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Whose revelation? 1:1-3

The book of Revelation is often called "the Revelation of John," even though it is the revelation of Jesus. The first sentence of the book states that the risen Christ received a revelation from God the Father and sent his angel to announce it to John. The revelation went on in a chain. Sinful man cannot stand the direct speech of a holy God. Jesus is the mediator between man and God. He is like a power transformer, transforming God's immense power into something suitable for sinful man. Jesus received the revelation to tell his servants what God has decided and what will happen according to God's decision.

The author of the Book of Revelation says that he is a servant or slave of Jesus. Paul also called himself that (e.g. Phil 1:1). Who this John is, we tried to find out in the introduction. It is not certain, but it is possible that he is the apostle John, one of the twelve.

The book of Revelation is not John’s own thoughts or his own vision of the future of the world. This is evident from verse 2. John wrote what God gave him to write. Therefore, he speaks of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. When we keep this in mind, we read the book of Revelation correctly. We are not dealing with a product of human creativity, but with what God has seen fit to tell us.

God wanted the revelation given to John to be written down and to be read and listened to in God’s church. Revelation was not given to satisfy people’s endless curiosity, but to be believed and to draw the right conclusions from it. That is what is meant by “keep what is written in it” in verse 3. The book of Revelation is not written just for those living just before Jesus returns. The book of Revelation has something to say to all people of all times. That is why John urges everyone to read what he saw.

The word blessed has mainly two meanings in the New Testament. Blessed can mean saved – someone who is on their way to heaven. Sometimes blessed means someone who should be congratulated. This is probably the latter. Those who are to be congratulated are those who read and hear the Book of Revelation and believe what it says. This is because the time is near. At that moment, it is likely that Christ will arrive. It is near. The one who reads the Book of Revelation knows this and understands how to prepare for Jesus’ return. The one who does this is worthy of being congratulated.

Greetings to the churches 1:4-8

John sent the Book of Revelation to the seven churches in the province of Asia, apparently in the same way that Paul sent letters to the churches. John’s greeting also resembles the opening greeting of Paul’s letters. He wishes the churches grace and peace. In verse 4, only John’s name is mentioned and he is not introduced in more detail. This suggests that John was a well-known man. Everyone knew who he was and therefore he did not need any extensive introductions. This suggests that the writer of the Book of Revelation is the disciple John. Solid Christian tradition says that he was a bishop for about 30 years in the very regions where the Book of Revelation was sent.

The seven congregations listed later were only a few of the congregations in the Roman province of Asia. Why, though, are only these seven mentioned?

The reason may be that there was much in these congregations from which other congregations could learn. The congregations are told about good things and what can serve as examples for others. At the same time, the sins that occurred in the mentioned congregations are discussed, and other congregations are warned not to fall into the same sins. The seven congregations mentioned give a comprehensive picture of what life in other congregations can be like - with its good and bad sides - and perhaps that is why only these seven are discussed.

There may be another reason why exactly seven churches are mentioned. Seven is the number of perfection in the Bible. The seven churches describe the entire Church of Christ, all its churches.

God revealed to Moses his name "I am" (Yahweh, Exodus 3:14). John wishes for grace and peace "from him who is, who was, and who is to come". John is like opening the secret of God's name and tells something about what God's name means. Because God is, he is the sustainer of all things. Because he was, he is the beginning of all being. Because he is to come, he is the one who will one day end this world. John's definition of God reminds us that God lives in eternity, where all forms of time are miraculously present.

The seven spirits in verse 4 probably refer to the Holy Spirit. Isaiah chapter 11 speaks of the coming Messiah and reveals seven qualities of the Spirit of God (Isaiah 11:2). It is possible that the "seven spirits" refer to the qualities of the Holy Spirit. Another possibility is that the mention of the seven spirits and the seven churches teaches that the Holy Spirit is present in all churches. No church has been left without the Spirit of God.

In addition to God the Father and the Holy Spirit, John wishes grace and peace from Jesus Christ. God's trinity can be seen here as well.

It has been said that Jesus has three offices: He is 1) Prophet, 2) Priest, and 3) King. John's words about Jesus teach the same thing.

1) Jesus is the "faithful witness" - that is, a prophet, teacher, and preacher.

2) Then John reminds us of what Jesus has done for us. He has freed us from our sins and their punishment with his blood. Jesus is therefore the Priest who sacrificed himself for the sins of the whole world. This sacrifice had the effect that all of Jesus' own have become priests. During the Old Covenant, only priests were allowed to come before God, and of them, only the high priest was allowed to enter the most holy place, the temple room where God was believed to dwell. Now we all have this right. The way to God is open because Jesus has opened it for us.

This does not mean that there is no longer a need for priests in the churches. The New Testament speaks of those who are appointed to serve as shepherds of the church. This is how God has ordained that the church should be cared for through the means of grace, the word of God and the sacraments.

