The Roman army had a short sword that was sort of curved, it was double-edged, and it was a very deadly weapon which was used for close combat. This is the description—the implication—of what John gives here. It’s the same as the Hebrew writer gives in Hebrews 4, verse 12 when he talks about “the Word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, [piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”] That’s the imagery—that’s the implication that we are given here.

And finally, His face shown “like the sun shining in” full blazing glory. We can’t miss here the similarity between John’s description of what he saw on this occasion: “One like the Son of Man,” “standing in the midst of the seven lampstands,” and His face shining brilliantly. John had seen another image like this described in Matthew 17 and Mark 9—that being the transfiguration of Jesus. You recall from that description that His face shown so brightly. [“and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light,” Matthew 17:2; “and He was transfigured before them. His clothes became shining, exceedingly white, like snow, such as no launderer on earth can whiten them,” Mark 9:2b-3.] On the occasion of the transfiguration, Jesus’ face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light, a white that no one on earth could duplicate.

Let’s look now at verses 17 and 18:

[verse 17] “And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, ‘Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last.

[verse 18] I am He Who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death.’”

There are a number of times that we see in the Scriptures where individuals have prostrated themselves before a demonstration of Divine power and glory. We might remember that Abraham did so, Genesis 17, verse 3 [“Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying:…”], as did Ezekiel, in Ezekiel 1, verse 28 [“Like the appearance of a rainbow in a cloud on a rainy day, so was the appearance of the brightness all around it. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD. So when I saw it, I fell on my face, and I heard a voice of One speaking.”]. Also, you recall that Peter, James and John on the Mount of Transfiguration, Matthew 17, verse 6, “fell on their faces.”[“And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid.”] Then we might also be reminded of Saul, Acts 9, verse 4, when the Lord appeared to him as a bright, shining light and Paul would fall prostrate before Him [“Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’”].

“Fear not”are the words that are spoken here [verse 17-King James’ Version—“Do not be afraid,”-New King James Version], and we see that the Lord’s intention is not to strike terror in John, or anyone else; but, rather, to bring comfort and strength. One commentator says this: “The hand which sustains nature, and the churches at the same time, quickens and raises individual’s lives.”

Let’s proceed to the last two verses of chapter 1, verses 19 and 20:

[verse 19] “Write the things which you have seen, and the things which are, and the things which will take place after this.

[verse 20] The mystery of the seven stars which you saw in My right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches.”

Well, there’s that description of the “seven stars” that we said we would see. So we see here that He repeats the command that He previously gave in verse 11: the command to “write” what “you see.”

He speaks of a “mystery” here. Well, the “mystery” refers to what has been hidden from human reasoning, but is disclosed and revealed by God so that men will know His Will.

The “lampstands” and the “stars” are both interpreted here. He says here that they are “angels of the seven churches,” and “the seven churches.”

We’ve already talked about the “seven lampstands” being representative of the seven churches, but what about these “angels of the seven churches”? Are we to take from this that each church, each congregation, has an overseeing angel? There are some who would suggest—in fact, that there are any number of suggestions here. Some would suggest that, perhaps, this is a reference to messengers who would actually carry the letter or the letters to the seven churches; these messengers were physically there on Patmos, and they would be the ones who would transport the letters. Well, that doesn’t seem to bare up under close scrutiny.

Several commentators that I have read suggest that what this is referring to, rather than being either a Heavenly being that is somehow associated with each congregation, or a human being who is a messenger, this has to do with what is referred to as the “spiritual life” of the church. As the “golden lampstand” embodies the outward appearance if the church, or its visible existence, so do the “seven stars”—the “angel of the…church”—represent the spiritual side, or the spiritual life, of the church. This may be a little difficult for us to comprehend, but as we go through the book of Revelation, we are going to see that there are angels of wind, angels of fire, angels of the abyss, and they symbolize objects, or forces, in the universe. So, this interpretation, or understanding, of the “seven angels” would be consistent with those interpretations, or the other uses of angels here in the book of Revelation. As always, we need to be consistent in our interpretation of any book, and we will certainly try to be consistent here in our interpretation of these things in Revelation.

In this lesson, we have looked at the first chapter of the book of Revelation. We have seen the nature of the book, that it is a revelation, but it is also a letter.We’ve also seen who the author is. We’ve seen the source of this information, and we’ve seen the intent and the purpose for what it is, and to whom it is directed.

In our next lesson we will continue on our study with Chapter 2, and we will begin looking at the seven churches and talk in more detail about them, and about what the Lord has to say to them.