See The Voice

For the last three weeks, we've done a lot to set up our understanding of the book of Revelation.

• We've seen that it's a book of apocalyptic literature, full of visions and signs and symbols and symbolic numbers, designed to help God's people understand what's really going on in the world.
• It's a work of prophecy, God's word to God's people in a specific time and place.
• And it's a letter, written from John to seven actual, historical churches, designed to help them faithfully follow Jesus when and where they live.
• Revelation, we've also seen, is both from and about Jesus.
• It's also absolutely loaded with references to the Old Testament that are one of the important keys to understanding what it's saying.
• And, as we're going to discover especially starting next week, Revelation is full of references to itself, call-backs that are again one of the important tools we'll use to learn what it says and what it means.

All of this is important because as we understand its meaning, and what it would have meant for its first-Century audience, we'll learn what it means for us, and how it calls us to follow Jesus today.

Because Revelation is not just about what will happen in the future. It's about what has happened, and what is happening now, about what it looks like for us to follow Jesus today. Remember verse 3: “Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near” (Revelation 1:3).

So, having made our way through the introduction and the greeting, we come today to where John begins to tell us, from his perspective, how this all happened and where it all came from.

1. John (vv. 9-10a)

It begins with John reintroducing himself as "your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Christ Jesus."

This is a remarkable introduction, given the things that John saw and experienced. Even if he wasn't John the Apostle, just these visions would be enough to puff up an average man. Think of how Paul needed a thorn in his flesh to keep him humble because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations given to him.

And John saw all of this, and he doesn't flex. He just says, “ I'm your brother and your partner.” And he's our partner in three things: the tribulation, the kingdom, and the patient endurance that are in Jesus.

"Tribulation" refers to his suffering for Jesus. When some modern readers of Revelation hear the word "tribulation,” they might immediately think about this idea of a seven-year period of time between the rapture and the return of Jesus where God is going to judge the earth. And the tribulation isn't something you need to worry about if you're a Christian, because God is going to take us away before it happens.

If that's a view you've held, you may be surprised that the word "tribulation" is used five times in Revelation; three of those times, it speaks about something Christians were already experiencing, and a fourth refers to something they would experience.

And throughout the rest of the New Testament, this word is often translated as "affliction" or "trouble" or "suffering,” and almost all of the time is something that Christians experience.

John is a partner in the tribulation. Second, he is a partner in the kingdom. Like we heard last week, Jesus has been enthroned, He's begun to reign, and we are in His kingdom. John is our partner in this kingdom.

And yet this kingdom, though it is a present reality, has still not come in its fullness. There are still many enemies of Jesus. So while we wait for the kingdom to come finally and fully, while we endure tribulation, what do we need? We need patient endurance.

"Patient endurance," sometimes translated "steadfastness," is a word used seven times in Revelation and speaks of us patiently enduring through suffering and tribulation while we wait for the Lord to deliver us.

And so it's very fair to say that these three terms John uses here—tribulation, kingdom, and patient endurance in Jesus—really sum up the Christian life. We're already in the kingdom. We're suffering. And we're enduring that suffering with patience until the fullness of the kingdom dawns.

Next we read that John is on Patmos, an island in the Aegean Sea, about 13 x 8 kilometres, that today belongs to Greece and has a population of just over 600 people. He's there "on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus," which could mean that he was there as a missionary, but in other places in Revelation, "the word of God and the testimony" are very frequently used in connection with suffering and martyrdom.

So the traditional understanding that John is there in exile—basically, the island being his prison—is probably what's going on here.

And verse 10 tells us that he was in the Spirit on the Lord's day. The "Lord's Day" points to Sunday, the first day of the week, when the Christians would gather to worship Jesus. It was the "Lord's day" because that was the day Jesus had risen from the dead.

And John was "in the Spirit," a phrase that we'll see three more times in this book, and it speaks to the Spirit's role in revealing truth to John. "In the Spirit" means that God's Spirit made it possible for John to receive these visions, and it's a pretty strong claim that the Holy Spirit inspired this revelation.

2. Voice (vv. 10b-11)

And on that day, by the Spirit, he heard behind him a loud voice like a trumpet. This recalls the loud trumpet blast Israel heard at Mount Sinai, or the voice like a loud earthquake in Ezekiel 3:12. For the people of Israel, trumpets were either the ram's horn or the hammered silver trumpets used by the sons of Aaron. In both cases, they were loud. They were used to summon Israel to gather, for worship, or for signalling in war.

Kids, you remember when I blew my small little ram's horn at Faith Night last year? That, but bigger and louder, is what this voice sounds like.

