The Man in the Glory

The Last Apostle

     Just before the Lord Jesus Christ went back to heaven after His death and resurrection, He spoke to Peter concerning his fellow apostle, John the beloved: “If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me” (John 21:22)

     Jesus did not say that John would remain alive until His second coming, but the disciples interpreted it that way for a time. It was an elliptical way of answering Peter’s question about John. As a matter of fact, according to all the available records and traditions, John did outlive every one of the other eleven disciples. All had long since gone to a martyr’s death when John, more than sixty years later, wrote the matchless words of the Book of Revelation.

     Christ had deliberately left the time of His return uncertain, but He did tell His disciples they must always be watchful and ready (as in Matthew 24:42-44), so that He could actually have returned in that very generation – at least as far as they could know and as far as divine prophecy had revealed. That the apostles did actually believe His coming could have been in their own lifetime is evident in many passages of Scripture (such as 1 John 2:28 and 1 Thessalonians 4:16, 17).

     The same is true for every generation since. The Lord wanted all His servants to live in an attitude of expectancy, knowing that He might return at any moment, and that is still true today. And finally, “He that shall come will come, and will not tarry” (Hebrews 10:37).

     In one sense, John did indeed tarry until Christ came. On the wonderful “Lord’s day” (Revelation 1:10) when John received the Book of Revelation, Christ did “come” back to John’s presence (or perhaps caught John up to heaven), so that John saw his beloved Lord once more. Furthermore, John was allowed to “see” all the events that would be associated with Christ’s eventual second coming to the earth, so that he could record them for the instruction and inspiration of all believers between his day and the last day. We today still have the privilege of seeing and hearing, through the eyes and ears of John, all these great future events that will take place when Christ returns.

Revelation 1:1.     The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John.

     The word “revelation” is the Greek apokalupsis and means literally “unveiling” or “taking off the cover.” Thus this book is not intended to be mysterious or confusing, but illuminating and revealing. In this opening statement, John stresses the wonderful fact that Jesus Christ, even though now glorified in heaven, is still a resurrected man. In His continuing humanity (even though also deity), He received from God this prophetic unveiling of the future, with full authority to reveal it to His servants for their guidance and blessing.

     The things being revealed would be fulfilled beginning almost immediately. The word shortly means literally “in a brief time.” Even though many years yet remained in actuality, His coming could have been almost immediate, at least in principle, as far as John’s first readers were concerned – or as far as his future readers in any generation would be concerned. Furthermore, even thousands of years constitute only a “brief time” on the eternal time frame within which He was speaking.

     The revelation was intended for the guidance of the “servants” (literally “bondslaves”) of Jesus Christ, and He chose to use His specially beloved servant to convey it, preserving his life through perils and persecutions without number through sixty long years until the time was ready. The “angel” by whom the revelation was “signified” is not here identified (though later, in chapter 22, verses 6-9, he is said to be a “fellow-servant” of John and other servants of Christ). Whoever he is, he had the ability to “signify” and to “shew” (Revelation 22:6) John the great visions and revelations of this book, by the power and authority of Christ. The word “signify” is closely related to “sign,” or “miracle,” and may well refer to the miraculous nature of the marvelous prophetic visions which John was enabled to see. On the other hand, the word is also occasionally used merely in the sense of “identify” or “specify” (Acts 25:27).

Revelation 1:2.     “Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.”

     The writer of Revelation identifies himself as John, and the uniform testimony of early Christian writers is that this was, indeed, John the Apostle. Nevertheless, liberals have often alleged that it was some other John, largely because the vocabulary of Revelation seemed different from the vocabulary of the Gospel and epistles of John. This verse clearly asserts, however, that the John who wrote the Revelation was the very one “who bare record of the word of God,” terminology which clearly identifies him as the author of John’s Gospel and epistles. The phrase, “bare record” (Greek martureo, also translated “testify” or “bear witness” or “bear testimony”), is highly characteristic of John, occurring forty-four times in his writings and only twenty-five times in all the rest of the New Testament. Here he emphasizes that in Revelation he is bearing witness of the very word of God. Furthermore he is bearing record of the “testimony of Jesus Christ.” This word “testimony” (Greek marturia) is also characteristic of John, occurring thirty times in his writings and only seven times in all the rest of the New Testament.

     Thus there can be no doubt, both from the fact of the assertion and the very words in the assertion, that the same John who was the Lord’s beloved disciple was the great apostle chosen by Him to write down the final words of the written Word of God to men.

