. His eyes are like fire, and there is nothing that can hide from His face. Therefore, saints, do not forget this. Whatever you have hidden from men today will all be manifested before men in that day!
"His feet were like shining bronze, as having been fired in a furnace." Brass is the hardest of all metals. In the Bible, bronze has the meaning of judgment. Therefore, the wash basin in the outer court and the serpent Moses lifted up in the wilderness were both made of bronze. Bronze that has been refined in the furnace produces a fearful whitish color. The Lord's feet are like this. Whatever sin is judged by His sharp eyes will also be crushed by His feet. He will judge whatever is sinful to His eyes. His feet are "like shining bronze." How pure is His conduct! His dreadful holiness walks in the midst of the churches. How numerous are the sins that He condemns! Soon we will see His feet crushing Satan and everything that is abominable under Him.
His voice is like "the sound of many waters!" No one can resist Him. Men cannot control the sound of many waters. At this time, His voice is not soft and low as when He used to draw sinners to come to Him. Rather, His voice is now full of majesty and judgment. Everyone has to listen to Him. As the Psalmist says, "The floods have lifted up, O Lord, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their waves. The Lord on high is mightier than the noise of many waters, yea, than the mighty waves of the sea" (Psa. 93:3-4). Ezekiel says, "And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel came from the way of the east: and his voice was like a noise of many waters" (Ezek. 43:2). According to the Bible the sound of many waters signifies the majesty of God and His strength. Now this majesty and strength comes from the incarnated Christ.
The Bible also speaks of the power of the voice of our Lord Jesus Christ. He Himself says, "The dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live" (John 5:25). Regarding His anger, Jeremiah says, "Jehovah will roar from on high, / And He will lift up His voice from His holy habitation; / He will roar mightily against His habitation; / He will respond with a shout like those who tread grapes, / Against all the inhabitants of the earth" (Jer. 25:30). Truly, "the voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty" (Psa. 29:4).
Verse 16: "And He had in His right hand seven stars; and out of His mouth proceeded a sharp two-edged sword; and His face shone as the sun shines in its power."
The above is a declaration of the person of the One who became the Son of Man in grace. His lovingkindness and holiness never change. We love to meditate on His lovingkindness, but we also need to know that He is holy. God has given all judgment to this Son of Man. We will now look at His position: "He had in His right hand seven stars." The seven stars are the messengers of the seven churches (Rev. 1:20). Whoever these messengers are, Christ holds them in His right hand. This signifies the total authority of Christ. He has total authority in God's work, in God's government, and in the church because the right hand in the Bible signifies authority and exaltation. Please read Psalms 16:11, 17:7, and 18:35, and Acts 7:55-56.
These messengers are all in the hand of the Lord. They love the Lord faithfully. Their function is to shine as stars. Being in the hand of the Lord, they are most secure. However, they also bear the greatest responsibility. We who love the Lord faithfully must not consider the work we are doing as being very great. We must remember that our coming in and going out are all in the hand of the Lord.
Another point is that these messengers are in the hand of the Lord. They are not on the Lord's head as His crown. This is because the time for them to receive glory has not come; they are still in trials. They must be faithful in order to shine eternally. Otherwise, they will become "wandering stars" (Jude 13).
"And out of His mouth proceeded a sharp two-edged sword." The Lord Jesus is the God-appointed avenger. Isaiah 11:4 says that the Lord Jesus will "strike the land with the rod of His mouth, / And with the breath of His lips He will slay the wicked." In 49:2 the Lord Jesus says of Himself, that God "has made my mouth like a sharp sword." This shows the power of the words of the Lord Jesus, not only in the awakening of men's conscience to sin, but in the sharpness of judgment. "He who rejects Me and does not receive My words has one who judges him; the word which I have spoken, that will judge him in the last day" (John 12:48). He will not only judge the world, but also the church because judgment must begin from the house of God (1 Pet. 4:17). The first three chapters of Revelation prove that the church will be judged before the world is (Rev. 4—19). This "sharp two-edged sword" in His mouth has two uses. It is used to punish the rebellious church, the unfaithful branches. Revelation 2:12 and 16 speak on this point: "And to the messenger of the church in Pergamos write: These things says He who has the sharp two-edged sword...Repent therefore; but if not, I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war with them with the sword of My mouth." It is also to be used to punish the stubborn, worldly people, that is, those who do not obey His gospel. This point is mentioned in Revelation 19:15 and 21: "And out of His mouth proceeds a sharp sword, that with it He might smite the nations....And the rest were killed with the sword which proceeds out of the mouth of Him who sits on the horse."
We have to understand that the Lord does not battle with the sword in His hand but with the sword in His mouth, which is His Word (John 12:48). Every sentence of the Lord's Word is full of power (Luke 1:37). Not only in creation or in salvation, but also in war, whatever He says is accomplished. This is the way with the coming war. Today we should battle with our spiritual enemies in the same way, by the Word of the Lord. Therefore, in our daily life we should let the Word of God dwell in our heart richly, so that the Holy Spirit can cause us to recall these words in times of trouble. We can then use these words to resist our enemy. It is a pity that many do not understand the meaning of spiritual warfare. Some think that spiritual warfare is wrestling against crime and people in society. Others think that spiritual warfare is to resist and fight against the lusts in their hearts. However, the Word of God does not speak in this way. Paul says, "For our wrestling is not against blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenlies" (Eph. 6:12). Spiritual warfare is the warfare between the people of God and Satan with the evil spirits under him. This kind of warfare is to prevent Satan from being victorious over us inwardly or outwardly. Whether the wrestling is with ourselves or with the world, we are fighting against anything that would allow Satan to boast. To wrestle in this warfare we must have the Word of God. In times of trouble the Holy Spirit will give us one or two verses of the Scripture in order that through these few words of God we may overcome Satan's attack and temptations. The Lord Jesus' victory when He was tested in the wilderness is an example of the relying on the Word of God.
