Bird's-eye view
In this foundational passage of the Apocalypse, the apostle John, exiled for his faithful witness, is given a staggering vision of the glorified Christ. This is not Jesus the gentle teacher from Galilee, but Christ the cosmic King, High Priest, and Judge. The vision serves to establish the absolute authority of the one who is speaking this revelation. John, having introduced himself as a brother and partner in suffering, is caught up in the Spirit on the Lord's Day and hears a voice like a trumpet. When he turns, he sees the resurrected and ascended Lord Jesus standing in the midst of seven golden lampstands, which represent the seven churches. The description of Christ is thick with Old Testament imagery, drawing from Daniel, Isaiah, and Ezekiel, portraying Him as the divine Son of Man, the Ancient of Days, and the ultimate reality to which the temple priesthood pointed. He holds the churches (represented by seven stars) in His hand, and His word is a sharp, two-edged sword. The effect on John is overwhelming; he falls as though dead. But the terrifying vision is followed by a tender reassurance. The glorious Christ lays His hand on John, tells him not to fear, and identifies Himself as the eternal, resurrected Lord over death and the grave. He then commissions John to write what he has seen, what is, and what is to come, providing the structure for the entire book.
This vision is the lens through which the rest of Revelation must be read. The turmoil, judgment, and cosmic conflict that will unfold are all under the sovereign control of this glorious figure. He is not an absentee landlord; He walks among His churches, knows their works, and holds their destiny in His hand. The central message is one of profound comfort for the persecuted and a stark warning for the complacent: the Lord of the Church is a consuming fire, and He is coming to set all things right.
Outline
- 1. The Vision of the Glorified King (Rev 1:9-20)
- a. The Seer's Circumstances (Rev 1:9-11)
- i. John's Identification with the Churches (Rev 1:9)
- ii. The Setting of the Vision (Rev 1:10)
- iii. The Initial Commission to Write (Rev 1:11)
- b. The Seer's Vision (Rev 1:12-16)
- i. The Setting: Seven Golden Lampstands (Rev 1:12)
- ii. The Central Figure: One Like a Son of Man (Rev 1:13)
- iii. The Description of His Glory (Rev 1:14-16)
- c. The Seer's Response and Commission (Rev 1:17-20)
- i. John's Overwhelmed Reaction (Rev 1:17a)
- ii. Christ's Comforting Assurance (Rev 1:17b-18)
- iii. The Renewed Commission and Interpretation (Rev 1:19-20)
- a. The Seer's Circumstances (Rev 1:9-11)
Context In Revelation
This section immediately follows the book's prologue (1:1-8), which established the divine origin of the revelation, pronounced a blessing on its hearers, and announced its central theme: the imminent return of Jesus Christ. The prologue sets the stage, and this vision brings the main character onto that stage in breathtaking fashion. The vision of the glorified Christ in verses 9-20 provides the authority for the messages to the seven churches that follow in chapters 2 and 3. It is because Christ is who He is in this vision, that He has the right to commend, rebuke, and exhort His churches. Furthermore, this vision of Christ as the sovereign Lord of history is the anchor for all the tumultuous prophecies that follow from chapter 4 onwards. Whatever happens on earth, with seals, trumpets, and bowls, the reader is meant to remember this initial vision: the one orchestrating all events is this glorious Son of Man, who holds the stars and walks among the lampstands.
