Rev 1:11 Saying, What you see write in a scroll and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamos and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.
Rev 1:12 And I turned to see the voice that spoke with me; and when I turned, I saw seven golden lampstands,
Rev 1:13 And in the midst of the lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment reaching to the feet, and girded about at the breasts with a golden girdle.
Rev 1:14 And His head and hair were as white as white wool, as snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire;
Rev 1:15 And His feet were like shining bronze, as having been fired in a furnace; and His voice was like the sound of many waters.
Rev 1:16 And He had in His right hand seven stars; and out of His mouth proceeded a sharp two-edged sword; and His face shone as the sun shines in its power.
Rev 1:17 And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead; and He placed His right hand on me, saying, Do not fear; I am the First and the Last
Rev 1:18 And the living One; and I became dead, and behold, I am living forever and ever; and I have the keys of death and of Hades.
Rev 1:19 Write therefore the things which you have seen and the things which are and the things which are about to take place after these things.
Rev 1:20 The mystery of the seven stars which you saw upon My right hand and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the messengers of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
Rev 2:1 To the messenger of the church in Ephesus write: These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, He who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands:
I. If we are going to see the vision of the glorious Christ and of the seven churches in Revelation 1—3, we must care for the following things:
Rev 1:1 The revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave to Him to show to His slaves the things that must quickly take place; and He made it known by signs, sending it by His angel to His slave John,
Rev 1:2 Who testified the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ, even all that he saw.
Rev 1:3 Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy and keep the things written in it, for the time is near.
Rev 1:4 John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and who is coming, and from the seven Spirits who are before His throne,
Rev 1:5 And from Jesus Christ, the faithful Witness, the Firstborn of the dead, and the Ruler of the kings of the earth. To Him who loves us and has released us from our sins by His blood
Rev 1:6 And made us a kingdom, priests to His God and Father, to Him be the glory and the might forever and ever. Amen.
Rev 1:7 Behold, He comes with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him; and all the tribes of the land will mourn over Him. Yes, amen.
Rev 1:8 I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, He who is and who was and who is coming, the Almighty.
Rev 1:9 I John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and endurance in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.
Rev 1:10 I was in spirit on the Lord’s Day and heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet,
Rev 1:11 Saying, What you see write in a scroll and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamos and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.
Rev 1:12 And I turned to see the voice that spoke with me; and when I turned, I saw seven golden lampstands,
Rev 1:13 And in the midst of the lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment reaching to the feet, and girded about at the breasts with a golden girdle.
Rev 1:14 And His head and hair were as white as white wool, as snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire;
Rev 1:15 And His feet were like shining bronze, as having been fired in a furnace; and His voice was like the sound of many waters.
Rev 1:16 And He had in His right hand seven stars; and out of His mouth proceeded a sharp two-edged sword; and His face shone as the sun shines in its power.
Rev 1:17 And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead; and He placed His right hand on me, saying, Do not fear; I am the First and the Last
Rev 1:18 And the living One; and I became dead, and behold, I am living forever and ever; and I have the keys of death and of Hades.
Rev 1:19 Write therefore the things which you have seen and the things which are and the things which are about to take place after these things.
Rev 1:20 The mystery of the seven stars which you saw upon My right hand and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the messengers of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
Rev 2:1 To the messenger of the church in Ephesus write: These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, He who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands:
Rev 2:2 I know your works and your labor and your endurance and that you cannot bear evil men; and you have tried those who call themselves apostles and are not, and have found them to be false;
Rev 2:3 And you have endurance and have borne all things because of My name and have not grown weary.
Rev 2:4 But I have one thing against you, that you have left your first love.
Rev 2:5 Remember therefore where you have fallen from and repent and do the first works; but if not, I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place, unless you repent.
Rev 2:6 But this you have, that you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.
Rev 2:7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, to him I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God.
Rev 2:8 And to the messenger of the church in Smyrna write: These things says the First and the Last, who became dead and lived again:
Rev 2:9 I know your tribulation and poverty (but you are rich) and the slander from those who call themselves Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.
