Post Office Help

 

Note that the seven cities of the churches in Revelation 2 and 3 make a semi-circle, with Ephesus on the coast, not far from Patmos an island off the coast. The seven churches are listed in the book in order that the messages would be delivered.

John was really kind to his messenger, giving the order of churches in the order of his route.

Seven Letters

 

Letters were written upon scrolls like this, and then delivered by messenger. It was read by the messenger to the one receiving it, because literacy was pretty sketchy in the ancient world.

Seven Letters As A Literary Unit

The seven letters to the seven churches make up a single piece of literature, in connection with the first chapter of Revelation. In the first chapter is the basic description of the glorified, powerful Jesus, which the seven letters refer to throughout.

The seven letters themselves make a chaistic pattern, where the first letter is connected to the last, the second letter connected to the second to last, and so on. The chaistic pattern can be seen as following:

Ephesus-- Condemned
Smyrna—Approved
Pergamum—Some condemned, some approved
Thyatira—Some condemned, some approved
Sardis—Some condemned, some approved
Philadelphia—Approved
Laodikia-- Condemned

Thus, Revelation 1:10 through the end of chapter 3 make a separate literary unit and can be read as such. However, they also fit within the larger pattern of Revelation as a whole, as these letters throw many hints of the troubles and judgments to come.

In a sense, these seven letters are the heart of the Book of Revelation, the action that is required due to the coming judgment to come. It is encouragement to stay strong in the mist of persecution, to resist the corruption of the world, so the church does not end up on the wrong side of the judgment in the eschaton to come.

Seven Letters for Seven Churches

Revelation 2 and 3 are a literary unit, containing seven letters directly from Jesus himself to the churches He rules. The letters follow this general outline (exceptions noted):

Command to write to an angel of a church
Christ’s self description
Commendation of a church’s good works (Except Laodikia)
Accusation due to sin (Except Smyrna and Philadelphia)
Exhortation to repent with a warning of judgment/or an encouragement
“He who has an ear…”
Promise to the victors

Each letter is meant to be encouragement to the church it is communicating to. Not a comfort, necessarily, but to build up courage to do what is right before Christ. For the church at Philadelphia, the letter encourages the church to keep up what it is doing and it is a promise of reward. However, for Laodikia, the letter is a severe condemnation and a promise of punishment unless they repent.

Is Revelation Strictly Jewish?

It is a common interpretation of Revelation to focus on the Jewish influence, with only a small amount of Christian influence on it. In fact in the Anchor Bible Commentary on Revelation, it is claimed that the book was written by John the Baptist, who only had a marginal idea of who Jesus was. And Revelation certainly has a strong Jewish influence, just like all the other New Testament books, having approximately 2000 references or allusions to the Hebrew Scriptures.

However, Revelation also is strongly influenced by Jesus teaching, as seen in the gospels. It reflects the same theological themes as Jesus, and even borrows from the gospels wholesale at times. For instance, both Jesus and John the prophet focus on persecution in a way that the Hebrew Scriptures do not. They both have a salvation by martyrdom theology, which can only be found in Deutero-Isaiah. Both reflect a dependence on God for vengeance, rather than taking up the sword oneself—a clearly Christian theme. And, more telling, the central part of the book of Revelation—seals, trumpets and bowls—reflect in its subject a borrowing from Jesus’ apocalypse, in the same order as Jesus. Thus, Revelation, while clearly Jewish, is strongly influenced by Jesus.

Angel

 

Michael, a really scary angel. He wouldn't like it if you bowed down to him, but perhaps you should avert your eyes, just in case!

Angels of Churches

Do angels mean spirits or messengers? While angels can certainly mean both, the Greek term can be used for either human messengers or spirit beings. If we look only at this passage, it could mean either. Since “angel” in the book of Revelation means “heavenly spirit” in the other 60 uses of the word in the book, then it would make sense that it means so here.

