THE BOOK OF REVELATION FROM ALPHA TO OMEGA

By Roy Martin

The Book of Revelation

From Alpha to Omega

is like no other book you have ever read.

It is a book that will take you through the full spectrum of your emotions. It will make you

• Language: English
• Publisher: URLink Print & Media, LLC
• Release date: Apr 12, 2023
• ISBN: 9781643679426

Roy Martin

The author is retired and spends some of his time collection words of wisdom. After he had collected about a hundred, he sent them to everyone in his email address book. He continued collecting them and sending them to those on his email list. Someone suggested he put them in a book, which he did after he had collected about 800.

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

As we approach the book of Revelation, read some other scriptures that involved God dealing with mankind on the spiritual level. Read Genesis 18:17; Matthew 13:10–11; 1 Corinthians 2:9–13.

Let’s start with the title of the book of Revelation. Some translations just use the title Revelation and some, Book of Revelation, etc. The King James Version says, The Revelation to John. I have heard of some translations say, The Revelation of John, which appears to be an attempt to downplay Jesus’s prominence in it. The very first verse tells us that the revelation is of Jesus, not John. It is to John, not of John. As strange as it may sound, God’s revelation in the book of Revelation is a revelation of Jesus to Jesus, as we will see when we start studying it, and then it was revealed to his servants. There was a period of time when Jesus was not all knowing as is God. For example, according to Jesus’s own words, he did not know when the end of the world would be. After Jesus revealed to John what God revealed to him, John wrote it in a book so that the revelation would be available to God’s servants, and even to the whole world (Matthew 24:35–36).

Read Revelation 1:1–20.

Verses 1–2 do not say the revelation is a partial revelation of Jesus, so we can assume that God is revealing everything about Jesus that we need to know to be blessed in accordance with his promise that we will study when we get to verse 3. Also, if this is a full revelation of Jesus, then we need to remember this as we proceed through the book and realize that everything mentioned in this book involved Jesus, either directly or indirectly. To put it another way, Jesus is the subject of the book of Revelation, the grand subject.

Notice in the first sentence of verse 1 that the revelation is not just of Jesus, but of Jesus Christ. This is extremely significant because the Greek word Christ means anointed or anointed one in English. A variation of it would read anointing. If Jesus is not the Anointed One, then he is not the Messiah that was promised by God in the Old Testament. Messiah is the Hebrew word for anointed one in English. So the book of Revelation is not just about Jesus the Son of God. It is also about Jesus the anointed Son of God, and Jesus the anointed Son of man. As we proceed through the book of Revelation and see the word Christ, we need to immediately translate it in our minds to anointed or anointed one in order to fully comprehend what is written.

It was God’s anointing on and in Jesus that gave him the power to do the powerful things that he did. It is this power in Jesus and in those he anoints that Satan and his followers are trying to stop, because it is the anointing that removed Satan’s burdens from off our shoulders and his yoke from off our necks and destroys the yoke so that it cannot be put back on us (Isaiah 10:27, 61:1–2; Luke 4:17–21). It is because of Jesus and his followers being anointed that Satan and his followers on earth are referred to in the Bible as the anti-Christ rather than anti-Jesus. They are anti-anointing. We said that Jesus is the grand subject of the book of Revelation. It would also be appropriate to say that Jesus and the anointed Jesus are the grand subjects. For the revelation to be a complete revelation, it would have to reveal Jesus before he was anointed and after he was anointed.

There is another word in verse 1 that we need to consider; that is the word servant. The revelation is to God’s servants through his servant, John. We can surely conclude from this that those who are not God’s servants cannot fully understand the revelation. But as we have already mentioned, it is worthwhile for them to read, study, and meditate on it because it could prompt them to become servants. Then they can ask for and expect to receive wisdom that will help them understand it. We read from James 1:5–8 about asking for wisdom. James introduces himself in his first verse as a servant of God and of Jesus the Anointed One.

There is one more word in Revelation 1:1 that we need to consider, and that is the word shortly. The book of Revelation was written about 2,000 years ago, so the word shortly does not apply to what is being foretold unless it means something differently than what we usually think of when we hear this word used. According to the Bible concordance that we are using to study the book of Revelation, the English word shortly was added by the translators. No Greek word that describes it appears in the original text. So read verse 1 without it.

