Thoughts on Revelation: A Companion Edition to Thoughts on Daniel

By William Merrifield

Thoughts on Revelation picks up where Thoughts on Daniel left off. The theme of Revelation can be found in plain sight. "Look, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him" (Revelation 1:7). Daniel prophesied of a coming Messiah. John prophesied of the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. The destruction of Jerusalem and the exile to Babylon was a judgment against Israel. The Great Tribulation will be a judgment against "all the nations" (Isaiah 34:1-3). I think that I can safely say that there is not a book in the entire Bible that is read less and misunderstood more than the book of Revelation. I don't know how many Bible studies I have attended on Revelation. Not one of those studies ever made it to culmination. The instructors had the best intentions, but for one reason or another, they did not conclude the matter, leaving the attendees more confused than ever. This is a companion edition to Thoughts on Daniel. If simple rules are followed in reading and studying, the book of Revelation should become clear, logical, and easily understood. So here it is. Handed down from Daniel and illuminated by Jesus and open for those who have "ears to hear and eyes to see--both are gifts from the Lord" (Proverbs 20:12).

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: May 9, 2024
• ISBN: 9798890436719

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Thoughts on Revelation

A Companion Edition to Thoughts on Daniel

William Merrifield

ISBN 979-8-89043-670-2 (paperback)

ISBN 979-8-89043-671-9 (digital)

Copyright © 2023 by William Merrifield

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

The Revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending His angel to His servant John, who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.1

Acknowledgment

Introduction

Chapter One

The Prologue

A Man Named John

The Person of the Book

The Doxology

Seven Spirits Before the Throne

Chapter Two

Seven Churches

Various Interpretations

The Seven Churches

Ephesus

Smyrna

Pergamum

Thyatira

Sardis

Philadelphia

Laodicea

Chapter Three

The Throne of God

After This I Looked

Behold a Throne

Twenty-Four Elders

Chapter Four

The Kinsman-Redeemer

The Setting

The Scroll of Redemption

Who Is to Be Redeemed?

The Kinsman-Redeemer

Three Conditions of Redemption

The Lion of Judah

The Unavoidable Christ

Chapter Five

The Seven Seals

The Tribulation

The First Seal

A Gathering Storm

The Second Seal

The Third Seal

The Fourth Seal

The Four Horsemen

The Fifth Seal

The Sixth Seal

Chapter Six

Bringing the Message

The 144,000

A Great Multitude

Yes, But How

Chapter Seven

The Seventh Seal

The Seven Trumpets

The First of Seven Trumpets

The Second Trumpet

The Third Trumpet

The Fourth Trumpet

The Fifth Trumpet

Chapter Eight

A Mighty Angel

So Great an Army

A Small Scroll

No More Time

The Little Scroll

Sweet in the Mouth

Chapter Nine

Two Witnesses

Measuring the City

Two Witnesses

Death of the Witnesses

Resurrection of the Witnesses

The Seventh Trumpet

Three Views, One Event

The Ark of the Covenant

Chapter Ten

War In Heaven

The Principal Characters

The Woman

The Man-child

The Dragon

The End of the War

A Joyful Declaration

A Clear Picture

Chapter Eleven

Satan and the Beasts

The Two Beasts

Who Are the Actors

The Beast Described

Daniel Reversed

A Conflict of Kingdoms

The Keys to Understanding

A Miracle-Working Deceiver

Chapter Twelve

The Antichrist

Was Judas the Antichrist?

The Devil's Doom

The Mark of the Beast

The Number of His Name

Rebuilding the Temple

Chapter Thirteen

The Beginning of the End

The 144,000 Redeemed

Sin Is Rebellion

Chapter Fourteen

The Seven Vials

A Great and Marvelous Sign

The End Is Near

Seven Vials of God's Wrath

Moral Decay

Chapter Fifteen

Three Unclean Spirits

Four Great Beasts

Three Unclean Spirits

A Global War

Chapter Sixteen

The Rise and Fall of Great Babylon

The First Babylon

After the Rapture

Escape the Judgment

The Woman in the Revelation

Chapter Seventeen

The Wedding of the Lamb

But First Judgment

Shall We Sin

The Judgment Seat of Christ

The Wedding Supper

Chapter Eighteen

The Second Coming of Christ

The Rapture and the Second Coming

The Armies of Heaven

The Binding of Satan

Chapter Nineteen

The Two Resurrections

What Then Is the Moral?