But what is the relationship between a church and their angel? The spirits are often rebuked for the actions of the churches in the next couple chapters. But this seems to be the identity responsibility of the mediator— the spirit represents God to the church and the church to God. Thus the church might often speak to the angel as God— not to worship the angel, but to bring to God the message— and Jesus might speak to the angel as the church—again, not to blame the angel, but as a representative of the church.

The Mystery

Jesus gives John an indication that what he is seeing is not all literal. The stars are not literally stars and the lampstands are not literally lampstands. Rather they represent other things. Some things in the visions are explained, while others are not. We are to be wise in making determinations about what means what, but we need to remember—what is seen is not always what is real.

Another interpretation point I think is very important: If a symbol is explained, then the explanation is the literal understanding of it. The explanation is not as yet another symbol that needs to be interpreted. The harlot in later chapters is a city-- the city is not a symbol for something else. Sometimes, like the lampstands, there can be two explanations for a single symbol, either because we are not clear or because two items are closely related. But interpretation of symbols must stop at some reality, somewhere. We can't just keep guessing until we find something we like.

What You Have Seen...

"Write what you have seen, those things which are and those things which will come to pass"

This statement is difficult to interpret, and many commentators have looked at it different ways. While “what is to come” is not best understood as “what is in the future”, it is still not clear. I prefer to simply understand it as the whole of the visions that John has and will experience.

It has been argued, well, I think, that this verse is not to be used as an outline for Revelation.

Hell, What A Looker!

 

Disney's Hades has more resemblance to the concept of death in Scripture than the nebulous "lack of life" concept that we usually think of. In Scripture, Hades is a place to go to, but Death and Hades are also powerful beings whom God has granted rule over all humanity. Hades isn't in charge of humanity until after the cessation of life, but the persona Death is in charge of all humanity at all times, from the time any person sins.

This is the promise of God to Adam (that is, humanity) that when we sin, we will surely die, that is, be placed under the control of Death. This doesn't mean that we die immediately at sin, but that our lives become a living hell, and life is cheap and can be taken at any time.

Not a pretty picture. But Jesus says that the control of both Death and Hades is in Jesus hands, now. Since Jesus is merciful, then eternal life is offered to those who put themselves under Jesus' rule.

Death and Hades

Death and Hades (also called Sheol in Hebrew) are often personified in the Bible, and also a description of a place. It is the final authority over humanity, where complete justice is given, and separation from life is complete. Jesus, however, has taken authority over this god and this realm, determining himself who lives and who dies after death.

"Do Not Fear"

Jesus speaks the words of all spirits, for the one gazing upon the spirit not to be afraid, because the spirit intends the one seeing him no harm. But more than this, Jesus tells John that he need not be afraid of death at all. Jesus himself passed through death, came out on the other side and is now in charge of death itself.

Falling On His Face

John follows Daniel’s pattern, falling in fear before the powerful being before him (Daniel 8 and 10). Even as Daniel, John is told to be strong and given further instructions.

To fall on one's face is an act of worship reserved for gods and kings. To fall in fear is to placate the being in front of you from any harm that might befall you by granting him the greatest respect possible. Jesus accepts the worship as his due, but tells John he has nothing to fear.

Lego Jesus

 

What The Description of Jesus Means

Put together, the description of Jesus is that of an all-powerful spirit, similar to both God and the most powerful of angels. He is a king, ruling over the church. He is a priest, tending the church. And he is a warrior, victorious against the enemies of God.

Face As The Sun

This is somewhat described in Daniel 10 of the archangel, but it is an exact quote about the Israelite warrior of Judges 5:20. Thus, Jesus is seen as a victorious warrior.

Sword From His Mouth

This is based on Isaiah 11:4 and 49:2, and the image is repeated in Revelation 2:16 and 19:15.

This indicates that Jesus’ weapon against his enemies is his words, and his words will destroy them completely. Thus, Jesus' words have the same power as God, who used his word to create the world.

Stars In His Right Hand

Stars are often associated with spirits in the OT (e.g. Daniel 8:10). However, in Daniel 12, “stars” are used to describe the chosen of Israel who would be resurrected in God’s kingdom. These stars are used to describe the church, as represented by spiritual beings.