     Note the threefold nature of the record that John wrote: (1) “the word of God,” stressing that the entire book was verily inspired by God; (2) the testimony of Jesus Christ, referring to the frequent statements made by Christ Himself to John throughout the book; and (3) the “things that he saw,” recording the great future events in heaven and on earth which he was permitted to “see” through the special ministry of the angel who miraculously “signified” them to him.

     This verse emphasizes the extremely important fact that the Book of Revelation is an actual eye-witness record of real events and real people. Just as Genesis is the record of the people and events of the world’s primeval history, so Revelation is the record of the terminal events of history, written by one who was there. John was miraculously translated in time and space, by the omnipotent Creator of time and space, to enable him actually to see and hear these momentous events of future history.

     John was always careful to emphasize that he wrote only what he saw and heard. In the concluding section of his Gospel he had written: “This is the disciple which testifieth of these things, and wrote these things: and we know that his testimony is true” (John 21:24). Writing of the amazing events on the cross, he had written: “And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true: and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe” (John 19:35). The opening words of his first epistle again stressed that he had heard and seen and touched the very One of whom he was writing, concluding with this testimony: “That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you” (1 John 1:3).

     Similarly, John claims over and over in the Book of Revelation that his eyes had seen and his ears had heard all these amazing future scenes of which he was writing. In fact, this claim is even impressed with “the seal of the seven.” That is, John makes the claim “I heard” twenty-eight times (that is, four sevens), and he makes the statement “I saw” (or “I looked” or “I beheld,” all of which are translations of the same Greek word) no less than forty-nine times or seven sevens. This phrase is used, in fact, more often than in any other New Testament book. John would have us know, beyond any possible misunderstanding, that he was not writing his own dreams or imaginings. He was writing precisely what he had seen and heard, and nothing more. To us, the Book of Revelation is a prophecy. To John it was actual history, recorded just as he had observed it.

Revelation 1:3.     Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things that are written therein; for the time is at hand.

     A special blessing is promised to all who read or even who hear the words (note the emphasis on the very words, not just the themes) of this book of prophecy, and who “keep” what is written in it. It is obvious that one cannot keep what he does not possess, nor could he be blessed by it, so that this wonderful promise clearly presupposes that those who read or hear these words are well able to understand and appropriate them. And this can only be true if the words are to be taken literally.

     The exhortation to recognize the imminence of the “time” is explicitly repeated at the end of the book (22:10). If it was urgent for Christians in John’s time to study this book of prophecy: how much more urgent it is for those of us who are 1900 years closer to the time when it will all be actually taking place.   

John’s Salutation

Revelation 1:4.     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.

     Here is the first of the “sevens” with which Revelation abounds (see discussion in previous chapter), and it is John’s salutation to “the seven churches.” It is obvious that the message is really to all chuches of all the centuries and it is thus very significant that John does not address his message to “the Church” – not even to “the Church of Asia,” but to “the churches.” Christ’s message is to be conveyed to and through local churches, with real, visible members and activities, not to an invisible illusory body called “the church universal.” Even though all churches are in mind here, Christ through John selects seven representative churches in Asia Minor to stand for all churches everywhere.

     John opens with the salutation of grace and peace, common to the epistles of Paul (Paul also wrote inspired epistles to just seven churches: Rome, Corinth, Galatia, Ephesus, Philippi, Colosse, and Thessalonica). Paul, however, always expressed grace and peace as coming from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. John here invokes the entire Trinity!

     First, grace and peace are from “him which is, and which was, and which is to come” – God in His eternal omnipotence, “the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness” (James 1:17), the “everlasting Father” (Isaiah 9:6), the “high and lofty one who inhabiteth eternity” (Isaish 57:15).

     Then, they come through the “seven Spirits” before the throne. In view of the placement of this unique name between the names of the eternal one and of Jesus Christ, this is necessarily a reference to the Holy Spirit, rather than to seven great angelic spirits, as might otherwise be thought. Furthermore, grace and peace are not mediated through angels, but through the Holy Spirit.

     But why is He called the “seven Spirits?” It has been suggested that the reference in Isaiah 11:2 to “the spirit of the Lord . . . the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord” may be the key. The Holy Spirit is sevenfold in His gracious character and imputation of spiritual attributes. The phrase may also, by its symbolic seven-ness, emphasize that, while the Spirit is indeed “before the throne,” He is also omnipresent.

Revelation 1:5.     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.