Rev 2:10 Do not fear the things that you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison that you may be tried, and you will have tribulation for ten days. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.
Rev 2:11 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall by no means be hurt of the second death.
Rev 2:12 And to the messenger of the church in Pergamos write: These things says He who has the sharp two-edged sword:
Rev 2:13 I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is; and you hold fast My name and have not denied My faith, even in the days of Antipas, My witness, My faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells.
Rev 2:14 But I have a few things against you, that you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat idol sacrifices and to commit fornication.
Rev 2:15 In the same way you also have some who hold in like manner the teaching of the Nicolaitans.
Rev 2:16 Repent therefore; but if not, I am coming to you quickly, and I will make war with them with the sword of My mouth.
Rev 2:17 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, to him I will give of the hidden manna, and to him I will give a white stone, and upon the stone a new name written, which no one knows except he who receives it.
Rev 2:18 And to the messenger of the church in Thyatira write: These things says the Son of God, He who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet are like shining bronze:
Rev 2:19 I know your works and love and faith and service and your endurance and that your last works are more than the first.
Rev 2:20 But I have something against you, that you tolerate the woman Jezebel, she who calls herself a prophetess and teaches and leads My slaves astray to commit fornication and to eat idol sacrifices.
Rev 2:21 And I gave her time that she might repent, and she is not willing to repent of her fornication.
Rev 2:22 Behold, I cast her into a bed, and those who commit adultery with her, into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works;
Rev 2:23 And her children I will kill with death; and all the churches will know that I am He who searches the inward parts and the hearts; and I will give to each one of you according to your works.
Rev 2:24 But I say to you-the rest in Thyatira, as many as do not have this teaching, who have not known the deep things of Satan, as they Say-I put no other burden upon you;
Rev 2:25 Nevertheless what you have hold fast until I come.
Rev 2:26 And he who overcomes and he who keeps My works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations;
Rev 2:27 And he will shepherd them with an iron rod, as vessels of pottery are broken in pieces, as I also have received from My Father;
Rev 2:28 And to him I will give the morning star.
Rev 2:29 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Rev 3:1 And to the messenger of the church in Sardis write: These things says He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars: I know your works, that you have a name that you are living, and yet you are dead.
Rev 3:2 Become watchful and establish the things which remain, which were about to die; for I have found none of your works completed before My God.
Rev 3:3 Remember therefore how you have received and heard, and keep it and repent. If therefore you will not watch, I will come as a thief, and you shall by no means know at what hour I will come upon you.
Rev 3:4 But you have a few names in Sardis who have not defiled their garments, and they will walk with Me in white because they are worthy.
Rev 3:5 He who overcomes will be clothed thus, in white garments, and I shall by no means erase his name out of the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.
Rev 3:6 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Rev 3:7 And to the messenger of the church in Philadelphia write: These things says the Holy One, the true One, the One who has the key of David, the One who opens and no one will shut, and shuts and no one opens:
Rev 3:8 I know your works; behold, I have put before you an opened door which no one can shut, because you have a little power and have kept My word and have not denied My name.
Rev 3:9 Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan, those who call themselves Jews and are not, but lie-behold, I will cause them to come and fall prostrate before your feet and to know that I have loved you.
Rev 3:10 Because you have kept the word of My endurance, I also will keep you out of the hour of trial, which is about to come on the whole inhabited earth, to try them who dwell on the earth.
Rev 3:11 I come quickly; hold fast what you have that no one take your crown.
Rev 3:12 He who overcomes, him I will make a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall by no means go out anymore, and I will write upon him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which descends out of heaven from My God, and My new name.
Rev 3:13 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
Rev 3:14 And to the messenger of the church in Laodicea write: These things says the Amen, the faithful and true Witness, the beginning of the creation of God:
Rev 3:15 I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot; I wish that you were cold or hot.
Rev 3:16 So, because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I am about to spew you out of My mouth.
Rev 3:17 Because you say, I am wealthy and have become rich and have need of nothing, and do not know that you are wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked,
Rev 3:18 I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined by fire that you may be rich, and white garments that you may be clothed and that the shame of your nakedness may not be manifested, and eyesalve to anoint your eyes that you may see.