"His face was as the sun shines in its power." Christ is the Sun of righteousness (Mal. 4:2). He once revealed His glory when He was on the mount of transfiguration. At that time, His "face shone as the sun" (Matt. 17:2). When Peter mentioned this incident, he considered this as a revelation of "the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ" in His kingdom (2 Pet. 1:16). What happened on the mount of transfiguration is a type of the coming millennial kingdom (Matt. 16:28). Therefore, the meaning here is that the Lord Jesus will come again quickly to His own kingdom. He will be King on the earth, and He will cause the summer of the world to come (Matt. 24:32). Here we see that the emphasis of the Holy Spirit is no longer on the churches. His emphasis is on Christ obtaining His kingdom.
The sun is the highest thing in God's creation. God called it the greater light to rule the day. The meaning here of "the sun shines in its power" is that of a sun in the sky with no fog or cloud or shade. This is a proper illustration of the glory and power of our Lord Jesus in the millennium.
In the Bible there are two kinds of appearing of the Lord Jesus. They are typified by the morning star and the sun. His appearing as the sun is to the world, and His appearing as the morning star is to the saints. The morning star appears right before dawn. Only those who are watchful at night can see it. This is the position of the Christians. The sun appears during the daytime, and everyone in the world can see it. First there is the appearance of the morning star, and then comes the sun. Before our Lord Jesus appears to the people in the world, He will first appear to those who love His appearing. What a hope this is! We must distinguish between these two appearances.
Verse 17a: "And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead."
It took only a turn and one glimpse of this glorious Lord Jesus to produce such an effect. This glory was extraordinary. Whose eyes could bear the sight? John once leaned on Jesus' bosom, but because of this glory, majesty, power, and holiness, he fell at His feet as dead. When Christ comes to judge the church and the world, who will be able to bear such a sight? If John reacted so, what about others? Those unfaithful believers? The Lord's enemy? May all saints and sinners realize the solemnity of this forthcoming judgment!
Actually, all those who see Christ now should fall as John. Most of us just look at ourselves and others and still think there is something good in us. If we see Christ, we will realize our baseness and unworthiness. Before Isaiah saw the Lord Jesus, he was preaching the word of God. Six times in chapter five, "Woe to those" is mentioned. Chapter six, verse 1 says, "In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting on a high and lofty throne, and the train of His robe filled the temple." This is followed by 6:5, "Woe is me, for I am finished! / For I am a man of unclean lips, / And in the midst of a people of unclean lips I dwell; / Yet I have seen the King, Jehovah of hosts, with my eyes."
When Job was being tried, he vindicated his own righteousness to his three friends and counted himself perfect. Then he saw the Lord, and he said, "I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee: wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes" (Job 42:5-6).
Daniel was a person of whom the Bible mentions no fault, but after he saw the Lord, he said, "No strength was left in me, but my color turned deathly pale; and I retained no strength...I fell into a deep sleep on my face, with my face to the ground" (Dan. 10:8-9). The prophet Habakkuk said, "When I heard, my belly trembled; my lips quivered at the voice: rottenness entered into my bones, and I trembled in myself" (Hab. 3:16).
If we have truly seen the glory of the Lord, the holiness of the Lord, even the Lord Himself, we will be like the saints of old. We will deeply abhor ourselves and will consider ourselves the most detestable and greatest enemy. Both manifested as well as hidden pride are caused by our failure to see Christ. At any rate, we do not know ourselves. Self-introspection may be profitable, but it is not a perfect guide. The heart is deceitful above all things; who can know it? Without the Lord, even we ourselves do not know it. If we are not under the light of the Lord, how can we see with our own light? It is when we come before the Lord to examine ourselves that we can see our real selves. Those who think they have something or who consider themselves stronger than others are this way because they are ignorant of themselves. The Lord arranges and directs everything in our lives to help us to see our own total failures. How difficult it is for us to learn this lesson! We may humble ourselves a little when we fail, but when we are filled with God's grace and are successful in our works, it is very difficult for us to acknowledge that we are useless. How marvelous it would be if we could see the Lord Jesus all the time and unceasingly fall at His feet as dead! May the Lord's glory and holiness cause us to abhor ourselves so that we would prostrate on the ground and commit ourselves to death. Only then will the Lord manifest Himself in our lives.
Verses 17b through 18: "And He placed His right hand on me, saying, Do not fear; I am the First and the Last and the living One; and I became dead, and behold, I am living forever and ever; and I have the keys of death and of Hades."
The Lord's right hand of authority and His words work together (Dan. 8:17-18; 10:9-10, 18). "He placed His right hand on me, saying, Do not fear." Although He was in His glory, His love was still there! The Christ in the Gospels was expressed in this phrase, "Do not fear!" How much this word expresses the nature of the Lord!