And the interesting thing is that we don't know whose voice this is. It may be the voice of Christ. It may be the voice of the angel whom God sent to John. What we do know is that it got his attention.

And what it says is, verse 11: “‘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’” (Revelation 1:11).

Notice that John is given a command here. There's no question asked of him. There's no suggestion. The very first thing that John experiences is a loud, attention-grabbing command to write and send. This fits with the whole idea of John being a slave of Christ. He begins by receiving a command.

3. Vision (vv. 12-16)

But if John is going to write what he sees, he needs to see, right? So he turns to "see the voice" that was speaking to him. Now you can't actually see a voice, right? John's phrase here tells us that we are in the realm of an apocalyptic vision, where experiences defy what we experience in the physical realm.

But this idea of seeing a voice is also an important feature we'll see again in Revelation: John hears something, and then he sees something that is not quite what we might expect. And comparing what he hears to what he sees is an important way we can pay attention to what's happening.

So John turns to see the voice, and the first thing he sees is not a trumpet. The first thing he describes is seven golden lampstands.

And right away we know the setting for this vision. We're in a temple. The tabernacle and then the temple in Jerusalem had a lampstand with seven lamps. It probably represented the tree of life and lit up the holy place of the temple, where the priests ministered.

We've also heard about the lampstand in Zechariah's vision, with seven lamps on it (Zech 4:6-9). The lamps themselves in that vision represent the Holy Spirit, which will be important for us to remember in a moment.

But for now the big idea is seven golden lampstands, against the Old Testament background, suggests a temple scene, but an even greater temple than the one that existed on earth. Instead of one lampstand with seven branches, here there are seven golden lampstands.

And in the midst of the lampstands John sees a person: "one like a son of man." That's Daniel 7 language, which we heard last week: the son of man who comes to the Ancient of Days and receives an eternal kingdom. John deliberately uses this language to point us in that direction, suggesting that this is a kingly figure.

But we're also in the temple. A human-like figure among the lampstands of the temple suggests a priestly figure. And that's confirmed by the description of him having a long robe, which was the priests' garment (Ex 28:4, Zech 3:4). The golden sash around his chest is interestingly worn by angels in chapter 15, which points to this being a heavenly figure.

And then we get to verse 14, where this vision really levels up. "The hairs of his head were white, like white wool, like snow." We've heard that before, haven't we? “As I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days took his seat; his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool” (Daniel 7:9).

The Son of Man looks like the Ancient of Days, doesn't he? This is not just a kingly figure, not just a priestly figure—this is a divine figure. He looks like God did in Daniel's vision.

Going forward, we read that "His eyes were like a flame of fire, his feet were like burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, and his voice was like the roar of many waters." This recalls Daniel's terrifying vision of a man in Daniel chapter 10, when he sees a man with eyes like flaming torches, arms and legs like burnished bronze, and a voice like the sound of a multitude (Daniel 10:5–6).

The fiery eyes suggest the power of His insight as he sees all. It's interesting how in The Lord of the Rings, Sauron is portrayed as a fiery eye. Well, that's nothing. Jesus has two. The polished bronze legs suggest his purity and power and perfection, and the voice like many waters suggests the incredible power of his voice that sweeps us away with its force.

Some of us have been up to the Churchill River, where the rapids roar and nobody can stand up to the power of the water. That's what his voice is like.

And it keeps going, because in this Son of Man's right hand are seven stars (vv. 16). Who can hold stars in their hand? What would that even look like?

And then, more terrifying still, is a sword coming out of his mouth. This imagery comes from Isaiah. Isaiah 11:4 says that the Messiah who comes from the stump of Jesse will "strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked."

And then in Isaiah 49:2 we read, “He made my mouth like a sharp sword." There, those words are spoken by the Lord's servant, who is both Israel and the one who dies for Israel's sins and restores Israel.

And in both passages, these words speak to the way the Messiah rules and makes war with his word. He doesn't need to wield a sword in his hand. He just speaks. The sharp prophetic word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword.

“When Jesus said to them, ‘I am he,’ they drew back and fell to the ground” (John 18:6). “And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming” (2 Thessalonians 2:8).

In the beginning God spoke and the universe sprang into existence, and Jesus just has to speak a word to bring his enemies to nothing.

And last of all we read that his face was like the sun shining in full strength.

This is how Jesus appeared to James and John when they went up the mountain: “And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light” (Matthew 17:2).

Now stepping back, we don't want to miss the forest for the trees. We've spoken about what these different elements in the vision represent, and how it's all telling us something about the power and the majesty of Jesus.