The way the expression, bear record, is used in verse 2 means, to be a witness, or, give witness. The word testimony as used here refers to something that is spoken. Verse 2 could be written this way, Who recorded what God said from this testimony of Jesus to him, and who saw the visions that are recorded in this book. As we proceed through this book, we will see where God speaks to John and where Jesus speaks to John, and instances where the speaker is not well defined. But which one is speaking is not crucial to our understanding because they agree on what is being said. In John 8:28, Jesus said, as my Father has taught me, I speak … so God and Jesus speak with one voice.

Because of the way verse 3 is worded, one person interpreted this to mean that it was meant for only a few to read the book of Revelation to everyone else and interpret it for them. They based their decision on the fact that this verse says, he that readeth and they that hear … At the time this was written most of the people could not read, so someone would have to read it to them. But this verse does not say that only those who read it for themselves will be given the proper interpretation by God. According to other scriptures, every believer can go directly to the throne of God and find help in time of need. This would include help when we need to understand the scriptures (Hebrews 4:16).

Let’s look at something in this verse very few who have read this book may have discussed. It says that the one who reads and hears will be blessed. It does not mention specifically what the blessing is. Some translations list bless as happy, but it also means fortunate or well off. If happy is selected as a translation, it could also be happier. The Greek word literally means supremely blessed.

The word prophecy, in this instance, means foretelling the future. Compare it with the last part of this verse, which says, for the time is at hand … This seems to be a contradiction. How could something be in the future and at hand or nearby? If the book of Revelation is not just a partial revelation of Jesus, then it must of necessity mention all of those things of significance that involved Jesus before it was written, the knowledge of which was at hand, as well as mentioning those things that were going to take place after it was written, which is called prophecy.

There is one more thing we need to consider before we leave this verse. It is the phrase, keep those things that are written therein. Some translations substitute obey for keep, but the Greek word this was translated from has other meanings, such as look closely at, or perceive, or gaze upon with wide-open eyes. These seem to be more appropriate for this particular scripture than the word keep. As we read through this book, it will become obvious why the word keep does not fully explain what our part needs to be concerning the book of Revelation.

We have no evidence that what is described in this book is listed in the order in which it happened or will happen. But after the part concerning the letters to the seven churches, the visions John had lead one into the other. Starting with chapter 4, all other chapters begin with, And, which is a conjunction. Which in turn could be interpreted to mean that everything starting at chapter 4 is in chronological order; at least the vision is. It could be debated as to whether or not the events they describe occur in chronological order. There could be more than one event occurring at the same time, so it would be impossible for it to happen in the same order it is revealed to John.

Review verses 4–6. As we begin to get into the scriptures concerning John’s visions, notice how often the number seven appears. Not just seven churches, but seven spirits, seven seals, seven trumpets, seven bowls, etc. Some Bible scholars believe the number seven stands for completeness or perfection. This appears doubtful because there were surely more than seven churches at the time this was written, but John is told to write to only seven. It is not because these were the only ones going astray. In fact, two of the seven churches were not going astray, as we will see when we start reading about them. It appears probable that God uses the number seven very often because it is dear to his heart, considering it is the number of days involved in his creation of the earth. The number seven could stand for all-inclusive, meaning the seven churches represent all churches.

Verses 4–6 are what we would consider to be the salutation and the close for a letter combined. These verses state who the letter is to, and who it is from. We know who our letters are from because of the return address on the envelope. If the return address was omitted, we would probably check to see who signed it before we read the letter. Letters in those days were written on scrolls, so they did not have envelopes with return addresses. Also, if the writer’s name appears at all, it is at the first of the letter and occasionally at both the beginning and end of the letter.

Concerning verse 4, notice that John says to the seven churches, Grace and peace be unto you … He does this even though he is getting ready to warn them about what is going to happen to them if they don’t correct those things that need to be corrected. God is faithful even when we are not. His grace and peace are always directed toward mankind. Whether or not we can receive his grace and peace depends on whether or not we are doing our part in being obedient in all situations, and not just in some situations.