This book speaks of things of the "great and fearful day of Jehovah." In that day, God will recompense men according to their deeds. Both the church and the world will be judged. However, there will be a group of people who know that the Lord Jesus loves them, that He shed His blood for them, and that He makes them priests and kings. Their spiritual condition will be the same as John's, and as such they will not be afraid. On the one hand, we know that the blood of the Lord Jesus has already cleansed us, and His grace is sufficient for us. We have already been saved and have eternal life. On the other hand, although we already have the assurance of eternal life, if we are not faithful, we will be ashamed and will suffer loss at the judgment seat of Christ. Therefore, it is always safe to be faithful in serving the Lord. If there is nothing between you and the Lord, then when you are weak, He will strengthen you. When you are fearful, He will comfort you. "But perfect love casts out fear" (1 John 4:18). The Lord Jesus desires to manifest Himself to us. However, we are like John. We feel that His majesty is more than His lovingkindness. It seems that the more the Lord manifests Himself, the more we dare not draw near to Him. Therefore, in His perfect love, He said to these people, "Do not fear." The question here is not what we are, but what He is. If we know Him, then we will know ourselves. The cross has already appraised us, but it is very hard for us to accept the judgment of the cross. The cross has also expressed the nature of the Lord Jesus, but we have not yet tasted such sweetness of the Lord. When the Lord appears in His glory, we will realize our own weaknesses, but more than this, we will see the greatness of His Person. This is the effect of the cross. However, the Lord's intention is to express what He Himself is. Therefore, He said, "I am the First and the Last and the living One; and I became dead, and behold, I am living forever and ever; and I have the keys of death and of Hades."
What a comforting word! Although Christ is the judge expressing His majesty, and although the saints bear a serious responsibility before Him, John heard someone say, "Do not fear." Why? It is because the Lord Jesus, who is alive and who is the First and the Last, has become a man and has died and resurrected. "Who was delivered for our offenses and was raised for our justification" (Rom. 4:25). "In this...we have boldness in the day of the judgment because even as He is, so also are we in this world" (1 John 4:17). He has overcome Satan, and He has annulled the sting of death and the power of Hades. He is now holding "the keys of death and of Hades." Because He has died and resurrected, we should not fear.
Only the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus can give us boldness to stand before the judgment seat. Through His substitutional death and resurrection, we are delivered from the condemnation of the eternal lake of fire. Through His death and resurrection we are saved from the shame before the judgment seat. We should ask whether or not our boast is the Lord's death and resurrection. Everything else will fail. Those who are spiritually strong and well prepared are such, not because they are more advanced than others, but because they depend and draw more upon the Lord's death and resurrection. Here we can see the absolute need for a union with the Lord in His death and resurrection. The Lord reached the place of His authority through His death and resurrection. We cannot take any other way. "For if we have grown together with Him in the likeness of His death, indeed we will also be in the likeness of His resurrection" (Rom. 6:5). We reckon ourselves to be dead to sin and living to God in Christ Jesus (Rom. 6:11). When with faith we plant ourselves together in the likeness of the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus, we will make it. Our death is a death to sin, to self, and to everything that is Adamic and satanic. Our living is a living unto God and all His virtues. The Lord Jesus has already completed all of His salvation — both to sinners and to the saints. We need only to receive it by faith.
He is "the First," the source of all things; He is "the Last," the consummation of all things. God says in Isaiah 41:4: "I, Jehovah, am the first, / And with the last, I am He"; also, in 44:6, "I am the First and I am the Last"; and in 48:12, "I am He; I am the First, / I am also the Last." "The First" and "the Last" are names of God. This indicates the divinity of the Lord Jesus. He is before eternity past. He is also after eternity future.
He is "the living One." The Lord Jesus is life (John 1:4). He is doubtless the living One. This is what the Lord Jesus meant when He said in John, "I am...the life" (John 11:25). His life is not a created life; He exists forever. He is the source of life.
"I became dead." This is not for His own sins. It is a sin even to think that He has sins. This is for the sins of the world. The death of the Lord Jesus is "the Righteous on behalf of the unrighteous" (1 Pet. 3:18). Through His death, He has given life to us. Oh saints, let us meditate more upon this wonderful death.
"And behold, I am living forever and ever." He is resurrected from death. Many people have met death and have died. They did not come back; there was no resurrection. God allowed Him to die and gave Him an opportunity to overcome death. Without battle there is no victory; without death there is no victory over death. He died and fought with death. He overcame it, and thus He resurrected. Death cannot cause Him to die forever. This proves that He is fully the living One. We can say that He has been "bench tested" in His experience to be the living One. Because He is "the resurrection," He is also "the life" (John 11:25). He is the resurrection; hence, He is the life. He resurrected for man. Hence, because of His resurrection, man can be resurrected.
"I am living forever and ever." There is only one death of the Lord and also only one resurrection of the Lord. He is living forever and ever. He will die no more, and He will resurrect from death no more. The Lord Jesus is God. For a while He humbled Himself to become a man that He could die and resurrect. Now He is living forever and ever. He has received back the glory of God which He had in eternity past, but now the glory of man has also been added. This kind of living is not only for Himself. We, the saints, are being "saved in His life" (Rom. 5:10). "He lives always to intercede" for us (Heb. 7:25). He Himself has promised, "Because I live, you also shall live" (John 14:19).
"And I have the keys of death and of Hades." Everything after this life is in the hands of the Lord. Death and Hades are put together in many places in this book. Chapter six, verse 8 seems to consider death and Hades as one following the other. Chapter twenty, verse 14 talks about the end of both. In both verses death and Hades are treated as if they are personified. We can see this in the New Testament. The devil holds the power of death (Heb. 2:14). Matthew 16:18 speaks of the gates of Hades. The one who is behind death and Hades is the devil. Therefore, when the Bible speaks of death and Hades, a personification is implied in the words.
It is of great significance that here the word death is linked to the word Hades. Death is related to the body, and Hades is related to the soul. Chapter six, verse 8 indicates that Hades receives the soul after the death of the physical body. According to chapter twenty, verse 13, death delivers up the body, and Hades delivers up the soul.
