The risen Christ among the lampstands: John's opening vision

The book names its writer four times as John (1:1, 4, 9; 22:8) and does not call him an apostle. He says he was on the island of Patmos, in the Aegean Sea off the coast of what is now Turkey, 'because of the word of God and my testimony about Jesus' (1:9), which most readers take to mean that he was exiled or detained there for his preaching. Justin Martyr and Irenaeus in the second century identified him as the apostle John. In the third century Dionysius of Alexandria argued from differences in Greek style from the Gospel of John that the writer was another John, and some modern scholars follow him, naming a John the elder or an otherwise unknown prophet. Others defend the apostle. This class does not depend on the answer.

The usual date is the reign of Domitian, about AD 95, following Irenaeus, who says the vision was seen near the end of that reign. A minority of scholars prefer the late 60s, soon after Nero's persecution, citing the reference to measuring the temple (11:1-2) and the seven kings of 17:10. The book is addressed to seven churches in the Roman province of Asia, which are named in 1:11. They lay in the west of what is now Turkey, in Greek cities with a strong cult of the emperor and trade guilds tied to the worship of the gods. Christians there faced pressure to compromise, and some had suffered; the book mentions Antipas, killed at Pergamum (2:13).

John's purpose is to show who rules the world. Behind Rome and the demands of its religion stands a risen Christ, the Lord of history.

Revelation announces its own genre three times in the first chapter. It is an apocalypse (the Greek apokalypsis, 'unveiling', 1:1), a prophecy (1:3) and a letter (1:4). As an apocalypse it belongs to a type of Jewish writing, found in Daniel, Ezekiel and Zechariah and in later works, that discloses heavenly realities through visions, symbols, numbers and angels. As prophecy it speaks God's word to a present situation, and its readers are told to hear and obey (1:3). As a letter it is addressed to real churches in real places. Reading it well means keeping all three in view: it is a pastoral message for people in a particular setting, not a coded timetable.

The key rule is that the symbols are mostly drawn from the Old Testament and explained by it. The pieces of the vision in 1:12-16 come from Daniel 7 (the Son of Man and the Ancient of Days), Daniel 10 (the man in linen), Ezekiel 1 (the voice and the blazing appearance), Isaiah 49:2 (the sword from the mouth), Zechariah 4 (the lampstand) and Exodus 3:14 (the divine name). When the text itself gives an explanation, as it does in verse 20, that explanation governs.

Christians have read the book in four main ways. Preterists take most of it to describe the first-century conflict with Rome. Historicists read it as a sketch of church history down to the end. Futurists take most of chapters 4 to 22 to describe the final events before and after Christ's return. Idealists read it as a picture of the spiritual conflict that runs through every age. Many combine them. This class does not depend on any one, since the chapter speaks mainly of who Christ is.

Verses 1–3

'This is the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants what must soon come to pass.' The phrase can mean a revelation Jesus gives or one about Jesus, and in the book both are true. The chain runs from God to Christ, the angel, John and the churches. The book is called both the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. Verse 3 pronounces the first of seven blessings in the book: blessed is the one who reads aloud, and blessed are those who hear and obey. It was written to be read aloud in the assembly. 'The time is near' marks urgency, read either as imminence or as the nearness typical of prophecy.

Verses 4–6

The greeting follows the letter form: 'Grace and peace to you.' It comes 'from Him who is and was and is to come', a reworking of the divine name of Exodus 3:14; 'from the seven Spirits before His throne', likely the Holy Spirit in the fullness of his work, with a background in Isaiah 11:2 and Zechariah 4:2-6, though some take them as angels; and 'from Jesus Christ'. Christ is given three titles drawn from Psalm 89:27, 37: 'the faithful witness' (his testimony ended in death), 'the firstborn from the dead' (the first to rise to a life that death cannot end), and 'the ruler of the kings of the earth'. The doxology adds that he 'loves us and has released us from our sins by His blood', and made us 'a kingdom, priests to His God and Father'. This echoes Exodus 19:6 and is the same idea as 1 Peter 2:9.