But we also want to just step back and consider these things all together and consider how overwhelming this vision would have been for John.

Can you imagine experiencing a vision like this? Seeing this royal, priestly figure, like a man but also like God, overwhelmingly brilliant? White hair, gleaming skin, burning eyes, stars in his hand, glinting sword coming out of his mouth. A face that you need to shield your eyes from. A voice that almost makes you need to cover your ears to protect against the power.

This is our saviour. And using words like "powerful" and "majestic" almost don't cut it. That's why we have this vision. So we can think about the gleam of gold and the blinding white of fresh snow and the brilliance of fire and the gleam of bronze and the roar of rapids and the sparkling of the stars and the sharpness of a sword and the burning heat of the sun and we bring that all together in one person.

And what would it be like to see that all before you? When Daniel saw much the same vision, he totally fell apart. Couldn't speak, couldn't eat. It sounds like it almost killed him (Daniel 10:2-3, 7-9).

And so John: “When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead” (Revelation 1:17). Even in this visionary state, John is still John, and he can't process or handle everything that he sees. It's too much. He falls apart. He falls down as though dead.

4. Comfort (vv. 17-18)

And that's what makes what comes next so incredible. "But he laid his right hand on me," verse 17 goes on to say. The same hand that held the seven stars is laid on John. And he speaks. This voice—like the roar of many waters—says "Fear not."

Niagara Falls says "fear not." Isn't that amazing? John has every reason to fear. How could you not be terrified in front of this person?

But here's why we need not fear. Because Jesus, this Son of Man, is the first and the last. That's what he says. And what's amazing here is that this is not the first time in the Bible we hear these words.

• “I, the Lord, the first, and with the last; I am he” (Isaiah 41:4).
• “Thus says the Lord, the King of Israel and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts: ‘I am the first and I am the last; besides me there is no god’” (Isaiah 44:6).
• “Listen to me, O Jacob, and Israel, whom I called! I am he; I am the first, and I am the last” (Isaiah 48:12).

Those passages come from Isaiah 41, 44, and 48, where God proclaims his absolute uniqueness and power over idols in the most clear and majestic way in the whole Old Testament. Israel is not to fear because their God is alive and real and can actually save and deliver them.

And here, these words are on Jesus' mouth. He speaks what only Yahweh can say. And so He is not God's rival—He shares in God's very nature and identity. He is with God and He is God (John 1:1).

That Jesus is the living one is so profound because there was a time when this was not how John would have described Him. There was a dark Saturday where, as far as John was concerned, Jesus was the dead one. Yes, Jesus says, "I died." But what's next? "I am alive forevermore."

That is surely a reason not to fear. Jesus is not going to ever die again. We never have to worry that we'll see Him on a cross ever again. He is alive forevermore.

And He has the keys of death and Hades. When He rose from the dead, He burst through the gates of death, and He took the keys with Him along the way. Now He is the one who has power over the power of death.

It's interesting because in the ancient world, various gods and goddesses are described as having the keys to Hades. They get to open and close the door and decide who gets in—or out. Jewish writers attributed this power to God alone, using the similar language of the keys.

Here Jesus says that He holds the keys. He decides who goes into death and who gets to come out. And all of this is a reason not to fear.

And even if we don't yet understand why this is a reason not to fear, when this person—with a voice like the roaring of waters, who is the eternal God, who has power over the grave—when this person commands you not to fear, you listen.

5. Command (v. 19)

And this powerful voice goes on to repeat the command to John that he heard earlier from the voice like a trumpet. Verse 19: “Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this” (Revelation 1:19).

This is what John is to do, and many people have understood these words to give us a rough outline of the book of Revelation. John writes what he has seen, which includes things that are true for him—present tense—and some things that are going to take place next—the future. This is his vocation.

And John obeyed, which is why we have this book today.

6. Mystery (v. 20)

And finally, as our passage comes to an end, Jesus Himself explains to John some of the vision that he was witnessing. Verse 20: “As for the mystery of the seven stars that 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” (Revelation 1:20).

Once again we're reminded of how symbolic this vision is. Jesus himself explains that two of the elements in his vision—stars and lampstands—represent things. Seven churches, and the angels of those churches.

We're going to talk more about the seven angels next week. But the seven churches as lampstands is a really important part of this vision. It shows us something of the church's mission—to be lights in the world.

But the temple imagery is also really important. The Apostle Paul talks about how the church, where Jew and Gentile come together as one people, is a new temple, a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

The physical temple was destroyed in 70 A.D. as an act of judgement upon Israel's unbelief. And now we are the temple. And our great high priest—this overwhelmingly great high priest we've seen and heard described today—He walks in the holy place among the lampstands of His churches.