While the meaning of death is obvious to us, there are many things about Hades that many do not understand. In the original language Hades means the underworld. It is located in the heart of the earth (Matt. 12:40; Num. 16:30-33). It is separated into two parts: a part for the fallen ones and a part for the saved ones (Luke 16:19-31). The part for the fallen ones has burning fire. This is Hades proper. The part in which the saved ones stay is a place of comfort. The Bible calls it Paradise or Abraham's bosom. Hades is not the grave because man's grave is not in the heart of the earth (Matt. 12:40; Amos 9:2). Nor is Hades equivalent to hell or the lake of fire because inside the lake of fire (or hell) there is not only fire but there are also worms (Mark 9:48) and brimstone (Rev. 20:10), whereas Hades has only fire. What is called the bottomless pit, or tartarus, in the Bible is either Hades with a different name or part of a place that is sectioned into regions, one of which is called Hades while the other is called the bottomless pit.
Since the Lord Jesus holds the key of death and of Hades, He can resurrect those in them to receive judgment before Him. Thanks be to the Lord, for "then the word which is written will come to pass, `Death has been swallowed up unto victory.'" We have to rejoice and shout, "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" (1 Cor. 15:54-55).
What we are looking forward to is not death because death is our enemy (1 Cor. 15:26). We are looking forward to the time when the Lord will come again. In the present age, the Lord is not recovering the original creation from the grip of death and Hades. Rather, He is opening a door in death and Hades and leading us to a place of greater blessing. "Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness" (Judg. 14:14). Our Lord is the One who brings forth riches out of poverty. How wonderful is His way of salvation!
The Lord continued in verse 19: "Write therefore the things which you have seen and the things which are and the things which are about to take place after these things."
"Therefore." Because the Lord Jesus is "the First and the Last and the living One," and because He "became dead," and is "living forever and ever," and because He has "the keys of death and of Hades," therefore "write." Because He is what He said He is in verses 17 and 18, therefore write to show forth His glory, and because He is what He said He is in verses 17 and 18, therefore write to declare the believer's responsibility and the devil's defeat. Since He was alive from the dead and is the Lord of all, He commanded John to write, and His commandment must be right.
"Write" is mainly for securing a written testimony. He did not want this message to be passed on orally because oral rendition could change His words with additions and subtractions. Revelation is the last book that He inspired in the Bible. He did not want to see that His New Testament would lack a book of prophecy. He told the apostle John to write it down to complete all of His records on the earth.
This verse speaks of the three sections of this book. What the apostle John wrote was a book of revelation. What is described in the book are the things that John has seen, the things that are, and the things that shall be hereafter.
The things which have been seen (Past).The things which are (Present).The things which are about to take place after these things (Future).
These are the three sections of the book of Revelation.
I."Have seen." This word is in the perfect tense in the original text. It means to have already seen. The Lord told John in the next verse (v. 20), "The mystery of the seven stars which you saw upon My right hand and the seven golden lampstands." The things which had been seen are the seven stars and seven lampstands in John's vision. Here, John had already seen the seven stars and seven lampstands. In the previous few verses he said how he had seen them. Hence, the first section (chapter one) has been covered already. Now what is left are the other two sections.
II."The things which are." This means the things that are now existing. This covers the age of the church. A literal translation of verse 20 could be: "The seven stars are now the messengers of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are now the seven churches." "The things which are" are the things of the churches.
Beginning with chapter four, everything concerns the things of "the day of Jehovah." There is no doubt that we are now in the age of the church. The things starting with chapter four are not yet fulfilled. Hence, chapters two and three relate to the things of the present, or the things that are.
III."The things which are about to take place after these things." Chapter four, verse 1 says: "And I will show you the things that must take place after these things." From this verse we realize that "the things which are about to take place" start with chapter four. This is very clear. Since the third section of "the things which are about to take place" starts with chapter four, and since the first section is identified with chapter one, it is obvious that the second section must be chapters two and three.
The word "after" is meaningful here. It indicates that the third section starts only after the first and second sections have passed. The third section does not occur concurrently with the first or second section. Chapter three, verse 16 tells us that Christ will spew the church out of His mouth. He detests the church as His testimony! Therefore, it is meaningless for anyone to make chapters four through nineteen to be the church's history. The things of the third section will not start until God has given up the church. The first words of chapter four say "after these things." This proves that the things which are about to take place in the third section come after the current things of chapters two and three. Before the things of the churches in chapters two and three have come to pass, the things that are about to take place in chapter four will surely not begin. We can be in the third section only if this is now no longer the age of the church. As long as these past nineteen hundred years belong to the age of the church, the third section cannot begin because the second section has not ended.
Beginning from chapter four, the church age ends. The stars and lampstands that John saw before no longer exist. The Holy Place, which was closed in the past, now opens its door wide to reveal God's throne of judgment. The Lord Jesus was a priest, but now He is the Offering and the King of all things. The period of grace is over and the day of vengeance is at hand. The four Gospels and the Acts signify a transitional period from the Jews to the Gentiles. Revelation signifies the period of transition from the Gentiles to the Jews. It also touches upon the things of the kingdom and eternity.
Verse 20: "The mystery of the seven stars which you saw upon My right hand and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are messengers of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are seven churches."
The stars and the lampstands are mysteries. Because they are mysteries, they are not just physical objects but carry with them spiritual significance. A mystery is something with a hidden spiritual meaning. Unless God explains them to man, mysteries are incomprehensible. It is not that mysteries defy comprehension. They can be understood, but it requires God's revelation. Since this book is a revelation from God, all the mysteries here are not total mysteries but are revealed mysteries. After all, there are not many symbols in this book, and of those, over one half have been explained. We should not consider this book as a book of mystery.
Initially we may not understand the meaning of the seven stars held in the Lord's hand. However, our gracious Lord explained it to us: "The seven stars are messengers of the seven churches." Most people do not have any idea who these messengers are. People's opinions are divided. Let us put away every tendency of argument and apply a spirit of quietness to study the Word of our Lord.
These messengers are not the men sent by the seven churches to carry back the letters from John. Although some may make this assumption, neither the Bible nor history has any such record. The earnestness of the Lord's rebuke and expectations of them in chapters two and three show that they are not traveling messengers, but rather people who are stationed in the churches.