Rev 3:19 As many as I love I rebuke and discipline; be zealous therefore and repent.
Rev 3:20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, then I will come in to him and dine with him and he with Me.
Rev 3:21 He who overcomes, to him I will give to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat with My Father on His throne.
Rev 3:22 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
A. We must take the position of a slave—1:1:
Rev 1:1 The revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave to Him to show to His slaves the things that must quickly take place; and He made it known by signs, sending it by His angel to His slave John,
1. Paul says that he was a “slave of Christ Jesus” (Rom. 1:1); his use of this term indicates that he was not a self-appointed apostle or one hired by the Lord; rather, he was one purchased to serve God and minister Christ to His people, not in the natural life but in the regenerated life.
Rom 1:1 Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, a called apostle, separated unto the gospel of God,
2. We need to be willing to serve others as a servant, even as a slave, rather than rule over others—Matt. 20:24-28; 25:14; 2 Cor. 4:5; Gal. 6:17; Exo. 21:1-6; Isa. 50:4-5.
Matt 20:24 And when the ten heard this, they were indignant concerning the two brothers.
Matt 20:25 But Jesus called them to Him and said, You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and the great exercise authority over them.
Matt 20:26 It shall not be so among you; but whoever wants to become great among you shall be your servant,
Matt 20:27 And whoever wants to be first among you shall be your slave;
Matt 20:28 Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many.
Matt 25:14 For the kingdom of the heavens is just like a man about to go abroad, who called his own slaves and delivered to them his possessions.
2 Cor 4:5 For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake.
Gal 6:17 Henceforth let no one trouble me, for I bear in my body the brands of Jesus.
Exo 21:1 Now these are the ordinances which you shall set before them.
Exo 21:2 If you buy a Hebrew servant, he shall serve six years; but in the seventh he shall go out free without payment to you.
Exo 21:3 If he came in by himself, he shall go out by himself; if he is the husband of a wife, then his wife shall go out with him.
Exo 21:4 If his master gives him a wife and she bears him sons or daughters, the wife and her children shall be her master’s, and he shall go out by himself.
Exo 21:5 But if the servant plainly says, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free;
Exo 21:6 Then his master shall bring him to God and shall bring him to the door or to the doorpost, and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl; and he shall serve him forever.
Isa 50:4 The Lord Jehovah has given me / The tongue of the instructed, / That I should know how to sustain the weary with a word. / He awakens me morning by morning; / He awakens my ear / To hear as an instructed one.
Isa 50:5 The Lord Jehovah has opened my ear; / And I was not rebellious, / Nor did I turn back.
3. Christ served us in the past (Mark 10:45), He is still serving us in the present (Luke 22:26-27), and He is going to serve us in the future (12:37; Rev. 7:17); if we are going to serve others with Christ, we need to allow Him to serve us first.
Mark 10:45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many.
Luke 22:26 But you shall not be so; but let the greatest among you become like the youngest, and the one who leads like the one who serves.
Luke 22:27 For who is greater, the one who reclines at table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But I am in your midst as the one who serves.
Luke 12:37 Blessed are those slaves whom the master, when he comes, will find watching. Truly I tell you that he will gird himself and will have them recline at table, and he will come to them and serve them.
Rev 7:17 For the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and guide them to springs of waters of life; and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.
B. We must exercise our human spirit as the organ for us to see, realize, and respond to God’s move; only spirit can respond to Spirit—1:10; 4:5; 5:6; Psa. 119:17-18.
Rev 1:10 I was in spirit on the Lord’s Day and heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet,
Rev 4:5 And out of the throne come forth lightnings and voices and thunders. And there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God;
Rev 5:6 And I saw in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures and in the midst of the elders a Lamb standing as having just been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.
Psa 119:17 Deal bountifully with Your servant that I may live / And keep Your word.
Psa 119:18 Open my eyes that I may behold / Wondrous things out of Your law.