In verse 4, notice the words, from him which is, which was, and which is to come … This must be referring to God because Jesus is mentioned in the fifth verse as being another one who the letters to the seven churches are from. Also notice that the seven spirits before God’s throne are listed as the source of these letters. Read verses 4 and 5 again.

Verse 5 refers to Jesus as the first begotten of the dead. After his crucifixion and resurrection from the dead, Jesus is never referred to in the Scriptures as the only begotten Son of God. The body of Jesus that was laid in the tomb was the only begotten Son of God. His body was glorified by God when it came out of the tomb. After his resurrection, Jesus entered into a room where his disciples were meeting with the doors shut, so he didn’t come in through the door. This happened twice ( John 20:19, 26). Notice that verse 5 refers to Jesus as the first begotten of the dead. This implies that others will be begotten from the dead. We can surely assume that they will be his followers, God’s servants.

Verse 5 refers to Jesus as the prince of the kings of the earth. We know that a prince is the son of a king. The way this is worded, it appears that the son, the prince, rules over his father, the king. We know from other scriptures that God is referred to as a King. Jesus, being his son, would be a prince. The kings he rules over are the kings of the earth. This scripture could be worded this way, God’s son is the prince of the kings of the earth. Who are these kings?

Look at verse 6. It is obvious that it is tied to verse 5. The one in verse 5 who shed his blood for us has made us (in verse 6) kings and priests unto God and his Father. Since this letter is addressed to those seven churches, we can assume the kings and priests will be those within the churches, not someone outside of those churches. Satan is the ruler over those outside the church. Keep in mind that the kings Jesus rules over are in the church, and we could assume some are leaders within the church. If you are a leader in a church, Jesus rules over you. He is your boss.

Look back at the last part of verse 4 where it refers to seven spirits before the throne. Hebrews 1:14 says all angels are ministering spirits. Based on this scripture in Hebrews, God must have seven angels that minister to him personally; two of these angels may have been the ones God sent to Sodom and Gomorrah to rescue Abraham’s nephew and his family (Genesis 19:1–28). One of these seven angels may have been sent to speak to Moses out of the burning bush. Exodus 3:2 says, And an angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of the bush … God spoke to Moses, but he spoke through the angel.

There are several other references in the scriptures where an angel appeared to someone, but God did the talking when something was said. These seven angels, even though they are spirits, differ from the Holy Spirit. We can be filled with the Holy Spirit and have him live in us and work through us. An angel cannot do this. This is not the only difference between an angel and the Holy Spirit. It is just an example of how they differ, even though they are both spirits. However, these seven spirits may not be angels (ministering spirits), as we will see when we study further. They may actually be spirits.

Concerning the seven spirits in Revelation 1:4, there is a scripture that lists seven spirits prophesied in Isaiah 11:2 that will be available to Jesus when he is involved in his earthly ministry. They are the spirit of the Lord, the spirit of wisdom, the spirit of understanding, the spirit of counsel, the spirit of might, the spirit of knowledge, and the spirit of the fear of the Lord. If these are the seven spirits referred to in Revelation 1:4, then the throne in this verse is Jesus’s throne as well as God’s throne.

Let’s look at verse 7. The word behold means to look at, to see, but it also means, to hold or keep hold of and hold in view. So the word behold has more significance than we realize unless we pause and consider its meaning, then apply it to what is being said. It obviously means more than just casually observing something.

In verse 7, notice the reference to clouds. We know Jesus ascended in a cloud and the angels standing nearby said he would return in like manner (Acts 1:9–11). Based on Acts 1:9–11, some believe the reference to Jesus coming with clouds in Revelation 1:7 are actually clouds. But notice the next verse says every eye shall see him. How could people in one part of the world see him coming in a cloud if he came in the cloud in another part of the world? Some have suggested that this is possible if his coming was televised. If so, everyone in the world would have to be looking at a TV screen at the same time, which might be possible if his coming was announced in advance. According to other scriptures, he will return suddenly, when we least expect it. So the time of his coming will not be known in advance. There is another explanation as to what the scripture in Revelation 1:7 is referring to. Notice that it says with clouds, not in clouds. It also says clouds plural, not cloud singular.