Some brothers assume that these messengers refer to the pastors or overseers of the various churches. They believe in one man monopolizing the church business. I do not wish to argue here or to give rise to opinions. Almost all the churches in the various parts of China adopt this kind of "one-man system" with one pastor or one overseer administrating over a church. For the sake of God's truth and out of love let me apply some scriptural teachings to expose the shortcomings of this view. I pray for the tolerance of those who do not agree with my thoughts.
According to the Bible, the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the shepherds and teachers are the gifts God bestowed upon the whole church. In the Bible we cannot find an apostle for this or that specific church. Similarly, we do not see a pastor for this or that church. It is true that from the Bible we see overseers and deacons for a church. However, the overseers are plural in number, not singular. All the overseers of the church in the Bible are plural in number. These overseers are the same as the elders (Acts 20:17-18; Titus 1:5, 7). "And when they had appointed elders for them in every church" (Acts 14:23). If we say one messenger administrates over one church and that the messenger refers to the pastor or the overseer, and that consequently it is scriptural to have one pastor or one elder to govern over one church, we will encounter many problems. We cannot base the church's most important system on the interpretation of one debatable verse. Furthermore, the shepherds belong to the whole church, and overseers are more than one! I do not think that Revelation 1:20 carries this meaning. Speaking for myself, I dare not add in anything that God has not said.
Prior to this, the church in Ephesus had elders and overseers already (Acts 20:17-18). According to tradition, John himself was an overseer in Ephesus. How could the Lord command John to write a letter to John himself? Moreover, in the Bible we find examples of letters written to individuals, such as those to Titus and Timothy. However, we cannot find any letter written to a church through an individual. We can also find letters written to all the elders, the deacons, and to the saints in Philippi. We cannot find a letter which is written only to the elders and the deacons and yet was considered to be written to the entire church. Some thirty years earlier when Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus, he was writing to the saints there. Can we say that John was now writing only to their pastors? Does this not differ greatly from the first letter to Ephesus? Moreover, the word "messenger" is the interpretation of the mystery of the star. Therefore, the word "messenger" must be a plain word according to the Lord. If the word "messenger" refers to the pastor or the overseer, then the messenger must also be a mystery. The Lord would not use one mystery to explain another mystery and use an unknown tongue to explain another unknown tongue. If so, this book would become a book of "inspiration" rather than "revelation." We trust that our Lord does not make mistakes and that He knew what the word "star" referred to. When He declared the star to be the messenger, then the star is truly the messenger and is not whatever men might say it is.
We should realize that the problem of the church system is one on which God's children are least able to agree. We truly do not desire to stir up any argument here. However, we all have to pay attention to one point, that is, in every matter we should not act contrary to the Bible. If we are willing to forsake our own denominational concept and base all our actions on the standard, "thus saith the Lord," then we will not err. The Lord will show His way to those who are meek. We should have the spirit of a learner and a pliable will to allow the Lord to show His mind to us. While the cry for an indigenous church today carries such high pitch — and perhaps the church will go through a major change in the near future — may we understand what the will of God is toward the church so that we will not compound mistake upon mistake. We realize the fact that there are not many who are truly following the Lord. How few are those that are willing to leave the present denominations and go out of the camp to suffer reproach. Nevertheless, the Lord always has a remnant. Praise Him, there will always be a handful left who are faithful to Him.
The arguments related to church matters cannot be built on only one single verse, especially when this verse is full of mystery. This is especially true when the concept in question is not allowed elsewhere in the Bible. Lately, there have been many of God's children everywhere who consider it wrong to have Christ's Body divided. However, what is the profit of having the outward name changed to "the Church of Christ in China" while the system within is still unscriptural? If we truly desire to have the oneness of Christ's Body, there is no need for us to have committees and discussions. We should repent and cry to God for the pitiful condition of division among God's children. Instead of criticizing with our mouth, we should be those beseeching God with tears on our faces. Still, we who search God's Word realize that as time goes on, both the church and the world will progressively deteriorate. We cannot hope that the entire church will change, but let us first love all of God's children. We ourselves should not have any barrier of denominationalism within us. We ourselves should first be free from denominationalism in reality, in concept, and in name. May the Lord show us the way. My heart is poured out for all of God's children everywhere. I hope my speaking does not fall on stony ears. I hope you will forgive me for saying this.
Now then if this messenger is a real messenger, what kind of messenger is he? We know in the Bible there are two different types of messengers: one is the angels from heaven (Matt. 22:30, etc.) and the other one is the messengers from men (Mal. 2:7; 3:1; Hag. 1:13). Which type of messenger is referred to here, angel or man?
According to the general usage in the New Testament, messenger mainly refers to a heavenly spirit who often is charged by God to help men. Hebrews 1:14 says, "Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth for service for the sake of those who are to inherit salvation?" The "salvation" here does not refer to our initial salvation from perdition to eternal life. It refers to the salvation of the sabbath of Canaan, that is, the millennium. Therefore, from this verse we know the messengers here are spirits sent by God to minister to us. In the same manner that Satan's evil spirits try to destroy us through their power, God's benevolent spirits are protecting us through their might. How our God is caring for us! Only when we realize this will we have peace even in the midst of various trials and danger. However, it is a pity that we are either ignorant of this fact or else we doubt God's care for us.
Matthew 18:10 says, "Their angels in the heavens continually behold the face of My Father who is in the heavens." We know that the angels that God sent to serve us are not limited to one. They not only stay with us, but for our sake, they always ascend to the Father with our prayer and descend to us with His grace.