Jesus has them in his hand to indicate his rule over them.

What the Best Dressed Spirits Are Wearing

The white clothing with a golden sash could either be priestly or kingly clothing, perhaps highlighting the ambiguity between Jesus’ kingly and priestly functions over the church.

This clothing is described in Zechariah 4:3, 11-14; I Maccabees 10:88-89; 14:30, 32-47. In all of these passages, the rulers are both authoritative as a king and have a priestly function.

Feet of polished bronze

The kind of bronze indicates that they have been worked on. This could indicate purity or endurance through suffering.

Feet, tunic, sash, eyes

These descriptions are the same as those given to the archangel in Daniel 10: 5-9. This displays Jesus as a powerful spirit being.

White Hair

This description is borrowed from Daniel 7:9-10, which is describing the Ancient of Days, God the Father, judging the world.

Possibly this refers to Jesus' wisdom or his ancient pre-existence, but certainly refers to his similarity to God the Father.

Looking at Jesus II

 

Looking At Jesus

 

One Like A Son of Man

Jesus' use of the term "Son of Man" has confused a lot of people, but Jesus makes it clear in his statement to the Council that he wasn't using the term like Ezekiel, but rather a reference to Daniel 7:13, a messianic passage. See Mark 14:62.

Here in Revelation, the phrase is a description used of two different people in Daniel. In Daniel 7, it describes the Messiah receiving authority from the Ancient of Days. In Daniel 10:1-9, which is referenced frequently in the description of Jesus, it describes an archangel who struggled to visit Daniel. Both passages are used to describe Jesus.

What is this saying about Jesus, that Jesus is equivalent of an angel? It certainly is referring to Jesus as the Messiah, the Emperor of Israel, but it also makes clear that Jesus is a spirit-being, his nature being the spirit realm where the Father dwells.

One Among the Lampstands

Jesus is among the lampstands as a priest, tending the lamps so that the light doesn’t go out.

This symbolizes Jesus care of all the churches.

John's Vision of Jesus

 

Note the lampstands! Count 'em!

Seven Lampstands

Lampstands were part of the Temple’s “furniture”, representing the people of God before the throne in God’s court (Exodus 25, 37, Numbers 8).  The lamps in the the ancient Temple probably represent the prayer of the congregation of God.

These lampstands are also the seven spirits in Rev. 1:4, which is the presence of the church before God. This is a reference to Zechariah 4:2-6. It might be that the light itself emanating from the lampstands is the Spirit.

Some references to lampstands as temple furniture: I Kings 7:49; I Chron 28:15; II Chron 4:7, 20; Jeremiah 52:19-- lampstands taken away along with other utensils;

Seven Churches For Seven Cities

There are seven cities refered to in Revelation 1-3. These seven cities are representative of the churches that exist there, not the cities as a whole, although the churches were probably effected by the circumstances of the cities. We'll describe the cities in detail later, but here's a list of them:
Ephesus
Smyrna
Pergamum
Thyatira
Sardis
Philadelphia
Laodikia


All of the cities are in Asia Minor, modern-day Turkey. They are placed in the order of a circle, with Ephesus being on the coast. This would be the order a messenger would travel to the seven cities, in order, clockwise, Laodikia being near Ephesus, creating almost a perfect circle.

Seven churches of John’s ministry were chosen to indicate a complete number, which represents all churches in the world. There is nothing to indicate that they each represent a different church age. However, each church could represent a church type, which we will explore.

Ram's Horn Trumpet

 

A Voice Like A Trumpet

Trumpets are really old. There was found a trumpet in King Tut's grave. And while many trumpets were made from bronze or silver, there were other trumpets that were just made from a ram's horn, called a shofar. John's comment probably doesn't refer to the quality of the voice-- as if the voice sounded brassy-- but possibly referring to the volume of it.


In Exodus 19, when the people were called to the presence of God, it was a ram's horn that called them. Perhaps this is a reference to that even.

And the Seven Sea Lions of the Apocalypse

 

It WAS sea lions, wasn't it? Something like that... otters, maybe?