C. We must have an ear to hear what the Spirit is speaking to the churches:
1. Seeing depends upon hearing; John first heard the voice (Rev. 1:10) and then saw the vision (vv. 11-12); if our ears are heavy and cannot hear, we cannot see (Isa. 6:9-10).
Rev 1:10 I was in spirit on the Lord’s Day and heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet,
Rev 1:11 Saying, What you see write in a scroll and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamos and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.
Rev 1:12 And I turned to see the voice that spoke with me; and when I turned, I saw seven golden lampstands,
Isa 6:9 And He said, Go and say to this people, Hear indeed, but do not perceive; / And see indeed, but do not understand.
Isa 6:10 Make the heart of this people numb; / Dull their ears, / And seal their eyes; / Lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears, / And their heart perceive and return, and they are healed.
2. The Lord always wants to open our ears to hear His voice (Job 33:14-16; Isa. 50:4-5; Exo. 21:6) so that we may see things according to His economy.
Job 33:14 For God speaks in one way, / Indeed in two ways, without any perceiving it –
Job 33:15 In a dream, a night vision, / When deep sleep falls upon men / In the slumberings upon their beds –
Job 33:16 Then He opens the ears of men / And seals up their instruction,
Isa 50:4 The Lord Jehovah has given me / The tongue of the instructed, / That I should know how to sustain the weary with a word. / He awakens me morning by morning; / He awakens my ear / To hear as an instructed one.
Isa 50:5 The Lord Jehovah has opened my ear; / And I was not rebellious, / Nor did I turn back.
Exo 21:6 Then his master shall bring him to God and shall bring him to the door or to the doorpost, and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl; and he shall serve him forever.
3. The heavy ears need to be circumcised—Jer. 6:10; Acts 7:51.
Jer 6:10 To whom shall I speak and testify, / That they may hear? / Indeed, their ear is uncircumcised, / And they are unable to listen. / See, the word of Jehovah has become a reproach to them; / They have no delight in it.
Acts 7:51 You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in hearts and ears, you always oppose the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, you also do.
4. The sinners’ ears need to be cleansed with the redeeming blood and anointed with the Spirit—Lev. 14:14, 17, 28.
Lev 14:14 And the priest shall take some of the blood of the trespass offering, and the priest shall put it on the lobe of the right ear of the one who is to be cleansed and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot.
Lev 14:17 And from the rest of the oil that is in the palm of his hand the priest shall put some on the lobe of the right ear of the one who is to be cleansed and some on the thumb of his right hand and some on the big toe of his right foot, upon the blood of the trespass offering.
Lev 14:28 And the priest shall put some of the oil that is in the palm of his hand on the lobe of the right ear of the one who is to be cleansed and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot, upon the place of the blood of the trespass offering.
5. To serve the Lord as priests, we must have our ears cleansed with the redeeming blood—Exo. 29:20; Lev. 8:23-24.
Exo 29:20 Then you shall slaughter the ram and take some of its blood and put it on the lobe of Aaron’s right ear and on the lobe of the right ear of his sons and on the thumb of their right hand and on the big toe of their right foot, and sprinkle the rest of the blood on and around the altar.
Lev 8:23 And Moses slaughtered it and took some of its blood and put it on the lobe of Aaron’s right ear and on the thumb of his right hand and on the big toe of his right foot.
Lev 8:24 And he brought Aaron’s sons near, and Moses put some of the blood on the lobe of their right ear and on the thumb of their right hand and on the big toe of their right foot; and Moses sprinkled the rest of the blood on and around the altar.
II. The book of Revelation is the unique and ultimate revelation of Jesus Christ—1:1a:
Rev 1:1 The revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave to Him to show to His slaves the things that must quickly take place;…
A. John was exiled to the island of Patmos because he was faithful to God’s word and because he was for the testimony of Jesus; under such circumstances the glorious Christ revealed Himself to John and gave him new revelations—v. 9.
Rev 1:9 I John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and endurance in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.
B. The earth had diminished before John’s eyes, but heaven was opened to him; this brings to mind Joseph who was in prison, Moses who was in the wilderness, David who was in distress, and Paul who was in chains; they all received fresh revelations.