     The salutation also includes an invocation of grace and peace from Jesus Christ, thus incorporating the entire Trinity. John also ascribes to Him three marvelous titles. These titles, respectively, testify to His sinless suffering unto death, His victorious resurrection from the grave, and His imminent triumphant return. The word “witness’ (Greek martus) is the source of our word “martyr.” Jesus Christ, like many other “witnesses” to God’s truth before and since, was faithful unto death, a martyr. He, unlike other martyrs, however, had power to lay down His life and power to take it again (John 10:18), and thus became the firstborn from the dead (see also Acts 13:33; Colossians 1:18). Although most kings and other great men of the earth continually try to rebel against Him (Psalm 2:1-3), He is “prince” (Greek archon = “chief,” “first”) and must soon be acknowledged “King of kings and Lord of lords” (Revelation 19:16).

     As John rehearses this thrilling testimony from the Lord, he is impelled to present a doxology to His Lord. He is the one who loved us lost sinners so much as to offer up His sinless blood to free us from our sins.

Revelation 1:6.     And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. 

     Having been cleansed of sin’s guilt and power, we are no longer bond slaves of sin (Romans 6:20-22). But to the One who loved us, that is only the beginning. Those who were slaves became kings and priests, (or “a kingdom of priests”) seated with Him in heavenly places (Ephesians 2:6) and serving as a holy priesthood, offering up spiritual sacrifices to God (1 Peter 2:5). In the coming kingdom, He promises that we shall actually “reign with him” (Revelation 20:6; 2 Timothy 2:12). But though we shall reign with Him, we are still His servants (Revelation 22:3) and it will be our joy to acknow-ledge His glory and dominion forever. 

Revelation 1:7.     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.

     John needed no new revelation for this information, since it had previously been recorded in Scripture. That Christ is coming with clouds had already been told the disciples (Matthew 24:30) by the Lord Himself, together with the fact that all men would see Him and mourn (same word as “wail”). John himself had seen Him “pierced” with the Roman’s spear (John 19:34), marveling at the mingled blood and water which emerged from His side. It had recalled to him the great prophecy in Zechariah 12:10, where the Lord promised that the inhabitants of Jerusalem who through their ancestors had called for His death, would one day look upon Him whom they had pierced and mourn for Him (John 19:37). Here he again recalls the prophecy, as well as those made by the Lord on Olivet, recognizing that he is now about to witness in vision their final accomplishment, and then a great “Amen” issues from his heart and pen.

Revelation 1:8.     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.

     Here are the first words actually heard by John from heaven, calling him to the work at hand. These first words had come from Christ Himself, the Son of man (verse 13), yet John describes Him in the same terms used in verse 4 for the Father (“is . . . was . . . is to come”). Also, these first words constitute the first of the seven great “I am’s” of Revelation, and a more glorious and comprehensive claim to self-existing deity cannot be imagined. “Alpha and Omega!” He who is the Word, from the first letter to the last letter of all language itself, comprises all there is, to know and be. In Him “are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:3).

     Further, He is the Almighty. The word is the Greek pantokrator, meaning “the One of all power.” He is omnipotent, as well as eternal and omniscient. And this is Jesus Christ – the one who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood. No wonder the Book of Revelation both begins (verse 4) and ends (Revelation 22:21) with grace!  

As He Is

Revelation 1:9.     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.

     John thus identifies himself with the members of the churches to which he was going to send his book of prophecy. Though he was the last of Christ’s apostles, entitled to all respect and esteem, he considered himself only one of the brethren, sharing in the common persecutions which had already claimed the lives of all the other apostles, as well as countless others among the brethren. This was in the time of Domitian, among the cruelest of the Roman emperors. John himself was in prison, banished because of his preaching to a small barren island in the Aegean.

     His offense, he says, was exactly that of which he had been “guilty” for over sixty years, bearing witness of the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ (compare verse 2).

Revelation 1:10.     I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet.

     There has been much argument as to whether “the Lord’s day” here refers to Sunday or “the day of the Lord.” If the latter, John was translated in the Holy Spirit forward to the great future day of the Lord, the subject of much prophecy in both Old and New Testaments. His experience may have been similar to that of Paul (2 Corinthians 12:1-4).