Maybe More Like This...

 

...but cooler. And, you know, more interesting. Seven lamps, seven churches, seven seals, seven bowls, seven angels...

Not This One, Either

 

No, Not This Seven

 

Seven

This number is used a lot in Revelation, as anyone who has given it a glance or two probably knows. Seven, in Scripture, is a number of fulfillment or completeness.

"In The Spirit"

This is a phrase used in Ezekiel to indicate a prophetic trance. Probably John is using the phrase in a similar way.

"The Lord's Day"

When John wrote the book. However, the meaning isn’t clear.

It is used to refer to God’s judgment in the Hebrew Scriptures, but since the phrase is used as a temporal indicator in Revelation, that meaning doesn’t do it.

It might be the Sabbath (Friday night to Saturday), but we have no indication that Christians or Jews used this phrase for the Sabbath at that time.

This could be Sunday, although the phrase wasn’t used for Sunday until long after Revelation, although the Epistle of Barnabas indicates that Sunday (“the eighth day”) was a day for Christian celebration.

It just isn’t clear. So there.

Patmos Island

 

Patmos

An island off the coast of Turkey, where John wrote the book of Revelation.

Tradition states that John was in exile there. There are a couple marks against that idea—first of all, the text doesn’t say it. All it says is that he was there due to his testimony of Jesus, but this may be because he was called to proclaim the gospel there.

Secondly, Patmos wasn’t a place of exile. It is possible that other, smaller islands near Patmos were places of exile, but Patmos was a part of the Roman Empire. This is not to deny the tradition, but the tradition could be a misreading of the text.

Suffering Church

 

To find out more about the persecuted church today, please go to the Voice of the Marytrs website:

www.persecution.com

A Theology of Suffering

The suffering, the kingdom, the endurance—All three of these are connected, and John and those he was writing to share in all three.

Suffering is central to the book of Revelation. Suffering is the state of those who are of Jesus' kingdom. Jesus' kingdom is full of the martyrs, the persecuted, the poor who do not have the good of this world because of their devotion to Jesus. Those who endure, who persevere in Jesus despite their suffering, are those who are "overcomers" or victorious over the world. They will be rewarded with resurrection and living in Jesus' utopia after this age is finished.

This is the basic message of Revelation. Details to come.

The Almighty

This phrase is used in Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi to describe God’s unending authority.

Alpha and Omega

In Jewish literature the whole of the law could be described as being from “aleph to tau”, the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet.

God’s complete authority is described by the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, probably since the lingua franca of rulers from Alexander’s time was Greek.

This Greek phrase is also used in Greek magic literature to describe certain gods.

In the end, it speaks of God's complete authority over every creature.

The World Is Mourning

Revelation 1:7

This mourning could speak of a rejection of Jesus, i.e. mourning that Jesus has come to take over their nations. Or it could mean a process of repentance due to Jesus’ death, i.e. a realization that Jesus died for them and so weeping over their own sin.

Probably the first, since that seems to be the context of Daniel, Matthew and Mark. And, honestly, the only mourning that takes place in the world in the book of Revelation is that of sorrow that their world is taken away from them.

Jesus Coming in the Clouds

 

I like the fact that Jesus doesn't have a beard here. The earliest illustrations of Jesus has him with short hair, without a beard. Of course, those illustrations are in the third century AD, a long time after Jesus. We don't have any description from witnesses of how he actually looked.

"He Comes in Clouds"

This phrase is from Daniel 7:13, which is about the Messiah’s enthronement over all the nations after God’s judgment.

“Who they have pierced”—
This phrase is from Zechariah 12:10, which speaks of God’s judgment over all nations after they rejected God and his messenger.

The two passages were also used together in Matthew 24:30. Daniel 7:13 is also used in reference to Jesus in Mark 13:26 and 14:62. The fact that it is all the nations of the earth who rejected Jesus and not just Israel is emphasized here.

Forever

“Of the ages”—Meaning all the glory and power of all ages, thus for all eternity.