C. John was going down the path that they had trodden; he received visions that he had never received before, and he came to know the enthroned Lord whom he had never known before; it is unfortunate that God’s children often misunderstand God’s ordained “Patmos.”
III. Christ as the Son of Man is the High Priest, “clothed with a garment reaching to the feet, and girded about at the breasts with a golden girdle” (v. 13), to cherish the churches in His humanity and nourish them in His divinity:
Rev 1:13 And in the midst of the lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment reaching to the feet, and girded about at the breasts with a golden girdle.
A. The Son of Man is in His humanity, the golden girdle signifies His divinity, and breasts are a sign of love:
1. Christ was girded at the loins, strengthened for the divine work (Exo. 28:4; Dan. 10:5) to produce the churches, but now He is girded about at the breasts, caring for the churches that He has produced by His love.
Exo 28:4 And these are the garments which they shall make: a breastplate and an ephod and a robe and a tunic of checkered work, a turban and a girding sash. So they shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother and for his sons that he may serve Me as a priest.
Dan 10:5 I lifted up my eyes and I looked, and there was a certain man, clothed in linen, whose loins were girded with the fine gold of Uphaz.
2. The golden girdle signifies Christ’s divinity as His divine energy, and the breasts signify that this golden energy is exercised and motivated by and with His love to nourish the churches.
B. Christ takes care of the churches in His humanity as the Son of Man to cherish them—Rev. 1:13a:
Rev 1:13a And in the midst of the lampstands One like the Son of Man, …
1. He dresses the lamps of the lampstands to make them proper, cherishing us that we may be happy, pleasant, and comfortable—Exo. 30:7; 27:20-21; cf. Psa. 42:5, 11:
Exo 30:7 And Aaron shall burn on it fragrant incense; every morning when he dresses the lamps he shall burn it.
Exo 27:20 And you shall command the children of Israel to bring to you pure oil of beaten olives for the light, to make the lamps burn continually.
Exo 27:21 In the Tent of Meeting, outside the veil which is before the Testimony, Aaron and his sons shall maintain it in order from evening to morning before Jehovah; it shall be a perpetual statute to be observed throughout their generations by the children of Israel.
Psa 42:5 Why are you cast down, O my soul? / And why are you disquieted within me? / Hope in God, for I will yet praise Him / For the salvation of His countenance.
Psa 42:11 Why are you cast down, O my soul? / And why are you disquieted within me? / Hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, / The salvation of my countenance and my God.
a. The Lord’s presence provides an atmosphere of tenderness and warmth to cherish our being, giving us rest, comfort, healing, cleansing, and encouragement.
b. We can enjoy the cherishing atmosphere of the Lord’s presence in the church to receive the nourishing supply of life—Eph. 5:29; cf. 1 Tim. 4:6; Eph. 4:11.
Eph 5:29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, even as Christ also the church,
1 Tim 4:6 If you lay these things before the brothers, you will be a good minister of Christ Jesus, being nourished with the words of the faith and of the good teaching which you have closely followed.
Eph 4:11 And He Himself gave some as apostles and some as prophets and some as evangelists and some as shepherds and teachers,
2. He trims the wicks of the lamps of the lampstand, cutting off all the negative things that frustrate our shining—Exo. 25:38:
Exo 25:38 And its tongs and its firepans shall be of pure gold.
a. The charred part of the wick, the snuff, signifies things that are not according to God’s purpose which need to be cut off, such as our flesh, our natural man, our self, and our old creation.
b. He trims away all the differences among the churches (the wrongdoings, shortages, failures, and defects) so that they may be the same in essence, appearance, and expression—cf. 1 Cor. 1:10; 2 Cor. 12:18; Phil. 2:2.
1 Cor 1:10 Now I beseech you, brothers, through the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be attuned in the same mind and in the same opinion.
2 Cor 12:18 I entreated Titus and sent with him the brother. Titus did not take advantage of you, did he? Did we not walk in the same spirit? In the same steps?