And what that means in a specific way is going to be fleshed out in the coming weeks as Jesus addresses each of them with specific royal authority.

But what that means in a general way should be obvious for us this morning.

Jesus is overwhelmingly great, and churches—specific, local churches—are really, really special. And really, really important. We're the furniture in the heavenly temple.

This is where we want to pause and reflect for a few minutes about how symbolism in the book of Revelation actually works. We need to know that these symbols are telling us truth about the things they represent.

On the one hand, we should recognize that this vision John received is a perfect example of the kind of apocalyptic vision that we're going to see all throughout this book.

John sees this vision of Jesus, and we will really misunderstand it if we think that John was brought to a physical location where he just saw Jesus the way he looks right now. Like, if he recorded Jesus on a video camera and played it back later, this is how Jesus would look.

We don't make this mistake later on in Revelation. We don't think that if you went to heaven and took a picture of Jesus, you'd see a picture of a lamb. When John sees Jesus as a lamb, we understand that it's a symbolic vision that is using imagery to tell us something important about Jesus.

And that's the same thing that's happening here. This is a symbolic vision. We know that because of how Jesus interprets it for him. We know that because that's just generally how things work in Revelation. We also know that because the details in the vision make sense symbolically, but they don't make sense physically.

Like the way that Jesus' eyes are like torches, and yet his face is shining like the sun in full strength. If this was just a physical vision, like we see with our eyes, we couldn't see the eyes like torches if the whole face was shining like the sun. In fact, we also couldn't see his hair and maybe anything else about him since we can't look at the sun.

But this makes sense in the realm of a vision. We've probably all experienced this when we've had dreams. And you're explaining it to someone and you say, "I had this dream where I was talking to someone, and it was you but it was also someone else, and you walking but also staying put, and that doesn't make sense in real life but it totally made sense in the dream."

Dreams and visions are alike in that sense. In the realm of a symbolic vision, John can see things—like torch eyes in the middle of a face like the sun—that don't make sense in real life.

Also, consider the sword from his mouth. This used to scare me as a kid, and I didn't really want to spend eternity with someone who had a long blade coming out of their mouth. How will Jesus drink the fruit of the vine with us in His Father's kingdom with a sword coming out of his mouth? How will he even talk?

See, this stops making sense if we try to make it physical reality. But in a vision, it works perfectly as a symbol of the power of His word.

But we could agree with that and still take it all the wrong way. We could think that all these symbolic descriptions are just a bunch of empty words, and the thing that we see with our eyes—that's what's really true.

But it's actually the other way around. These apocalyptic visions unveil reality for us, using symbols and visions to show us what's really going on, telling us what is actually true.

Like Daniel's visions of the beasts, or the visions of the beasts we're going to see in Revelation. With our eyes, we see respectable human leaders with suits on. And these visions tell us: they are actually beasts, ugly and terrifying. Don't be fooled by appearances.

So it is with these visions. With his human eyes, even the resurrected Jesus just looked like another person. These local churches in Asia Minor looked like ordinary gatherings of Christians.

And these visions use symbols to unveil reality and show us what is really true. Jesus is great beyond all of our comprehension. His churches are holy and precious, not least because Jesus is among His churches. The heavenly high priest tends to the lampstands. That's what priests did. Jesus is working to make sure that his churches keep on burning bright for him.

What would be different in your relationship with your local church if you believed that? If you embraced this vision as truth?

We showed up here this morning and walked through these doors and sang some songs, and we're going to talk afterward and go home, and if that's all we see, we haven't seen things as they really are. We need this apocalypse to see this gathering of believers as a piece of heavenly furniture, burning bright with the light of the Spirit, tended by this shining saviour who is the first and the last and the living one.

I think, if we believed that, it would be hard to grumble and complain about things that rub us the wrong way. I think it would be hard to act like this is all about us. It would be hard to be discouraged and dissatisfied.

Friends, I'm a glass-half-empty kind of person. I tend to see problems and let them bother me way more than I should. And today's passage is an invitation for us to look around and see evidence of the work of God around us. To see our brothers and sisters growing in simple godliness, responding to God, growing in holiness, repenting of their sin, loving His word, deepening in prayer.

And to not just shrug our shoulders, but to see this as evidence of the Spirit burning brightly among us; the living Lord Jesus works and ministers among us.

This apocalypse is an invitation to see things as they actually are. Lord, help that to be true.