In the Old Testament, we see that God appointed the angels to be the rulers of the nations. Although men ruled as kings on earth, God appointed angels to be kings in heaven to administer the spiritual affairs of those nations. Daniel 10:21 says, "There is no one who holds strongly with me against these ones except Michael your [Israel's] prince." Here it says the angel Michael was the prince of Israel. Chapter twelve, verse 1 also indicates the same thought. Not only were the good angels the rulers, but the fallen angels were also rulers of the Gentile nations. Therefore, besides kings on the earth, the heavens also have "the prince of the kingdom of Persia" and "the prince of Grecia" (Dan. 10:13, 20). This matter is very important. It is interesting and full of spiritual implications, but we can only briefly mention it here.
Our question is this: if in the Old Testament God sent the archangel Michael to be the king of the chosen people of Israel, while all other nations had Satan's fallen angels as their kings, then in the New Testament, would God not send His angels to minister and to protect the churches in all places? We know that God has sent angels to minister to individuals. Would God not also send angels to minister to the whole church? When we see God's way of redemption, we will answer affirmatively that God must have done so. We are certain of this. However, do the messengers here (in Revelation 1:20) refer to the ministering and protecting angels? Even though we dare not say they are not, we believe they refer to men as messengers for the following reasons.
If the messengers here refer to the angels, then how can John write letters to them? A human being cannot send a letter to a spirit in heaven. Also, if they were the angels, then how could they receive material things such as letters? The intangible spirit cannot receive a tangible letter. Another convincing point is that our Lord spoke to the messenger in Smyrna that he should be faithful unto death (Rev. 2:10). If this were an angel, how could he die? Angels do not and cannot die. With these few points, it seems to indicate that these messengers are not angels, even though we cannot say that this is absolutely so.
If they are the messengers of men, what position would these men occupy in the churches? To answer this question, we first need to see if the term messenger exists within the churches. Second, from the context of chapters two and three we need to see what position they occupy in the churches.
We have already said that the messenger must be literally "messenger" because our Lord used this term to expound the mystery of the "star." If a mystery is expounded, then it is no longer a mystery. Since it is no longer a mystery, it must be known by all. The messengers are just messengers. We need not give another explanation to what our Lord has already explained. After we understand that they are messengers, then we should ask who are called the messengers in the churches? The Bible is not silent regarding this matter. Second Corinthians refers to the two brothers as "the messengers of the churches" (2 Cor. 8:23 KJV). Paul also said in Philippians, "Epaphroditus...your messenger" (Phil. 2:25 KJV). Therefore, we can see in the Bible that there is such a title as "messengers" in the churches.
Secondly, what kind of people were they in the churches? According to the term messenger, they are the representatives of the churches. A messenger is a representative. When we read chapters two and three, we see that the messengers were those counted by the Lord to be responsible for the whole church. The Lord warned them regarding the removal of the lampstand. The Lord rebuked them for having held the doctrine of Balaam, and He reproached them for suffering the woman Jezebel. The Lord warned them that He would come to them as a thief. Considering the way the Lord dealt with them, we know that they were charged by the Lord to be responsible for the church. They represent their church and bear the responsibility for it. We know that the word "messenger" means the sent ones. The sent ones, in a practical sense, more or less represent the one who sent them. "He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who has sent Me" (Matt. 10:40). Therefore, these messengers were those in the churches who had the gift, the influence, the ability to turn the church. As to their work or positions we know nothing. They were the true members of the church, and as such, the Lord charged them to bear the responsibility for the whole church because they were the only ones that were able to hear the speaking of the Holy Spirit. Christ spoke of them and the churches they represent as one.
In these seven letters, our Lord indicated that there was a distinction, and yet no separation, between these messengers and their respective churches. We saw how our Lord wrote letters to them and counted these letters as addressed to the churches. The first sentence of all seven letters in chapters two and three is: "To the messenger of the church...." However, these letters were written "to the seven churches" (1:11). It is clear that the messengers and the churches are joined as one. These letters to the seven messengers were not like those private letters to Titus and Timothy, which were for their individual guidance. Although these seven letters were written to the seven messengers, we find the words "the Spirit says to the churches." Our Lord treated the messengers as the churches and charged them to bear the responsibility of the churches.
However, the messengers and the churches are not exactly the same. Therefore, our Lord said, "Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison" (2:10); "My faithful one, who was killed among you" (2:13); "you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam" (2:14); "I say to you — the rest" (2:24); "you have a few names...who have not defiled their garments" (3:4). The Lord had separated a few among them.
Furthermore, there are differences between the messengers and the churches: "I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place" (2:5); "you tolerate the woman Jezebel" (2:20). Although these seven letters were sent to the messengers, these differences were found only in the first four letters. In the last three letters, the messengers and the churches were exactly the same, and there were no more separate speakings to the messengers and the churches as in the first four letters.
These ones are represented by the stars. They are those who faithfully love the Lord, possessing heavenly position and experience like the stars in the heavens. They shine for the Lord like the stars at night. Their home is in the heavens. Their hope and happiness are all in the heavens. They have intimate fellowship with Christ. They also have the power and authority of the Lord because they are in the right hand of the Lord Jesus. They represent the church because they are the most faithful ones in the church. They mind the things of the church. They view the failure and success of the church as their own. They bear in their hearts the responsibility of the church. Every one of us can be a messenger of the church! The Lord will hold those who faithfully serve Him responsible for the rise or fall of their church. How solemn is this thought! Let us clearly see our responsibility. We should gladly bear the responsibility of the church in the presence of the Lord. In spirit we should resist on behalf of the church all the attacks and tactics of the devil. We should be on our knees with tears and with outpoured soul, interceding for the church of Christ. Although we know that the failures of the churches are not our own, it will be our failure if we are unconcerned about their failures. We should have an enlarged heart to include all the children of God, viewing their business as our business. However, if we ourselves are not faithful, then we will not only set ourselves in danger but will cause the Lord's heart to be sorrowful. If we are willing to submit ourselves totally to the Lord's hand and gladly bear the responsibility for His sake, not only will we receive unspeakable blessing, but the Lord will also use us to accomplish a great and immeasurable work.
