Patmos vision of John
Key Verses: 3, 10,
14-15, 20
Have you had an angel talk to you?
This kind of event is extremely rare. God does not tell us the future as a
regular course of events. So when John was shown what he was shown, by an angel
none the less, it must have taken him by surprise. He did not know what to do
about it. He wrote it down because he was told to write it down, not because
that was his initial thought.
There is a blessing to applying what
this book says, even though at times we will not fully understand what is being
said. Visions of the future are by nature difficult to understand. John saw
things and only had images and language that he knew to describe what he saw.
When we see an iPhone, we know what it is and say, “That is an iPhone.” But to
someone who hasn't ever seen an iPhone, it is a strange, mysterious flat box
that talks, changes its face, and plays music. It is a window into another
world of strange people and events. They wouldn't have the language to describe
what they were seeing.
So too with Revelation. John uses
things he understands to describe things he doesn't understand, but only sees.
So we will work to try to understand what we can. I confess, I am not an expert
on Revelation, so my approach may not match with the great prophetic schemes
that have been developed to help understand this book. I know that Jesus wants
us to get something out of this book, and we will.
John writes to the seven churches
that are in Asia, modern day Turkey. But notice what this book contains: the
revelation of Jesus Christ. It is not a revelation of end time events. It is
showing us Jesus. This book reveals Jesus. There are some things about the end
of the world and the beginning of heaven, but the focus on the book is showing
us Jesus.
We learn several things in verses
4-8. He is timeless, rose from the dead, is supreme ruler on earth, our savior,
and our returning King.
John hears a voice like a trumpet
tell him to write this down. I don't know if you have had the privilege of
having a trumpet blast you in the back of the head, but I can tell you from
experience, you pay attention to it. It pierces your brain. You can't ignore
it. This voice comes from a human being, but no ordinary human being. The
description starts off fairly typically for someone of that day, but then
shifts to describe no ordinary human being. This was Jesus in the flesh. The
same glory that John had seen on the Mount of Transfiguration was present here.
Seeing someone like this today would scare the tar our of you.
John falls to the ground in fear, and
rightly so. Jesus introduces Himself to John. But Jesus begins, “Don't be
afraid.” This is the normal reaction when Jesus shows up. When the Creator of
the Universe shows up, fear is a normal response. Even for those who know
Jesus, like John, fear is the normal response. So if someone says they have
encountered Jesus, but there was no fear, sorry guys, they didn't see Jesus.
John saw seven stars and seven lamp
stands. Notice that John needs to be told what they mean! So if we get a few
details wrong, we will be OK. He saw them firsthand and he needed Jesus to
explain it. The seven are connected to these seven churches that are each going
to get a personalized message from Jesus. Jesus wants them to know exactly what
His knowledge of their life is and what His expectations are for them. No
mystery. Revelation.