Verses 7–8

'Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him.' Two Old Testament texts are joined: Daniel 7:13, the Son of Man coming with the clouds, and Zechariah 12:10, the people looking on the one they pierced. The tribes mourn. Then God speaks: 'I am the Alpha and the Omega', the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, 'who is and was and is to come, the Almighty'.

Verses 9–11

John calls himself a brother and 'partner in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance that are in Jesus'. The three words belong together: the kingdom is present, entered through tribulation and held by perseverance. On the Lord's day he was 'in the Spirit', a state of prophetic inspiration (compare Ezekiel 2:2; 3:12), and heard a voice like a trumpet. The Lord's day (kyriake hemera) is most naturally Sunday, on which Christians gathered, though some propose the Day of the Lord. He is told to send what he sees to seven churches, listed in the order of a circular route through Asia.

Verses 12–16

He turns to see the voice and sees seven golden lampstands, and among them One like the Son of Man. The features are drawn from Daniel. The long robe and golden sash suit a priestly or royal figure. The white hair 'like wool' is the description of the Ancient of Days in Daniel 7:9, here given to the Son of Man, so that Christ shares the attributes of God. The eyes of blazing fire, feet of polished bronze and voice of many waters echo Daniel 10:6 and Ezekiel 1:24; 43:2. In his right hand are seven stars, and from his mouth comes a sharp double-edged sword, a symbol of the power of his word (Isaiah 49:2; Hebrews 4:12). His face shines like the sun at full strength.

Verses 17–18

John falls at his feet like a dead man, the usual response to a vision of glory (Daniel 10:8-9; Ezekiel 1:28). The Lord lays his right hand on him and says, 'Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last, the Living One.' 'First and Last' is a title of the LORD in Isaiah 44:6 and 48:12. 'I was dead, and behold, now I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of Death and of Hades.' Keys represent authority to open and shut. Death and Hades, the realm of the dead, are under the control of the one who has been through death and come out.

Verses 19–20

The command to write 'the things you have seen, and the things that are, and the things that will happen after this' has been read as a three-part outline of the book (chapter 1; chapters 2 and 3; chapters 4 to 22) or as one description of the whole. The mystery is explained: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

The chapter gathers several doctrines.

• The first is the sovereignty of God over time: the one who is, who was and who is to come. History is not out of control.
• The second is the Trinity. The greeting names the Father, the seven-fold Spirit and Jesus Christ in one sentence as the source of grace and peace, and the book will go on to give Christ titles and worship that belong to God alone.

• The third is the doctrine of the church. The seven lampstands are the churches, with Christ among them. In the Old Testament the lampstand stood in the tabernacle and temple as a sign of God's presence, so the churches are bearers of light in a dark world. The people of God are 'a kingdom, priests', language given to Israel at Sinai and now applied to the church.
• The fourth is the nearness of the end: the book opens and closes with the promise that Christ is coming (1:7; 22:20).
• The fifth is suffering. John is a partner in tribulation, and the book does not promise escape from persecution, but that Christ shares it and holds the keys to what lies beyond.

The whole chapter is a portrait of Christ. In the greeting, he is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead and the ruler of kings, and he is the one who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood. The titles trace his testimony, his death and resurrection, and his present reign. Against Rome's claims for its emperor, John answers that the ruler of the kings of the earth is Jesus.

The vision of 1:12-16 presents Christ in terms the Old Testament uses of God. The Son of Man of Daniel 7 is given the white hair of the Ancient of Days. His voice is like the voice of God in Ezekiel. He declares himself the First and the Last, a title of the LORD in Isaiah 44:6, and the Alpha and Omega is also used of God in verse 8. The New Testament elsewhere says the same (John 1:1; Colossians 2:9). The exalted Jesus is not a lesser figure but one who shares God's name.

The figure is also the crucified and risen Lord. 'I was dead, and behold, now I am alive forever and ever' is the shortest summary of the gospel in the book. His authority over Death and Hades is the result of his resurrection (compare Romans 14:9; 1 Corinthians 15:54-57; Hebrews 2:14-15). The figure of terrifying glory lays his right hand on his servant and tells him not to fear, as Jesus touched the frightened disciples on the mountain (Matthew 17:7).