Revelation’s 1st Vision
In the previous post we completed looking at the prologue to Revelation. This time we’ll be looking at the beginning of the first of several visions that unfold before John throughout the book.
‘9I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. 10I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet 11saying, “Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea” (Rev. 1:9-11 ESV).
In verse 9 we have John speaking in first person to the recipients of the Revelation. These, we learned in verse 1, are Jesus Christ’s servants, His Church. They are also depicted in verse 4 as ‘the 7 churches’ and though they existed as literal churches, being 7 they represent the entire Church of Jesus Christ.
People of the Tribulation, Kingdom and Patient Endurance
John calls himself a brother and partner with them ‘in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus.’ This is in keeping with John’s gospel account in which he recorded Jesus having said, “In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33 ESV).
Concerning ‘the kingdom,’ verse 6 indicates the type of kingdom that the Church is on earth when it says that Jesus Christ has ‘made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father.’ Furthermore, the Church is part of the kingdom of God, concerning which Paul says that we are seated with God in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
‘Patient endurance’ speaks of our perseverance in Christ. As it says in the book of Hebrews, ‘we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls’ (Heb. 10:39 ESV). It speaks of an enduring peace that is found in Jesus, despite suffering and life’s challenges.
John says that he ‘was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.’ Patmos was a penal colony where serious convicts of the state were sent. Clearly, teaching and preaching God’s word and witnessing to Jesus had been the cause of his banishment. This explains why he referenced being a ‘partner in the tribulation… and patient endurance.’ It appears to have been a particularly hard time for Christians in general.
In the Spirit
Then, his natural experience is swallowed up when he writes, ‘I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet.’ Paul says of every Christian, ‘You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you,’ and ‘Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him’ (Rom. 8:9). Therefore, in one sense, all Christians are always ‘in the Spirit.’ This, then, cannot be what John meant here, for such a fact would be too obvious to need mentioning.
Instead, John must have meant that he was full of the Spirit when he said that he ‘was in the Spirit.’ This is the only plausible explanation. For, though Christians are always in the Spirit (in the sense that our spirit is forever joined to God’s Spirit), our entire being is not automatically ‘in the Spirit.’ Such an experience requires intention and prayer. In fact, we are told to continually be filled with the Spirit and walk in step with the Spirit so that our thoughts, emotions and conduct can be empowered by His indwelling presence. Our soul needs to receive the rivers of living water coming from within.
The Lord’s Day
John references ‘the Lord’s day,’ which is the only time this term is used in the Bible. Being a Jew, if he had meant the Sabbath, he would have called it that, as he had so often done in his gospel account. Instead, this is the 1st day of the week, the day that Jesus rose from the dead. It is called ‘the Lord’s day’ in honour of that. It had apparently become custom to meet and celebrate Jesus’ resurrection on that day.
Whether intentional or not, it follows a pattern set by Jesus. After His resurrection on the 1st day of the week, He appeared to His disciples and then again on the 1st day of the following week. Later, in Acts, it describes how Paul and his partners were in a place called Troas for seven days and ‘On the first day of the week…were gathered together to break bread’ (Acts 20:7 ESV). This appears to be an intentional choice to remember the Lord on the 1st day of the week. If so, it demonstrates the significance that Christians had placed on this day. Paul also puts emphasis on this day when he says, ‘On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come’ (1 Cor. 16:2).
Loud Voice Like a Trumpet
Then John says, ‘I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet.’ First of all that’s not a normal voice. A trumpet is a very distinct sound often associated with the military. This sound, and especially that it was loud, served to amplify the fact that it was a command being given. Moreover, it especially emphasized the significance of the Person giving the command.
The command was, “Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.” The command to ‘write what you see’ would have indicated to John that he was going to experience something visual. And, the instruction to write what was essentially for seven churches ‘in a [single] book’ would have carried with it the idea of unity, the implication being that everything in it was for all seven churches and, by implication, all of Christ’s Church.
Finally, the churches mentioned are named after the respective towns in which they reside in Asia Minor. These churches were associated with John’s ministry. He was a church leader in Ephesus, the town from which the gospel had spread during Paul’s ministry into to all of Asia Minor.
Rob Morley
Shortened version on YouTube: Revelation 1v9-11
Shortened version as a podcast: Revelation 1v9-11
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