Phil 2:2 Make my joy full, that you think the same thing, having the same love, joined in soul, thinking the one thing,
C. Christ takes care of the churches in His divinity with His divine love, signified by the golden girdle on His breasts, to nourish the churches—Rev. 1:13b:
Rev 1:13b …clothed with a garment reaching to the feet, and girded about at the breasts with a golden girdle.
1. He nourishes us with Himself as the all-inclusive Christ in His full ministry of three stages so that we may grow and mature in the divine life to be His overcomers to accomplish His eternal economy.
2. As the walking Christ, He gets to know the condition of each church, and as the speaking Spirit, He trims and fills the lampstands with fresh oil, the supply of the Spirit—2:1, 7.
Rev 2:1 To the messenger of the church in Ephesus write: These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, He who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands:
Rev 2:7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, to him I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God.
3. To participate in His move and enjoy His care, we must be in the churches.
IV. The heavenly ancientness of the Lord is depicted by His head and hair being white as white wool, as snow—1:14; Dan. 7:9; Job 15:10; cf. S. S. 5:11:
Rev 1:14 And His head and hair were as white as white wool, as snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire;
Dan 7:9 I watched / Until thrones were set, / And the Ancient of Days sat down. / His clothing was like white snow, / And the hair of His head was like pure wool; / His throne was flames of fire, / Its wheels, burning fire.
Job 15:10 Both the grayheaded and the aged are among us, / Older than your father.
S S 5:11 His head is the finest gold; / His locks are wavy, / As black as a raven.
A. The Lord Jesus is God (John 20:28-29); He is beyond time, and He encompasses time (Micah 5:2; Isa. 57:15).
John 20:28 Thomas answered and said to Him, My Lord and my God!
John 20:29 Jesus said to him, Because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and have believed.
Micah 5:2 (But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, / So little to be among the thousands of Judah, / From you there will come forth to Me / He who is to be Ruler in Israel; / And His goings forth are from ancient times, / From the days of eternity.)
Isa 57:15 For thus says the high and exalted One, / Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: / I will dwell in the high and holy place, / And with the contrite and lowly of spirit, / To revive the spirit of the lowly / And to revive the heart of the contrite.
B. White hair signifies experience, glory, durability, as well as holiness—Prov. 16:31; 20:29.
Prov 16:31 The gray head is a crown of glory; / It will be found in the way of righteousness.
Prov 20:29 The glory of young men is their strength, / And the honor of old men is gray hair.
C. Isaiah mentions God’s promise to cleanse man’s sin until it is like wool and as white as snow (1:18); when we consider how our sins have been cleansed and that we are as white as the head and hair of the Lord, we cannot help but marvel at the greatness of the Lord’s grace!
Isa 1:18 Come now and let us reason together, / Says Jehovah. / Though your sins are like scarlet, / They will be as white as snow; / Though they are as red as crimson, / They will be like wool.
V. The Lord’s seven eyes are as a flame of fire for watching, observing, searching, judging by enlightening, and infusing—Rev. 1:14; 5:6; Dan. 10:6:
Rev 1:14 And His head and hair were as white as white wool, as snow; and His eyes were like a flame of fire;
Rev 5:6 And I saw in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures and in the midst of the elders a Lamb standing as having just been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.
Dan 10:6 His body also was like beryl, His face like the appearance of lightning, His eyes like torches of fire, His arms and His feet like the gleam of polished bronze, and the sound of His words like the sound of a multitude.
A. Christ’s eyes are for God’s move and operation on earth, since seven is the number for completion in God’s move.
B. The Lord’s eyes being like a flame of fire is mainly for His judgment—7:9-10; Rev. 2:18; 19:11-12.
Dan 7:9 I watched / Until thrones were set, / And the Ancient of Days sat down. / His clothing was like white snow, / And the hair of His head was like pure wool; / His throne was flames of fire, / Its wheels, burning fire.
Dan 7:10 A stream of fire issued forth / And came out from before Him. / Thousands of thousands ministered to Him, / And ten thousands of ten thousands stood before Him. / The court of judgment sat, / And the books were opened.
Rev 2:18 And to the messenger of the church in Thyatira write: These things says the Son of God, He who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet are like shining bronze:
Rev 19:11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sits on it called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war.