This is the term that is often translated "forever." In the ancient world, "forever" just consists of all the ages together. We moderns have a more inclusive idea of the term "eternity", which is not found in Scripture.

The Glory and the Power

Due to this work of redemption, God deserves all the respect and the authority over all the kingdom. Jesus did the footwork, but the Father offered the plan. Jesus, in the doxology, remains submitted to the Father throughout.

This passage-- Revelation 1:6-- is probably the source for the frequently used conclusion for the Lord's Prayer. That doxology, "Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever." is not original to Matthew's text, but was added later. Honestly, a number of the best praise songs come from the book of Revelation. It is as much a praise book as anything else.

A personal note: At one point in my year-long teaching of Revelation, I commented on all the major songs within Revelation and then played versions of those songs from praise groups, Petra and Handel. It was wonderful, and the folks loved singing along with Revelation.

A Kingdom of Priests

Due to Jesus’ work, His people make up a kingdom, specifically, THE kingdom of God. Jesus’ people function as priests, mediating for the world before God through the Spirit.

Jesus’ people is elsewhere designated as a kingdom of priests (I Peter 2:5-10), as are the people of God in general (Exodus 19:6). Because we are sprinkled with His blood, we have become priests (Exodus 29:10-21), even as the ancient Israelites were (Exodus 24).

Doxology

In Revelation 1:4-6, John breaks out in song, forgetting verbs or complete sentences, just bursting out in praise of Jesus.

He is saying: Jesus loved us so much, he sacrificed himself for our sins. This makes him both priest and sacrifice. This self-sacrifice established the kingdom of God, which we may all enter in due to the forgiveness of our sins.

The Passover lamb is alluded to here.

Jesus and David

All of the titles mentioned in Revelation 1:5 —“Faithful Witness” “Firstborn” and “Ruler of the Kings of the earth”-- can be found of David in Psalm 88: 27 and 37.

“Faithful witness” is also found in Isaiah 43:10-13.

Psalm 2 in Revelation

Even as Hebrews could be considered a commentary on Psalm 110, so could the book of Revelation be considered a commentary on Psalm 2, in the most general way. You have a revelation of the Son, the enemies of God rebelling against the Son and God fulfilling the prophecy to put his enemies at his feet. The general outline is right there.

Here it is. Judge for yourself:

Why are the nations in an uproar And the peoples devising a vain thing?
2 The kings of the earth take their stand And the rulers take counsel together Against the LORD and against His Anointed, saying,
3 "Let us tear their fetters apart And cast away their cords from us!"
4 He who sits in the heavens laughs, The Lord scoffs at them.
5 Then He will speak to them in His anger And terrify them in His fury, saying,
6 "But as for Me, I have installed My King Upon Zion, My holy mountain."
7 "I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD: He said to Me, 'You are My Son, Today I have begotten You.
8 'Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance, And the very ends of the earth as Your possession.
9 'You shall break them with a rod of iron, You shall shatter them like earthenware.'"
10 Now therefore, O kings, show discernment; Take warning, O judges of the earth.
11 Worship the LORD with reverence And rejoice with trembling.
12 Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way, For His wrath may soon be kindled. How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!

The Emperor of the World

King of kings—

Also an important NT title. It means “emperor”, just as Caesar was. Jesus IS the ruler, because he sits as king at the right hand of God the Father (Hebrews 1). The kings of the earth are the enemies of the Messiah, as stated in Psalm 2.

Firstborn of the Dead- Illustrated

 

A little grizzly, but it gets the point across.

Firstborn of the Dead

As is stated elsewhere in the NT (such as I Corinthians 15), Jesus is the first one to have been permanently released from the clutches of death. As the “firstborn” He is also the primary inheritor of God’s kingdom, the Son of God—Psalm 88:27-37; II Samuel 7:13-16; Psalm 2:7-8.

To be "firstborn" is to imply that there are others who are also born. Throughout the NT, Jesus is called the "brother" of the members of God's kingdom, all of whom will receive resurrection.