However, we should know that God is just. He will not mistreat us. There were only two churches with which God was totally pleased: Smyrna and Philadelphia. The Lord examined them, saw their faithfulness, and commended them. To all the other five churches the Lord had words of reproach. For two churches, Sardis and Laodicea, the Lord had no word of praise. The general state of Ephesus was their leaving the first love. For that the Lord considered taking away their lampstand. The Lord pronounced a special judgment on the sinners in Pergamos. In the same way, He judged Jezebel and those who followed after her in Thyatira. Even though the messengers represent every church, they represent them only in their hearts. In reality the messenger is the messenger and the church is the church because there are differences between the star and the lampstand. In responsibility, the Lord holds them accountable. Anyone who cares for the church of Christ should have this experience. However, in the judgment the Lord will only punish those who commit sins. The Lord knows who belongs to Him.
We will just say this much concerning the messengers. Now let us look at the churches. "The seven lampstands are seven churches." The church is a lampstand; it is not the lamp. This is because the church is just a stand, shining forth the light of God's lamp (2 Pet. 1:19). The church is a lampstand and not a candle because the light of the church comes through the Holy Spirit and is completely dependent upon the Holy Spirit. It is not like a candle which burns by itself and which shines by its own power. It is very important to remember this. We should know that we ourselves are wholly under God's judgment. Whatever is out of the self cannot please God because there is nothing good within us. We must not be presumptuous in any way. Even in God's work, we must not use the abilities of our natural life. As the lamp cannot shine without the oil, likewise we cannot use our natural abilities to accomplish any fruitful work for God.
From an earthly point of view, we are insignificant men, but from God's point of view, we are vessels in the heavenly temple. Now we have our representatives in the heavens! The lampstands are already in front of the Lord Jesus! Now our spirits have reached the heavens and soon our bodies will follow. Although presently we are still on earth, in spirit we have already become vessels of the heavenly tabernacle. Soon we will be there as priests serving God.
With regard to the seven churches, which are represented by the seven lampstands, we should understand three things:
(1) These seven churches were real churches existing at that time.(2) These seven churches represented the sevenfold history of the church.(3) The conditions of the seven churches exist simultaneously in the church's sevenfold history.
In reading chapter one verses 4 and 11, we see that the original intention of the Lord was to send the seven epistles to the seven actual churches existing at that time. Although we know that these seven churches represent the churches throughout the ages — we will speak of that in a moment — we must not think that Christ's intention was for us to wait until these two thousand years have passed and the conditions of these seven churches have all become history in the seven periods of the churches before He returns. Such a thought will only make man slumber! On the contrary, our Lord often spoke to these churches that He would be coming again and they must be watchful. "Become watchful....If therefore you will not watch, I will come as a thief" (Rev. 3:2-3). This kind of word proves that in those days there was already the possibility of the Lord's second coming. Also our Lord called these seven churches "the things which are." When He said "which are," He meant "which are." What He paid attention to was the present and not the future. So the things of the seven churches which the Lord spoke of were the actual happenings in those days. There was already the possibility of His second coming at that time! We must never assume that the Lord will not come and that we must wait until the fulfillment of such and such prophecies before He will come. This kind of thought is not approved by the Bible. Rather, this was the attitude of the evil servant, whose words were, "My master delays" (Matt. 24:48).
This is real. However, the reason that our Lord only spoke to these seven churches, to my mind, is because there was a deeper intention. The churches at that time were not just seven. In the province of Asia alone, there were a few more churches. Moreover, those that needed admonishing, warning, and encouragement were not just these seven churches. The well-known churches, such as Antioch, should also have received this kind of epistle, but our ever unmistaken Lord only chose these seven out of many churches and various backgrounds to receive His special exhortations. Are not all His acts full of significance? Our Lord knows what to do. Although these seven churches were actually present at that time and were in the actual situations they were described to be in, should not our Lord have had a greater and broader meaning in choosing them? Was it not His intention to select churches that would match the conditions of the churches in the future in order to reveal His will toward them (the churches in the future)?
After we read carefully over chapters two and three, we will see that the Lord's intention was to use these seven churches to reveal the general state of the church from the time of the apostles to the end of this age. We have many reasons to support this. We have said that what the angel revealed in verse 1 will happen in a short time. Would this not indicate that those things not revealed by the angel will be completed in a longer period of time? The message in chapters two and three is not revealed by the angel, so it will be fulfilled over a longer period of time.
Moreover, in the original text there is no definite article before these seven churches. This indicates that the Lord was not pointing only to these seven churches. They were but a group representing all the other churches. In addition, the word "seven" in this book is a very meaningful number. The meaning of the word "seven" is completion. Seven churches indicate one whole church. If we would turn our eyes from the seven actual churches on the earth to their representation in the heavens, we will be even clearer. The Lord Jesus Christ was walking in the midst of the seven golden lampstands. If the seven lampstands were pointing only to the seven churches at that time, those other than and those after these seven churches would not be counted as churches! There were only seven golden lampstands in the heavens! Does this mean that churches other than the seven were not churches? Hence, these seven churches represented by the seven golden lampstands are the representatives of all the churches in the world.
Furthermore, at the end of each of these seven letters was written, "He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." There is no other place in the Bible where the importance of these words is emphasized like it is here. This word clearly indicates that the message was not written only for the people at that time. This word was spoken for those in the past as well as in the present, for anyone who has an ear to hear the Lord's word.