Rev 19:12 And His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems, and He has a name written which no one knows but Himself.
C. “Unto the judgment seat of Christ / I daily look away; / May all my living and my work / Abide the fire that day”—stanza 5 of a hymn written by Watchman Nee (Watchman Nee—a Seer of the Divine Revelation in the Present Age, p. 75).
VI. The Lord’s feet are like shining bronze, as having been fired in a furnace, signifying that His perfect and bright walk qualifies Him to exercise divine judgment—Rev. 1:15; Ezek. 1:7; Dan. 10:6; cf. Exo. 30:18; 38:8; Num. 21:8-9.
Rev 1:15 And His feet were like shining bronze, as having been fired in a furnace; …
Ezek 1:7 And their feet were straight feet, and the sole of their feet was like the sole of a calf’s foot; and they sparkled like the sight of burnished bronze.
Dan 10:6 His body also was like beryl, His face like the appearance of lightning, His eyes like torches of fire, His arms and His feet like the gleam of polished bronze, and the sound of His words like the sound of a multitude.
Exo 30:18 You shall also make a laver of bronze, with its base of bronze, for washing. And you shall put it between the Tent of Meeting and the altar, and you shall put water in it.
Exo 38:8 And he made the laver of bronze and its base of bronze from the mirrors of the serving women who served at the entrance of the Tent of Meeting.
Num 21:8 Then Jehovah said to Moses, Make a fiery serpent, and set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten, when he sees it, shall live.
Num 21:9 And Moses made a bronze serpent and set it on the pole; and if a serpent had bitten any man, when he looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.
VII. The Lord’s voice is like the sound of many waters (Rev. 1:15b; cf. 14:2), which is a tumultuous sound, the sound of the voice of the Almighty God (Ezek. 1:24; 43:2) in its seriousness and solemnity (cf. Rev. 10:3).
Rev 1:15b …and His voice was like the sound of many waters.
Rev 14:2 And I heard a voice out of heaven like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder; and the voice which I heard was like the sound of harp-singers playing on their harps.
Ezek 1:24 And I heard the sound of their wings, like the sound of great waters, like the voice of the Almighty, as they went; it was the sound of a tumult, like the sound of an army. Whenever they stood still, they dropped their wings.
Ezek 43:2 And the glory of the God of Israel was there, coming from the way of the east, and His voice was like the sound of many waters, and the earth was illuminated with His glory.
Rev 10:3 And He cried out with a loud voice just as a lion roars. And when He cried out, the seven thunders uttered their own voices.
VIII. Christ is the Holder of the bright messengers of the churches—1:16a, 20:
Rev 1:16a And He had in His right hand seven stars; …
Rev 1:20 The mystery of the seven stars which you saw upon My right hand and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the messengers of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.
A. The messengers are the spiritual ones in the churches, the ones who bear the responsibility of the testimony of Jesus.
B. The messengers, who are of the heavenly nature and in a heavenly position like stars, are those who have a fresh message from the Lord to His people—2:1a.
Rev 2:1a To the messenger of the church in Ephesus write: …
C. The messengers’ hope and happiness are in the heavens; they have intimate fellowship with Christ; they also have the power and authority of the Lord, because they are in the right hand of the Lord Jesus—cf. Psa. 16:1-3; 73:25-26.
Psa 16:1 Preserve me, O God, for I take refuge in You.
Psa 16:2 I say to Jehovah, You are my Lord; / No good have I beyond You;
Psa 16:3 As for the saints who are on the earth, they are the excellent; / All my delight is in them.
Psa 73:25 Whom do I have in heaven but You? / And besides You there is nothing I desire on earth.
Psa 73:26 My flesh and my heart fail, / But God is the rock of my heart and my portion forever.
D. If we are willing to submit ourselves totally to the Lord’s hand, care for the things of Christ Jesus, and gladly bear the responsibility for His sake, not only will we receive the Lord’s reward, but the Lord will also use us to accomplish His great work—1 Cor. 15:58; 16:10; cf. Gen. 15:1; Phil. 2:19-21.