With this in mind, read Hebrews 12:1–3. In Acts 1:8, reference is made to Jesus saying to his followers, ye shall be witnesses unto me …unto the uttermost parts of the earth. Let’s read something else concerning what Jesus said about this in Matthew 24:14. This leaves only one question unanswered concerning Revelation 1:7. It says every eye shall see him. Didn’t Jesus say to his apostle Philip, he that hath seen me hath seen the Father … ( John 14:8–9)? God is a spirit ( John 4:24); this is proof we can see the manifestation of the spirit in a physical person. If Jesus’s witnesses do everything he did, such as healing the sick, etc., then the people will see Jesus in his witnesses. This is evident in the book of Acts in the early days of the church. It was as though Jesus was still on the earth. Everything that Jesus did was also done by the church leaders. The people saw Jesus in his witnesses. So every eye can see Jesus when we witness to all the world in the manner Jesus commanded. If we don’t, they won’t see him ( John 14:12).

Verse 7 says those who pierced him will also see him. Just as Jesus has followers, the spirit behind those who pierced Jesus on the cross also has followers, and they are still piercing him by persecuting his true followers (Acts 7:59).

Verse 7 says, all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him … The word that wail was translated from also means, to lament or mourn or beat upon the breast in grief. Notice verse 7 says the kindreds of the earth will do this because of Jesus, not for him. This kind of behavior occurs when there is a great loss to the person doing it. This scripture is referring to the kindreds of the earth, not the kindreds in the kingdom of God, who walk in the spirit, not in the flesh (Romans 8:1–4). When the day comes that those who reject Jesus fully realize who they have rejected, there will be grief so strong it will be hard to express by those experiencing it. They will beat on their breasts and wail. Even so, Amen, is how God will respond to their wailing (verse 7). He will have given everyone ample opportunity to accept Jesus prior to the day this scripture is referring to, and that is all he can do (Matthew 24:14). God cannot force people to accept Jesus without depriving them of their will power to choose.

Let’s look at verse 1:8. As some people may already know, alpha is the first letter in the Greek alphabet, and omega is the last letter. The New Testament was written in the Greek language. The letters of the Greek alphabet have names. Notice how verse 8 ends. It says, the Almighty. Based on other scriptures where the name Almighty appears, we would have to conclude that they refer to God, rather than Jesus. However, after Jesus was crucified and defeated death he told his disciples, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth (Matthew 28:18). He did not say at what point in time he received that power.

Hebrews 1:8–13, explaining the scripture in Psalms 45:6–7, says God called Jesus, God. But we don’t know if Psalms 45 is referring to the time before Jesus became flesh and dwelt among us or afterwards ( John 1:1, 14). It may not be necessary for us to know when God bestowed all power upon Jesus, only that he did; and that power is connected with words to the point where he takes the beginning and ending of the alphabet as one of his names. If Jesus is the first letter and the last letter, this implies that he is also all of the letters in between. Since letters are used to form words, this reference to Jesus as Alpha and Omega relates directly to Jesus existing at creation and being the Word that was made flesh and dwelt among us, which is explained in John 1:1, 14. As we proceed through the book of Revelation, we will see the importance of words, including our own words.

Let’s look at verse 1:9. Some Bible scholars have doubts that the John who wrote the book of Revelation is the same John who wrote the book of John, and First, Second, and Third John because the style of writing differs somewhat. Other scholars believe it is the same; that he could just identify himself as John and expect his readers to know who he was. It is obvious that John was well known among church members in order for God to choose him to write the book of Revelation. He would help establish the book’s credibility and authenticity. Of what value would the book be if church folk refused to accept it as being from God? The fact that John was banished by the Roman government to the Isle of Patmos (verse 9) indicates he was one of the top leaders among the Christians.

