Grace and Peace

“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16: 11)

“And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks; And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.” (Rev. 1:12–13).

John has heard a loud voice, a voice like a trumpet. He turns to see who is speaking, and the speaker is obliquely identified as the Lord Jesus. The first thing John saw was the collection of lampstands. These lampstands are identified just a few verses down as the seven church of Asia to which John is writing (v. 20). This vision of the Lord includes a number of vivid descriptions that run into the next verses, which we will get to shortly, but for now it should simply be said that the one who spoke, telling John to write to the seven churches, was the Lord Himself. He is identified as one “like a son of man,” which is how the Messiah is described in Daniel 7:13 when He was presented before the Ancient of Days and was given universal dominion (Dan. 7:14). [Read more…]

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Grace and Peace

“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16:11)

“I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.” (Revelation 1:10–11).

John begins to tell us the beginning of the vision. He had been exiled to Patmos, and on a particular Lord’s Day, he was in the Spirit. This tells us, incidentally, that there is a day set apart for the Lord, the first day of the week, the day He rose from the dead, which is to say, Sunday. John was in the Spirit, which is to say he was in a trance, capable of seeing the vision that he saw. [Read more…]

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Grace and Peace

“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16:11)

“I John, who also am your brother, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called Patmos, for the word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ” (Rev. 1:9).

The writer identifies himself simply as “John.” He is traditionally taken as John the apostle, and for good reason. Although the Revelation is a completely different genre from the gospels, the close kinship between this book and the fourth gospel is plain.

He describes himself two ways. The first is simply as “brother.” The second is “companion,” a rendering of synkoinonos—a “partaker together with.” The apostle is a brother together with those to whom he is writing, and he also fellowships together with them, partaking together with them, in three things. The first bond of their fellowship is tribulation, the second is the kingdom, and the third is perseverance. All three are connected to Jesus Christ—they are the tribulation of Jesus, the kingdom of Jesus, and the endurance of Jesus. [Read more…]

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Grace and Peace

“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16:11)

“Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty” (Rev. 1:7–8).

This is a good place to note that the book of Revelation is simply saturated with citations from the Old Testament. This short passage takes material from at least two places, and those places help throw light on what John is talking about here. “Coming on the clouds” is from Daniel 7:13, and looking on Him whom “they have pierced” is from Zechariah 12:10.  [Read more…]

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Grace and Peace

“At thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore” (Ps. 16:11)

“John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne; And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen” (Revelation 1:4–6).

John is writing to the seven churches of Asia Minor, modern day Turkey, which churches are subsequently named in chapters two and three of Revelation. They are the churches of Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. More will be said about each of them in turn. [Read more…]

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