1 Cor 15:58 Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
1 Cor 16:10 Now if Timothy comes, see that he is with you without fear; for he is working the work of the Lord, even as I am.
Gen 15:1 After these things the word of Jehovah came to Abram in a vision, saying, Do not be afraid, Abram; I am your shield and your exceedingly great reward.
Phil 2:19 But I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, that I also may be encouraged by knowing the things concerning you.
Phil 2:20 For I have no one like-souled who will genuinely care for what concerns you;
Phil 2:21 For all seek their own things, not the things of Christ Jesus.
IX. Out of Christ’s mouth proceeds a sharp two-edged sword, which is His discerning, judging, and slaying word for dealing with negative persons and things—Rev. 1:16b; Heb. 4:12; Eph. 6:17.
Rev 1:16b …and out of His mouth proceeded a sharp two-edged sword; …
Heb 4:12 For the word of God is living and operative and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit and of joints and marrow, and able to discern the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
Eph 6:17 And receive the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which Spirit is the word of God,
X. Christ’s face is as the sun shining in its power (Dan. 10:6) for judging enlightenment to bring in the kingdom—Rev. 1:16c; Matt. 17:2; cf. Mal. 4:2; Judg. 5:31; Matt. 13:43.
Rev 1:16c …and His face shone as the sun shines in its power.
Matt 17:2 And He was transfigured before them, and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became as white as the light.
Mal 4:2 But unto you who fear My name will the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in His wings, and you will go forth and leap about like well-fed calves.
Judg 5:31 May all Your enemies so perish, O Jehovah. / But may those who love Him be like the sun / When it rises in its might. And the land had rest forty years.
Matt 13:43 Then the righteous will shine forth like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
XI. Christ is the First and the Last, assuring us that He will never leave work unfinished, and the living One for the churches as the expression of His Body to be living, fresh, and strong—Rev. 1:17-18a:
Rev 1:17 And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead; and He placed His right hand on me, saying, Do not fear; I am the First and the Last
Rev 1:18a And the living One; and I became dead, and behold, I am living forever and ever; …
A. By knowing the Lord as the God who lives forever and ever, we can be assured of His presence in our spirit all the time; nothing establishes us more than the assured presence of the Lord—2 Tim. 4:22; cf. Gen. 39:23.
2 Tim 4:22 The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.
Gen 39:23 The chief jailer did not supervise anything that was in his charge, because Jehovah was with him; and whatever he did, Jehovah caused it to prosper.
B. The words I am living forever and ever should be our strength and hope (Rev. 1:18a); the living God whom Abraham called upon, whom Daniel served, whom Müller trusted, and whom Watchman Nee and Witness Lee knew is the God to whom we also belong and whom we also serve; we should worship Him and praise His name with joy!
Rev 1:18a And the living One; and I became dead, and behold, I am living forever and ever; …
XII. Christ has the keys of death and of Hades—Rev. 1:18b:
Rev 1:18b …and I have the keys of death and of Hades.
A. Death is a collector and Hades is a keeper, but Christ nullified death on the cross and overcame Hades in His resurrection—2 Tim. 1:10; Acts 2:24.
2 Tim 1:10 But now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who nullified death and brought life and incorruption to light through the gospel,
Acts 2:24 Whom God has raised up, having loosed the pangs of death, since it was not possible for Him to be held by it.
B. As long as we give the Lord the ground, the opportunity, and the way to move and act among us by exercising to deny the self, take up the cross, and lose our soul-life, death and Hades will be under His control—Matt. 16:18, 21-26.
Matt 16:18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
Matt 16:21 From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed and on the third day be raised.
Matt 16:22 And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, God be merciful to You, Lord! This shall by no means happen to You!
Matt 16:23 But He turned and said to Peter, Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me, for you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of men.
Matt 16:24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, If anyone wants to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.
Matt 16:25 For whoever wants to save his soul-life shall lose it; but whoever loses his soul-life for My sake shall find it.
Matt 16:26 For what shall a man be profited if he gains the whole world, but forfeits his soul-life? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul-life?