Some Bible scholars believe the book of Revelation was written around AD 90, and John was banished to the Isle of Patmos to work in the rock quarries on the island. The entire church was being severely persecuted at that time because the Roman emperor had issued an order for everyone to worship him as God. As we will see in chapter 2, some of the Christians had already been killed and more were predicted to be persecuted in various ways. If John is the Apostle John, it is doubtful that he was put on the island to work in the quarry, because he would have been too old to do much physical labor. He would surely have been no more than ten years younger than Jesus, who was around thirty-three years old when he was crucified. Which means John was about eighty years old when the book of Revelation was written, if it was written around AD 90.

Notice in verse 9 that John says, I am your companion in the kingdom. The kingdom is surely the kingdom of God. God’s kingdom is not just in heaven, but also on earth if we pray according to the prayer that we call the Lord’s Prayer, where we pray, Your kingdom come …on earth as it is in heaven. Romans 14:17 says, The kingdom is …righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. So the kingdom of God is centered upon the Holy Ghost. It was the Holy Ghost that Jesus was anointed with after he was baptized and went around doing good, healing all who were oppressed by the devil (Acts 10:37–38). It was the Holy Spirit that those at Pentecost were filled with (Acts 2:4). The filling of the Holy Spirit is also referred to as being anointed with the Holy Spirit. We will see as we proceed through the book of Revelation, that it is the anointing that Satan and his followers are against because they can’t successfully compete with it. They are anti-anointing, or in the Greek language, anti-Christ. They can’t come against the anointing, so they come against the anointed. The devil and his followers believe they can stop the anointing through severe persecution of those who are anointed. The anti-Christ can’t come against the anointing, so they come against the anointed. The devil and his followers believe they can stop the anointing through severe persecution of those who are anointed. The antichrist is not someone who is going to come, it is a spirit, and it is already in the world. That spirit has been against the Anointed One , starting immediately after his anointing, and is also against all others who are anointed with the same anointing that Jesus was anointed with. That spirit is anti-anointing (anti-Christ). We will see more concerning this as we proceed through book of Revelation. For now, read 1 John 2:18–22, which tells us there are many people who are possessed or at least influenced by the anti-anointing spirit. They are opposed to those who are anointed and speak against the anointing, especially when the power of the anointing is manifested or demonstrated.

Notice something else in verse 9. John says, I …am your …companion …in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ … I don’t recall hearing many sermons concerning patience. We tend to think of patience as being a human trait; you either have it, or you don’t have it. And if you don’t have it, you can acquire it by exercising your will power. However, there is another type of patience, which is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit, that allows him to work in their lives (Galatians 5:22–23). Since the Holy Spirit is God’s Spirit, then this type of patience would be a characteristic or attribute of God.

Romans 15:5 refers to God as, the God of patience … If one of the attributes of God is patience on a level that cannot be acquired by human will power, and he wants to give that patience through his Spirit that dwells in those who are anointed with the Holy Spirit, then it must be extremely important. When we research the scriptures, we find the following examples concerning patience. Luke 21:19 says, In your patience, possess your souls. Colossians 1:11 says, Strengthened with all might according to his glorious power unto all patience and long suffering with joyfulness. Notice that this links patience and hope. Hebrews 6:12 says, followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises. This links faith and patience and our inheritance. Jesus, in the parable of the sower in Luke 8:15 says, The good ground are they which …bring forth fruit with patience. Jesus links the good ground with patience. So John, in Revelation 1:9, has a good reason for talking about patience.

Notice what John said was the reason he was on the Isle of Patmos, for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. Since Christ means anointed, or in some cases anointing, this could read, for the testimony of Jesus and his anointing. Anyone who testifies of Jesus’s anointing in the face of severe persecution would surely be anointed himself. We need to remember that those who are anointed with the Holy Spirit are anointed with the same spirit that Jesus is anointed with. There is only one Holy Spirit. There is not one for Jesus’s anointing and one for everybody else. It is an awesome revelation to know that we can be anointed with the same Spirit that Jesus was anointed with after he was baptized. There seems to be an unspoken doctrine in the modern church that Jesus was anointed with a powerful Holy Spirit, and we are anointed with a Holy Spirit that is not powerful or refuses to exercise his power.