     However, there are serious problems with this interpretation. If John meant “the day of the Lord,” he should have said so. “The Lord’s day” is a quite different construction, meaning “the day belonging to the Lord.” The construction is used only one other time (“the Lord’s supper” in 1 Corinthians 11:20). Secondly, the assumption that he was translated in the Spirit forward to the day of the Lord is inconsistent with the fact that the first two chapters of his book deal with current situations in existing churches. The assumed translation should not have taken place until after his messages to the churches.

     The main objection to the “Sunday” interpretation, on the other hand, is that the day after the Sabbath is nowhere else in Scripture called the Lord’s day. The oldest known use of that term is 100 years after John.

     This, however, is an argument from silence. It could well be, in fact, that this expression was applied here by John for the first time to the day else-where known in Scripture as “the first day of the week.” In such a case the later use of the term, extending to modern times, could even have originated from John’s use of it here. There certainly was ample justification for identi-fying the day of Christ’s resurrection with the Lord, and in two recorded instances at least the early Christians had begun to have services on this day long before this occasion (Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:2).

     Thus, although there is some uncertainty, it does seem that the weight of evidence shows that John was in a time of meditation and prayer – “in the Spirit” – on a certain day, a first day of the week, in his barren prison land, remembering his beloved Lord when he heard the great voice behind him, loud and clear as a trumpet, and he suddenly was aware that the Lord Himself had come from heaven to be with him on that great Lord’s day, to show him things to come. 

Revelation 1:11.     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.

     The voice repeats the “I am.” Alpha and Omega are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, so that this incomparable claim incorporates all existence, all knowledge, all reality. Furthermore, it is the same claim made by God Himself three times through Isaiah (Isaiah 41:4; 44:6; 48:12).

     Then came the command: “Write what you see in a book.” Just as there was a book of the generations of Adam (Genesis 5:1), so there is to be a book of the last generations, both serving to anchor and guide all other generations. Initially this book (Greek biblion, from which we get our word “Bible”) was to be sent to seven churches among whom John had evidently ministered. The churches were all in southwest Asia Minor, more or less facing the Isle of Patmos on which John was imprisoned. They are enumerated in clockwise order, beginning at Ephesus on the coast, then northward to Smyrna and Pergamum, east to Thyatira, and southeast to Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea, the latter due east and inland from Ephesus.  

Revelation 1:12.     And I turned to see the voice that spake with me. And being turned, I saw seven golden candlesticks.

     The great voice, like a trumpet, was behind John so he turned and saw the most glorious sight ever beheld by mortal eyes – none other than the glorified Christ there in the midst of seven golden candlesticks. These “candlestands” probably called to John’s mind the Menorah, the lampstands in the taber-nacle, each of which had one main and six side branches (Exodus 24:31). The lampstands seen by John, however, had seven equal branches.

Revelation 1:13.     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.

     The one who spoke was “in the midst” of the candlesticks. John long ago had heard the Lord say concerning the Church He would build: “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” The candlesticks represented the churches, all of whom were enduring great tribulation for the testimony of Jesus Christ, but the Lord would remind them that He was still in their midst (Matthew 18:20).

     And despite the glory of His appearance, John recognized Him to be a man – indeed the very Son of man, the representative man, true man, man as God intended man to be. This term, “Son of man,” was Christ’s favorite term for Himself; he used it more than eighty times in the four Gospels. The term is used first in Psalm 3:4, prophesying His first coming in humility, and last in Revelation 14:14, prophesying His second coming in power.

     But though he is a true man, He is only like unto the son of man. Adam also was a man, but was not a son of man. Jesus Christ was “made in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:7); He was “made like unto his brethren” (Hebrews 2:17); He was sent “in the likeness of sinful flesh” (Romans 8:3). He was not born of the union of a sinful man and a sinful woman (terms which apply to all human beings save Jesus, even to Joseph and Mary), but was divinely conceived and virgin born. Nevertheless He is to be forever like unto the Son of man.

     Note also the fullness of His garments. There is no nudity or seminudity among the inhabitants of heaven. Jesus was stripped of His garments when made sin on the cross, but in heaven, and in the new earth, He is always appropriately arrayed, and so are all His servants.

Revelation 1:14.     His head and his hairs were like wool, as white as snow; and his eyes were as a flame of fire.

     No one living today knows what Jesus looked like during His days on earth, though imaginative portrayals of Him adorn innumerable homes and churches. The New Testament writers speak not one word concerning His physical appearance – whether He was short or tall, dark or light, lean or stout. This omission is significant – He is the representative man. Furthermore, whatever His appearance may have been then, His present appearance is far more important, for this is the way we shall see Him, and this will be His appearance through all future ages. John describes Him as He is and will be.