Jesus the Faithful Witness

"The Witness, the Faithful"

In Greek, this might normally be understood as “the faithful witness”, but this title is repeated in 2:13 of Antipas, with the addition of “my” twice.

This indicates that Jesus was faithful in His speaking of God’s word, even to the end, even facing persecution. This is important, as this is what the book insists that the churches do— be a faithful witness to Jesus in the midst of persecution.

Seven Spirits As Stars

 

This, in my mind, might be a more accurate representation of John's concept of the seven spirits. Spirit beings are often called "stars" in the ancient texts, and in Matthew 2, the exceedingly mobile "star" of the magi is almost certainly a spirit leading them.

So to have the all-seeing spirits as represented by comets surrounding the earth is quite appropriate.

To see this picture in it's original context and another explanation of the seven spirits, check out:
http://www.revelation-today.com/Spirits7.htm

The Seven Spirits?

 

This picture represents the seven spirits as seven church leaders. This is, I would say, a non-spiritual, hierarchical viewpoint of this phrase. But it's a cool picture, isn't it? Can't agree with everything.

The Seven Spirits of Christ

The seven spirits is a reference to the Holy Spirit, just as Zechariah 4:2-7 also refers to seven items which are really the one Spirit of God. The Spirit is probably seven here to indicate representation of the seven churches, even as there are seven angels and seven lampstands—all probably the same representation of the churches to God.

These seven spirits are also referred to in Revelation 5:6, which indicate the omniscience of Christ with things pertaining to His church.

If this is the Holy Spirit, then is it not possible that the Spirit might have a multiple nature. That is not to mean a multiple personality, but a persona that represents itself differently to different churches, or being an accumulation of many spirits? There is no implication for Trinitarian theology here, simply an observation.

Grammar Check

"Him who is and was and who is to come"—

There is a Greek problem with the grammar here, because the present tense of the be verb doesn't actually agree with the subject. It indicates that a reference to Exodus 3, where God revealed himself as the “I Am” is in mind. The fact that God is also the God who was and who is to be indicates that all ages are ruled by God—He has never ceased to rule.

A better translation might be: "He who am and who was and who is to come." That would at least correctly communicate the grammar difficulty here.

Revelation has a number of grammatical "errors". Some say they are because of the Semitic origin of the writer, thus Greek being his second language. I, and some others, think that the "errors" are on purpose-- pointing back to the Hebrew Bible.

Salutations

“Grace and Peace”—Common introduction in Greek epistles to Jewish people. It uses both the common Greek greeting and the common Hebrew greeting.

This probably implies, like Paul's churches, that the churches John was writing to were mixed between Jews and Gentiles, between Hebrew culture and Hellenistic culture. This is no surprise, since Paul ministered in this same area-- Asia Minor-- and two of the churches were in Paul's realm of concern-- Ephesus and Laodikia.

Hearing and Obeying

“Keep the words”—The point of prophecy is not so much to believe it, as to obey it. Those who hear it are only blessed if they obey the point of the prophecy.

For this reason, Revelation is not primarily a future-telling book. It is, rather, a sermon about right living, a call to repentance. The one who is blessed is the one who hears and obeys the call to repent.

Messenger

“One who reads” is the one who is reciting the book to any particular church. Some reciters were in a church and would receive a text, more often they would travel from church to church, reciting the text in each church. These are blessed for continually reciting God’s word.

Thus, this blessing is less for the one who reads it to themselves-- reading to oneself was rare in the ancient world, and it seems that reading or praying silently was almost unknown until the fourth century AD. Rather the blessing is for the one who communicates the book to others.

Prophecy in Revelation

John saw visions and wrote what he saw down. This was common work for a prophet. Often the visions of the spirit world were symbolic in nature (e.g. Jeremiah 1; Zechariah), and they sometimes related to the future. But the point of the visions and the sermons related to them was to re-focus the devotion and ethical behavior of the recipients.

"Prophecy" in the Hebrew Scriptures, as well as the NT, was not just a proclamation of God's word, but receiving direct revelation from the alternative universe in which God dwells.