Also chapter one verse 3 of this book clearly indicates that this is a book of prophecy. If chapter four to the end are prophecies, then are not chapters two and three also prophecies? It does seem that we have the Lord's support in assuming that these seven letters are indirect prophecies, predicting the situations of the churches at different times. Just as John was a representative of all servants in that day, so were the seven churches.
When we look into these two chapters, we are surprised to see how the Bible matches church history. Firstly, the church in Ephesus was reprimanded by the Lord for leaving her first love. Is this not the case with the churches since the apostolic time? Not only was it so before the death of the last apostle, it was even the same afterwards. Smyrna's persecutions were also another picture in church history. Later, the church joined herself to the world, the persecutors were turned into friends, and a "Balaam" was hired to promote this kind of harmony. History and the third letter really match. Later, is not Jezebel's power, her fornication, and her filth a real picture of the Roman church era? The Reformed churches which were seemingly alive but were dead, the brothers who faithfully kept the word, and the lukewarmness of the middle-of-the-road groups — do these not show the experience of the churches one after another? Although we have only glanced over chapters two and three quickly, what we have seen already indicates that these seven letters match closely with the church history on the earth.
Now from our point of view, do we not see in a clearer way than those a hundred years earlier? The Lord was gracious to have had us born at this time, so that when we look back, we may know what has happened in the past. In this way our hope can be strengthened. Although the Lord has been delayed for a long time, one thing is sure: we are at the end of this age. We cannot tell how much more still lies ahead of us. We dare not say, but I am afraid we are already at the end of the way.
Nevertheless, our Lord did not explicitly state that these seven churches represented the churches in consecutive generations, nor did He state that these seven epistles are the history of the church in chronological sequence. If He were to do so, it would have caused His church to lose hope in waiting for His coming from heaven. The Lord Jesus never once told us that His church would be on this earth for another two thousand years before He would come back. Indeed, our Lord knew the future, yet He did not tell us the time and day of His return. Otherwise, we would not have the blessed hope. Even in the Gospels, the Lord Jesus indicated the same. In His words there were hints for His delay, but there was also hope for His soon return. This is the greatest help for those who are discouraged. It prevents us from living comfortably on this earth while forgetting the heavenly matters. Although He has not come, we are not disappointed because He has told us clearly, "Watch therefore, for you do not know when the Master of the house comes" (Mark 13:35). If the Lord said explicitly that these seven epistles were the history of the church, then we would lose our sojourner's nature and our lamp's oil. We would have no more heaven in our life on earth.
Although the conditions of these seven churches aptly represent the history of the church on earth, it does not mean that Smyrna came only after Ephesus had passed away, that Pergamos followed after Smyrna was gone, and so forth. After reading chapters two and three as well as history, we see that although the first age in church history corresponds generally with the condition of Ephesus, and the second age corresponds generally with the condition of Smyrna, actually in the age of Ephesus there were already the conditions of Smyrna and of the other five churches, yet the condition of Ephesus was more prevailing. In the age of Smyrna there were also the conditions of Ephesus and of all the other churches, but the condition of Smyrna was the most predominant one in that age. The church in every age also bears the characteristics of all the other churches in the same way that all seven churches existed simultaneously at that time. This will become more obvious in the last days. The Lord Jesus spoke to the church in Thyatira, "Nevertheless what you have hold fast until I come" (2:25). He spoke to Sardis, "I will come as a thief" (3:3), and He spoke to Philadelphia, "I come quickly" (3:11). Laodicea is the last church. We have seen that the Lord Jesus spoke to these three churches regarding His coming again. Thus, they are the churches which will remain until His coming. These three churches plus Laodicea will certainly co-exist until the end of the ages. History has completely confirmed this, and we will soon be studying this matter. Let me again point out clearly that the Lord said to Thyatira, "Until I come." From our point of view this was not very imminent. He said to Sardis, "I will come." This was more definite. He said to Philadelphia, "I come quickly." This was even more urgent. Now, we are already at the end of this age. We need to prepare ourselves watchfully.
Hence, the last four of these seven churches will exist until the Lord comes. This does not mean that they were raised up together at the same time and then co-exist until the Lord's return. It means that Thyatira as a beginning is raised up first, followed by Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. They were raised up one after another. The former did not come to an end because the latter was raised up. The four will continue together until the Lord comes. In other words, they have different beginnings, but their consummations will be together. The first three of the seven churches did not have the word of the Lord's return. Thus, they were raised up to replace one another, and they came one right after another.
Moreover, we see that in the first four churches, the Lord separated the messengers from the churches. Other than Smyrna, which bore no rebuke, all of the Lord's judgments and admonishments did not concern the messengers themselves. In Ephesus it was the lampstand that was to be removed, and in Pergamos and Thyatira it was the unfaithful members that were to be judged. The last three were just the opposite — the messengers and the churches were completely united. Other than Philadelphia, which was without blame, all of the Lord's judgments and admonishments were for the messengers themselves. In Sardis the few who wore white robes were not the messengers but were ones who were different from the messengers. The messenger of Laodicea was blended together with the church. The explanation of such a difference may be that the first four churches still had the position of the church, and God considered it sufficient for the messengers to represent their churches. Thus, He judged and punished only the immoral members among them. The last three churches have lost their position and have become wholly corrupted. Thus all of them were judged together with the world. Because of this, if there were any faithful members in the last three churches, they should have separated themselves from the churches so that they could become Philadelphia before the Lord. Smyrna and Philadelphia were perfect. Thus, there was no separation between the messengers and the churches — the two were united. Sardis (in position) and Laodicea failed completely. Thus, there was also no separation between the messengers and the churches — the two were one. They have no hope other than of being forsaken by the Lord. What a lesson the saints who love the Lord should learn from this passage!