     The most striking feature is His snow-white hair. The same appearance was seen by Daniel: “The Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool” (Daniel 7:9). Isaiah 9:6 speaks of Him as the “everlasting Father.” The white hair crowning His head (beards are never mentioned at all in the New Testament) clearly speaks of His great age. This contrasts with the wistful desire of modern men to retain the appearance of youth, even using dyes to mask their gray hair. The Bible says: “The glory of young men is their strength: and the beauty of old men is the grey head” (Proverbs 20:29). “The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness” (Proverbs 16:31). The Scripture promises that “we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2). Note we shall see Him as He is, not as He was.

     His eyes were, as it were, burning with anger. This aspect was to be seen especially by the immoral church at Thyatira (Revelation 2:18). Yet these were the same eyes that could weep over human need (John 11:35; Luke 19:41). His eyes are all-seeing as He is all-knowing. “All things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do” (Hebrews 4:13).

Revelation 1:15.     And his feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and his voice as the sound of many waters.

     His feet once had rough spikes driven through them and, even in this glorified body, the wounds are still there (Luke 24:39, 40). But these same feet shall trample His enemies (Psalm 110:1; Isaiah 63:3). This aspect of judgment is dominant here, as though the feet had been shod in brazen boots, heated to white heat in the great furnace of judgment where they were treading.

     “The voice of his words like the voice of a multitude” (Daniel 10:6). Clear and strong like the trumpet, broad and deep like the sea – so the voice seemed to John.  This is the voice that one day will raise the dead (John 5:28, 29) and the same voice that called the world into being (Psalm 33:6). 

Revelation 1:16.     And he had in his right hand seven stars: and out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword: and his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength.

     Christ was in the midst of the churches, but He held the angels of the churches, represented by the seven stars, in His own right hand. The word “star” (Greek aster) can mean any heavenly “light” – meteorites, planets, etc., as well as stars in the modern scientific sense. Evidently the majesty of the Son of man was such that His face gave the appearance of the shining sun and the objects in His hand that of shining stars, both as set against the background of the heavens over Patmos.

     The two-edged sword is, in other Scriptures, compared to the power of the Word of God (Hebrews 4:12; Ephesians 6:17). Here it clearly speaks of judg-ment (compare Revelation 19:15). The very appearance of the glorified Christ and the sound of the majestic voice flowing from the blinding light of His countenance gave every word a swordlike brilliance and sharpness that was almost visible.  

The Keys of Hell

Revelation 1:17.     And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying unto me, Fear not; I am the first and the last.

     The first “Fear not” of the Bible occurs just before the first “I am” of the Bible. “Fear not, Abraham: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward” (Genesis 15:1). For mortal, sinful man to come into the presence of the living God is death, and this would have been John’s experience were he not “in the Spirit.” The hand in which the seven stars were held was laid upon John and the double-edged sword from His mouth spoke peace instead of judgment. John need not fear, for the One who spoke was not only his Creator (“the first and the last”) but also His Savior, who died for him and rose again. 

Revelation 1:18.     I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and death.

     This is one of the mountain-peak verses of Scripture, and one of the most amazing of the great claims of Christ. Multitudes of religious philosophers as well as scientists have searched for the key to life and death, but Christ claims to have the key. Further he claims to possess the keys to hell (Greek Hades). Hades is the New Testament equivalent of the Hebrew sheol, both terms describing the abode of departed human spirits.

     The position of the scientific establishment, of course, is that neither Hades nor heaven has any real existence. The popular lay view, on the other hand, is that both do exist but in some kind of different state of existence, completely outside the framework of our present physical universe. The fact is, however, the Bible clearly teaches that both heaven and hell literally exist in the present cosmos and this teaching has not been refuted in any way by modern science.

     When the Lord Jesus died on the cross and His body was placed in the tomb, His spirit “descended first into the lower parts of the earth” (Ephesians 4:9). These lower parts of the earth are also called “the deep” (literally “the abyss” from the Greek word abussosas in Romans 10:7), and are apparently the same as Hades. But in fulfillment of the prophecy of Psalm 16:10, “He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in [Hades], neither his flesh did see corruption” (Acts 2:31).

     Until Christ descended into Hades, it had housed all the souls and spirits of all people who had lived and died before that time. Those who died in faith were “comforted” in one compartment of Hades; all others were separated from these by “a great gulf” and were “in torments” (see Luke 16:23-26). Pre-Calvary believers were safe in God’s keeping, trusting His Word that someday the redemption price would be paid and they would be freed. “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage” (Hebrews 2:14, 15).