The Common Belief

The Premillennial View

The Coming Is Imminent

Passover

The Feast of Unleavened Bread

Feast of First-Fruits

Pentecost

The Feast of Trumpets

The Day of Atonement

The Feast of Tabernacles

Chapter Twenty

The Great White Throne

The First Company

The Second Company

The Third Company

The Judgment of Unbelievers

A Place of Torment

Chapter Twenty-One

A New Heaven, a New Earth

A New Creation

The Method of Purification

God Is Long-suffering

Three Realms

New Inhabitants

Chapter Twenty-Two

The New Jerusalem

A Literal City

The City Walls

The City of God Almighty and the Lamb

Even So, Come, Lord Jesus

The Revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending His angel to His servant John, who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.¹

Acknowledgment

Praise be to God for His Son, Jesus Christ.

To my wife for her love and understanding.

To Sandra and Butch Austin for their love and support.

To my pastor Chuck Everette for his leadership, his guidance, and his love.

To my Christian family at Trinity Baptist Church for their prayers and support.

Introduction

I think that I can safely say that there is not a book in the entire Bible that is read less and misunderstood more than the book of the Revelation. So many times, people come to the Revelation to justify one belief or another, and there are places where that might be possible. To the average person, the last book of the Bible is a deep mystery, consisting of strange fantastic predictions that cannot be understood, and within that belief, the average Bible reader knows little to nothing of its content or its meaning.

I have taken—I don't know how many Bible studies I have taken on the Revelation. Many have been by knowledgeable individuals. Not one of those studies ever made it to culmination. The instructors had the best intentions, but for one reason or another, they did not conclude the matter, leaving the attendees more confused than ever. The Revelation does not lean itself to a six-week study. All the slick slides will not bring enlightenment to a six-week, once-a-week, one-hour course of study if the study is not finished. An individual must commit themselves to "Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth."²

The author of the book of the Revelation is Jesus Christ as given to the Apostle John. The Lord gave this book to His Church³ to be read and studied. As such, it is not a sealed book but one that is open and, for the most part, easy to understand. "Then He told me, ‘Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this scroll, because the time is near.'"⁴ Bearing these two facts—do not seal up the words, and the time is near—we should find the study of the Revelation to be fascinating, illuminating, and deeply profitable, rather than difficult and confusing and a deep mystery.

I have made no attempt to present an exhaustive verse-by-verse exposition of the book, but rather, I have tried to present the general outline, the basic structure, and the framework. I have dealt with certain passages at length because they constitute the pillars of the book. If, as I hope, I present the general outline and structure clearly, then the details should fall naturally into their proper places.

This is a companion edition to Thoughts on Daniel. If simple rules are followed in reading and studying, then the book of the Revelation should become clear, logical, and easily understood. First, the Revelation is not a dark book. It is a Revelation. The name is the translation of the Greek word apocalypsis, meaning unveiling. If it is a dark book as some like to say, then the author Lord Jesus Christ made a grave mistake in calling it Revelation. So start with the thought that the book is an unveiling, a disclosure of what is to come.

Second, it is not necessary for one to understand all the symbols and details to gain a deeper knowledge of the book as a whole; that's why we call it faith! I have read the Bible many times in my long walk on this earth. There are parts I still do not understand. That has never stopped me from trying. If you really get hung up, contact Christian Faith Publishing and ask for my email address. I will be more than happy to walk with you in your study.

Third, observe the rule of literal interpretation. One of the greatest curses of the Christian church is the evil of attempting to spiritualize everything in the Bible. Although there are many symbols and signs, the context indicates whether a passage is to be interpreted literally or symbolically. The rule is, interpret literally, except where the context or grammatical structure clearly indicates that the reference is a symbol or a sign.

Fourth, approach the Revelation with a fresh mind! Try to forget the views you have heard or read concerning the book because someone else may have declared it to be mysterious and beyond our understanding. If it were beyond our understanding, God would not have had John write it. Thousands of believers have avoided reading the Revelation because someone told them it was beyond man's understanding.