Key Issues
- The Identity of the "Son of Man"
- The Meaning of "The Lord's Day"
- The Symbolism of the Lampstands and Stars
- The Old Testament Background of the Vision
- The Relationship Between Christ's Terror and Comfort
- The Structure of the Commission in Verse 19
The King in His Glory
Before we can understand the judgments and promises of Revelation, we must first be confronted with the Judge and Promise-Giver. The book does not begin with a timeline of the end times, or a decoder ring for symbols. It begins with a vision of Jesus Christ, resurrected, ascended, and glorified. This is not a sentimental portrait. This is a terrifying vision. John, the beloved disciple, who had leaned on Jesus' breast at the Last Supper, falls at His feet like a dead man. Why? Because he is seeing Jesus not just as the Lamb of God, but as the Lion of Judah, the Ancient of Days, the sovereign Lord of heaven and earth. The imagery is designed to evoke awe and terror. His hair is white with eternal wisdom, His eyes are flames of penetrating judgment, His feet are instruments of unyielding justice, and His voice is the sound of irresistible power. This is the King in His glory, and this vision is the necessary prerequisite for everything that follows. We cannot trifle with the words of this book, because they proceed from the mouth of this King.
Verse by Verse Commentary
9 I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance which are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the witness of Jesus.
John does not begin with his apostolic authority, but with his fraternal solidarity. He is our brother. He is not writing from a detached, academic distance; he is in the trenches with us. He identifies three things that he shares with his readers, all of which are found "in Jesus." First, tribulation. The Christian life is not a playground, but a battleground. John was on Patmos, a Roman penal colony, precisely because he had been faithful. Second, the kingdom. Despite the tribulation, believers are already citizens of Christ's kingdom. Our king reigns now. Third, perseverance. This is the gritty endurance that is required to hold fast to the kingdom in the midst of tribulation. John's exile was the direct result of his faithfulness to the word of God and his testimony about Jesus. He practiced what he preached, and it cost him his freedom.
10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet,
John's circumstances were bleak, but his spiritual state was exalted. To be "in the Spirit" means to be under the direct, overwhelming influence of the Holy Spirit, transported into a state of prophetic vision. This happened on "the Lord's day." While some have tried to argue this refers to the future Day of the Lord, the most natural reading, given the practice of the early church, is that John was worshiping on Sunday, the first day of the week, the day of Christ's resurrection. In the midst of faithful, ordinary, Sunday worship, the heavens opened. The voice he hears is not a whisper, but a blast, loud and clear like a trumpet, the instrument used in the Old Testament to announce a royal decree or to summon the people of God.
11 saying, “Write in a scroll what you see, 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 voice immediately gives a command. This vision is not for John's private edification. It is a message to be recorded and disseminated. The revelation is to be written, giving it permanence and authority. It is to be sent to seven specific, historical churches in the Roman province of Asia. These were real churches with real problems, as chapters 2 and 3 will make clear. The number seven in Revelation is significant, symbolizing completeness or perfection. So while the letters are addressed to these specific congregations, they are also intended for the whole Church throughout history.
12-13 Then I turned to see the voice that was speaking with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands; and in the middle of the lampstands I saw one like a son of man, clothed in a robe reaching to the feet, and girded across His chest with a golden sash.
John turns to identify the speaker and is met with a symbolic scene. The seven golden lampstands, as we are told in verse 20, are the seven churches. They are golden, signifying their preciousness and their divine origin. And walking among them, present with them, is the central figure of the vision. He is described as "one like a son of man," a direct reference to the celestial figure in Daniel 7 who approaches the Ancient of Days to receive an everlasting kingdom. This is Jesus, identifying Himself with that messianic title. He is dressed in the long robe and golden sash of a high priest and a king, combining both offices in His person. He is not distant; He is in the very midst of His people.
14-15 And His head and His hair were white like white wool, like snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire. His feet were like burnished bronze, when it has been made to glow in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of many waters,
The description of His glory is a collage of Old Testament theophanies. His white hair, like that of the Ancient of Days in Daniel 7, signifies His eternal wisdom and purity. His eyes, like a flame of fire, speak of His penetrating insight and righteous judgment. Nothing is hidden from His gaze. His feet of burnished bronze, glowing hot, represent His purity and His unshakeable stability as He treads down His enemies in judgment. His voice, like the roar of a massive waterfall, is majestic, powerful, and overwhelming. It drowns out all other voices.