In verse 10, John says he was in the spirit on the Lord’s Day, not the Sabbath Day. The Sabbath Day was a part of the Law of Moses and was not required by God to be observed until the Law of Moses was established. Due to the fact that Israel broke the Law of Moses, the Israelites were living under the curse that was part of that law. They were redeemed by Jesus from that law when he was crucified and resurrected. When he arose from the grave, he established a new covenant that did not require the observance of any particular day as a holy day. The early church members would meet on the first day of each week for a special time to commemorate Jesus’s resurrection. Because of this, the first day of the week became a special day to them, and they referred to it as the Lord’s Day. Jesus did not command them to commemorate his resurrection day to remember him or as a memorial to him. Jesus established the communion of bread and wine as a means for his followers to remember him. Jesus did not specify communion on any particular day of the week, so if the first church members decided to meet on the first day of the week to take communion and discuss those things that were going on in the church, it was not contrary to what Jesus taught. But it is not a high holy day as was the Sabbath Day in that period of time from the establishment of the Law of Moses until Jesus redeemed the Jewish people and all people through his death and resurrection. Some refer to Sunday as the Sabbath Day, and some refer to it as the Sunday Sabbath. Neither of these are in accordance with the Scriptures. The day Jesus was resurrected obviously had special significance to those disciples who knew him personally, and they set the pattern that we now follow, coming together on that day in assembly to worship. But the scriptures do no indicate that God or Jesus established Sunday as a holy day or even a day of rest. According to the new covenant, Jesus’s followers rest in him.

In the old covenant, worship of God was, for the most part, physically oriented. In the new covenant, worship is, or at least was meant to be, spiritually oriented, even though some physical things are used in worship. For this reason, even the bread and wine noted in Matthew 26:26–28, which are physical, have significance now only as they relate to Jesus, who is now a Spirit. One of the most difficult things for a physically minded person to do is to think spiritually. Due to the fact that all of us are physically minded from birth, all of us have a problem thinking spiritually. Even Jesus’s twelve apostles had a problem with this, and they were in his presence day and night for about three years. They heard every word he spoke and saw everything he did. When Lazarus died, as recorded in John 11, Jesus said he was asleep (verse 11). This was spiritual talk. Jesus’s apostles did not understand, so he switched to physical talk and told them Lazarus was dead (verse 14). A young girl Jesus raised from the dead was asleep according to what Jesus said (Mark 5:39–42). So there are things in the spiritual realm that are difficult for us to understand if we are only physically oriented.

Relating this to the Sabbath Day and physical rest, we need to consider other scriptures. Jesus said in Matthew 11:28, Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. He did not say to rest on a certain day of the week. He said, Come unto me … It’s not as if we don’t need physical rest. But physical rest will not fulfill what Jesus commanded when he said, Come unto me … When we come unto him and he is in us and we are in him, every day is a day of rest. We rest in him.

There were certain things in the old covenant that were carried over to the new covenant, such as God’s promise of redemption and a covenant of peace, but we greatly err when we try to merge all of the old covenant in the new covenant. The new covenant tells us what is required for us to worship God, and that is all we are required to do. On the basis of this, we can claim the blessings recorded on both the old covenant and new covenant. One of the reasons that many of us have a problem with this is because we assume that the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are part of the new covenant. They are actually part of the old covenant era, except for the portions of each book that cover the period of time after Jesus’s earthly ministry, prior to his resurrection under the Testament, the old covenant, which included the Law of Moses. For further study concerning all of this, let’s read Colossians 2:16–17 and Hebrews 7:14–16, 10:4. Even though Jesus’s earthly ministry prior to his resurrection was under the Law of Moses, a significant portion of his time was spent teaching people concerning the new covenant that was to be established by the shedding of his blood. A good example of what he taught is recorded in Matthew 5:1–7:29 and John 4:23–24.