Fifth, read the book prayerfully. Realize that the Holy Spirit who infallibly inspired the book is also the person Who must illuminate the book. Never, never read a portion of Scripture without first asking the Holy Spirit for illumination and guidance. I have found that in studying God's Word, one scripture has led me to another scripture that has opened my eyes to what God is saying to me.

This is not my first read through the Revelation. Each time I have ventured into its hallowed pages, I have found something new and exciting. It is not different with this book. "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you."⁵ This verse is a continuing action: ask and keep on asking, seek and keep on seeking, knock and keep on knocking. Only then will the door be opened.

Not only is the Revelation a blessing and an unveiling, but it is a prophecy of things to come. How all of us would love to look into the future. How often has humanity turned to ridiculous and insane delusions, magicians, soothsayers, charlatans, crystal gazers, fortune tellers, and Ouija boards in their endeavor to know the future?

You will note in the reading of this book that I have capitalized those pronouns that represent Jesus. I have done so believing that it will help those searching their Scriptures during this study. I have noted that all the Bibles I have read seem to assume that the reader knows who is speaking or acting. Yet in my teaching, I found this not to be the case in all instances. Some old printings of Bibles have red-letter additions in the New Testament to show where Jesus is speaking. Many new additions do not.

Well, here it is. Handed down from Daniel and illuminated by Jesus, and open for those who have "Ears to hear and eyes to see—both are gifts from the Lord."⁶ There are hundreds of prophecies concerning the First Coming of Christ, all fulfilled when He came the first time. Hundreds of years before Jesus was born, it was foretold where He would be born, what tribe He would be from, where He would be born, what province, what city, His birth, His life, His miracles, His betrayal, His crucifixion, His death, His resurrection, and His Second Coming, all foretold in the pages of the Bible.⁷ Simple logic should cause us to expect the same literal fulfillment of those prophecies that are yet to be fulfilled.

Chapter One

The Prologue

The Revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending His angel to His servant John, who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. Blessed is the one who hears it and takes to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.⁸

A Man Named John

John was one of Jesus Christ's twelve disciples, later appointed as Apostles. John was a prominent leader in the early Christian church. During his life, John carried many titles: John of Patmos, John the Evangelist, John the Elder, and my favorite, the Disciple Whom Jesus Loved. Along with James and Peter, John formed the inner circle of Jesus's closest confidants. John is traditionally regarded as the author of five books: the Gospel of John, the epistles (I John, II John, and III John), and the book of the Revelation. Although some Bible scholars dispute which of these (if any) John actually wrote, I am more than confident that tradition is correct.

John was born to Zebedee and Salome. When reference is given to him and his brother, he is always listed last and, therefore, considered to be the youngest. His birth is recorded as being the thirteenth of Tevet, 3766 in the Hebrew time line, which corresponds to the firsts of January 6 CE, in Bethsaida, of Galilee.⁹ Like his father and brother, he was a fisherman. His mother was among those women who ministered to Jesus and the Apostles. James and John were called Boanerges, or Sons of Thunder. Many believe they were called this because they were crude, rude, and given to fiery outburst.¹⁰

John was first a disciple of John the Baptist and, as such, was there when Jesus was baptized. John the Apostle is traditionally believed to be one of two disciples (the other being Andrew) recounted in John 1:35–39, who, upon hearing the Baptist, pointed out Jesus as the Lamb of God, followed Jesus, and spent the day with Him. John would have been about twenty-three years of age when he left John the Baptist.

Matthew records their calling to become disciples of Jesus, "And going on from there He saw two other brothers—James the son of Zebedee and John his brother—in the boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and He called them. And immediately they left the boat and their father, and followed Him."¹¹

Some have questioned the behavior of Peter, Andrew, James, and John just dropping their fishing gear and immediately following Jesus They believe that seems abrupt and possibly even reckless. But not if you have read all four Gospels. When John 1:35 and the following are read, it makes perfect sense that they would have dropped what they were doing to follow the Lamb of God.

John was to learn a very bitter lesson while serving Jesus. His mother came to Jesus one day with a request. She wanted Jesus to allow her sons to sit with Jesus in His kingdom, one on the right and one on the left.