16 and having in His right hand seven stars, and a sharp two-edged sword which comes out of His mouth, and His face was like the sun shining in its power.
He holds seven stars in His right hand, the hand of power and authority. Verse 20 identifies these as the "angels" of the seven churches, likely referring to the messengers or pastors of these congregations. The point is clear: Christ holds the leadership of His church securely in His hand. They belong to Him and are under His sovereign control. Out of His mouth comes not a literal sword, but the Word of God, which is "living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword" (Heb. 4:12). His word is His weapon of judgment and salvation. Finally, His face, His very countenance, shines with the blinding, unveiled glory of the sun at its zenith. This is the glory that Peter, James, and John caught a glimpse of at the Transfiguration, now seen in its full, unbearable splendor.
17-18 And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. 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 was dead, and behold, I am alive forever and ever, and I have the keys of death and of Hades.
John's reaction is the only appropriate one for a sinful man in the presence of unveiled holiness: utter collapse. He falls down as if dead. But the one whose appearance is terrifying is also the one who is tender. Jesus places His right hand, the same hand that holds the stars, on John in a gesture of comfort and commissioning. His first words are "Do not fear." The basis for this comfort is the identity of the speaker. He is the first and the last, the eternal God who brackets all of history. He is the living One, the source of all life. And crucially, He is the one who was dead, and is now alive forever and ever. He has conquered death through His own death and resurrection. Because of this victory, He holds the keys, the symbol of authority, over death and Hades (the realm of the dead). He decides who lives and who dies, who is bound and who is set free. Our ultimate enemy is under His sovereign control.
19 Therefore write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after these things.
Having established His identity and authority, Christ repeats His commission to write. This verse provides a divine outline for the book of Revelation. John is to write "the things which you have seen," which refers to the vision of the glorified Christ he has just witnessed (Chapter 1). He is to write "the things which are," which refers to the current state of the seven churches (Chapters 2-3). And he is to write "the things which will take place after these things," which refers to the prophetic visions of the future that make up the remainder of the book (Chapters 4-22).
20 As for the mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
Jesus concludes by interpreting the two central symbols of the vision. A "mystery" in the New Testament is not an unsolvable riddle, but a truth previously hidden and now revealed by God. The mystery is explained plainly. The stars are the messengers or leaders of the churches, and the lampstands are the churches themselves. The churches are to be bearers of light in a dark world, and their leaders are held in the secure, powerful hand of Christ, who walks among them, tending their flame. This is the foundational reality of the Church: it belongs to Christ, it is indwelt by Christ, and its destiny is determined by Christ.
Application
This passage ought to revolutionize how we view the church, its struggles, and its Lord. First, we are reminded that tribulation is not an elective for the Christian; it is a required course. John was on Patmos for the same reason we often find ourselves in difficult straits: faithfulness to the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus. But in the midst of that exile, he met with the King. Our hardest places can become the location of our clearest visions of Christ.
Second, we must recover a sense of the awesome holiness and majesty of Jesus Christ. Our modern Christianity has often domesticated Jesus, turning Him into a gentle, therapeutic friend who would never offend anyone. The Jesus of Revelation is glorious, powerful, and terrifying in His holiness. His eyes see everything, and His Word judges everything. A true vision of Christ should not first make us feel cozy, but should, like John, cause us to fall on our faces in repentance and awe. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and it is also the beginning of true worship.
Finally, the terror of the vision is immediately followed by the tenderness of the gospel. The one who is a consuming fire is also the one who says, "Do not fear." And why should we not fear? Because this glorious King is also our resurrected Savior. He has died our death and holds the keys to the grave. He walks among His churches. He knows our struggles. He holds our pastors in His hand. The church is not an orphan, left to fend for itself in a hostile world. The church, for all its flaws and failures, is a golden lampstand, precious to the King who walks in its midst. Our security does not rest in our strength, but in the grip of His right hand.