If we try to merge the old covenant with the new covenant, we have a conflict because according to the Law of Moses, Jesus could not be a priest without violating that law. He accused the Pharisees of violating that law, so he surely would not be guilty of violating it himself. Therefore, the old covenant cannot be merged with the New Testament because after the New Testament was established, Jesus was referred to as a priest, even a high priest (Hebrews 10:21), which is contrary to the Law of Moses if it is still in existence, in which case the rites of the new covenant would be in error to refer to him as a priest. Another problem that many of us have is that we assume the Law of Moses embraces all of the old covenant, but it doesn’t. Also we are inclined to believe the covenant we refer to as the Law of Moses was the basis for the new covenant. The basis for the new covenant is the covenant that God made with Abraham, which was more than four hundred years before the Law of Moses came into existence. God did not require Abraham to observe the Sabbath Day, or any other day, as a holy day.

Let’s read some scripture that relates to Abraham: Galatians 3:6–7, 9–29. These scriptures do not say we are Moses’ seed, or heirs of the covenant that God made with Moses. We are heirs of the covenant of promises that God made to Abraham, which did not even mention the Sabbath Day or any day as being holy. However, God surely was not displeased with John in Revelation 1:10 for calling Sunday the Lord’s Day. We know he was not displeased because he did not rebuke John for referring to it as the Lord’s Day, at least there is no mention of any rebuke in the book of Revelation. For further study of the Lord’s Day and the Sabbath Day, let’s read Romans 14:5–8.

In verse 10, John says, I was in the Spirit … Notice the word Spirit is capitalized. In the original text, there is no capitalization or punctuation. The translators of the King James Version of the Bible capitalized the word Spirit, which means they thought it was referring to the Holy Spirit. But there could be another interpretation. Second Corinthians 12:2 speaks of a man who was caught up to the third heaven, but the writer of Corinthians was not certain as to whether the man was in his body or out of his body. If he was out of his body, then his own spirit was the one that was caught up to the third heaven. Luke 4:5 says the devil took Jesus up into a high mountain after his forty-day fast. This had to be Jesus’s own spirit because he would not have been able to walk up a high mountain after fasting for forty days. Also, this verse says the devil showed him the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. This does not appear to be referring to Jesus being in any spirit but his own. So it appears probable that this is the case with John in Revelation 1:10. He is caught up in his own spirit, and he is seeing over into the spiritual realm. He will not just see what is happening but will see things that will foretell in visions what will happen in the future, as we will study when we come to verse 19.

Read 10 and 11 together. The voice speaking to him tells him to write to the seven churches. When John actually wrote to the churches, he started his letter and addressed it to the churches before he told them who it was that told him to write the letter. Also the implication is that the entire book of Revelation is the letter he wrote, which means each of the seven churches were able to read what was said about all the churches and not just their own church. Considering how difficult it was to write anything down in those days, it is doubtful that John wrote seven different letters the length of the book of Revelation. So each church was able to see what other churches were doing, and where they were falling short. This could be helpful to all the churches, considering the fact they were all worshiping the same God.

Verse 12 doesn’t explain why the one speaking chose to approach John from his back or why John didn’t turn around as soon as he heard a voice behind him rather than waiting until the voice spoke all of verse 11.

Notice something else in verse 12. The candlesticks are gold. They were surely pure gold because gold plating and gold colored paint probably had not been perfected at that time. As we will see later, these candlesticks represent the seven churches mentioned in verse 11. The fact that the candlesticks were pure gold indicates the worth that God placed on these seven churches because gold in those days represented the wealth of kings. It was about fifty times more valuable than silver at that time in history.

Notice the reference in verse 13 to the Son of Man. The expression Son of Man was a common expression in old covenant days. God spoke it to Ezekiel several times. Jesus spoke of himself as being the Son of Man on several occasions. When we look at the other characteristics of the one doing the talking, we see in verses 14 through 15 a description similar to the one Daniel saw in a vision. Read Daniel 10:5–6 and Matthew 17:2. From these descriptions, it is obvious that this is not a flesh and blood man, but he had the appearance of a man. As we read further in the book of Revelation, it becomes apparent that this is Jesus. We know from other scriptures that Jesus existed in heaven before he came to earth. So the one who appeared to Daniel in a vision was probably Jesus; also the fourth man in the fiery furnace in Daniel 3:14–25 was described by the king as looking like the Son of God. This occurred many years before Jesus was born into the earth and became the son of man.

Notice something else in verse 16. It