You don't know what you are asking, Jesus said to them. Can you drink the cup I am going to drink? We can, they answered. Jesus said to them, "You will indeed drink from My cup, but to sit at My right or left is not for Me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by My Father."¹²

Tradition has long held that John was the other disciple at the first trial of Jesus. "Simon Peter followed Jesus, as did another of the disciples. That other disciple was acquainted with the high priest, so he was allowed to enter the high priest's courtyard with Jesus. Peter had to stay outside the gate."¹³ However, John, who knew the girl at the gate, spoke to her, and Peter was allowed to enter. An interesting point to be noted at the Crucifixion was that of all the disciples, only John was close enough to the cross to be identified by Jesus. "When Jesus saw His mother there, and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He said to her, ‘Woman, here is your son,' and to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.' From that time on, this disciple took her into his home."¹⁴

Once again, most biblical scholars agree with tradition that the Beloved Disciple was none other than John the Apostle. The Bible last mentions Mary, the mother of Jesus, when the Holy Spirit came upon her and others on the day of Pentecost.¹⁵ After that, we hear nothing else about Mary although one tradition does say that she died in Ephesus.

John's position in the church was made evident by his being selected to accompany Peter to Samaria.

When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria. When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.¹⁶

The apostle John rose to a position of influence within worldwide Christianity, and shortly before the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 CE, he moved to Ephesus, where he became the pastor of the church in Ephesus and had a special relationship with other churches in the area, which we know from the letters to the seven churches in Asia Minor. It may have been that in the early years of his ministry, John was a circuit preacher. He may have even started several of the churches. He later became the Bishop of Ephesus and, as such, had oversight of the other churches.

About 86 CE, a temple to Domitian¹⁷ was built in Ephesus. At the same time, the people of Ephesus were forced to worship and make sacrifices to Domitian, practices that certainly would have been denounced by John. John's opposition to emperor worship, in addition to his continued preaching of the Gospel, ultimately reached the ear of Domitian, and in 94 CE, at the age of eighty-eight, the elderly John was exiled to the island of Patmos. Although the date of his release is not known, tradition holds that John spend approximately eighteen months on the island.

Patmos was a small, rocky, and barren island some twelve miles long and six miles wide, where criminals of Rome were sent to serve out their prison terms in the harshest of conditions. There was already a settlement on the island and had been for several hundred years. There were mines on the island, and the criminals were often forced to work there in order to earn their keep. John was sent to the island because early Christians were thought of as a cult who were known for causing trouble within the empire. The Cave of the Apocalypse is where the sacred text of the book of the Revelation was believed to have been given to John by Jesus.

Much of John's personal history is obscure and passes into the uncertain midst of antiquity. He died in Ephesus in the year 100 CE; he was ninety-four. At the end of the second century, Polycrates, Bishop of Ephesus, claimed that John's tomb was at Ephesus and identified John with the Beloved Disciple. That John died in Ephesus was also noted by St. Irenaeus, Bishop of Lyon, around 180 CE. With the passing of John, the Age of the Apostles came to an end.

The Person of the Book

It has long been debated as to whether some of the Apostles knew or understood that the epistles and books they wrote would become Holy Scripture. That is not the case with John and the Revelation. There is no doubt that what John writes would live on long after he has been gathered to God. God sent His angel to make known to John what was to come. We need only read verse 2: Who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ.

Two important issues are to be found in this verse. First, It is the Word of God. Second, it is the testimony of Jesus Christ. And so, I come to the poor soul, and I say, if thou wouldst handle matters rightly, happy is he that trusteth in the Lord. You have done the right thing for eternity, with all its solemnities, when you have cast your soul, just as it is, on Him who is able to save to the uttermost them that come unto God by Him.¹⁸

There is a twofold blessing that accompanies these opening verses. "Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it. The first blessing is singular, while the second blessing is plural. How, then, can they call on the One they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the One of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?"¹⁹ The preacher who reads aloud with no one to hear accomplishes very little, and those who listen without someone speaking hear nothing.

There are prophecies of the coming events found throughout all the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments. The Revelation is called a prophecy in verse three. That is what God called it. I do not believe that there is a higher authority than God. As we read on, we are going to see that the Revelation deals with God's program beginning with John on the Isle of Patmos.