3) John says that Jesus is the ruler of even the most powerful people in the world. To Him belongs the glory and He has the power. Jesus is therefore the King. The book of Philippians speaks of the same thing:

"'Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth"
(Philippians 2:9-10)

Jesus ascended into heaven on a cloud, and God’s angels promised that he would return in the same way (Acts 1:11). When that happens, everyone will see him, even those who killed him. The dead will rise, and those who have fought against the King of kings will be in immense pain. They will realize that they have opposed the Lord of heaven and earth.

God says that He is "the Alpha and the Omega." The Book of Revelation was originally written in Greek, and the first letter of the Greek alphabet is Alpha (corresponding to the letter A) and the last letter is Omega (corresponding to the letter O). So God says that He is the beginning of all things and the end of all things. From Him all things originate and to Him all things will eventually end. He is the Almighty, who guides the history of the world from beginning to end, just as He has determined in His great wisdom.

The Risen Lord Appears 1:9-20

Patmos is an island in the Aegean Sea about 100 km southwest of Ephesus. The island is small and the Romans used it as a place of exile. During the reign of Emperor Domitian, Christians were severely persecuted. The emperor demanded that he be worshipped as a god, and Christians could not agree to this. During this persecution, John was exiled to Patmos, where the Book of Revelation was born. God can make even the evil serve his own. Without persecution and exile, the Book of Revelation might never have been written.

God showed John something that is not usually shown to people. John says that the Spirit took possession of him. This means ecstasy, a state in which a person is, as it were, outside of himself and feels a special conversation with God. John is not the only person in the Bible who is told this way. Many Old Testament prophets, as well as Paul (2 Cor 12) and Peter (Acts 10), had the same experience.

The Lord's Day refers to Sunday, which Christians early on chose as their holy day instead of the Jewish Sabbath (Saturday). Jesus rose from the dead on Sunday, and therefore this day was chosen to be sanctified to the Lord.

John hears a mighty voice, which he compares to the sound of a trumpet. The voice commands him to write down what John will soon see and to send the writing to the seven churches of Asia Minor. John turns to see where the voice is coming from. He sees a vision similar to that seen by Daniel (Dan 7:9-14): seven golden lampstands and "one like a son of man" walking among them.

The lampstands represent, as verse 20 tells us, the seven churches listed above. Since there are seven of them—a perfect number—they also represent the entire Church of Christ, all the churches in the world. The vision has a powerful message: Jesus is in the midst of His Church. He walks where His own are and He does not abandon His own, even in difficult times.

John finds it difficult to explain what the "one like a son of man" walking among the lampstands looks like. That is why he uses metaphors. The most prominent is the immense glory of Christ. John speaks of shining wool, snow, fire, glowing bronze, and the sun. Jesus' greatness is also evident in his voice. The storms of the Aegean Sea make a mighty sound as they hit the cliffs of the island of Patmos. There is something similar in the voice of the Risen One.

Jesus has seven stars in his hand and a sharp, two-edged sword in his mouth. Revelation is full of symbols, allegories. Perhaps the sword represents the word of God (Ephesians 6:17 and Hebrews 4:12), which penetrates everywhere, even through the barriers built by people.

Even God's own is a sinful man. That is why John falls to the ground before the glory of Christ and is as dead. A sinful man cannot do anything else before the holiness of God. Jesus begins his speech in the same way as in many stories in the Gospels: "Do not be afraid." Jesus is full of truth and grace, holiness and love.

In verse 17 Jesus says of himself the same thing that was said of God above. Like the Father, the Son is the first and the last, the beginning and the end of all. Here and elsewhere the Book of Revelation teaches the Trinity of God. Jesus is associated with exactly the same concepts and attributes as God the Father.

In verse 18 Jesus speaks of his own greatness and the littleness of the Devil. The Devil is so insignificant that he does not even have the keys to his own kingdom. Jesus has taken them from him. Therefore, Jesus has the power to condemn a person to hell, a place of pain and anguish, and he has the power to save from going there. The Devil is not the judge between man and God, but Jesus is.

In the last verse of the chapter, Jesus reveals the secret of the stars that are in his hand. The stars represent the angels of the seven churches. Angel does not necessarily mean an angel in the literal sense of the word. The Old Testament speaks of angels (messenger, a Hebrew word meaning angel) and refers to a prophet of God (Haggai 1:13) or a priest (Malachi 2:7). This is probably the case now as well. Angels here mean the shepherds of the churches. This understanding is also supported by the fact that the church letters in the following chapters are addressed to "the angels of the churches." They are therefore sent to the shepherds of the churches.

Jesus' special concern is for the shepherds of the church. This is probably meant by the seven stars in Jesus' hand. The shepherds of the congregations have not earned a special position among God's own. They are cared for because they have an extremely important task to perform. They lead Christ's flock toward heaven. If the shepherds go astray, the flock will also go astray. The shepherds of the congregations are also weak people, and therefore they need Jesus' special care. Jesus takes the shepherds as if in his hand and does everything he can to ensure that the flock, led by the shepherds, will arrive in the glory of heaven.