     Therefore, after He went and proclaimed His victory to the evil spirits still incarcerated in prison (see 1 Peter 3:18-20), “When he ascended up on high, He led captivity captive. . . . He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things” (Ephesians 4:8-10). 

     All of this is implied in the great assertion by Christ that He now possessed the very keys to Hades and death. “Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him” (Romans 6:9). “Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them” (Hebrews 7:25).

     Ever since, those who die in Christ are translated to “be with Christ” (Philippians 1:23) in heaven. The unsaved dead remain in Hades, whence they will later be brought forth for eternal judgment (Revelation 20:13). In the meantime, the great abyss in the heart of the earth continues to “enlarge herself” (Isaiah 5:14) with multitudes dying in their sins.  

Angels of the Churches

Revelation 1:19.     Write the things which thou hast seen, and the things which are, and the things which shall be hereafter.

     The conclusion of these wonderful revelations is: “Therefore, write!” The threefold division here has been noted by almost every commentator on Revelation: (1) “the things thou hast seen” (perhaps including not only the immediate vision but all the great events of the Apostolic Age in which John himself had been a leading participant); (2) “the things which are” (specifically the existing situation in the church of John’s day, representing the needs of all churches throughout the Church Age); (3) “the things which shall be here-after,” clearly identified by use of the same phrase in Revelation 4:1 to be those events described from Revelation 4 onward – the Ages of Judgment and the Kingdom and the New Earth. The last phrase is, literally, “the things which shall be after these things,” that is, after the things described in Revelation 2-3. Since at least three of these church exhortations include specific references to the second coming of Christ (Revelation 2:25; 3:3, 11), there is strong indication that the third division relates to events taking place after the initial phases, at least, of the second coming. 

Revelation 1:20.     The mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my right hand, and the seven golden candlesticks. The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches: and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.

     This verse points up the fact that, when symbols are used in the Book of Revelation, they are explained internally, not subject to imaginative sugges-tions by allegorizing expositors. The great lampstands symbolize light-bearing churches, and the stars represent the angels of the churches.

     But who are these angels? By far the greater number of modern expositors say they represent the pastors of the churches. The Greek word is aggelos and apparently has the basic meaning of “messenger.” However, the word is used 188 times in the New Testament, practically always (with at most a half-dozen exceptions) to denote real angels rather than human messengers. It would seem that the context must clearly demand it if any messengers other than true angels are meant.

     If “angel” means “pastor” here, it is used with this meaning here and nowhere else. If the Lord Jesus meant the pastors of the churches, why did He not say “pastors?” Or why did He not say “elders,” a term which is used in the New Testament as essentially synonymous with “pastors,” and which is later used twelve times in Revelation.

     Instead, He spoke of the angels of the churches, and this term is used sixty-seven other times in Revelation, in none of which could the meaning possibly be that of “pastors.” The principle of natural, literal interpretation seems to require us to understand here that true churches of the Lord have individual angels assigned for their guidance and watch-care.

     This fact is hardly surprising in view of the innumerable company of angels (Hebrews 12:22) and their assigned function as ministering spirits to those who are heirs of salvation (Hebrews 1:14). Individual believers have angels assigned to them (Matthew 18:10; Acts 12:15). Angels are present in the assemblies during their services (1 Corinthians 11:10) and are intensely interested in their progress (1 Corinthians 4:9; Ephesians 3:10; 1 Timothy 3:16; 5:21; Hebrews 13:2; 1 Peter 1:12).

     Admittedly, the concept of an angel of God assigned to each church and , in some degree, responsible for the effectiveness of its ministry is one which is largely unrecognized among Christians. Nevertheless this seems to be the teaching of the Lord’s words here. The symbolism is also appropriate to angels. Stars are frequently identified with angels in Scripture, especially here in Revelation 9:1, 11; 12:3-9).

     Thus the letters to the churches were indeed addressed to the churches and to their members and ministers, but they were somehow to be trans-mitted through their angels. Pastors, elders, deacons, teachers – all may change from time to time as the membership changes. But the individual church itself goes on, sometimes continuing over many generations, and its angel continues with it. Though its members may not be able to see him or communicate with him, he is there, and the very knowledge of his protecting and ministering presence should be a source of encouragement and puri-fication in all its activities.