To be correct, the title should be The Apocalypse or The Revelation of Jesus Christ to John the Apostle. Often, we find in Bibles the caption the Revelation of John or the Revelation of John the Divine. However, both are quite inappropriate. Those are the names that meager humans who translated the book gave it. So today many Bibles simply note, The Revelation. Do not be confused; Christ Jesus is the subject, the center, and the consummation of the book.

The book has three divisions: the past, the present, and the things that are to come. Chapter 1 is the vision of the glorious Christ. The entire first chapter deals with the personal appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ in His Second Coming and thus deals with the things seen. Chapters 2 and 3 deals with the things that are. Here is the present Church age, ending in apostasy, war and destruction, and the coming of Christ for His Church. In the fourth chapter, we begin with the Rapture of the Church at the end of this present age, those things that will be.

The surest thing in the world is death or taxes. The surest thing in eternity is the coming again of the Lord Jesus Christ to rule in this world and to vindicate His First Coming when He was rejected and slain. And so I point out once again that its central theme is the Coming of Christ, and the central person is Christ.

John ends this blessing with the ominous words "because the time is near." Near is a quantitative term. So you must remember that this is God's timetable, not ours. The Greek phrase en tachei means quickly or suddenly comes to pass. It indicates a swiftness of execution. The idea is not that it may occur soon but rather that when it does come, it will be sudden and without warning. "For you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, ‘peace and safety,' destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape."²⁰

The Doxology

I would assume that John had no knowledge that the Revelation would be read by millions of people all over the world. So he opens his doxology by addressing it to the seven churches in the providence of Asia Minor. As the Bishop of Ephesus, John would have been more than familiar with the seven churches.

The Revelation has often been called a book of sevens. And so it is not surprising to note that there are seven doxologies. A doxology is an expression of praise to God. It comes from the Greek doxologia, meaning glory and word. It is, most often, a short hymn or a mantra. It was, and continues to be, a form of congregational worship, a familiar liturgy in the churches.

As children of God, how do we praise God in a time when praising God publicly is frowned upon, especially in the worship service, which has taken on so many forms? How do we know what truly pleases God? Doxologies generally contain two elements, an ascription of praise to God, normally in the third person, "Grace and peace to you from Him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before His throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth," and an expression of His infinite nature.

To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve His God and Father—to Him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen…I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.²¹

John tells his readers (1:7) that Jesus is coming in the clouds: "Look, He is coming with the clouds, and ‘every eye will see Him, even those who pierced Him.' in my vision at night, I looked, and there before me was one like a Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven."²² This conclusion to the prologue ends with the declaration of Jesus leaving no doubt as to who He truly is: "I am the Alpha and the Omega, says the Lord God, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty."

Seven Spirits Before the Throne

Before continuing, I feel that we must address the inclusion of seven spirits who are before God's throne. In the vision where the glorified Christ addresses the seven churches, Jesus is described as "He who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars."²³ In a second vision, where the elders worship around the throne, we read, "From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God."²⁴ Later in the second vision where the Lamb opens the sealed scroll, "The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth."²⁵

There are seven Spirits to match the seven churches, referred to as seven golden lampstands. Each Spirit is a representation of the Holy Spirit's special work through pastors ministering to each of the seven churches by delivering to them the God-breathed Gospel of Jesus. "The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in My right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches."²⁶

John saw the seven stars in Jesus's right hand, indicating that they were significant and more to the point, under the authority of Jesus. Jesus explains to John that the "stars are the angels of the seven churches. An angel is literally a messenger. From this, one could surmise that each church has a guardian angel who watches over and protects that congregation. However, even if that is the case, a better interpretation of the messengers of Revelation chapter 1 is that they are the pastors of the seven churches. A pastor is God's messenger" to the church. As such, he is responsible to faithfully preach God's Word to them.

John's vision shows that each pastor is being held in the Lord's right hand. "I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of My Father's hand. I and the Father are One."²⁷ "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.²⁸ I think it interesting that when Jesus speaks of the Father, He says My Father. When we speak of the Father, we say Our Father." The Father has but one Son. We are part of the family of God through Jesus.

The seven churches are called candlesticks, and Jesus, in the beginning, is walking among them. Here in chapter 1 is the most complete picture of Christ in the glory of His coming.

Among the lampstands was someone like a Son of Man, dressed in a robe reaching down to His feet and with a golden sash around His chest. The hair on His head was white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and His voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In His right hand He held seven stars, and coming out of His mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.²⁹

Here and also in verse 7, we hear the call of Daniel from ages past, "In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven."³⁰ And from chapter 10, we have this description of the Son of Man: "I looked up and there before me was a Man dressed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around His waist. His body was like topaz, His face like lightning, His eyes like flaming torches, His arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and His voice like the sound of a multitude."³¹

One must admit that the descriptions are strikingly similar. Read this portion of Daniel again. Read it carefully. Behold the Holy Spirit's own portrait of the coming King of kings. After this vision of the true Head of the Church and the King of creation, we are given a prophetic picture of what will become of Christendom during the absence of the Lord.

John now on the island of Patmos is in the Spirit: "On the Lord's Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, which said: ‘Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea.'"³² It is Sunday, the Lord's Day. Tradition holds that John was in a cave, perhaps to avoid the plying eyes of the Roman soldiers. To worship Jesus Christ was a crime and had already landed him on Patmos.

There is, however, in the prophetic view, the thought that John is in the "Spirit." If John were simply in prayer, he would be expected to use the lowercase s, in the spirit. Once again, prophetically, the Day of the Lord is the end-times day of reckoning and judgment. The phrase the Day of the Lord or Lord's Day is used many times in the Hebrew Bible. "The LORD Almighty has a day in store for all the proud and lofty, for all that is exalted (and they will be humbled)."³³ "Alas for that day! For the day of the Lord is near; it will come like destruction from the Almighty."³⁴ Like the Hebrew prophets of old, John is capable of speaking of the past, the covenant promise, the present, the renewing of the covenant, and the future, the consummation of the covenant.

John is in zealous prayer. Have you ever been in prayer and suddenly a Scripture floods your mind, giving a vivid image of a much-needed answer? "You will hear a voice behind you saying, ‘This is the way. Follow it, whether it turns to the right or to the left.'"³⁵ A voice like a trumpet, the trumpet of God. A blast of the horn was exceedingly loud. This was accompanied by God's appearance in glory.

The trumpet was used to summon God's people to their solemn assemblies: "Make two trumpets of hammered silver, and use them for calling the community together and for having the camps set out."³⁶ Here God summons John, a preparatory opening to his adoration with Christ. "The voice of the Lord is upon the waters; The God of glory thunders, The Lord is over many waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful, The voice of the Lord is majestic. The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars; Yes, the Lord breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon."³⁷

Take the quill in hand, John, and write what you see. Note with a keen eye what is to "soon take place." John is describing how he came to be given this Revelation from Jesus. John is surprised with a loud, powerful voice, sounding like a trumpet blaring out for the walls of Jericho to fall. The person who speaks does so with an authoritative voice commanding John to write what he sees in a scroll and send it to the seven churches. This is the first of twelve commands that we will find in the book of The Revelation.

John did no more than what you and I would have done. He attentively turns around to see who it was that sounded so powerful, who spoke with such authority, and what he saw was Jesus standing among seven golden lampstands, holding seven stars in His hand. Here is the second series of seven in this book. He was dressed in priestly garments, revealing His role as the Great High Priest.

The churches receive their light from Jesus Christ. Pastors who rightly share the gospel and hold it forth to others are there by His command. The churches are golden candlesticks. As such, they should be precious and pure. This is true not only of the ministers but of the congregations as well. "In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.³⁸" John saw the Lord Jesus Christ appearing in the midst of the golden candlesticks. He is with His Church always. To those who leave the path of righteousness, He will come and remove the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. The congregation may remain, but the candlestick will be removed.

Therefore, since the promise of entering His rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed.³⁹

Unfortunately, every church has members who are members only and do not share the faith of those in Christ. I do not affix blame for this condition; I simply note the truth of the statement.

"And coming out of His mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword." The sword represents His justice, His